Tag: Lewis

Lewis: A Meaningless Play of Atoms in Space & Time?

  

C. S. Lewis makes good use of “what if” questions. What if, for instance, there is nothing at all supernatural in the universe and that Nature is everything? “Let us suppose,” he says, “that nothing ever has existed or ever will exist except this meaningless play of atoms in space and time.” If that is what one considers to be the essence of being, that humans are the result of an accidental collision of atoms and even our own consciousness… Read more »

A Companion to Mere Christianity

  

I’ve been teaching my C. S. Lewis course at Southeastern University since August. I’m delighted that my students, by their own testimonies, have found it to be so valuable. For some of them, this is the first time they have truly had direct contact with Lewis and his writings, rather than just seeing a couple of Narnia movies. They got a lot out of reading his autobiography, Surprised By Joy, and The Screwtape Letters. In between those two reading assignments,… Read more »

Lewis: The Inconsistency of Naturalism

  

In his book Miracles, C. S. Lewis takes aim at “naturalists” who say that there is no “outside” reference [i.e., God] for calling anything good or evil. When men use the words, “I ought,” Lewis notes, they are saying something about the essence of right and wrong that is built into the universe. In fact, naturalists should never use such terminology: “But if Naturalism is true,” he writes, “‘I ought’ is the same sort of statement as ‘I itch’ or… Read more »

Lewis: Good & Bad People

  

“What need have I of Christ?” some say. “I’m a good person. I don’t do all those truly evil things other people do.” That’s one of the greatest deceptions we face. C. S. Lewis confronts it directly in Mere Christianity when he compares the “nice” person with a person who doesn’t come across as quite so nice. He notes that some people are just naturally more even-tempered and balanced in their personalities, and that is what can lead them astray…. Read more »

Lewis: Beyond Mere Moral Duty

  

In the C. S. Lewis course I’m currently teaching, we just completed reading and discussing his autobiography, Surprised By Joy. Although I hoped the students would be impacted by it, I was pleasantly surprised (by joy?) how much it seemed to impress them. Their observations went beyond simple repetition of facts; most felt that God was speaking to them personally through Lewis. We’re now turning our attention to some of the key chapters in Mere Christianity. I’ll be looking forward… Read more »

C. S. Lewis: The Christian & Money

  

C. S. Lewis’s attitude toward money is fascinating. He was no economist, and if he could have lived without having to think about money ever again, he would have been most happy. In his early years, before he became famous, he had to be very careful with his expenses, so one might think that when the money started rolling in after the publication of his quite popular books, he could have relaxed and used all that extra funding as a… Read more »

C. S. Lewis: Miracles

  

Seeing is not always believing. Presuppositions rule. Jesus heals people and the Pharisees claim he is doing it by the power of Satan. He raises Lazarus from the dead and they decide to kill Him. Their presuppositions said that since He was not one of them, this cannot be allowed. In the story of Lazarus (a different Lazarus) and the rich man, Jesus has the rich man saying from hell that he wants someone to go tell his relatives the… Read more »