The
Problem of Pain
Man
evolved from animals. Theistic
evolution.
"For
long centuries God perfected the
animal form which was to become the
vehicle of humanity and the image of
Himself" (p.177). This is
gross blaspheme! Genesis
2:7 And the LORD God formed man of
the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; and man became a
living soul. Genesis
1:27 So God created man in his own
image, in the image of God created
he him; male and female created he
them. This
man obviously considered God a liar!
If
man is totally depraved, then
Christianity is a form of devil
worship
"…
when the consequence is drawn that,
since we are totally depraved, our
idea of good is worth simply
nothing--may thus turn Christianity
into a form of devil worship"
(pp.37-38) Isaiah
64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing,
and all our righteousnesses are
as filthy rags; and we all do fade
as a leaf; and our iniquities, like
the wind, have taken us away.
(On page 66, Lewis
claims that man cannot be totally
depraved because if we were, we
would not know we are, and because
experience shows that there is much
good in human nature. His logic is
circular.)
-Our
goodness is not that different
from God's
The
divine goodness differs "from
ours not as white and black but as a
perfect circle from a child's first
attempt to draw a wheel" (p.39)
Isaiah
55:8 For my thoughts are not
your thoughts, neither are
your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9
For as the heavens are higher
than the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts. See
verse above also. If there
isn't a black and white difference
between our good and God's, then
what on earth did we need a Saviour
for? Also, notice that he uses
the circle to represent goodness.
If it were not for his fantasy
books that open up his occultic and
pagan thinking so clearly for us to
observe, this would not mean much
probably. However, in light of
other things, the use of this
symbolism is highly suspicious.
According to J. E. Cirlot's A
Dictionary of Symbolism (p.
46-47) the circle frequently
represents the sun and also can
"stand for heaven and
perfection…" Thus, Lewis uses
it to represent divine goodness.
-
The Bible
contains myths. "I
have the deepest respect for Pagan
myths, still more for myths in the
Holy Scriptures" (p.71). Lewis
believed that all myths point toward
God and therefore pagan myths could
be "respected." He
believed that the some of the
"myths" in the Bible were
true, such as Jesus' life, while
others were not, such as creation.
Revelation
22:19 And if any man shall take away
from the words of the book of this
prophecy, God shall take away his
part out of the book of life, and
out of the holy city, and from
the things which are written in this
book. By
taking away from God's words like
this, he openly showed himself to be
an unbeliever. John
14:24 He that loveth me not keepeth
not my sayings: and the word which
ye hear is not mine, but the
Father's which sent me.
No man that loves
Jesus Christ talks this way about
His revelation!
Humans
attributed creation to God
"If
the universe is so bad…how on
earth did human beings ever come to
attribute it to the activity of a
wise and good Creator?" This
statement in effect denies the fact
that God had revealed Himself to
people from the very beginning. Did
Cain, Abel and Seth need to
"attribute" the universe
to a Creator when they could hear
the story directly from the mouths
of their parents? Genesis
1:1 In the beginning God created the
heaven and the earth. Psalm 145:4
One generation shall praise thy
works to another, and shall declare
thy mighty acts. His
presupposition comes from the
mistake of believing man evolved,
rather than believing the literal
creation as given in scripture.
Pure
love from God is a future thing, not
a present fact
"When
we are such as He can love without
impediment, we shall in fact be
happy." [Emphasis added.] If he
is talking here in the future tense
as it appears from this quote, then
he did not believe that God loves us
here and now "without
impediment". Romans
8:38 For I am persuaded, that
neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any
other creature, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1John 4:19 We
love him, because he first loved us.
And speaking of removed
"impediments" - this
passage sounds like it's all done - Revelation
1:5 And from Jesus Christ, who is
the faithful witness, and the
first begotten of the dead, and the
prince of the kings of the earth.
Unto him that loved us, and
washed us from our sins in his own
blood, 6 And hath
made us kings and priests
unto God and his Father; to him be
glory and dominion for ever and
ever. Amen. John was
speaking in the present tense though
he was still on this earth. He was
also speaking to people who still
suffered from the infinities of the
flesh. I'm reminded of the Mennonite
couplet - "Near, so very near
to God, Nearer I could not be; For
in the person of His Son, I'm just
as near as He." Romans
8:16 The Spirit itself beareth
witness with our spirit, that we are
the children of God: 17 And if
children, then heirs; heirs of God,
and joint-heirs with Christ…
Implication
that Christ was a created being
"When
God becomes a Man and lives as a
creature among His own creatures
in Palestine, then indeed His life
is one of supreme self-sacrifice and
leads to Calvary." This is
reminiscent of the Jehovah's Witness
heresy that Christ was a created
being. I wouldn't call this an
outright statement, but it could
certainly be interpreted this way.
John 1:1 In
the beginning was the Word, and the
Word was with God, and the Word was
God. 2 The same was in the beginning
with God. 3 All things were made by
him; and without him was not any
thing made that was made.
Reflections
on the Psalms --
Lewis
Accepted that the
Genesis account came from pagan
myths
"I
have therefore no difficulty
accepting, say, the view of those
scholars who tell us that the
account of Creation in Genesis is
derived from earlier Semitic stories
which were Pagan and mythical."
(p.110) Deuteronomy
4:2 Ye shall not add unto the word
which I command you, neither shall
ye diminish ought from it,
that ye may keep the commandments of
the LORD your God which I command
you. Colossians 1:16 For
by him were all things created, that
are in heaven, and that are in
earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones, or
dominions, or principalities, or
powers: all things were created by
him, and for him: 17 And he is
before all things, and by him all
things consist.
Man
is an animal
"…but
he (man) remains still a primate and
an animal." (p. 115, 129) Genesis
2:7 And the LORD God formed man of
the dust of the ground, and
breathed into his nostrils the
breath of life; and man became a
living soul.
-Job
is "unhistorical."
(p. 110)
Psalm
119:160 Thy word is true from
the beginning: and every one of
thy righteous judgments endureth
for ever.
There
is error in the Bible
(pp.110 and 112)
Proverbs
30:5 Every word of God is pure:
he is a shield unto them that
put their trust in him.
-The
Bible "carries" the word
of God but is "human
material…" (pp.110,112)
2Timothy
3:16 All scripture is given
by inspiration of God…
2Peter 1:21 For the prophecy came
not in old time by the will of man:
but holy men of God spake as they
were moved by the Holy Ghost.
-Christ
fulfilled Paganism
"…as
I believe, Christ,…fulfills both
Paganism and Judaism…" (p.
129) Matthew
5:17 Think not that I am come to
destroy the law, or the prophets: I
am not come to destroy, but to
fulfil. Lewis'
belief regarding this is complete
and total blasphemy! He could
not have been saved!
Plato
was a theological genius
He says
that Plato was "an overwhelming
theological genius." (p.80)
This fits with his perverted
ideas of paganism being the
"childhood" of religion
and Christ fulfilling paganism.
He obviously could not tell
God's truth from Satan's lies if his
soul depended on it, and it did. Proverbs
15:2 The tongue of the wise useth
knowledge aright: but the mouth of
fools poureth out foolishness.
The
Screwtape Letters
God
rewards people for doing evil
because they were doing the best
they knew.
God
"often makes prizes of humans
who have given their lives for
causes He thinks bad on the
monstrously sophistical ground that
the humans thought them good and
were following the best they
knew" (p.26) Lewis needed
this devilish doctrine to excuse
himself.
Ecclesiastes
2:26 For God giveth to a man
that is good in his sight
wisdom, and knowledge, and joy: but
to the sinner he giveth travail, to
gather and to heap up, that he may
give to him that is good
before God. This also is
vanity and vexation of spirit.
Adolf Hitler, Lenin and
Mao Tse Dong certainly thought what
they were doing was good. They
even had those that thought so with
them, especially Hitler. Does
this mean that God made prizes of
them!?
The
World's Last Night
Men
are not worth dying for
"Christ
died for men precisely because men
are not worth dying for; to make
them worth it." It has been
said that the theme of the Bible is
Jesus Christ, yet within that and
close to the heart of that is the
theme of God seeking to restore
fellowship between Himself and His
fallen creation, man. Could it be
possible that man was not worth it?
John
3:16 For God so loved the world,
that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him
should not perish, but have
everlasting life. 17 For God sent
not his Son into the world to
condemn the world; but that the
world through him might be saved.
Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his
love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for
us. 9 Much more then, being now
justified by his blood, we shall be
saved from wrath through him. 10 For
if, when we were enemies, we were
reconciled to God by the death of
his Son, much more, being
reconciled, we shall be saved by his
life. Note that God loved
us while we were yet sinners and
enemies of God! 1John
4:19 We love him, because he first
loved us. God loved man
so much that He was willing to make
the ultimate sacrifice, not to make
man worth it, but because man was
worth that to God, for in the
beginning …God
saw every thing that he had made,
and, behold, it was very
good… Genesis 1:31
The
Abolition of Man
To
be truly human you must participate
in the Tao
He
said of the Tao, which is from
Chinese mysticism, that it is
"the concrete reality in which
to participate is to be truly
human." Genesis
2:7 And the LORD God formed man of
the dust of the ground, and breathed
into his nostrils the breath of
life; and man became a living soul. Lewis
believed that we were evolving
upward, so it would "make
sense" to him that one could
become more fully human!
Man
is a species with saving instincts
(as defined by evolution)
"The
preservation of society, and of the
species itself, are ends that do not
hang on the precarious thread of
Reason: they are given by
Instinct." Note verses
above and below. David tells us -
Psalm 139:14,
I will praise thee; for I am
fearfully and wonderfully made:
marvellous are thy works; and
that my soul knoweth right
well. And again, Psalm
8:4 What is man, that thou art
mindful of him? and the son of man,
that thou visitest him? Ps 8:5 For
thou hast made him a little lower
than the angels, and hast crowned
him with glory and honour. We
are not preserved by Instinct, we
are preserved by the mercy of God.
Lamentations
3:22, It is of the LORD'S
mercies that we are not consumed,
because his compassions fail not.
Apparently
- Man is governed by an "animal
organism" which must be control
through the emotions.
"Without
the aid of trained emotions the
intellect is powerless against the
animal organism." Romans
7:24 O wretched man that I am! who
shall deliver me from the body of
this death? 25 I thank God through
Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with
the mind I myself serve the law of
God; but with the flesh the law of
sin. Only through Christ
can we overcome the sin nature -
which is not an animal organism. 1Corinthians
15:39 All flesh is not the
same flesh: but there is one kind
of flesh of men, another flesh
of beasts, another of fishes, and
another of birds.
Man
does not necessarily have dominion
over God's creation
"Man's
conquest of Nature turns out, in the
moment of its consummation, to be
Nature's conquest of Man."
"What we call Man's power over
Nature turns out to be a power
exercised by some men over other men
with Nature as its instrument."
Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us
make man in our image, after our
likeness: and let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over the
cattle, and over all the earth, and
over every creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God
created man in his own image,
in the image of God created he him;
male and female created he them. 28
And God blessed them, and God said
unto them, Be fruitful, and
multiply, and replenish the earth,
and subdue it: and have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over
the fowl of the air, and over every
living thing that moveth upon the
earth.
Modern
science is mostly based upon a love
of truth
"No
doubt those who really founded
modern science were usually those
whose love of truth exceeded their
love of power." As we too
well know, modern science is all too
often in opposition with the truth
of God which is His word (John
17:17). 1Timothy
6:20 O Timothy, keep that which is
committed to thy trust, avoiding
profane and vain babblings,
and oppositions of science falsely
so called: 21 Which some professing
have erred concerning the faith.
Grace be with thee. Amen. Colosians
2:8 Beware lest any man spoil you
through philosophy and vain deceit,
after the tradition of men, after
the rudiments of the world, and not
after Christ. [Philo -
sophy -- means "love of
wisdom".)
Other
heresies of Lewis:
Says
Christ's death was not a
substitution for us, but rather
something like the Roman Catholic
idea of the storing-up grace
1Corinthians
5:7 …For even Christ our passover
is sacrificed for us:
Apollo
is probably a lower species of
Christ, and could probably be prayed
to as such
Perhaps
the most spiritually damning and
revealing statement that Lewis ever
made is quoted in C.S. Lewis: A
Biography, by Roger Lancelyn
Green. On page 276, Green
gives us the quote. Lewis and
his ill wife were on a trip when
Lewis stated, "I had some ado
to prevent Joy and myself from
relapsing into Paganism in Attica!
At Daphni it was hard not to
pray to Apollo the Healer. But
somehow one didn't feel it would
have been very wrong - would have
only been addressing Christ sub
specie Apollinis." Dear
reader, this man could not possibly
be saved!!! Anyone that could
even entertain the idea that Apollos,
the pagan sun deity, was a
lower form of Christ, and could be
prayed to as such, could not possibly
know the Lord Jesus Christ as his
Saviour! No doubt Lewis could
explain this all away by references
to the Sun of righteousness with
healing in his wings in Malachi 4:2
, but the fact that Apollos bears a
similar description does not prove
that he was something akin to the
only begotten Son of God. Rather,
it proves that Apollos is an
anti-Christ! The Christ that C.S.
Lewis worshipped was not the Christ
of the holy scriptures, but some
pagan deity that he conjured up out
of his myth laden imagination.
Exodus
34:14 For thou shalt worship no
other god: for the LORD, whose name is
Jealous, is a jealous God:
Isaiah 42:8 I am the LORD:
that is my name: and my glory
will I not give to another, neither
my praise to graven images.
Romans
1:20 For the invisible things of him
from the creation of the world are
clearly seen, being understood by
the things that are made, even
his eternal power and Godhead; so
that they are without excuse: 21
Because that, when they knew God,
they glorified him not as
God, neither were thankful; but
became vain in their imaginations,
and their foolish heart was
darkened. 22 Professing themselves
to be wise, they became fools, 23
And changed the glory of the
uncorruptible God into an image made
like to corruptible man, and to
birds, and fourfooted beasts, and
creeping things. 24 Wherefore God
also gave them up to uncleanness
through the lusts of their own
hearts, to dishonour their own
bodies between themselves: 25 Who
changed the truth of God into a lie,
and worshipped and served the
creature more than the Creator, who
is blessed for ever. Amen.
2Peter
2:3 And through covetousness shall
they with feigned words make
merchandise of you: whose judgment
now of a long time lingereth not,
and their damnation slumbereth not. Amen
and Amen!
SOURCE
-----------
"Clive
Staples Lewis was anything but a
classic evangelical, socially or
theologically. He smoked cigarettes
and a pipe, and he regularly visited
pubs to drink beer with friends.
Though he shared basic Christian
beliefs with evangelicals, he didn't
subscribe to biblical inerrancy or
penal substitution. He believed in
purgatory and baptismal
regeneration. How did someone with
such a checkered pedigree come to be
a theological Elvis Presley, adored
by evangelicals?" -Christianity
Today, C.S.
Lewis Superstar, by Bob
Smietana (December
2005, Vol.
49, No.
12, Page
28).
Surprised
by Joy, written by C.S. Lewis, documents
his supposed conversion to
Christianity. This webpage
analyzes some of Lewis' beliefs.
"Lewis
takes the entire book [Surprised
by Joy] to get to theism and
unpacks it carefully, but his
actual movement to Christ happens
in about two or three sentences.
That is all he says. At the end of
the day, Lewis believed that in
Christianity you are confronted
with a person that you either say
yes to or no to…"
[Quote from Christianity Today,
December 2005 C.
S. Lewis Superstar by Bob
Smietana.]