News Release
Christians thankful for the life of Harry Blamires (1916-2017)
The Christian Institute today gave thanks for the life and work of author Harry Blamires who died on Tuesday, aged 101.
Dr Blamires, who counted CS Lewis among his friends, authored 30 books.
Dr Blamires’ most influential book, The Christian Mind, was published in 1963, and is still in print. It argued that Christian thinking was being swept away by secularism. It was seen as a reaction to books like Honest to God, published in the same year by controversial bishop, John Robinson, which denied huge swathes of orthodox Christian belief.
The late John Stott, former Rector of All Souls, Langham Place, said The Christian Mind had a great influence on him, with its emphasis on the importance of ‘thinking Christianly’.
Colin Hart, Director of The Christian Institute, said: “We thank God for the life of Dr Harry Blamires, he was a huge influence on many Christians through his writing.
“Perhaps the greatest tribute that can be paid to him is to say that he has helped thousands of Christians recover the Christian mind. He was an inspiration in the founding of The Christian Institute, giving some of the first ever Christian Institute lectures, and he continues to be an inspiration to our staff.”
John Burn, Chairman of The Christian Institute, said: “The Christian Mind and The Post-Christian Mind transformed my thinking.
“They exposed the way in which Christians so easily are influenced by secular humanism rather than by the Bible.”
Dr Blamires was born in 1916 and studied English at the University of Oxford under CS Lewis. He and the literary giant became close friends and his work was greatly influenced by Lewis’ approach. Dr Blamires later became the Dean of Arts and Sciences at King Alfred’s College, now the University of Winchester.
His work encompasses 30 books including novels, literary criticism and Christian apologetics. Where Do We Stand?, On Christian Truth and The Penguin Guide to Plain English are among his books.
Dr Blamires was married to Nancy and they had five sons. His funeral will be at St John’s Church, Keswick on 30 November 2017 at 1.30 pm.
Notes for editors:
Dr Harry Blamires (06 November 1916 – 21 November 2017)
His bibliography includes:
Literature
The New Bloomsday Book: Guide Through “Ulysses”
Word Unheard: A Guide Through Eliot’s Four Quartets
A Short History of English Literature
Twentieth Century English Literature
A History of Literary Criticism
The Age of Romantic Literature
Cold War in Hell
The Devil’s Hunting Grounds
Milton’s Creation: Guide Through “Paradise Lost”
New Town: A Fable . . . Unless You Believe
The Penguin Guide to Plain English (Penguin Reference Books)
Compose Yourself: and write good English (Penguin Reference Books)
Cassell Guide To Common Errors In English
Christian theology and apologetics
The Christian Mind
The Post-Christian Mind: Exposing Its Destructive Agenda
The Secularist Heresy
Recovering the Christian mind: Meeting the challenge of secularism
On Christian Truth
Words made flesh
The Marks of the Maker
Meat not Milk
A Defence of Dogmatism
The will and the way: A study of divine providence and vocation
Knowing the Truth About Heaven and Hell: Our Choices and Where They Lead Us
The Faith and Modern Error
Where do we stand?
Highway to Heaven
Dr Blamires’ lectures for The Christian Institute are available here: