FatherMithras

I read Mere Christianity and laughed my ass off at it. It was of such poor quality and the arguments were so horrid that I became convince only christians could actually accept them.

Neo-Cavalier

I live in England too, and like Roger Pearce, I can honestly say that Gopnik's talking nonsense when he asserts that people here think C.S. Lewis is "commonly regarded as a slightly embarrassing polemicist". Amongst those who have actually HEARD of Lewis (usually those who read the Narnia Chronicles, or saw the excellent BBC TV series), and further amongst those who actually know of his religious leanings, he's actually viewed much the same as he is in America.

So Gopnik's either making that up, or basing it on anecdotal evidence (of some rather atypical English people he's met).

Either way, what he says is rubbish.

Though I think Pearce is right in saying very few know of Lewis' academic work, he's wrong to assert that Archbishops of Canterbury are generally atheistic, or that religion is considered irrelevant in Britain. It's discussed rather often, and Evangelical churches are growing over here. The current Archbishop of Canterbury believes very much in God, and is no stooge to the establishment (as his opposition to the War in Iraq rather demonstrates).

That there are atheists in the C of E is probably beyond dispute. But they're generally called 'liberals'.

Roger Pearse

I'm afraid you are mistaken. For instance, unless I am misreading all the press comment and media coverage, the establishment (unlike the government) is opposed to the Iraq war. Williams has never acted against the establishment in any way.

All the best,

Roger Pearse

Neo-Cavalier

Ah, I thought you meant 'political establishment' - i.e. the Government - my mistake. In that case, then yes, Rowan Williams is very much within the general zeitgeist. (More's the pity.)

Pax tecum,

The Cavalier

David B

Well, well! I've just looked at your profile, so I see my speculation about your name was completely wrong.

I thought your name was a parody of C S Lewis, standing for Bull Shit Lewis.

I read one of his books on Christianity, and thought it naive guff.

David B

johno

As an old git, I remember when C. S. Lewis was taken seriously by the critics of the middle-brow press as a christian apologete. At this time books like The Screwtape Letters, The Problem of Pain, Four Loves were all admired by general readers and all were sufficiently popular to appear as paperbacks. In the intervening time the public view of christianity has changed. There is no longer a mass market in Britain for christian apologetics. Lewis caught the last dying gasp of popular christianity and he has no significantly influential successors. No doubt christian apologetics continues to appeal to the devout minority but the general reading public has simply lost interest in the topic.

I always despised the Narnia books. I suppose that I was too suspicious of the obvious christian sub-texts. Under the mistaken belief that I was reading science-fiction I read Out of the silent planet, A voyage to Venus, and That hideous strength all in the abbreviated versions published in paperback*. They were all transparent pieces of theistic propaganda with a strong bias against naturalism and science. I found out afterwards that Lewis was opposed to the theory of evolution, and that his model for the bad (at least he wasn't mad until right at the end) scientist Professor Weston, was the great biologist J. B. S. Haldane.
(http://www.stephenjaygould.org/people/john_haldane.html)
I read and greatly admired The discarded image which I think is the best of the books by Lewis that I have read. The book is a guide to the philosophy and science of the geocentric world that was displaced by scientific cosmology, obviously a subject close to Lewis's heart, the world where faith and science were intimately and inextricably interwoven. Indeed one of the most tiresome aspects of Lewis's forays into science fiction was his mixing of planetary angels with rocket ships.

I believe that the reading public under the age of about 50 will know Lewis only from the Narnia books.


johno
*Readers of paperbacks could not be expected to have the attention-span of the readers of hardbacks.

No Robots

I worked with a guy who was swept into Christianity by Lewis in the fifties.

I never found myself persuaded in the least by Lewis' arguments. In fact, my main problem with Lewis is that when he says that Christianity is a myth that happens to be true, he really plays into the hands of those who would deny the basic historicity of the Gospel story.

mikem

In my experience, most liberals have a woolly kind of theology, but generally still believe in a benevolent god. The "atheists" usually prefer to call themselves "radicals" or "progressives", like Anthony Freeman and Don Cupitt. Although I once saw Cupitt on a TV debate with philosopher Janet Radcliffe Richards who told him that there was actually no difference between his views on God and atheism, and Cupitt got really annoyed! (He was still a professional clerygman at the time though.)

RED DAVE

I'm fascinated that no one has mentioned that Lewis wrote three scifi novels:Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. (i CAN;T BELIEVE i REMEMBER THEIR NAMES.) The were considered excellent in their time, but I tried to reread one of them a few years ago, and it was pretty turgid.

RED DAVE

andrewcriddle

Lewis also wrote the excellent adult fantasy 'Till we have faces' his retelling of 'Cupid and Psyche'.

Andrew Criddle