My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. James 3:1
Recently I wrote a piece that Biblically exposed Huffington Post contributor, Steve McSwain for the heretic that he is. From the response to the blog, it appears that many Christians agree — McSwain is masquerading as a follower of Jesus Christ and the false doctrines he espouses should be avoided at all costs. You can read the rest of that post here.
Today, this blog, ‘The Lion, The Witch, and the Happy Meal: Christian Beware,’ was brought to my attention by a friend and I immediately saw some parallels. The article was written by Dean Taylor on a blog-site called, “The Heartbeat of the Remnant,” a ministry of Ephrata Christian Fellowship, Ephrata, PA.
You Don’t Know Jack
I was intrigued by the post primarily because the author had much to say about the novelist, poet, academic, 
medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian, and Christian apologist, Clive Staples (C. S., aka; Jack) Lewis. The report Mr. Taylor shared was not very good news at all — he reveals, by means of Lewis’s own words, that the yoke of Christian theology that Lewis has bridled himself to, is flawed. In abridged fashion, I’d like to share some of those quotes, along with some others I have stumbled upon. At the conclusion, you decide what to do with Mr. C. S. Lewis.
C. S. Lewis on ‘Salvation’
“There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it. For example, a Buddhist of good will may be led to concentrate more and more on the Buddhist teaching about mercy and to leave in the background (though he might still say he believed) the Buddhist teaching on certain points. Many of the good Pagans long before Christ’s birth may have been in this position.” (Mere Christianity)
God’s Rebuttal
I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6)
C. S. Lewis on ‘Hell’
“Hell is a state of mind – ye never said a truer word. And every state of mind, left to itself, every shutting up of the creature within the dungeon of its own mind – is, in the end, Hell.” (The Great Divorce)
God’s Rebuttal
And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. (Matthew 10:28)
C. S. Lewis on the ‘Inerrancy of God’s Word’
“I have the deepest respect for Pagan myths, still more for myths in the Holy Scriptures.” (The Problem of Pain)
“I have therefore no difficulty accepting, say, the view of those scholars who tell us that the account of Creation in Genesis is derived from earlier Semitic stories which were Pagan and mythical.” (Reflections on the Psalms)
God’s Rebuttal
Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ… Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. (1 Corinthians 10:1-4, 11)
C. S. Lewis on ‘Atonement’
“Christ’s death was not a substitution for us, but rather something like the Roman Catholic idea of the storing-up of grace.” (Lewis speaking on the subject of atonement)
God’s Rebuttal
For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us. (1 Corinthians 5:7b)
C. S. Lewis as to ‘Humanism’
“Safety and happiness can only come from individuals, classes, and nations being honest and fair and kind to each other.” (Lewis quote)
God’s Rebuttal
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety… Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! (Psalm 4:8; 144:15)
C. S. Lewis on ‘Purgatory’
“Of course I pray for the dead. The action is so spontaneous, so all but inevitable, that only the most compulsive theological case against it would deter me. And I hardly know how the rest of my prayers would survive if those for the dead were forbidden. At our age, the majority of those we love best are dead. What sort of intercourse with God could I have if what I love best were unmentionable to him…I believe in Purgatory.” (Letters to Malcolm)
“A process by which the work of redemption continues, and first perhaps begins to be noticeable after death.” (Letters of C. S. Lewis)
God’s Rebuttal
It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27)
C. S. Lewis as to ‘Evolution’
“For long centuries God perfected the animal form which was to become the vehicle of humanity and the image of Himself” (The Problem of Pain)
God’s Rebuttal
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. (Genesis 1:27)
C. S. Lewis as to ‘Darwinism’
“…But he (man) remains still a primate and an animal.” (Reflections on the Psalms)
God’s Rebuttal
And God made the beast of the earth according to its kind (Genesis 1:25)
In contrast to these quotes, C. S. Lewis said many things of God, of the Bible, and of Christianity that are true and accurate. The problem for the disciple of Christ becomes, where to draw the line. It’s one thing to keep Lewis on the one side of novelists, poets, and essayists ‘who happen to proclaim Christ as their Savior,’ and quite another to elevate his status to that of a theologian or a Christian apologist. I submit to you that because of his errant doctrines, he’s best positioned to the left of center. In other words, it would be unwise for the Christian to esteem C. S. Lewis as a bona fide teacher of God’s word. I suppose as always, there is a bottom line — be careful where you go for your theology. While there may be good and moral things to glean from a Lewis book (or movie), the fact remains that even a little poo always ruins the cake. Mature Christians should partake carefully, while immature Christians should be suitably cautioned.
These articles may or may not be related:
- Why C.S. Lewis Didn’t Write for Christianity Today (christianitytoday.com)
- Good Morning January 17 (lifesmeaningministries.wordpress.com)
- Os Guiness – Engaging an increasingly post-Christian culture in the west (Gospel & Culture Lectures) (rodiagnusdei.wordpress.com)
- An Interview with Louis Markos: On the Shoulders of Hobbits: The Road to Virtue with Tolkien and Lewis (educationviews.org)
- Everything I thought about being a christian was wrong! (anthonyqmusic.wordpress.com)
- The Uniqueness of Christianity: 12 Objections Answered (insightscoop.typepad.com)
- On the Shoulders of Hobbits – (2012) (baldreformer.wordpress.com)
- Christianity is Christ! (samuelatgilgal.wordpress.com)
He Dwells -- The B'log in My Eye 