What we can learn from Lewis on how the imagination informs effective apologetics

Having devoted over half a century to studying, speaking, and writing about C.S. Lewis, Dr. Jerry Root has made numerous important contributions to Lewis scholarship, particularly in what we can learn from Lewis about the role of the imagination in apologetics. His erudition and prolific writing might lead one to expect him to be a wonky academic, but instead, he is a vibrant and engaging scholar with a passion for sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Following an acclaimed career as a professor at Wheaton College, as well as visiting professor at Biola University, Talbot Graduate School of Theology, and Moody Bible Institute, he most recently served as Director of the Institute for Strategic Evangelism at the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. He has lectured on C.S. Lewis topics at 78 universities in 18 countries. As an undergrad student at Whittier College, Root was awarded seven varsity letters in football and wrestling, and the depth and breadth of his writing on Lewis has earned him numerous awards and much acclaim for works that have achieved the status of classics, such as The Quotable C.S. Lewis and The C.S. Lewis Bible, as well as for important new scholarship, such as his latest book, Splendour in the Dark, on Lewis’s early poem “Dymer.” His engaging hospitality as a Wheaton faculty member decades ago profoundly touched the life of a young priest named Chip Edgar, who is now the Anglican Bishop of South Carolina.