The C.S.Lewis Problem

[subllibrm]

No,  Lewis doesn't.

Not at present, no.

No, he didn't.  Even in his children's novels,  he taught substitution.

Lewis's gripe was with the penal in PSA, not the substitution

I think a guy using a "Ransom" username would recognize the "Ransom Theory of Atonement" when he sees it. C.S. Lewis generally held to the ransom theory.

Ransom is a trade payment. It may be money or goods. It may be the life of another.

 

[Walt]

Interesting thread.

I read CS Lewis series "Chronicles of Narnia" in college, and then went on to read other books of his.  I enjoyed the "Screwtape Letters".  I thought that they were helpful books, but then more and more churches I went to have been against CS Lewis for various and sundry reasons.

 

[Prin.Ciples]

No,  Lewis doesn't.

Not at present, no.

No, he didn't.  Even in his children's novels,  he taught substitution.

Lewis's gripe was with the penal in PSA, not the substitution

I think a guy using a "Ransom" username would recognize the "Ransom Theory of Atonement" when he sees it. C.S. Lewis generally held to the ransom theory.

Ransom is a trade payment. It may be money or goods. It may be the life of another.

Sure. Thanks for the definition and enlightenment.  :-X

 

[Vince Massi]

Interesting thread.

I read CS Lewis series "Chronicles of Narnia" in college, and then went on to read other books of his.  I enjoyed the "Screwtape Letters".  I thought that they were helpful books, but then more and more churches I went to have been against CS Lewis for various and sundry reasons.

Thank you, Walt. If these churches were IFB, you do realize that they belong to a group that has been steadily mired in scandals, while C. S. Lewis never had one. It was a painful, but good, day when I realized that I don't care what that crowd thinks.

 

[Ransom]

I think a guy using a "Ransom" username would recognize the "Ransom Theory of Atonement" when he sees it. C.S. Lewis generally held to the ransom theory.

Lewis' belief was in what my systematic theology prof once called "vicarious confession": that Christ confesses and repents of sin on our behalf. There is an entire chapter on the meaning of the atonement in Mere Christianity titled "The Perfect Penitent." I suggest you read it before mininforming us about what Lewis believed.  Some of us have actually read him.

 

[Walt]

Interesting thread.

I read CS Lewis series "Chronicles of Narnia" in college, and then went on to read other books of his.  I enjoyed the "Screwtape Letters".  I thought that they were helpful books, but then more and more churches I went to have been against CS Lewis for various and sundry reasons.

Thank you, Walt. If these churches were IFB, you do realize that they belong to a group that has been steadily mired in scandals, while C. S. Lewis never had one. It was a painful, but good, day when I realized that I don't care what that crowd thinks.

Yes, they were IFB.

It's a little unfair to compare one individual to a group.

In addition, just because there have been scandals in IFB churches, that does not show their doctrine to be incorrect; the correctness of a group's doctrine is tied to what the Scripture says, not the number of scandals.

I think that CS Lewis certainly had beliefs that are not in line what I believe; yet, I still found his books a blessing to read.  I'm puzzled by the anti-Lewis attitude of many of the leaders; many will quote Billy Sunday or Jack Hyles or John Rice, and yet they do not believe what these men believe either.

 

[Vince Massi]

Walt, part of the reason that these men are hostile to Lewis could be this:

Lewis believed that genuine internal holiness will ALWAYS produce genuine outward holiness.

If that is true, then the absence of outward holiness proves that inward holiness does not exist.


In the very first year, HAC did not tell the students that they were unaccredited, hired an unsuccessful Calvinist bus mechanic as a teacher to keep him from telling that Jim Vineyard had violently attacked him, and had a college president who purchased his doctorate at a diploma mill.

In the early years, they condoned and honored gang violence, slandered the students who opposed the gang violence, falsified records, and participated in the Dave Hyles cover-up.

In later years, none of these sins were repented of, and because the false records and slanders are still in place, these scandals are still in progress.

Now, would C. C. Lewis believe that the leadership at HAC has genuine inward holiness?

 

[Fresh Air]

Folks keep mentioning that he never had a scandal, yet he lived with a woman who wasn't his wife for many years. At the least, they had a curious relationship...

 

[Ransom]

Folks keep mentioning that he never had a scandal, yet he lived with a woman who wasn't his wife for many years. At the least, they had a curious relationship...

I wonder if other folks are aware that Lewis was an atheist, not a Christian, during that time?

 

[Binaca Chugger]

I never cared much for CS Lewis and don't see the infatuation with him.  I read the first Narnia book when I was in elementary.  My dad pointed out that, even though it did have an obvious typology Christ's crucifixion, resurrection and second coming, the author used a great deal of witchcraft to make the point.  Since, witchcraft is strongly spoken against in the Bible, we should not use that which is wicked to portray that which is holy and therefore should choose different authors.  Yes, that is how my dad spoke to me when I was in 5th grade.

Honestly, the argument makes sense to me.  I have no desire to read a fiction about demons conspiring against me.  It seems to me that Lewis had this underlying dark side from which he wrote.  I would much rather read an Andrew Murray or CH Spurgeon.

 

[Vince Massi]

Valid point, BC, (I even figured out how to give you a karma point for it). And that's part of the problem. Lewis spoke sympathetically about false religion in many forms and on many occasions. Yet, God blessed him.

 

[The Rogue Tomato]

Valid point, BC, (I even figured out how to give you a karma point for it). And that's part of the problem. Lewis spoke sympathetically about false religion in many forms and on many occasions. Yet, God blessed him.

Maybe God can tell the difference between entertainment fiction and dabbling with witchcraft for real. 

Just sayin'. 

 

[Vince Massi]

[/quote]

Maybe God can tell the difference between entertainment fiction and dabbling with witchcraft for real. 

Just sayin'.
[/quote]

Valid point, Rogue Tomato.

 

[Walt]

I never cared much for CS Lewis and don't see the infatuation with him.  I read the first Narnia book when I was in elementary.  My dad pointed out that, even though it did have an obvious typology Christ's crucifixion, resurrection and second coming, the author used a great deal of witchcraft to make the point.  Since, witchcraft is strongly spoken against in the Bible, we should not use that which is wicked to portray that which is holy and therefore should choose different authors.  Yes, that is how my dad spoke to me when I was in 5th grade.

Honestly, the argument makes sense to me.  I have no desire to read a fiction about demons conspiring against me.  It seems to me that Lewis had this underlying dark side from which he wrote.  I would much rather read an Andrew Murray or CH Spurgeon.

It was a children's story.  Not much different than some of the Aesop's fables in which animals talked.  There was magic, but this was fiction, and, as I recall, humans were discouraged from using magic.

These are certainly points to consider.  I enjoyed the stories back them and still find them beneficial overall.

 

[Vince Massi]

This came up in Bible Study today. Lewis was defending Scripture against a critic who said that the four Gospels were written centuries later.

Lewis, who was a literary expert, explained that the narrative style of the Gospels was not developed until even more centuries had passed. Yet the critics claim that four dishonest men came up with advanced literary styles, wrote of Godliness while lying, and never wrote anything else. A better explanation, said Lewis, is that the four Gospels are inspired by God.