Lewis Bashing

Dear owners,

I must first say, I know you must love Christ or you wouldn't be doing what you are doing. I appreciate you are whole heartedly serving Christ and want to do what is right. So, perhaps you truly don't know how you may be hurting some individuals. I doubt you will share my letter with the ones that profess agreement with your pitiful bashing of the C.S Lewis or the L.M.Montgomery books. Many of your statements are blatant assumptions. You back these up with: It must be so, one can only assume that he is not a Christian. One could as easily read Mere Christianity and assume the opposite and make a stronger case. However, you have not done much research into C. S Lewis's life. Your lack of research does your argument no credit. Had you done your homework, you would see your petty arguments and assumptions make you look a little ridiculous!

You quote: " Besides all the very apparent evil in the book—witches, magic, spells, demons, and more, there are several serious problems which can and will cause damage to our children."

Have you not read the Bible lately? It has all of the above in it. Not to mention adultery, fornication, murder, etc. By your logic, children should be kept from the Bible as well. (Please note that I am in favor of everyone reading and believing the Bible).

You make many assumptions but no truths. You ask readers believe you...an author. You describe authors as being tricky and sneaky. Is this a projection of your motives? Are you trying to trick readers into believing your system of beliefs....or assumptions with nothing to back it up? Perhaps you are also after a profit at the expense of Truth. We cannot tell.

I half wonder if you even read the books you speak of. Did you read the Chronicles of Narnia? Did you ever learn about 'allegory'? Perhaps not. You don't even hint that perhaps that is what he might be talking about.

You mention why would a Christian read Mere Christianity. You missed the point greatly. It was written for the non-Christian. It is supposed to draw him to Christ through his logic rather than the religious, pious, self-righteous manner of some churches. His book hits them where they think, not their feelings and not their pocket books. Mere Christianity was written for those unsure about God, Mere Christianity is a good book to read since it presents an overview of different concepts of God and compares them to the God of the Bible. Mere Christianity was not meant as a replacement for the Bible. However, it may help unbelievers to understand Biblical concepts better.

Speaking of Biblical concepts, I can only pray that you take the meaning of Romans 14:

Romans 14 (KJV)
¹ Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.
² For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs.
³ Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God hath received him.
⁴ Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand.
⁵ One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.
⁶ He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for he giveth God thanks; and he that eateth not, to the Lord he eateth not, and giveth God thanks.
⁷ For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.
⁸ For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's.
⁹ For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.
¹⁰ But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
¹¹ For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue neshall confess to God.
¹² So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.
¹³ Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way.
¹⁴ I know, and am persuaded by the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing unclean of itself: but to him that esteemeth any thing to be unclean, to him it is unclean.
¹⁵ But if thy brother be grieved with thy meat, now walkest thou not charitably. Destroy not him with thy meat, for whom Christ died.
¹⁶ Let not then your good be evil spoken of:
¹⁷ For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
¹⁸ For he that in these things serveth Christ is acceptable to God, and approved of men.
¹⁹ Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.
²⁰ For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.
²¹ It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.
²² Hast thou faith? have it to thyself before God. Happy is he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.

²³ And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin.

Here are some quotes you should ponder...you would know had you read all his books.

1931

Lewis became a Christian: One evening in September, Lewis had a long talk on Christianity with J.R.R. Tolkien (a devout Roman Catholic) and Hugo Dyson. (The summary of that discussion is recounted for Arthur Greeves in They Stand Together.) That evening's discussion was important in bringing about the following day's event that Lewis recorded in Surprised by Joy: "When we [Warnie and Jack] set out [by motorcycle to the Whipsnade Zoo] I did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did."

Surprised by Joy.
That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape?

We certainly mean this in love.

Yours in Christ,

Timothy and Crystal

Dear Timothy,

Following are just a few words about our "bashing" because we really are not about making people believe like us. People who have known us and received our magazine and other writings over the years know that we have made specific efforts to avoid this. However, we are about having people know both sides of an issue (for a reason that I will state later), and arming them with enough facts to make informed decisions.

Everyone makes assumptions. The question again is: Do we make informed assumptions? I really think it is fair to say that when L. M. Montgomery states in her own diary her love for the occult that it is a reasonable assumption that her books were not written to bring children to Jesus, but to influence them toward her own favorite philosophies. One difference with us is we honestly present the issues to adults so that they can make an informed decision. Authors who write to children deliberately bypass the parents, and rather than presenting the facts of the matter, wrap issues in delectable stories in which they are swallowed by young minds totally unawares.

Yes, the Bible does say that witches should be put immediately to death. "Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live." —Exodus 22:18. This speaks of God’s hatred of the work of magicians, sorcerers and demons. It also teaches us as Christians not to delve into it or learn about at all. Ephesians 5:11-12 says, "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret." As far as I know the Bible does not speak of spells at all. But most importantly it speaks about all those things explicitly and only to show their evil nature and results. It does not draw attention to their workings, dwell upon them, or aggrandize them in any way as the Lewis books do. If God says that it is a shame to even speak of such evil things as in the verse above, what assumptions shall we make about The Screwtape Letters in which Lewis takes it upon himself to take us on a voyage into the devil’s mind?

I understand about allegory. I also understand about New Age. Allegory is implemented through a story about people living through an experience that defines a concept. However, it is New Age doctrine that animals and morphadite beings can speak with, and exchange knowledge with human beings, and even exceed humans in spirituality and supernatural powers. The American Indians had New Age type beliefs, but Scripture teaches that God put all animals under the dominion of man. Lewis, by the way, denied that his fantasy works were an allegory. They are being widely advertised as allegorical by those attempting to push them into Christianity.

In Mere Christianity Lewis showcases his tremendous abilities as a logician, but those powers are not being used to bring people to Jesus. First, he writes his thoughts about Christianity and Christians, not about Christ. No one was ever saved by Christianity or Christians. Second, no one was ever saved by logic. We are saved by a faith that logic cannot understand. 1 Corinthians 3:18-19 tells us, "Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. For it is written, He taketh the wise in their own craftiness."

Thirdly, your excerpts about Lewis’s conversion are appreciated because they fit the profile of his views about Christianity in the book. In Mere Christianity Lewis embraces a host of doctrines, religions and sacraments as part of what makes one a Christian. This is in keeping with his close association Tolkien, who was an avowed Catholic. Having come from Catholicism to come to Christ, I understand this well. Jesus, and Jesus alone saves. But Catholicism teaches that the pope, the priest, and the sacraments are all necessary. This is contrary to God’s Word, but is in keeping with Lewis’s beliefs as stated in Mere Christianity.

Since becoming a Christian myself nearly thirty years ago, I have witnessed to thousands, worked with many, seen my share of sinners come to Christ, and I have never seen one nor heard of one who came "kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape." I have seen joy. I have seen tears. I have seen trembling. I have seen relief. In all cases it was something that the sinner wanted. We have all run from God, but those who become His want to do so. That is why God gave us free will. He only takes those who want Him.

Galatians 1:6-7 says, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ." This brings me to the point of why we are about both sides of an issue. I can fully understand that you are upset with me for discrediting something that you thought was right. That is exactly how I feel and why I take the time out to research and write about these things. Several times each year I get letters about not being fair to authors. I am not about being fair to authors. I want to be fair to Jesus. I want to be fair to His followers. I want to be fair to sinners who do not yet know Him and may even think that do. I think that believers should do what they can to address the many "Christian" stumblingblocks in their path. Romans 14:13 says, "Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother's way." I have no personal vendetta against C. S. Lewis, nor have I destroyed him in any way, but I do think that it is time that someone proclaim that we stop throwing the stumblingblocks of demonism, fantasy, and animal supernaturalism into the path of others, especially undiscerning children, as if it were part of a relationship with God.

You may not agree with me, and you are certainly welcome not to do so, but I feel that someone at least needs to show the other half of the picture. So, I hope this is some help in seeing the answer to your question about why.

In Christ,

Jeff Zakula