Was C. S. Lewis a CHRISTIAN?

lmnop9876 · Sep 5, 2005

Is not an "Evangelical Calvinist" kind of a contradiction of terms?

no, it isn't. how one theologically attempts to explain salvation can be completely different to how one presents the Gospel in the pulpit. in the pulpit, it need only be as simple as: Christ died so that those who believe in Him can live forever.
on the issue of CS Lewis being a Christian, I haven't read a lot of his stuff, so I can't really comment. but, who are we sinful, fallible, humans to judge another person? only God knows what's on the inside

Joykins · Sep 5, 2005

If you haven't read a lot of Lewis, you really should. Everyone should. Even his literary stuff is pure gold.

lmnop9876 · Sep 5, 2005

If you haven't read a lot of Lewis, you really should. Everyone should. Even his literary stuff is pure gold.

yeah, I know. I've read a few of the Chronicles of Narnia (when I was like 9), thought they were fascinating, but never got much from them. haven't read anything of his since.

PaladinValer · Sep 5, 2005

He'll turn you into an Orthodox Anglo-Catholic

zaire · Sep 6, 2005

I cant believe this thread. Who cares if Lewis was a christian or not. Read his books if you want and if you think they contradict scripture discard them. End of story.

Personnally i dont think they contradict scripture - just decide yourself.

Knee V · Sep 6, 2005

pjw said:
yeah, I know. I've read a few of the Chronicles of Narnia (when I was like 9), thought they were fascinating, but never got much from them. haven't read anything of his since.

Don't judge those books by the mind of a 9-year old. I whole-heartedly recommend you read them again NOW. You WILL get a lot out of those books. Especially if you read all of them.

Athene · Sep 6, 2005

CS Lewis was a genius and I have no doubt that he was a christian. The article posted by the author of the thread was verging on the ridiculous, you can't say someone is NOT A christian because you don't agree with them.

Look on this forum, we have anglicans, catholics, methodists, born-agains, you name it we've got it, shall we all point fingers at each other and say 'they' aren't going to heaven because their church teaches a slightly different theology to ours.

Anyway, here is my favorite quote by CS Lewis. Mere Christianity, end of Chapter 3.

"You must make your choice. Either this man was and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His beinga great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

My gut feeling is, that a man who had NOT given his life to God, could not have wrote such a bold statement.

Lynn73 · Sep 6, 2005

knee-v said:
Don't judge those books by the mind of a 9-year old. I whole-heartedly recommend you read them again NOW. You WILL get a lot out of those books. Especially if you read all of them.

I'm in the process of reading them right now for the first time and I'm 50. I bought a bookd at Wal Mart that has all seven books in it. I figured if I'm going to go see the movie (The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe) when it comes out I should read the book. I really like the stories.

theend0218 · Sep 6, 2005

I cannot dispute the assertion of the OP here, but I would like to read the entire article or discussion of lloyd-jones on lewis. I can understand lloyd-jones being critical of lewis' views on certain issues, etc., but I find it hard to believe that he would say lewis was not a "christian." i know some who are critical of lewis, and who refer to an interview lloyd-jones gave years ago, but they do not provide exact quotes from l-j actually stating that he said lewis was not a christian. any one have more information on this assertion?

Cappadocian · Sep 6, 2005

theend0218 said:
I cannot dispute the assertion of the OP here, but I would like to read the entire article or discussion of lloyd-jones on lewis. I can understand lloyd-jones being critical of lewis' views on certain issues, etc., but I find it hard to believe that he would say lewis was not a "christian." i know some who are critical of lewis, and who refer to an interview lloyd-jones gave years ago, but they do not provide exact quotes from l-j actually stating that he said lewis was not a christian. any one have more information on this assertion?

In an issue of Christianity Today, dated Dec. 20, 1963, D. Martin Lloyd-Jones criticized C. S. Lewis's beliefs. Perhaps someone can hunt up this article and share it with all of us!

AngCath · Sep 6, 2005

CS Lewis not a Christian?
RIDICULOUS

edie19 · Sep 6, 2005

Athene said:
"You must make your choice. Either this man was and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His beinga great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to."

My gut feeling is, that a man who had NOT given his life to God, could not have wrote such a bold statement.

I'm with you - I quote this particular Lewis statement all the time.

Diane_Windsor · Sep 11, 2005

That I am not God, therefore, I cannot tell you who is in Heaven and who is not.

Diane

StevenL · Sep 11, 2005

For masses of people to be deceived by a great storyteller who was masquerading as a Christian minister would be perfectly consistent with the Scriptural principles of God-sent DELUSION.

Was Lewis a born-from-above Son of God? We don't know.

If we'll meditate in the WORD day and night like we're supposed to, we won't even have to worry about it. We weren't called to follow Lewis or anyone else for that matter.

Cappadocian · Sep 11, 2005

StevenL said:
For masses of people to be deceived by a great storyteller who was masquerading as a Christian minister would be perfectly consistent with the Scriptural principles of God-sent DELUSION.

What do you mean? Are you saying that God would ordain to have lies told to us in order to place us on the path of destruction?

Defiance · Sep 11, 2005

Hey Cappadocian,

Hmm, I always thought that he was a Christian. In fact, one of the greatest Christian writers/apologetics person in history. In fact, a few nights ago I heard a quote from one of his books in which he was saying that there are only three conclusions that one can reach about Christ - either he was a lunitic, liar or LORD. He said that one can only either shut him up and call him a liar, say that he was crazy, or he was to quote him, "saviour and LORD". He argued that one cannot just merely say that he was a 'good moral and religious teacher' as Christ Jesus didn't leave that option open to us.

I am pretty sure that C. S. Lewis was Christian who believed that Jesus was LORD and saviour because other wise according to his own writings, the only other conclusion about him is that he was a lunitic or a liar - which is not what Lewis proclaimed...

Knee V · Sep 12, 2005

Defiance said:
Hey Cappadocian,

Hmm, I always thought that he was a Christian. In fact, one of the greatest Christian writers/apologetics person in history. In fact, a few nights ago I heard a quote from one of his books in which he was saying that there are only three conclusions that one can reach about Christ - either he was a lunitic, liar or LORD. He said that one can only either shut him up and call him a liar, say that he was crazy, or he was to quote him, "saviour and LORD". He argued that one cannot just merely say that he was a 'good moral and religious teacher' as Christ Jesus didn't leave that option open to us.

I am pretty sure that C. S. Lewis was Christian who believed that Jesus was LORD and saviour because other wise according to his own writings, the only other conclusion about him is that he was a lunitic or a liar - which is not what Lewis proclaimed...

In LWW, professor Kirk used that same line of reasoning to prove to the Pevensie kids that Lucy was in fact telling the truth about her experience inside the wardrobe.

artybloke · Sep 12, 2005

Even his literary stuff is pure gold.

Sorry Joykins but:

I liked them when I was younger; but I wouldn't read them now. The Perelandra novels are a bit on the stodgy side to me; and I wouldn't recommend his poetry.

But definitely a Christian, who helped me to start thinking faithfully.

Joykins · Sep 12, 2005

artybloke, I wasn't clear enough that I meant his literary criticism. I agree that his poetry is a bit...of limited appeal.

I liked Perelandra but admit it isn't everyone's cup of tea

StevenL · Sep 16, 2005

Cappadocian said:
What do you mean? Are you saying that God would ordain to have lies told to us in order to place us on the path of destruction?

Yep. For those who refuse the Love of the Truth. 2 Thess. 2:9-12. This isn't just happening in the "tribulation." Been going on a LONG time now. We are told in several places of God sending and approving of Delusion. 1 Kings 22:20-23 (read the whole story) Ezekiel 14.

Was C. S. Lewis a CHRISTIAN?

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