The Jollyblogger has an outstanding post on reading C.S. Lewis. Read it all.
David writes,
"What I find in Lewis is a confident faith which is not threatened by other religions or anti-religion. This is a refreshing alternative to fear-driven faith. "
That, in a nutshell, is the major contribution C.S. Lewis made to my life. He taught me that Christianity has nothing to fear from atheism. Though I never lost faith in Christ, my faith was a fear-driven faith in a number of ways. One of my fears was that Carl Sagan was right and that nihilism was ultimately true. ( note: Sagan was not a nihilist, but I would argue his worldview logically leads to nihilism ). I feared to look for the truth because of where it might lead. In Lewis, I found someone who had lived, read, and felt the full force of atheistic arguments and found them unthreatening. He did not dismiss the arguments of atheism like I think some Christians are prone to do today (e.g. fideists). Lewis took the arguments seriously and showed why they don't work.
Pastor Wayne, in his evaluation of Lewis, also makes a compelling point about friendship and plausibility structures. Plausibility structures are those group (or community) beliefs that define the realm of what is possibly true. Wayne writes,
Lewis was a committed atheist, but chinks in the armor came when several friends and others he respected either embraced the Christian faith or leaned in it's direction. These things perplexed Lewis, but it also seems that these friends and respected colleagues paved the way for him to (re)consider the Christian faith.
After interviewing a number of people for membership in our church this past Sunday, I was struck again by the role that friends play in shaping our ultimate beliefs. The obvious challenge before us as Christians is to not isolate ourselves from the world. We must be intentional about befriending those outside the church. Neglecting this hurts the church, and it also hurts our own growth and sanctification. That's right, I think my unchurched friends help me be a more compassionate Christian and less insular person. How many unchurched friends do you have? If the answer is none, how are you going to change that?
What on Earth is a committed atheist?
Posted by: Rob Ryan | December 04, 2007 at 21:23
i couldn't agree with you more re not leading an isolated/insulated life (from the world). as a pastor's wife, it has been a challenge, but often work has provided the outlet i needed. it gets me mixed up with the "real" world so i can remember what our true issues are. (not the color of drapes at church, who is teaching which class or who is/is not getting along.) the true issue is that we are here to glorify God is all of life and be salt and light in a world that needs Christ so much. when i get insulated from the people who are totally lost, i get better perspective on those that are in the process of sanctification...or are trying to fake it. i even get better perspective on my own failings.
it is nice to have a job (nurse) that is also tied to mercy so i literally am offering the love and comfort of Christ to people who need it...sometimes they are fellow believers, often they are not. all are needy just the same. m
Posted by: martha10 | December 05, 2007 at 10:04
I tyhink it is greatr that faith has been improved.I have some non christian friends and I find it is easear for me to do wrong when Iam around them.
Posted by: cboy | December 05, 2007 at 17:02
Jeff - many thanks for the link and kind words and for enhancing the discussion with your own thoughts.
Posted by: David Wayne | December 05, 2007 at 17:25