C S Lewis (1898 - 1963) - What do you think of him and his writings?

Question

An atheist who became a Christian, how is he perceived today? Perhaps better known for 'The Chronicles of Narnia' (put out on TV by the BBC as 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe), do young people know about him? What do you consider to be his finest work? Does anyone care? All opinions welcome.

As a Christian, I take every opportunity to promote Christianity, especially on Yahoo! However, I did not ask this q in order to promote Christianity. I am well aware that CSL is not highly regarded by some, and I genuinely wanted feedback on what people think of him, especially young people today. By the way, isnt Buddhism a philosophy rather than a religion?

I did not know CSL died the same day as JFK was assasinated. I have a vivid recollection of the day we heard about it on the news and how devastated we all felt. It was a turning point (for the worse) in world history.

Re the claim he was a pedophile (I think you meant paedophile): good job he's dead otherwise you could be taken up for libel. Let's hope none of his living relatives are reading this.

I may be a bit slow on the uptake here (it's been a long and trying day), but if Christians don't take up Christianity on the Religion & Spirituality site (and Christianity comes within Spirituality), then who on earth is? We are allowed to express our opinions, are we? Just like you? Lots of love (that's another take on lol).

I may be a bit slow on the uptake here (it's been a long and trying day), but if Christians don't take up Christianity on the Religion & Spirituality site (and Christianity comes within Spirituality), then who on earth is? We are allowed to express our opinions, are we? Just like you? Lots of love (that's another take on lol).

No 12 said in one breath 'If it were not for him I wouldn't be a Christian" and in the next "I find he is very weak on the Bible"? Excuse me, but isn't that something of a contradiction in terms? Interesting to learn that Aldous Huxley also died on November 22, 1963. I didn't know that. A significant day.

You can tell I've had a long and trying day. I've just posted the same additional comment twice. Anyway, folks, I have to tell you, I have been so uplifted by your comments. It is so refreshing to realise that CSL's works were not in vain, that he touched so many hearts and minds. And such a breathtaking amount of subjects. I confess, the first of his books I read (suggested to me by the minister who baptised me) was 'A grief observed'. It touched my heart, my mind, my soul.

There can be no such thing as a best answer. They are all 'best'. However, rather than leave it open, I am now going to sit down and review every single response. Oh, and by the way, I did not give a thumbs down to anyone. All opinions are welcome. God bless you all.

To theBerean: explanation on why you considered CSL to be weak on the Bible perfectly acceptable and understood.

To theBerean: explanation on why you considered CSL to be weak on the Bible perfectly acceptable and understood.

Answer 1

I adore C.S. Lewis. I loved his Chronicles of Narnia when I was a kid, and after I became a Christian I read more of his books. It's rare to find someone who became a Christian through intellectual reasoning, as well as the usual conversion experience, as he tells about in 'suprised by Joy'. He has a fantastic way of explaining about christianity that I have used many times in trying to explain aspects of it to others. A lot of people don't think you can be intelligent and a christian, but great people like Lewis and Chesterton prove this to be a false assumption.
I haven't read all his books. I would love to read the screwtape letters some time. For now, my favourite is the classic ' mere christianity,' it tells it as it is.

Answer 2

Love C.S. Lewis. If not for him, I would not be a christian. Although, I find he is very weak on the bible, He had a mind that was like a razor. He could "cut through the c*** of any position, and get to the bottom line.

My favorite books by him are "The Problem of Pain" and the book of essays, "God in the Dock".

Also, one book that does'nt get enough credit is the 2nd book of his "Space Trilogy", "Perlandra". Although, the Trilogy as a whole is a little dated, (and the science always was very weak) Perlandra is an awesome re-telling of the "Garden of Eden" and Temptation story. A real Masterpiece.

As far as the comment in another answer about him being some kind of pediphile or something: What kind of ****is THAT? Im pretty familier with every aspect of his life, and there has never been even a hint of something like that, (before the idiotic comment by that little Squirt above).

There is also an interesting exchange of letters published he had with a Prof Joab (Cyrill?) who was an Atheist. It is fascinating to follow the arguments of these two intellectual giants of their time. What many people do not know, is, that as a result of these exchanges, Prof Joab became a Christian.

Oh, one last thing, not only did President Kennedy & C.S. Lewis die on the same day, so did the famous atheist Aldous Huxley. Nov 22, 1963.

I've often wondered if the three of them had a chance to exchange greetings before they went their "seperate ways". lol.
(Though I must admit, Im not sure of JFK's "Secret Heart", but the other two's beliefs were pretty well documented).

Well anyway, thanks for the Question Princess. It was a good one.

...theBerean

P.S. Added: I also had a friend (co-worker) who went and saw, "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" when it was playing at the theatres. He also was totally ignorant of the Christian Symbolims in the story.
To me, it didnt say anything about the Story, but said volumes about the "State of Christianity" today.

I think the time has come that the Bible speaks of in "The Last Days". Most of the professing Christian Churches today are Apostate, and do not preach the Gospel. That is why many people do not see the symbolism. They simply have no frame of reference.

To Princess: Private email sent to explain "weak on the Bible" remark.

Answer 3

his books are good.....but then again why are you asking this on R&S? lol :P to promote christianity?

well personally,intellectual wise,i have a better opinion of Einstein:The religion of the future will be a cosmic religion. It should transcend personal God and avoid dogma and theology. Covering both the natural and the spiritual, it should be based on a religious sense arising from the experience of all things natural and spiritual as a meaningful unity. Buddhism answers this description .. If there is any religion that could cope with modern scientific needs it would be Buddhism. (Albert Einstein)


"As a Christian, I take every opportunity to promote Christianity, especially on Yahoo! "

some genuine feedback related to religion,since this is the R&S forum: people would have a higher opinion of christianity and would seek it out more if there were less christians trying to promote it.....

and buddhism,can be a philosophy (for people who practice it alongside their religion) or a religion to people who are completely buddhist and don't practice any other religion.

Answer 4

I'm a huge fan of Lewis. In fact, he's one of the reasons I'm still a Christian -- my best friend lent me "Letters to Malcolm: Chiefly on Prayer" when I was very confused and frustrated as a fairly young Christian. I remember kinf of doing the happy dance in the kitchen while reading the book, just to find that someone else had had the same questions I did. I was an adult convert attending a tiny congregation where almost everyone had grown up with a Christian worldview... they just couldn't understand why I didn't "get it" -- they weren't mean or anything, they just didn't get where I was coming from because it was all so familiar to them and so new to me.

Reading Letters to Malcolm changed my Christian life; I didn't actually care if Lewis had all the answers to my questions or not -- it was just so helpful to find that he had asked the same questions as I did. He'd been there and done that.

Anyway, I quote and cite him a lot. Some of his essays are a little dated now, but the concepts are still valid. My favorite essay of his is one that very few people have read: "The Weight of Glory". If you can get your hands on it, read it. I think it's been reprinted recently.

His fiction can be very odd -- I'm not talking about Narnia here. Have you read the "Space Trilogy"? That's very good, but it's weird, especially _That Hideous Strength_. _Till We Have Faces_ is Lewis' recasting of the Cupid and Psyche story, and it may be one of the oddest things I've ever read.

I love Surprised By Joy, but the Screwtape Letters didn't do anything for me. I don't know why, it just didn't.

I especially like Miracles and The Grand Miracle; and I reread Mere Christianity frequently. Both my brother and my husband said that it was very helpful to them in their conversion process... that was actually how I got exposed to Lewis first, was from my brother telling me about Mere Christianity after he came to the Lord.

Generally, I read everything of his I can get my hands on. If you've never read Letters to Malcolm, go on Amazon and find it. It's one of the most important books I've ever read in my life... he's dicussing what prayer really is about -- not how to do it -- but what it is. Does it influence God, how does it work in the life of the believer, etc. It's awesome. Like I said earlier, that book changed my life.

P.S> How can anybody not see the allegory in the Lion... who do you suppose Aslan is?

The Narnia books actually fill me with a kind of wistful sadness when I read them... I would love to have the kind of affectionate closeness with the Lord, that the kids have with Aslan... I mean, they can hug him, touch him, everything. The part of Prince Caspian where they're walking through the city, and people are pouring out of their houses and across country to follow him makes me cry every time.

Answer 5

Dear Princess Yum Yum,

Please don't make me pick his finest work.

I simply enJOY his work and his witness to the Truth.
No, wait a minute. For me it has to be Mere Christianity. I remember having questions arise as I read it but each of my questions got answered in the very next sentence or paragraph.

A near tie for finest work is The Great Divorce, a Busride from Hell to Heaven, a One-Way Trip for Some, a Round-trip or Others. That was a wonderful description of Heaven for me and I highly recommend it to people who want to know why "a good God would let bad things happen".

I sure do wish that I had started reading The Chronicles of Narnia when my son was reading them as a youth. Unfortunately I had "more adult things to do." I bought a copy of the Chronicles 2 years ago when the The Lion ... was being advertized and enjoyed it immensely. I can't wait to read the stories to my youngest grandson. He's only 18 months old right now so I'll wait a few years.

What first got me interested in C.S. Lewis was the Quotable Quotes page in Reader's Digest. It seemed there was one of his quotes each month that really spoke to me. When I was going through an unwanted divorce and got laid off from my job in banking I spent a lot of time reading his material.
I kept wanting more.

Did you know that he died the same day that JFK was assinated? If not for that his life and his death would have been in the news for days and even weeks here in the U.S.


Edit: Slayer, thank you for reminding me of The Screwtape Letters. That was a lot of fun to read. When I started reading I kept saying "This reminds me of So-and-So. That reminds me of another person." But before long it was reminding me of myself and that was very humbling!

Like I already said, Don't make me pick.

For His glory,
JOYfilled

Answer 6

I consider him a very insightful theologian and a good author, although I couldn't get into his Space Trilogy,

"The Magician's Nephew" was my favourite Narnia book as a child. I consider "The Great Divorce" and "The Screwtape Letters" to be his most interesting works, very thought provoking.

"Mere Christianity" made some good points, but was harder going.

Answer 7

I enjoyed reading his books when I was a kid. I did not see the Christian message in the Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe...I thought it was a good story

Answer 8

i like C.S. Lewis. i think of he became an impressive author. And actually the actuality that he became a theist made me think of long and perplexing approximately no remember if my evaluations are in keeping with what's maximum life like. i choose to propose A Preface to Paradise misplaced and The Screwtape Letters. did you comprehend he died a similar day JFK became killed? bizarre.

Answer 9

One of my faves I love the Chronicle series and read them with my daughter.

Answer 10

He was also a user of Hashish and barbituates (well documented) so his work does have an edge to it.
Good read though