Which C.S. Lewis book was first published as The Problem of Pain in 1940?

C.S. Lewis’s book first published as The Problem of Pain is titled The Problem of Pain.

The Problem of Pain was published in 1940 by Geoffrey Bles. It is a work of Christian apologetics in which Lewis examines why suffering exists within a universe understood as created and governed by God. The book discusses topics including divine goodness, human freedom, hell, and the relationship between pain and spiritual development.

The title is sometimes confused with Mere Christianity, another major Lewis apologetics book. Mere Christianity developed from wartime radio talks broadcast between 1941 and 1944 and was published in book form in 1952. The Abolition of Man, published in 1943, is a shorter philosophical work with a different central argument.

The Problem of Pain is not a novel and is not part of Lewis’s fiction. Its direct, argumentative style helped establish Lewis as a prominent twentieth-century Christian writer, though the book addresses theological questions rather than offering a personal memoir.