Lessons from Great Divorce written by the Ent. This post contains affiliate links, you can find out more on our policies page or in the disclaimer at the bottom of the blog.
Know Before You Read
Book: The Great Divorce
Author: C.S. Lewis
Genre: Christian fiction theology
Length: 160 pages
Age suggested : 15 and up
Release Date: 1945 (as a serial)
Themes: Heaven, Hell, Forgiveness, Acceptance, Sin
Warnings: There is some mention of nudity, but it is not sexualized. Several stories of sadness, grief and loss
Quick Summary of The Great Divorce
A narrator takes a bus ride from Hell to Heaven, seeing the entire spectrum of existence in between. As the narrator is guided around, he sees people and hears their stories. Beings with problems that are rife with theological and moral problems to untangle. The Great Divorce is written as a piece of fiction that simply presents an alternative perspective to the traditional view of the eternal torment of hell.
The Great Divorce Review
The Great Divorce follows the narrator as they travel on a bus from Hell to Heaven. This book provides an interesting linear story in which the narrator travels around and, with a guide, does some people watching and takes in spiritual lessons. This reimagining, and notably fictional, take on hell provides a differing view of the afterlife than it being just a fire world with a red devil leader.
There are several different scenarios that the narrator observes and take part in. With most of these stories, we see ghosts (disembodied people’s souls) discussing Heaven with Spirits (People’s souls who have entered the heavenly realm). In each of these situations, there is some sort of discussion about what must be left behind (usually some form of mentality or sin) in order to enter heaven with God. The imagery and metaphors painted by Lewis do an amazing job pulling you into this vivid world.
There are many things that can be learned from Lewis’ The Great Divorce, but I think one of the best things that comes from this book is the refreshing view of God. God is not the side effect of heaven, he’s not an afterthought at all. God is heaven. And we can experience some of that now on earth.
Continue reading for our Lessons from Great Divorce and The Great Divorce Curriculum description and links!
Why Read The Great Divorce
The Great Divorce does a great job at bringing a new light and thought to the afterlife. It is a good exercise to reconcile heaven and hell for Christians. The book is a great resource in bringing into focus the true sadness of hell: the lack of God. It does not focus on eternal torment in the traditional manner, but in a raw, emotional, grinding kind of way. This is shown so vividly throughout the characters. Some of these characters barely resemble humans anymore (See the ghost who has become nothing but a grumble).
On the other side of this spectrum, heaven is presented in straight forward, yet profound beauty. The central focus for Lewis wasn’t the grand valleys, or the sprawling fields, but rather the desire to be with God and Jesus. That is what brings peace and unity and happiness. This presentation, while being parallel to biblical teachings, brings the desire for God into a new, appealing light.
The Great Divorce Curriculum
We have a full Great Divorce Curriculum available for digital download. This download includes:
-A multiple-choice quiz on the book with answers
-A Character Analysis Guide and Breakdown
-Discussion and Comprehension questions for the full book for each chapter
-Essay and project prompts
*Find our full Great Divorce curriculum on Teachers Pay Teachers here.
(If you are only interested in ONLY the discussion questions for each chapter, you can grab it from TPT here)
*Thanks for checking out our Great Divorce post and for your support!
KEEP reading for the small group discussion questions and Lessons from Great Divorce!
Lessons from Great Divorce
Separation from God is the true Hell
As is becoming more popular in today’s culture, Lewis rethinks what eternal torture may actually look like. Taking away the world of flames and the little red devil with a pitchfork and replacing it with the harrowing removal of the love of God. This is shown in a multitude of ways in the Great Divorce and show the heartbreaking condition it leaves many people in.
God longs for you to be with Him
Many people are living without the love of God. There are so many chances and opportunities given to the ghosts to turn away from what is preventing them from fully living in God’s love. Despite this there are few people who actually take the option of leaving their torment for redemption
People have many things in their life that they place above Happiness
The most tragic, yet somehow relatable, aspect of this book is to see person after person turn away from the constant love of God. Whether it is pride, lust, anger, etc, there is just so many things that people will put above true happiness. As illustrated in the book, at times that emotion or sin will actually take over the identity of that person.
The Great Divorce Small Group Discussion Questions
- How long did it take you to figure out what world we were in?
- Has this book had any affect on your thoughts of heaven and hell?
- Which character (besides the narrator) did you most relate to and why?
- What is a lesson that you have learned from this book?
- What did you think of the ending of the book? Why do you think Lewis decided to end it in this way?
We have also created chapter by chapter small group questions on sales at Teachers Pay Teachers here!
Before you go, check out these other posts:
-The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe Review and Curriculum:
–Chosen Discussion Questions: a series that tries to give an honest, powerful telling of Jesus’ life
-Lessons from the new 2019 adaption of Little Women!
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