Toto

Readers of this forum may be interested in a comment in the New Yorker by Adam Gopnik on CS Lewis (on line here):

CJD

Truly, Lewis was a good literary critic. I can't speak much for his apologetic works, either. His treatise on English literature in the sixteenth century is integral to anyone's study of that era today (the republished version is here, but it's a whopping $130).

Keep in mind, as this winter's Narnia release approaches, that at least Lewis would not have approved of such schmaltz.

CJD

Roger Pearse

Speaking as an Englishman, I think this is very odd. People in the UK commonly regard Lewis as author of the Narnia stories. That he wrote theology is rarely remembered; that he wrote academic books is not remembered by anyone.

I suspect that the author of this read A.N.Wilson's rather daft book on Lewis (a debunking of him) and presumed it reflected anything in the real world.

In the UK Christianity has hardly any public presence at all. Why would any normal person even know about such things? He wrote some splendid children's books; that's all.

Archbishops of Canterbury are state appointees, from people with a liking for pontificating in a religious vein. All of them are appointed to be pliable to the views of the establishment. Few if any qualify as Christians, unless the definition is stretched very wide indeed. The lack of belief in Christianity of the bishops is something of a common joke here.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

amaradulcis_nyx

As an American, I think of Lewis first for his Narnia books. I've read most of the others, but A Grief Observed is the one that I remember most. As a grieving Xian (at the time), seeing how Lewis agonized over his losses and questioned his belief, I realized it was OK for me, too.

This bit was interesting to me:

"All existence, Tolkien insisted on that night ramble, was intrinsically mythical; the stars were the fires of gods if you chose to see them that way, just as the world was the stories you made up from it. If you were drawn to myth at all, as Lewis was, then you ought to accept the Christian myth just as you accepted the lovely Northern ones. By the end of the walk, Lewis was, or was about to become, a churchgoer."

However, as much as I like to read and enjoy myths, I don't accept them as truth. Why accept one myth over another? They're interesting, they may have threads of truth/reality in them, but in the end, they're just stories.

Thanks for posting the link.

Clivedurdle

Thank you! If only it were possible to tret xianity as myth equal to the Norse, greek, Roman etc myths and not be continually battered by people who say believe this myth or go to hell!

Is this the root of our problems, forcing myths into "reality" Maybe Thomas Hardy, who continued to attend church but didn't believe a word of it got it right!

Steven Carr

Lewis is indeed best remembered as a writer of childrens books.

Are you sure Christianity has hardly any public prescence?

I seem to recall a large piece in the Times about how the narnia books were being used for evangelism, and the Times helpfully give web sites where people could find out about how Aslan was really Jesus.



It is only a *common* joke among a very small number of people, because you must remember that Christianity has hardly any public presence here, and normal people are not interested in the beliefs of bishops in the Church of England.

Boro Nut

That's true. The Lion The Witch and The Lamppost was my all time favourite book as a kid, and integral to my giving up on christianity at such a young age. I despised the fact that they were foisting this whole resurection myth down our throats that was so clearly nothing more than a cheap rip off of the splendid Aslan character. Unfortunately the book was a best seller, and christianity has never recovered from the scandal.

Boro Nut

B.S. Lewis

I like his theology books.

Boro Nut

You're obviously his older brother so you don't count.

Boro Nut

CJD

Spoken like a true Independent, Roger.