Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Humanity and divinity of Jesus
Critical background on C.S.Lewis
Critical background on C.S.Lewis
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
C.S. Lewis and his Theology on Jesus
‘What are we to make of Christ?’ There is no question of what we can make of Him, it is entirely a question of what He intends to make of us. You must accept or reject the story,” (Lewis, 8).
C.S. Lewis was a man who believed in Jesus, the Trinity, and making it known through his actions and his words that changed Christianity and its theology as a whole.
In the beginning of his journey, C.S. Lewis believed that God was one big mystery. Jesus was not in the picture, and God was just some foreign name. Like many of us, we can approach God as an unopened present hidden in a closet. If we take a peek, we will see that it is there. If we do not, we will not know unless we hear about it. There are times when you think about checking it but do not. There are also times you take a peek and forget about it. But sometimes, you check it, open it, and get excited- really, really excited, but we do not know whether or not we should open it. He struggled with Atheism as much as he did Christianity. He chose to stick with what he wanted to know more of- Atheism. Lewis had a lack of belief in the existence of Jesus of God or any of it. One day, everything changed.
Lewis wrote in Surprised by Joy, "I did not know what I was letting myself in for. A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere.... God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous,” (37).
Unscrupulous, meaning having or showing no moral principles; not honest or fair (Webster), his view on God was lacking and skewed. He wanted to continue his young life being an Atheist even in the midst of knowing God had his hand on his life whether he wanted to admit it or not. Our cultur...
... middle of paper ...
...d the same importance to the experiences, (BBC).
Overall, C.S. Lewis’ beliefs in God were incredibly real, raw, and honest. He inspired others to figure out who God was to them, and who God is to us. He challenged the people around him.
Referring C.S. Lewis to culture now and although he has passed quite some time ago, his stories live on for believers and non-believers. Most known for his Chronicles of Narnia series, he has opened up eyes of many people. His theology and heart collide to continue showing God’s name and face wherever you go. Whether you believe or not, you know who C.S. Lewis is. An incredible life lived, and an incredible legacy that lives on. His belief in God and the Trinity, and his powerful message to the world through the power of his words will continue to test believers and non-believers to live a life filled with incredible purpose.
During his early life, Clive Staples Lewis was raised in church (Stewart 1). However, as modernism continued to gain influence, Lewis started to create his own, new perspective. Individualized, unique perspectives were one of the major aspects of modernism. Modernists of that time also rejected religion and instead chose to see it as a myth. They appreciated religion, but as an interesting story instead of a belief system (Matterson 1). That is just what C.S. Lewis came to believe; that Jesus' life was no more than an embellished story of an ordinary man. He put aside his Christian roots and became enthralled with Pagan myth. Lewis' writings reflected his atheist beliefs, until the early 1930s when he- after many talks with devoted Catholic J.R.R. Tolkien- rededicated his life to Christ (Gopnik 13).
C.S. Lewis begins his book, “Mere Christianity”, by introducing the Law of Right and Wrong or the Laws of Nature. This, however, arises a question. What is the Law of Nature? The Law of Nature is the known difference between right and wrong. That is, mans distinction between what is right and what is wrong. “This law was called the Law of Nature because people thought that everyone knew it and did not need to be taught it”(18). Lewis relates the law to how we treat others. We treat others the way we want to be treated and if they treat us poorly in return we become agitated and annoyed with them. He states that we become a society of excuses when something goes wrong. He goes on to say that we want to behave in a certain way when in reality we do the opposite of what is right or what is wrong. We are humans and humans have primal instincts. We are all capable of using our instincts to do right or wrong. Lewis uses an example of a drowning man to prove this point. When one sees a man in trouble two desires or instincts kick into play, to save the man or ignore him because the situation at hand could endanger you. However, there in another impulse that says help the man. With this comes a conflict of instincts. Do you run and forget about it or do you jump in and help. Most people will help even if the situation is going to endanger their life. This is just one way of seeing moral law. The right in a situation will mostly always prevail over the wrong. “Men ought to be unselfish, ought to be fair. Not that men are selfish, nor that they like being unselfish, but they ought to be”(30). We are creatures of habit and logic. Lewis believes that the moral law is not taught to us rather known by us instinctively. He also believes that the law is real. The law is our behaviors in life via good or bad. Lewis states, “there is something above and beyond the ordinary facts of men’s behavior”(30). This opens Lewis to believe that the natural law is both alive and active in mans life today. Lewis goes on to say that the law must be something above mans behavior. He begins to relate this to the creation of the world.
“Reality never presents us with an absolutely unavoidable ‘either-or’; that, granted skill and patience and (above all) time enough, some way of embracing both alternatives can always be found” (Preface:VII). Lewis suggests here that time if spent right can bring us to self-realization of our journey, and in effect influence our choices. These choices are dependent on time. As wrong choices are made only in time, no truly rational choices can be made will out of the realm of time. Time is the evil that surrounds us. It is the letting go of this time when we truly feel void of problems. Only by letting go of our problems we will be able to communicate with God, while in the essence of being one with ourselves and finding our true inner self.
This paper is written to discuss the many different ideas that have been discussed over the first half of Theology 104. This class went over many topics which gave me a much better understanding of Christianity, Jesus, and the Bible. I will be addressing two topics of which I feel are very important to Christianity. First, I will be focusing on the question did Jesus claim to be God? This is one of the biggest challenges of the Bibles that come up quite often. Secondly, I will focus on character development.
...ctions by stating, “The Devil struts his wide estate, and the law of God are mocked”, (pg 20). All his decisions are made upon his religion no matter what it may be. Also those who looked different were judged upon religion and not by whom they really were in the inside, but instead a Deviation. Through these examples it clearly shows that religion often influences one’s point of view.
“Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the son of God, as he became a man in our world, became a lion in theirs, and then imagine what would happen” (letters to children qtd. Gazora 9). Throughout Clive Lewis life, he changed his religion so many times from not believing in God to believing again. Lewis was always known for his fantasy, and his most known book The Chronicles of Narnia. Lewis wrote The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, to show his Christian faith. In Lewis’s novel, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, he uses the archetype of the hero, and the villain, as well as the symbol of the stone table.
N.T Wright (2008) stated that “When we read the scriptures as Christians, we read it precisely as people of the new covenant and of the new creation” (p.281). In this statement, the author reveals a paradigm of scriptural interpretation that exists for him as a Christian, theologian, and profession and Bishop. When one surveys the entirety of modern Christendom, one finds a variety of methods and perspectives on biblical interpretation, and indeed on the how one defines the meaning in the parables of Jesus. Capon (2002) and Snodgrass (2008) offer differing perspectives on how one should approach the scriptures and how the true sense of meaning should be extracted. This paper will serve as a brief examination of the methodologies presented by these two authors. Let us begin, with an
C.S. Lewis was the 20th century’s most popular proponent of faith based on reason. As a child, he created an imaginary world where personified animals came to life, and later, he wrote the book, Chronicles of Narnia. How did he transform from a boy fascinated with anthropomorphic animals into a man of immense faith? His transformation to the Christian religion happened as his fame began to flourish. People wrote him, asking him about his claims about the truth of Christianity (Belmonte, Kevin). As I attended the drama of Freud’s Last Session, I was engrossed into the plot of the play and was constantly thinking about how it pertained to the objectives of the World Literature class. I not only connected the content of the play to its context, but I also reached out to apply the context to a discussion on a broader scale. I then discovered why the context of literature is imperative for true understanding of the w...
In C.S. Lewis’ essays Learning in War Time and On Living in an Atomic Age there is a reoccurring theme. The theme displayed in both essays was not to be distracted in times of crisis and continue living. Lewis believes one must work through the threats faced in this world. Working and living through these times consists of one acting to the fullest humanistic potential. The humanistic acts Lewis believes one should abide by are to enjoy life, to seek knowledge, to question everything, and discover the power of the “Creator,” God. Following the route mapped out by God will lead us to a fulfilling life ending when He is ready for us in His kingdom. God’s Divine Providence is what upholds our natural world. One must ignore the threats of life and focus on God’s Divine Providence.
...re imaginative and child friendly. These stories had many of the same dilemmas and faced many of the same challenges. They both had to do with innocence, betrayal, and temptation. C.S. Lewis’s work was defiantly reflective of the Bible, but it fit better with the times, and the people. This trend of using fiction as a device to spread messages, like religion, has been used, is being used, and will continue to be used in the future. In the end the stories are different, but the messages are all the same.
There are several aspects to consider when exploring the Christian worldview. There are many facets or denominations and they each have their own distinct beliefs and practices, but they all share the same fundamental beliefs. In this Paper we will explore the character of God, His creation, humanity and its nature, Jesus’ significance to the world, and the restoration of humanity, as well as my beliefs and the way that I interact with Christianity and my personal worldview.
The Chronicles of Narnia are veritably the most popular writings of C.S. Lewis. They are known as children’s fantasy literature, and have found favor in older students and adults alike, even many Christian theologians enjoy these stories from Lewis; for there are many spiritual truths that one can gleam from them, if familiar with the Bible. However, having said this, it is noteworthy to say that Lewis did not scribe these Chronicles for allegorical didactics of the Christian faith, but wrote them in such a well-knit fashion that young readers might understand Christian doctrine through captivating fantasy and thus gain an appreciation for it. With this in mind, and in the interest of this assignment, the purpose of this paper is an attempt to analyze one of the many doctrines of the Christian faith from The Lion, The Witch, And, The Wardrobe (LWW), namely, temptation and how Lewis illustrates it through an individual character, Edmund.
Abigail’s false accusation regarding his wife makes John so angry that in a fit of frustration he publicly shouts some atheist remarks.
... much human conflict and evil in the world. He concludes from one of his most famous novels that we have already conquered the earth and that we can gain nothing more from it except for violence. Because of this reason Lewis says that we should learn stop the wars and politics and just work together to make this world a better place.
C.S. Lewis uses a secondary world, Narnia, to convey complex, thought-provoking messages to readers of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. This paper examines the way a selection of Narnia's key characteristics prompt debates over logic and faith, comment on the nature of spiritual and metaphysical journeys, allow readers to broaden their conception of their own capabilities, encourage new reflection on the story of Christ and help to clarify conceptions of good and evil.