Christian Reflections
Essay title: Christian Reflections
Christianity and Literature
Lewis here writes about Christianity and literature, specifically what is Christian literature and how does it differ with secular literature. He read this paper to a religious society at Oxford fairly early in his Christian walk. The question he seems to be answering is, “What is Christian literature?” His main argument is that the rules for good literature are the same for both Christian and non-Christian. He writes, “The rules for writing a good passion play or a good devotional lyric are simply the rules for writing tragedy or lyric in general;” He goes on to use a typical Lewisian styly argument by discussing a Christian cook book, “Boiling an egg is the same process whether you are a Christian or a Pagan.”
He then adds to his argument a very important point, that the Christian view of literature must be that attitude of excellence. He uses two points, “I admit freely that to believe in the Incarnation at all is to believe that every mode of human excellence is implicity in His historical human character: poethood, of course, included.” His second point goes with this one, “Applying this principle to literature, in its greatest generality, we should get as the basis of all critical theory the maxim that an author should never conceive himself as bringing into existence beauty or wisdom which did nor exist before, but simply and solely as trying to embody in terms of his own art some reflection of eternal Beauty and Wisdom.” As we look at both of these points his argument becomes clear, we are to reflect the image of Christs character and beauty in the literature we write.
Lewis wrote about this concept in Letters of C. S. Lewis “Creation as applied to human authorship seems to me to be an entirely misleading term. We rearrange elements He has provided. There is not a vestige of real creativity de novo in us.”
Lewis argument is quite sound here. It works well with the intended audience. I found his insights to be helpful in understanding true creativity. That which flows from us is truly creative when we reflect Christs image best.
Christianity and Culture
What is the value of culture? This is the question that Lewis is addressing in this essay. He wrote this collection of papers for a periodical called Theology. They were published in March 1940. He seems to have wrestled with the amount of attention he should be giving to culture because of his faith. Was culture a means of salvation? That is to say is the more cultured person more able to understand the claims of the gospel and come to faith in Christ? Or is the other way around? The cultural minded person is less able to come to Christ and he must lay down all of his cultural understanding to come to Christ?
The argument he is putting forward goes something like this, culture is a reflection of Christian values. These values are not explicitly the same as Christian virtues, they are shadows or remembrances of the real thing. The illustrations he uses are very good. He says, “They resemble the regenerate life only as affection resembles charity, or honour resembles virtue, or the moon the sun. But though the like is not the same, it is better than unlike.” In this sense culture can be an instrument of salvation for some, though not all. This will also give a good reason for the pursuit of a better cultural understanding, through the understanding of culture we better understand how the biblical truths become relevant in society.
His argument seems to me to be sound. He is addressing people who are interested in theology and he is making a strong theological argument. As far as problems or weaknesses in it I would say I wished he held to the total depravity of man because from my own perspective I dont see that as a contradiction to what he is saying. We from a reformed perspective do believe that man still shows forth in some degree the Glory of God. This doesnt mean the same thing as total depravity which I think Lewis assumes it does. In Lewis mind I think he would say that if man was totally depraved there would not be any of the image of God left in him. I just think Lewis didnt completely understand the reformed position.
Religion: Reality of Substitute
What is real and what is the substitute? That is the question Lewis is trying to answer here. He isnt really dealing with the issue of communion versus the Jewish sacrificial system, what he is dealing with is the spiritual realm and the physical realm of life in general. He is speaking about our Christian faith. Is what we believe real or what we perceive the real thing.