The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis
Week 1: Preface — Lewis's Starting Point
Read the Preface of The Problem of Pain
Free Week 1 sampleRead all of Week 1 free — no card.
When you’re ready, choose this complete guide once or get every guide for a year.
Lewis begins with uncommon candor, admitting that the emotional problem of pain — the gut-level cry of 'Why?' — remains even after his intellectual arguments are made. Take a moment to locate yourself honestly before you begin the book.
Discussion Questions
6 questions1.Lewis states in the Preface that he is 'not writing as a sufferer' but as someone trying to solve the intellectual problem of pain. Why do you think he felt it important to make that disclaimer? Does it raise or lower your confidence in what follows?
2.He also admits that the 'emotional problem of pain' — the feeling that suffering is intolerable — is not resolved by any intellectual argument, and that his own arguments would feel very different to him if he were suffering when he wrote them. What does this honesty tell you about the kind of book this is going to be?
3.Before you read any further, write down in your own words: What is your own version of the problem of pain? Is it primarily an intellectual puzzle or an emotional wound — or both?
Get the complete 13-week guide
All 91 questions across 13 weeks, with closing prayers, a PDF and printable weekly handouts for your group.
Where your receipt and sign-in link go. No password to remember.
Full Library
Every guide in the library, all year
The first-year discount is already applied — there’s no code to type. $59 is the first-year price for new customers, then it renews at $79/year.
- Every week of The Problem of Pain on the web, plus printable weekly handouts
- Every guide in the library (200+ and growing)
- 4 full-guide PDF downloads every 30 days, so you can print a whole study ahead
- If your group picks a book we don’t have yet, we write the guide — 3 included a year, $9 each after that
- A leader email each week of the study: that week’s questions and a short prep note
$59 today, then it renews at $79/year.
First-year price for eligible new customers. Everything unlocks right away. We email you 30 days before it renews — cancel or pause online anytime, no phone call.
This Guide Only
One study, no renewal
Nothing renews. 30-day money-back guarantee.
- Every week of The Problem of Pain (13 weeks, 91 questions)
- PDF for you, printable handouts for the group
- A link you can send to everyone in your group
- One purchase covers your whole group — no per-person fee
- No account to set up — we email you a sign-in link
Upgrade within 60 days and your $29 comes off the regular $79 year — you never pay for this guide twice.
Full Library, monthly — $25/month, renews monthly until you cancel. The same library, with 2 PDF downloads and 1 requested book a month. Worth knowing: four months of it costs more than a full year.
More than one leader at your church? Church Plan — 5 leader seats for $199/year, then $29 a year per extra seat. Renews yearly at that price plus any extra seats, unless canceled. Pay by card, or ask for an invoice your treasurer can pay. See the Church Plan
- 30-day money-back guarantee on the year (with 2 or fewer guides downloaded)
- A receipt you can hand your treasurer for reimbursement
- Every guide you download stays yours — even if you cancel
- Secure checkout by Stripe — we never see your card number