Doug Wilson – That Hideous Strength… By accident, or more likely providence, I recently came across several presentations by Doug Wilson on YouTube – one of them was on C. S. Lewis’ largely dystopian novel, That Hideous Strength.
The book is the final installment of a trilogy, most often referred to as Lewis’ Space Trilogy. Wilson prefers to call it The Ransom Trilogy, and I agree. Ransom is the central character of the first two books, and is also one of the central characters (there are many) of the third book. But that isn’t Wilson’s only reasoning – for that you have to watch his introductory presentation Ransom Trilogy: The Silent Planet. Yes, he also has one on Perelandra.
My first copy of That Hideous Strength was an abridged version. Even so I struggled reading it. Sadly, no doubt others did as well. THS was my least favorite of the books. In time my interest grew to an extent that I obtained an unabridged version. It has since become my favorite of the three. I think one reason for this is that THS is prophetic. I began to see elements of the N.I.C.E. in society. Wilson agrees that THS is a germane book for today.
I once wrote, “The National Institute of Coordinated Experiments is given free power by the government to conduct all sorts of experiments to solve social and genetic problems. It turns out to be a ruthless social engineering organization reminiscent of Joseph Stalin’s regime. It suffers no moral restrictions as it murders and lies its way into more and more powers.” Sound familiar?
If you haven’t read the trilogy, and have no desire to, I still recommend watching Wilson’s That Hideous Strength presentation. If you’re already a fan of the trilogy, you’ll profit from Wilson’s insights. He ties in Lewis’ thoughts in other works such as The abolition of Man, The Great Divorce etc. It might even foster a desire to watch the other presentations and read the books.
Also, if you’re a fan of Lewis’ Narnian Chronicles, Wilson has provided presentations of each of the seven chronicles: The Magician’s Nephew; The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe; The Horse and His Boy; Prince Caspian; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader; The Silver Chair and The Last Battle.
I particularly appreciated how he addressed the Calormene Emeth’s salvation problem in The Last Battle.
You don’t have to agree with Wilson on everything to profit from him. He also has a fair bit to say about Lewis’ friend Tolkien. I’m rather surprised the videos haven’t drawn more attention from Christians. Perhaps my only criticism is that I wish they were longer. But that isn’t really a fault at all.
Sharing is caring!
