The Theology of C.S. Lewis

The Theology of C.S. Lewis

Despite his status as one of the most influential and intelligent Christian authors of the 20th century, C.S. Lewis never thought of himself as a professional theologian. While he was well-read in many types of literary genres, he did not go to Seminary to obtain a Masters in Theology and study a year of Old Testament Hebrew and New Testament Greek. He was not a Pastor who preached sermons to a congregation for many years but a raw, honest philosopher and professor of literature who wrote as well as any Christian could. He had a gift for clearly articulating his perspectives on a variety of issues as they related to Christianity. Above all, he was humble, in that he had an honest evaluation of both his strengths and his weaknesses. I believe this is one of the main reasons why he is still so enjoyable to read even after all these years.

In terms of his theology, Lewis himself said he was an â€œAnglican but not especially â€˜high,â€™ nor especially â€˜low,â€™ nor especially anything else.â€ So the theology of C.S. Lewis is not something one can immediately discover by simply perusing a certain book of his to see exactly where he stands on certain doctrinal issues; it is much more subtle and convoluted than that. But in this book, I tried to do exactly that by piecing together his different thoughts from his many books about certain Christian doctrines and topics. Lewis has written nearly 60 books but none of them are on systematic theology. So depending on the topic, his theology is better defined in certain chapters compared to others. For example, chapter 3 offers very clear depictions of his theology concerning subjects such as the Doctrine of Inspiration, Original Sin, Human Depravity, Human Origins, Evolution, and Intelligent Design. However, in other chapters, it is more difficult to pinpoint his beliefs as some of them changed over the course of his life. As an example, much of Lewisâ€™ philosophical beliefs on heaven and hell are contained in books like The Great Divorce, which is more of an allegorical type of book. So in chapter 4 you will find many quotes taken from this book (as well as his book The Weight of Glory), where I summarize what he said about the eternity.

So, if you want to know about Lewisâ€™ theology regarding how Godâ€™s nature relates to theodicy (i.e. how a good God could allow evil and suffering to occur), then you may want to really dig deep into Chapter 1 where I thoroughly explain this using his book, The Problem of Pain, as my primary guide. If you want to understand what Lewis thought about how God designed and intended love, marriage, and fidelity to work, then you may want to read chapter 2. Chapter 5 is about the theology of redemption, grace, and new creation that Lewis paints for his readers in his Chronicles of Narnia series. Chapter 6 contains perhaps the most controversial details of Lewisâ€™ life: his authentic reaction to God after his wifeâ€™s death. Chapter 7 contains all of his greatest quotes arranged and sorted by topic. The Appendix contains excerpts, quotes, and summaries from most of his books in a quick, easy-to-read, bullet-point format. These last two sections are a particularly great resource to draw from as you can quickly learn about the main points Lewis conveys in his bestselling books.

At the end of reading this, I hope you are blessed by the insight and beauty Lewis conveys as his words seep into your soul making you more of the transformed person in Christ, God intends for you to be. I hope it helps you realize there is a greater story you can be a part of: the story of God. I hope you recognize your own gifts, talents, opportunities, and resources so you can be awakened to how you, yes you, can participate in what God has been doing to redeem and heal this lost and broken world. (Check out Kevin's YouTube channel www.3-ology.com)
Country USA
Author Kevin Livermore
Binding Kindle Edition
Edition 3
Format Kindle eBook
IsAdultProduct
NumberOfPages 182
PublicationDate 2016-07-18
ReleaseDate 2016-07-18

Country	USA
Author	Kevin Livermore
Binding	Kindle Edition
Edition	3
Format	Kindle eBook
IsAdultProduct
NumberOfPages	182
PublicationDate	2016-07-18
ReleaseDate	2016-07-18