Christians 101

Lewis Lives

A few weeks ago at Borders I was looking through the religion section. The first thing I noticed: a whole wall was dedicated to C.S. Lewis. Some of the other “hot selling” books on the shelves were works by Donald Miller and The Purpose Driven Life. But C.S. Lewis commanded much more space. And it reminded me of the Christian circles in college where you had to be almost equally versed in the works of C.S. Lewis and the Bible. Lewis has influenced my own Christianity, and he continually pops up on Christian blogs (see, for example, The Blind Beggar, and Adrian Warnock’s UK Evangelical Blog), in discussions, and in Christian magazines.

In an article on ChristianityToday.com (a spinoff of Billy Graham’s Christianity Today International magazine), the author points to the superstardom of Lewis in evangelical circles as well as some of the questions which often arise about how his beliefs compare to evangelical Christianity:

Clive Staples Lewis was anything but a classic evangelical, socially or theologically. He smoked cigarettes and a pipe, and he regularly visited pubs to drink beer with friends. Though he shared basic Christian beliefs with evangelicals, he didn't subscribe to [everything]... How did someone with such a checkered pedigree come to be a theological Elvis Presley, adored by evangelicals?

The article then provides historical details about C.S. Lewis as well as the way in which evangelicals interact with his work:

On college campuses, Lewis's books had a "profound impact" for decades on InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF), says Bob Fryling, the executive director of InterVarsity Press. Lewis's books were (and still are) read by Christian students and others curious about the faith. IVCF used Lewis at evangelistic discussions in college dorms.

There's a lot of information out there on the relationship between Lewis and evangelicals. But Fryling, in the ChristianityToday.com article, provides what I believe to be a fitting description: "Outside of the Scriptures themselves, Lewis is probably the greatest authority and example of a thoughtful Christian faith.”

posted by Elizabeth @ 10:57 PM