CHRTC 242
The Writings of CS Lewis
Miscellaneous
How long should discussions be?
● Max 500 words
● Responses 50-100 words
What is an SRR?
● S→ Summarize the reading
● R→ Respond to what was said
● R→ Reflect by describing your personal response
Mere Christianity
Module 1
Who is CS Lewis?
● Clive Staples Lewis → went by “Jack”
● Born in Belfast
● His father rarely spent time with his family
● Mother died of abdominal cancer
● He experiences several mystical experiences in his life (concerning joy)
○ The central story of his life: striving for the one behind these
experiences
○ A life of enchantment/ receptivity
● The Argument from Desire
○ Natural vs artificial desires
○ Natural: innate/ universal
■ There is always a corresponding object that can fulfill the desire
○ Artificial: not universal, vary from person to person
■ Not always a corresponding desire
○ Lewis says that we all have a desire for the divine
● Was friends with Tolkien
● Influenced by Knock
● Baptism of Imagination
Module 2
Lewis Writes
● WW1, Oxford, and Their Impact on Lewis
○ Did not discuss WW1 or 2 very much in his books
, ○ Was a soldier in WW1
○ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe took place during WW2
○ Was a fellow at Oxford
○ Was never promoted to professor even after gaining so much fame
● Tolkien
○ They were good friends
○ Lewis specialized in medieval literature
○ Tolkien was interested in Norse mythology
○ He invited Lewis to join the Kolbitar society
● The Kolbitar (ie. Coal-biters)/ Inklings
○ Someone who sits so close to the fire it is as though they are biting the
coal while listening to someone tell a myth/saga
○ Sometimes they wrote/recited poems
○ Through this, Lewis is introduced to the mythology of the middle earth
○ Lewis warms up to the idea of a deistic God (not Yahweh yet)
● True Myth
○ Lewis wrestles with the questions: what is the purpose of the
crucifixion/resurrection? How did it have any bearing on anyone else in
history/society?
○ He said, “Myths are lies breathed through silver” → Tolkien’s response:
■ Language is an invention to speak about objects and ideas
■ Likewise, mythology is an invention to speak about truth (or
ultimate reality)
■ Tolkien→ The cosmos which we inhabit is created by God
■ If God creates matter but is not material, how can he speak to us
in a way that we can understand?
■ That’s essentially what myths/stories are
○ Lewis thought of myth as extravagant lies
○ Tolkien thought of myth as a vehicle for communication
○ Tolkien argues that Christianity is True Myth
■ Thus the story of Christ is the ultimate story → as it is written by
God himself
■ Here, the great artist (God) enters INTO the story
■ It is a vehicle for communication about the divine but also
rooted in history
○ Tolkien→ All good stories grasp at true myth, reflecting it in the story
Mere Christianity
● Anthropological Approach: reasoning from earth to heaven
○ Lewis uses human experience to draw conclusions about God (ch1)
● Three Points on the Laws of Nature
● Moral Relativism
, ○ Pythagoras: Man is the measure of all things
■ Tantamount to calling man the arbiter of right and wrong
■ There is no objective truth, no higher authority
■ Lewis: relativism may be pervasive, but is not persuasive
○ Aristotle’s Objection
■ Noticed a flaw in Pythagoras’ reasoning
■ Pythagoras failed to distinguish between perception and reason
(objective reality)
○ The Swimming Pool
■ Your perception of whether the swimming pool is warm or cold
may vary
■ But the actual temperature will not vary
● Objectivity and Morality: examples from other cultures
○ Lewis: while the cultures do not agree on everything, there are basic
commonalities
● Chapter 2: some objections
○ Instinct
■ We share common instincts: mother love, sexual instinct, instinct
for food
■ What happens if we have 2 competing instincts?
■ Since there are cases when we are obliged to not follow our
instincts, there must be a higher mortality
■ What judges our instincts, cannot be the instinct in and of itself
○ Social Conventions
■ Given that social conventions exist, they had to have come from
somewhere
Module 3
● Mere Christianity and Natural Theology
● Materialism
○ Was very popular in Lewis’ day
○ All that really exists is nature and the material world. All that we know is
what is empirically observable
○ Naturalism, Logical Positivism, Empiricism, Scientism
○ A denial that meaningful truth claims can be made regarding things
that can be physically measured
■ Naturalism: what we can understand about God based on the
world around us
■ Logical Positivism: states that the only meaningful philosophical
problems are those which can be solved by logical analysis
The Writings of CS Lewis
Miscellaneous
How long should discussions be?
● Max 500 words
● Responses 50-100 words
What is an SRR?
● S→ Summarize the reading
● R→ Respond to what was said
● R→ Reflect by describing your personal response
Mere Christianity
Module 1
Who is CS Lewis?
● Clive Staples Lewis → went by “Jack”
● Born in Belfast
● His father rarely spent time with his family
● Mother died of abdominal cancer
● He experiences several mystical experiences in his life (concerning joy)
○ The central story of his life: striving for the one behind these
experiences
○ A life of enchantment/ receptivity
● The Argument from Desire
○ Natural vs artificial desires
○ Natural: innate/ universal
■ There is always a corresponding object that can fulfill the desire
○ Artificial: not universal, vary from person to person
■ Not always a corresponding desire
○ Lewis says that we all have a desire for the divine
● Was friends with Tolkien
● Influenced by Knock
● Baptism of Imagination
Module 2
Lewis Writes
● WW1, Oxford, and Their Impact on Lewis
○ Did not discuss WW1 or 2 very much in his books
, ○ Was a soldier in WW1
○ The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe took place during WW2
○ Was a fellow at Oxford
○ Was never promoted to professor even after gaining so much fame
● Tolkien
○ They were good friends
○ Lewis specialized in medieval literature
○ Tolkien was interested in Norse mythology
○ He invited Lewis to join the Kolbitar society
● The Kolbitar (ie. Coal-biters)/ Inklings
○ Someone who sits so close to the fire it is as though they are biting the
coal while listening to someone tell a myth/saga
○ Sometimes they wrote/recited poems
○ Through this, Lewis is introduced to the mythology of the middle earth
○ Lewis warms up to the idea of a deistic God (not Yahweh yet)
● True Myth
○ Lewis wrestles with the questions: what is the purpose of the
crucifixion/resurrection? How did it have any bearing on anyone else in
history/society?
○ He said, “Myths are lies breathed through silver” → Tolkien’s response:
■ Language is an invention to speak about objects and ideas
■ Likewise, mythology is an invention to speak about truth (or
ultimate reality)
■ Tolkien→ The cosmos which we inhabit is created by God
■ If God creates matter but is not material, how can he speak to us
in a way that we can understand?
■ That’s essentially what myths/stories are
○ Lewis thought of myth as extravagant lies
○ Tolkien thought of myth as a vehicle for communication
○ Tolkien argues that Christianity is True Myth
■ Thus the story of Christ is the ultimate story → as it is written by
God himself
■ Here, the great artist (God) enters INTO the story
■ It is a vehicle for communication about the divine but also
rooted in history
○ Tolkien→ All good stories grasp at true myth, reflecting it in the story
Mere Christianity
● Anthropological Approach: reasoning from earth to heaven
○ Lewis uses human experience to draw conclusions about God (ch1)
● Three Points on the Laws of Nature
● Moral Relativism
, ○ Pythagoras: Man is the measure of all things
■ Tantamount to calling man the arbiter of right and wrong
■ There is no objective truth, no higher authority
■ Lewis: relativism may be pervasive, but is not persuasive
○ Aristotle’s Objection
■ Noticed a flaw in Pythagoras’ reasoning
■ Pythagoras failed to distinguish between perception and reason
(objective reality)
○ The Swimming Pool
■ Your perception of whether the swimming pool is warm or cold
may vary
■ But the actual temperature will not vary
● Objectivity and Morality: examples from other cultures
○ Lewis: while the cultures do not agree on everything, there are basic
commonalities
● Chapter 2: some objections
○ Instinct
■ We share common instincts: mother love, sexual instinct, instinct
for food
■ What happens if we have 2 competing instincts?
■ Since there are cases when we are obliged to not follow our
instincts, there must be a higher mortality
■ What judges our instincts, cannot be the instinct in and of itself
○ Social Conventions
■ Given that social conventions exist, they had to have come from
somewhere
Module 3
● Mere Christianity and Natural Theology
● Materialism
○ Was very popular in Lewis’ day
○ All that really exists is nature and the material world. All that we know is
what is empirically observable
○ Naturalism, Logical Positivism, Empiricism, Scientism
○ A denial that meaningful truth claims can be made regarding things
that can be physically measured
■ Naturalism: what we can understand about God based on the
world around us
■ Logical Positivism: states that the only meaningful philosophical
problems are those which can be solved by logical analysis
