Charles Williams is one of the most eccentric, odd, and influential writers to have ever lived. He lived a very eventful life and managed to influence many writers not only in his time, but even to this day. He demonstrates his influence through his personal life and personality, his writings, and his theology. Charles Williams managed to change literature and theology through his unique viewpoints that he has gained through his odd life experiences.
Charles Williams was one of the strangest writers of his time, and certainly the oddest of the Inklings. To examine why he was such an influential writer we must first look at his personal life. Charles Williams was born in London in 1886. Unlike many writers of his time, Charles Williams preferred …show more content…
Since Charles Williams had so many writings, it is impossible to look at all of them. I will mainly look at 3 of his writings: The Silver Stair, War in Heaven, and Outlines of Romantic Theology. I chose these 3 writings because they demonstrate Charles Williams’ success with poetry, novels, and theology. Charles Williams first published writing was The Silver Stair, a book of poetry that he wrote for his fiancé (and eventually wife) Florence. This work was very important not only because it was his first published work, but because it showed how talented he was at writing poetry. The main theme of this collection of poetry is the struggle of romantic love vs a Christian faith. He goes back and forth between desiring Florence and renouncing his own selfish desires, but eventually combines the two by giving a glimpse of his theology about romantic love. So, The Silver Stair showed us the beginnings of Charles William’s theology about romantic love in Christianity and showed us how his theology changed over time. (Williams “The Silver Stair”). The next work of Charles Williams that was very influential was War in Heaven. This novel is a combination of a murder mystery and a “Holy Grail Hunt.” The story begins with a murder and then becomes a search for the Holy Grail in order to use it for evil purposes. This novel was important because it shows how versatile Charles …show more content…
The main writing of Charles Williams that demonstrates his theology is Outlines of Romantic Theology. The main idea behind this work is that “sexual love between and man and a woman…is capable of being assumed into sacramental and transcendental heights” (pp. 7, 9 of Outlines of Romantic Theology). This is definitely a strange concept, that romantic love can combine with Christianity, but is the definitive teaching of Charles Williams. This is what gained Charles Williams the reputation of being the “odd inkling.” Charles Williams describes love as being Jesus, not being like Jesus, but that love is actually Jesus. Therefore, when we fall in love with someone romantically, we are expressing “Jesus” toward them. Charles Williams also described marriage as being the life of Christ. He means this because the events of Jesus’ life follow the steps of a relationship very well. This falls back into his previous idea that romantic love is Jesus. This means that when we fall in love with someone and eventually marry them we are actually living out that relationship as Jesus lived his life. This means that relationships are very important not only for our own enjoyment, but to glorify God (Milburn). The final part of Charles William’s theology was the idea of co-inheritance. Co-inheritance was the idea that Christians cannot do anything on their own, they need to work with a
Charles Williams was one of the strangest writers of his time, and certainly the oddest of the Inklings. To examine why he was such an influential writer we must first look at his personal life. Charles Williams was born in London in 1886. Unlike many writers of his time, Charles Williams preferred …show more content…
Since Charles Williams had so many writings, it is impossible to look at all of them. I will mainly look at 3 of his writings: The Silver Stair, War in Heaven, and Outlines of Romantic Theology. I chose these 3 writings because they demonstrate Charles Williams’ success with poetry, novels, and theology. Charles Williams first published writing was The Silver Stair, a book of poetry that he wrote for his fiancé (and eventually wife) Florence. This work was very important not only because it was his first published work, but because it showed how talented he was at writing poetry. The main theme of this collection of poetry is the struggle of romantic love vs a Christian faith. He goes back and forth between desiring Florence and renouncing his own selfish desires, but eventually combines the two by giving a glimpse of his theology about romantic love. So, The Silver Stair showed us the beginnings of Charles William’s theology about romantic love in Christianity and showed us how his theology changed over time. (Williams “The Silver Stair”). The next work of Charles Williams that was very influential was War in Heaven. This novel is a combination of a murder mystery and a “Holy Grail Hunt.” The story begins with a murder and then becomes a search for the Holy Grail in order to use it for evil purposes. This novel was important because it shows how versatile Charles …show more content…
The main writing of Charles Williams that demonstrates his theology is Outlines of Romantic Theology. The main idea behind this work is that “sexual love between and man and a woman…is capable of being assumed into sacramental and transcendental heights” (pp. 7, 9 of Outlines of Romantic Theology). This is definitely a strange concept, that romantic love can combine with Christianity, but is the definitive teaching of Charles Williams. This is what gained Charles Williams the reputation of being the “odd inkling.” Charles Williams describes love as being Jesus, not being like Jesus, but that love is actually Jesus. Therefore, when we fall in love with someone romantically, we are expressing “Jesus” toward them. Charles Williams also described marriage as being the life of Christ. He means this because the events of Jesus’ life follow the steps of a relationship very well. This falls back into his previous idea that romantic love is Jesus. This means that when we fall in love with someone and eventually marry them we are actually living out that relationship as Jesus lived his life. This means that relationships are very important not only for our own enjoyment, but to glorify God (Milburn). The final part of Charles William’s theology was the idea of co-inheritance. Co-inheritance was the idea that Christians cannot do anything on their own, they need to work with a