Descent into Hell [Paperback]

This is a puzzling phrase for us. If we want to have a Biblically accurate and theologically sound understanding of the most difficult phrase of the Apostle's Creed, we may wish to turn to The Book of Confessions. Or John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion. Or we might want to read this novel, by one of the most dazzling Christian novelists of the past (Twentieth!) century.

Charles Williams should be better known that he is, as a brilliant scholar, inventive writer and faithful Christian of modern times. A forceful, inventive and compelling person, Willams was a member of the famous "Inklings"-the creative Oxford University Christian writers whose company included C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.

The setting of the book is an affluent suburb of a large city where a group of interesting residents have prevailed upon one of their most famous neighbors, a world-renowned playwright, to produce his newest play. We meet them all as the rehearsals are taking place-and we learn that each person is on a spiritual journey fraught with dangers, toils and snares. There is love and lust, loss and confusion, the meaning of life and the meaning of work, all wrapped up in the preparations for performing the play.

If Shakespeare is to be trusted, all the world's a stage... Williams uses the metaphor of the play to portray life, in this world and the next. So we have the world of "The Hill" (their neighborhood-but could it be any suburban enclave), intersecting with the world of the play. We also have a larger challenge. For, as he does in all his novels, Williams reveals the intersection between the "real world" and the spiritual realm. Past and present at times merge. Memory and hope combine. People make choices that will affect their lives for all eternity. Sometimes, without thinking.

We meet the wise and kindly playwright, Stanhope. The eminent and ambitious historian Wentworth. The beguiling and mysterious Mrs. Samile. The fear-stricken Pauline, whose perils help us grasp the key to the most famous verse in Galatians... "Bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ." For that passage alone, the novel is unsurpassed.

But you will also not want to miss Wentworth's Choice. Classic Christian truth portrayed unforgettably.

If you are of a literal bent, you may find it hard to wrap your mind around some of his images. Don't give up! Allow yourself to be guided by a pro, into a world you may not have visited before. Read this book slower than you are accustomed to read novels. Intersperse its reading with Biblical study on the same concepts: wholeness, healing, Christian love, jealousy, anger, fear, faithfulness, joy, life and life eternal.

(Note: This novel is one of a series that also includes these titles, by the same author and from the same publisher: All Hallows Eve, War in Heaven, Many Dimensions, The Place of the Lion, The Greater Trumps).