Problems In Lewis' Theology

Does anyone know of Lewis' personal life? Was he a passive Christian (even though he was a great apologist) in his daily life? I read he was a member of the Anglican church but held no loyalty to any one denomination. Also, I read he was very tolerant of other religions. Of what he wrote how much did he actually practice? I know very little of Lewis and wondered if anyone had some info of this nature.
Can anyone recommend a good biography of Lewis?
 
Several biographies are available at Christian bookstores and in the secular arena of bookstores. Lewis was not passive in his Christianity and his war-work and radio addresses are what formed the basis of his books now gathered in MERE CHRISTIANITY and MIRACLES. Of him, it was said that "he was the most thoroughly converted man I have known." Make haste to correct your lack of acquaintance with this "dinosaur" as he referred to himself. You'll not regret the time and effort.

The film work available for his life is of mixed quality. SHADOWLANDS has some defects worthy of mention, and does not give a rounded picture of the man whose lectures were attended to standing room only capacity crowds of students.

You might begin with the brief biography in CS LEWIS AND NARNIA FOR DUMMIES for starters. There are further suggestions there to a number of biographies. Also, try searching under his name and you will have access to many US and British and international sites with data.

Happy reading, AL!
 
Inkspot mentioned all the major works, but I would also recommend GOD IN DOCK...it is a collection of essay and speeches by Lewis...I found them very insightful into his character and Christian walk.

-JS
 
Hello, Narnia-fan!

The question of "where" your soul is going to go is already answered: Heaven.

Do you have faith? is the question. By Faith we are saved. Some folks like to call it Grace. So, the issue of where the soul goes after physical death is already answered. It is Faith that governs our actions and helps prevent us from committing the same sins over and over again. We will all die in sin, because our nature is sinful and will cause us to commit sin right up to the moment of death. But since Christ paid the bill en total and we have faith in that belief, then Heaven/Hell should be moot. We are going to Heaven. Period.

The focus should be on what to do during the lifetime we are allotted. We are all called to adminster (you can read "love" here) to one another, to show the Love of Christ to everyone regardless of backgrounds, faiths, attitudes, et al, which is how I see Lewis writing in all of his seven books. If one thing comes through in the Chronicles of Narnia is how the main characters are allowing the Love of Christ to flow through and among other characters, even those who are downright nasty or ignorant or (you fill in the blank).

So, I agree with posters who state that Christians should be cooperating with one another, but we should go one step further and that is cooperating with the whole world, even as Narnians cooperated with Calormenes and others who did not profess or believe in Aslan. The whole world is our village, and we are all neighbors. And we are called to love our neighbors--even those who would like to burn us at the stake! This life is but just a job, and our job is to show the Love of Christ. Retirement--which is assured--is our reward in Heaven, where we are definitely going.
 
Right on, Wallis.

Micah 6:8. "He has shown you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you But to do justly, To love mercy, And to walk humbly with your God?" (NKJV)
 
The way that I see that incident in The Last Battle is that the allegory refers to those people who have not heard the gospel. They are good soil that has not had any seed sown on it!
This world is very large and those of us in the West have great access to the gospel. But there are those who may be aware of the name of Jesus but have never actually heard the gospel, especially people who live in countries where there is no religious freedom.
I firmly believe that God desires mercy over justice, and I believe that Jesus would only turn away those who have chosen to turn their backs on him. I hope this theory makes sense.
 
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Bump this thread for a discussion of what Lewis was getting at in that Emeth story ...

Capstick said:
Don't misunderstand me; I love the writings of C.S. Lewis (I've read both the Chronciles of Narnia and his space trilogy), and he remains one of my favorite authors to this day. However, I have noticed several theological problems in his writings, several of which are especially apparent in The Last Battle.

The one reference that I have the most trouble with occurs in The Last Battle
towards the end of the book where they meet a Calarmine soldier in what is essentially heaven. Aslan says to him that although he had worshipped Tash his whole life, in reality, the man was worshipping Aslan. Obviously, there is a profound problem with this statement! It seems to be saying that there are "multiple" paths to God. If someone can worship Tash and yet be saved, why not be a Buddhist, or a Muslim, or Hindu? Religion would then simply be subjective, with no firm truth. The First and Second Commandments specifically prohibit this: there is only one path to God and He must be approached on HIS terms, not ours.

The second problem with his theology, is that, although a Christian, C.S. Lewis was also heavily influenced by "classical" pagan writers, such as Plato. Again this is apparent in the Last Battle where there is a "deeper, more real Narnia." This theology is taken directly from Plato (I believe its Plato). He believed that this reality was like a shadow on the back of a cave wall, reflecting something grander and more real. However, I don't see this imagery in Scripture.

Has anyone else noticed these problems (or others), and what are your opinions on this?
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Concerning Emeth in TLB: no one seems to realize that Emeth need not be considered to have DIED before he met Aslan. If Emeth was still in mortal flesh at the time Aslan spoke with him, then Aslan was fulfilling his quest IN this life, just as in the real world thousands of living Muslims these days are finding Jesus Himself appearing to them in dreams and telling them to follow Him. Seen this way, Emeth does NOT represent a serious statement by Lewis that one could get saved after death, OR saved with no reference to Jesus--rather, as I've said elsewhere, that Jesus may be making Himself known to more people than we realize He does.
 
"no one seems to realize that Emeth need not be considered to have DIED before he met Aslan. If Emeth was still in mortal flesh at the time Aslan spoke with him, then Aslan was fulfilling his quest IN this life"

Copper, That is a good question. The Pevensies, Jill, and Eustace were all in Aslan's land after having died. Caspian entered, as did Emeth, without having died. Could the dead and living both be the same in this place?

As to what Capstick wrote dealing with the Aslan-Emeth conversation, I agree with the conclusion that this does seem to represent a many paths to G*d belief. That is part of my own personal belief system, that there is no one path to G*d.

Realize that Emeth's belief in Tash never wavered. He was angered by everything, from the belief that Tash and Aslan (Tashlan) were one and the same and that his leader was playing along with it. He even became the first to voluntarily enter the stable so that he could get a look at Tash, even if it meant he would be struck down.

The issue of Tash vs. Aslan was easily explained away as in Narnia (the whole land) there were only two given religious deities: Aslan and Tash. All good is done through Aslan's name and all evil is done through Tash's name. They are opposites, as Aslan says in TLB. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Earth. We have many more than two different religions. There is no such thing as opposites here in the nice simple Narnian way.

Here, we have Yhwh (Judaic G*d), Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha, Vishnu, Gaea, and many, many more gods both named and unnamed. We can't say that one religion is good and all the other ones are followers of evil deities. That would mean that more than half of the world are following a false deity no matter which single religion we say is good.

MrBob
 
Copperfox said:
Concerning Emeth in TLB: no one seems to realize that Emeth need not be considered to have DIED before he met Aslan. If Emeth was still in mortal flesh at the time Aslan spoke with him, then Aslan was fulfilling his quest IN this life, just as in the real world thousands of living Muslims these days are finding Jesus Himself appearing to them in dreams and telling them to follow Him. Seen this way, Emeth does NOT represent a serious statement by Lewis that one could get saved after death, OR saved with no reference to Jesus--rather, as I've said elsewhere, that Jesus may be making Himself known to more people than we realize He does.
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That is actually a very good point, CF. I think most who have a problem here is the statement that everything Emeth had done in the name of Tash was really for Aslan. But you make a good case that the portal through which Emeth stepped need not be (and perhaps cannot be) a death.

Here, have some Hot Tamales...

MrBob said:
Here, we have Yhwh (Judaic G*d), Jesus, Mohammad, Buddha, Vishnu, Gaea, and many, many more gods both named and unnamed. We can't say that one religion is good and all the other ones are followers of evil deities. That would mean that more than half of the world are following a false deity no matter which single religion we say is good.
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Yes, we can say precisely that when it comes to saving knowledge, and, in fact, Lewis says this very thing in Mere Christianity. Even if other religions dimly reflect some aspects of the Divine, they are inferior to the full revelation of God Incarnate, Jesus Christ.
 
MrBob said:
"no one seems to realize that Emeth need not be considered to have DIED before he met Aslan. If Emeth was still in mortal flesh at the time Aslan spoke with him, then Aslan was fulfilling his quest IN this life"

Copper, That is a good question. The Pevensies, Jill, and Eustace were all in Aslan's land after having died. Caspian entered, as did Emeth, without having died. Could the dead and living both be the same in this place?

MrBob
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Supposedly neither Enoch nor Elijah died, but were translated bodily into Heaven. Caspian, however, was quite thoroughly dead long before The Last Battle. Also don't forget Reepicheep, who entered Aslan's Country while still alive and was there for a meet'n'greet at the end of TLB.
 
"Caspian, however, was quite thoroughly dead long before The Last Battle."

Malacandra, where is the embarrassed smiley? I meant Tirian, not Caspian :(

And yes, Enoch and Elijah are suposed to have been taken straight to Heaven, but here in TLB, we are talking about such a motley crew of living people and beasts ascending living into Aslan's World. I would imagine that the living ascention would be reserved for a select few, not for everyone.

"Yes, we can say precisely that when it comes to saving knowledge, and, in fact, Lewis says this very thing in Mere Christianity. Even if other religions dimly reflect some aspects of the Divine, they are inferior to the full revelation of God Incarnate, Jesus Christ."

Parthian King, The different religions here are not opposites as they are in CoN. Accroding to TLB, Aslan is good and Tash is evil (read the devil). Suggesting that Yhwh is the opposite of Jesus is blasphemy as Jesus' Father was Yhwh according to Christian belief.

My post was saying that we cannot attribute "Aslan" or the only good religion to one single theology and every other religion is worshipping a "Tash" or evil being. Not even Aslan was that unforgiving. He mentioned that all good is done in his name.

Using TLB as a guide to Lewis' theological beliefs, it looks like he is saying that one's beliefs matter less than one's behaviour and actions. Good is good and bad is bad no matter the religion and all who are good at the end will be welcomed in the Light--as long as they want to believe.

The dwarves showed that aspect of the theology. They refused any more to believe in Aslan, but were not going to believe in Tash either. They were in it only for themselves, so they could not enter Aslan's Land as a belief in it was necessary. Instead, they ended up in a purgatory, a land of darkness where all they had to do was to believe again and they could see the world around them.

I have not read anything else by Lewis and, unless it is a good fantasy or fiction story, I probably won't.

MrBob
 
MrBob said:
Parthian King, The different religions here are not opposites as they are in CoN. Accroding to TLB, Aslan is good and Tash is evil (read the devil). Suggesting that Yhwh is the opposite of Jesus is blasphemy as Jesus' Father was Yhwh according to Christian belief.

My post was saying that we cannot attribute "Aslan" or the only good religion to one single theology and every other religion is worshipping a "Tash" or evil being. Not even Aslan was that unforgiving. He mentioned that all good is done in his name.

Using TLB as a guide to Lewis' theological beliefs, it looks like he is saying that one's beliefs matter less than one's behaviour and actions. Good is good and bad is bad no matter the religion and all who are good at the end will be welcomed in the Light--as long as they want to believe.

The dwarves showed that aspect of the theology. They refused any more to believe in Aslan, but were not going to believe in Tash either. They were in it only for themselves, so they could not enter Aslan's Land as a belief in it was necessary. Instead, they ended up in a purgatory, a land of darkness where all they had to do was to believe again and they could see the world around them.

I have not read anything else by Lewis and, unless it is a good fantasy or fiction story, I probably won't.

MrBob
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It would behoove you to read more of Lewis than merely the books from the CoN to get a bead on Lewis' theological beliefs. In reference to what you posted above, Lewis is saying nothing of the kind. He explicitly states elsewhere that while elements of truth may be found in other religions, that they are inferior to faith in Christ, and only faith in Christ can save.

If you feel that Christ shrugging off whether someone accepts or rejects His sacrifice on the cross is "forgiveness," you have understood little to nothing of who Jesus Christ was, and consequently what Christianity is. I encourage you to do some investigating in order to really discover the faith Lewis turned to and wrote about in these and other books.

But I am grateful to you for exposing the danger of reading too much into one or more books from the CoN. They are children's books, which while theologically rich for that genre, can nevertheless lead to serious misinterpretations of both Lewis and Christianity if not read in tandem with other things that Lewis wrote.
 
Also, if we want to extrapolate theology only from TLB: Emeth isn't dead, and when he meets Aslan, he purposes to approach him and fall at his feet, even if it means his death. That is a pretty clear picture of a man forgetting all about any other god and throwing himself head-first into the jaws of the one true God.

We have no indication that in the world of Narnia/Archenland/Telmarine/Calormene there are only 2 faiths, Mr. Bob. We just don't have any details on any other kinds of worship which may take place. The Telmarines came as pirates from our world -- it is conceiveable they brought some faith (in God, Allah or some paganism depending where they were from) with them. It's just not mentioned in the tales.

What is made clear is that only faith in Aslan is acceptable to get you into his country. Which is an indication (made clear in his other works) that Jack Lewis believed only faith in Jesus would get you into heaven.
 
"What is made clear is that only faith in Aslan is acceptable to get you into his country."

Is that really the case? Going back to Emeth, he went into the stable secure with the knowledge that Tash would be in there and would be glad even if he was slain by his god. Also at that point, he still felt that Aslan was the evil spirit and it was a hateful name to him.

Yet even as Emeth was secure in his beliefs, Aslan still allowed him into his country instead of the darkness of the stable. He was willing to let one who believed in the greatness of Tash, his opposite, to come in as he was fully and completely committed to his beliefs. It seems that the only ones Aslan disallowed were the ones who conspired and those who believed in the morphing of the two into Tashlan. Emeth was furious that they dared to link Aslan with the all powerful Tash.

MrBob
 
Not to quote myself just for the fun of it, but ...
Inky said:
Also, if we want to extrapolate theology only from TLB: Emeth isn't dead, and when he meets Aslan, he purposes to approach him and fall at his feet, even if it means his death. That is a pretty clear picture of a man forgetting all about any other god and throwing himself head-first into the jaws of the one true God.
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Every person who passionately serves any God other than the One True God, the Trinity, has an opportunity in this life, right up until their last breath, to accept Christ and be what we would call "saved" from their sins.
Mr. Bob said:
He was willing to let one who believed in the greatness of Tash, his opposite, to come in as he was fully and completely committed to his beliefs.
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Yes, this is the wonder of Aslan's mercy: even someone who has believed all-out 100% in His opposite can still, while he has breath in his body, reject the false God and come to the true. This is what happened to Emeth: he served Tash right up until the moment he met Aslan, when he totally laid down his life to Aslan and forgot about Tash. This is what happens when you "convert" -- you forget about that bad god you were serving and totally throw yourself on the mercy of the One True God.

It's clear in the story, and further, it's very clear this is what Jack believed if you read his other books, the adult non-fiction books which expound his theology. There is no other way to read it, especially if you have explored Jack's life and works.
 
"This is what happened to Emeth: he served Tash right up until the moment he met Aslan, when he totally laid down his life to Aslan and forgot about Tash."

Actually, he didn't. He still believed himself a follower of Tash even after meeting Aslan. As Emeth narrated to the others regarding his talk with Aslan, "But I said, Alas, Lord, I am no son of thine but the servant of Tash." This is when Aslan told him that all good anyone had done was in the name of Aslan, while evil deeds that are done in the name of Tash no matter what name is being invoked.

Emeth is not a convert until after the conversation, which at that point is a moot point. Belief is based on the lack of empirical data. Talking to Aslan and being told of the relationships of Tash and Aslan, Emeth no longer had to believe, he knew.

Now my arguments I must say are a representive of my own beliefs. I don't believe there is only one way to G*d. I see all who want to do good, no matter in whose name they use, as doing it in the eyes of G*d, no matter what they believe. Behaviour and the kind of person one is trumps names we call G*d or religious rites we perform.

MrBob
 
I think the problem we encounter here is that "No man is good but God alone." MrBob, I agree with you that if someone didn't know what god was the real one but lived a life of good actions and motives, then he would get to heaven. The problem on earth (and in Narnia, as I suppose) is that it's impossible to live a good life apart from the one true God. God doesn't require only that we do some good actions in our lives; he requires that we are completely perfect for He can allow no unrighteousness into Himself. And while we may have some inkling of right and wrong in our present fallen state, we cannot live our lives to fullness apart from Him.

When my father, who is also a fan of Narnia, used to read these books to my siblings and me when we were kids, he would always stop at that part and talk to us about it and ask us if we thought it was right. The answer was always "No." We understood that the CoN were written by a man, not God; C. S. Lewis made mistakes just like anyone else. We shouldn't allow our love for one person's work to obscure our understanding of right and wrong.
 
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