Integration Essay

C.S. Lewis and The Reformed Vision

In my Developing a Christian Mind section titled C.S. Lewis: Integrating Reason, Imagination and Faith we learned about many different topics. As we went through the course we read several different readings from C.S. Lewis, along with the book Engaging God’s World by Neal Plantinga. There are several topics from both Lewis and Plantinga that complement each other and shed new light on a topic. In the writings by Lewis he discusses many subjects from theology, to education, and problems of society. To explain everything that we went through in this class would take about 10 essays, so I will just select a few issues to highlight. The first topic I will discuss is Plantinga’s description of vocation, compared with Lewis discussing a college education in the essay “Our English Syllabus”. The second topic I will go over is sin and the idea of total depravity in Plantinga, along with the book the Screwtape Letters by Lewis. Finally, the third topic I will be discussing is not about any connections between the two, but more about other important life issues we encountered throughout all of the writings by C.S. Lewis. These issues have consequential implications for all Christians and made this course into a great learning experience. It is important to note that similarities between the two may not always be seen on the surface but Lewis always writes with a sense of deeper meaning.

In Plantinga’s chapter on vocation he explains how a career and a vocation are things that are very different from each other. To God it is not important that we pick the perfect career or that we are the best in our field of work. The only thing that is important is that we are glorifying God in any career that we do choose. For example, when I first came to Calvin I thought that I wanted to be a doctor and that was my calling. I realized that even though I am good at science this was not something that I wanted to do the rest of my life. Now I am a business major and I hope that this is where God wants me to be. The important thing to remember is that to God it does not matter, because as long as I am serving him to the best of my abilities God will bless me throughout my life. Lewis in “Our English Syllabus” explains the great importance of getting an education. It is during this education where our vocation begins to develop. During our college education we do not have to think about a career or trying to survive in the world. The only thing we have to worry about is learning.

In chapter three of Engaging God’s World Plantinga writes about evil and sin. He points out that evil and sin are different things and that every sin is evil but every evil is not a sin. Another issue he brings up is that of total depravity which says that everything that we do is corrupted but through God it is made well again. Evil includes all that is wrong with our world, from murder to the recent earthquake in Haiti. God did not bring this sin upon us, we brought it upon ourselves and as such there is only one way to defeat it. Lewis in his writings ponders sin on many different levels. One of his quotes that I find very profound is this, “He must not be allowed to suspect that he is now, however slowly, heading right away from the sun on a line which will carry him into the cold and dark of utmost space.” (Screwtape Letters, letter XII) In this quote Lewis is saying that the path to hell is a gradual one and it is not one big sin that will lead a person to hell. The act of repeated sins will slowly but surely tear away at a person’s faith and ultimately lead someone completely out of God’s presence. The devil knows our weaknesses very well and looks to exploit them at any opportunity. For this purpose we have to recognize when the devil is tempting us and resist against it. Of course this is easier said than done, but the Lord will always be by our side.

One essay that I especially enjoyed was titled “The Weight of Glory” and it brought up many very interesting observations. This quote was one of my favorites, “But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit-immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.” Lewis is saying that we have to think of all people as being immortal. I had never thought about that idea in such a sense before. Every person I come in contact with is going to live forever; whether that be an eternity in heaven or hell, I do not know. Everything I say and do, good or bad, could have an effect on that person’s soul and that will remain there into eternity. I have always known that everyone will either go to heaven or hell but it has been sort of a second thought. It is weird thinking of everyone as immortal beings but it definitely changes the perspective of how people should look at each other. As Plantinga points out in Chapter 4 we have all been given the right of a “double grace”. Christ has given us justification and sanctification if we have faith in him. This quote tells us how important this double grace is, “As Calvin says repeatedly, the double grace releases us, relieves us, redeems us. (Plantinga 92)

Another writing that really struck me was “The Poison of Subjectivism.” Subjectivism is described in simple terms as altering or inventing new moral values other than the innate moral law that is in all humans. The moral law of humans is the concept that all people know that certain things are simply wrong. These could be murder, rape, stealing, and more. To change these is when humans run into their problems. Lewis thinks that this is one of the most dangerous parts of modern society. An example of subjectivism took place with the Nazis and Hitler. When Hitler first took over Germany he wanted to give a reason for his country’s problems, so he blamed the Jews. He made it so that terrorizing and even killing Jews was not against the laws of society and this eventually lead to the Holocaust. This is an extreme example but it shows the major problems subjectivism can cause. I have a quote from Lewis that gives another perspective, “If we once admit that God means by “goodness” is sheerly different from what we judge to be good there is no difference left between pure religion and devil worship.” (Poison of Subjectivism) It is saying that the innate moral law built into all humans is what we have to follow and by changing that it is as if a person is going against God and worshiping the devil.

In conclusion, I think that an immense amount of knowledge and insights can be gained from reading just a small amount of the writings of C.S. Lewis. Plantinga and Lewis go side by side fairly well together, as they agree on many points. I never have studied one man so intensely and in depth like I did in this class. What is really impressive however is that with many other people, to spend that amount of time studying there works would be a waste of time, but we barely scratched the surface of what C.S. Lewis did in his lifetime. It is truly incredible that a man who wrote essays 60 or 70 years ago and they are still relevant to modern society. I did not even have the chance to cover half the topics we discussed in class in this essay. We also read about being in love, times of war, struggling with justice, having a right to happiness, and several other subjects. There are some points when I was reading Lewis where I just did not understand what he is saying at first. If I went back and read it three or four more times, then I would begin to see what he was trying to say. His writings are those that can be read over and over again as our Professors reminded us. They have been teaching the class for 10 years but still learn new things from his writings every year. It is truly amazing how C.S. Lewis can open up our minds to new thoughts and revelations. He helps us to broaden our faith, to live in society, conquer grief, learn about love, and so much more. I will end with one of my favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.” (Mere Christianity)


Works Cited
Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity. 1952
Lewis, C.S. “Our English Syllabus” 1939
Lewis, C.S. Screwtape Letters. 1942
Lewis, C.S. “The Poison of Subjectivism” May, 1933
Lewis, C.S. “The Weight of Glory.” Theology, November 1941.
Plantinga, Cornelius Jr. Engaging God’s World: A Reformed Vision of Faith, Learning, and Living. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.