{"id":32072,"date":"2022-09-10T15:55:11","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:55:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/5-reasons-c-s-lewis-is-even-more-relevant-now-than-you-realize\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:55:11","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:55:11","slug":"5-reasons-c-s-lewis-is-even-more-relevant-now-than-you-realize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/5-reasons-c-s-lewis-is-even-more-relevant-now-than-you-realize\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons C.S. Lewis Is Even More Relevant Now Than You Realize"},"content":{"rendered":"
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C.S. Lewis – Flickr<\/em><\/div>\n

By Carolyn Curtis<\/em><\/p>\n

Famed Christian author C.S. Lewis is back in the news with the recent announcement that Netflix will be adapting his well-loved series, The Chronicles of Narnia<\/em>, for the streaming platform.<\/p>\n

But is Lewis \u201crelatable\u201d to people today? Do you reach for one of his pithy\u2014and often amusing\u2014quotes to wake up your listeners? Or do you secretly wonder if C.S. Lewis, as a person, really had life experiences we can learn from today?<\/p>\n

Confession: I find Lewis\u2019 life as a man even more fascinating than his writings. Research for my latest book, Women and C.S. Lewis: What His Life and Literature Reveal for Today\u2019s Culture<\/em>, brought to light circumstances he experienced, which I mistakenly thought were problems confined to our 21st century. Five examples:<\/p>\n

C.S. Lewis faced workplace discrimination due to his faith.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Hard to believe but true: C.S. Lewis suffered from what today we call \u201cworkplace discrimination.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although Lewis was becoming world-famous for his books explaining the Christian faith, Oxford University management was slightly embarrassed, so they passed him over time and again for promotions.<\/p>\n

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Eventually (and with some anonymous nudging by his best friend, J.R.R. Tolkien), Oxford\u2019s rival, Cambridge University realized what a valuable asset Lewis would be to its literature department. Cambridge created<\/em> a chairmanship for Lewis in his area of expertise: Renaissance and Medieval Literature. So it was Oxford\u2019s loss, but Cambridge\u2019s gain.<\/p>\n

C.S. Lewis had to consider political entanglements with his faith.<\/h3>\n

Lewis and Winston Churchill were featured on BBC broadcasts during WWII. Citizens needed encouragement from Lewis, who advised his fellow Britons to turn to the Lord, and from the prime minister, who spoke on patriotism and coming to terms with their frightful predicament.<\/p>\n

Churchill reached out to Lewis with the offer of a coveted OBE or Order of the British Empire. Were Lewis to have accepted, he would have been recognized by his nation with the highest honor next to knighthood.<\/p>\n

But Lewis declined Churchill\u2019s offer. While he said the honor would be \u201chighly agreeable\u201d to him personally, he expressed concern receiving a political honor from Churchill might taint his credibility with readers and listeners who disagreed with the Prime Minister\u2019s politics and undermine his ability to effectively communicate Christianity to everyone.<\/p>\n

C.<\/strong>S. Lewis faced accusations of sexism.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Lewis and Tolkien formed a literary group, The Inklings, with two criteria for joining: having faith in Christ and being active writers.<\/p>\n

This group of all men is a problem, according to several influential critics, such as Harry Potter<\/em> author J.K. Rowling. I researched this accusation by Rowling and others while writing Women and C.S. Lewis<\/em>.<\/p>\n

I learned that Lewis was actually ahead of his time<\/em> in his treatment of women \u2013 both in his personal life and in his writings. Contributors to Women and C.S. Lewis<\/em> explore his close friendships with Dorothy L. Sayers, Sister Penelope, and Ruth Pitter, all fellow writers who Lewis said encouraged them (and vice versa). His visits and correspondence with such acclaimed women demonstrate his deep respect for them.<\/p>\n

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See also  8 Ways to Persevere in Ministry<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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One fact in his favor you probably already considered: Lewis\u2019s Narnia character, Lucy, is the one who first realizes the true identity of Aslan, not one of her male siblings. In another fiction book, Til We Have Faces<\/em>, Lewis writes in first person \u2013 using a woman\u2019s voice \u2013 something many male authors of his day considered beneath them.<\/p>\n

C.S. Lewis had loved ones who scorned his faith.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

It certainly was not his wife, Joy Davidman Gresham, whose brilliant mind he described as \u201cmuscular\u201d \u2014high praise from Lewis. With her impressive educational and literary background, Joy is a major point for demonstrating that Lewis was no sexist, certainly not a misogynist.<\/p>\n

However, before he married Joy, he shared a home with Mrs. Janie Moore, whom he described in a letter to his friend, Sister Penelope, as the woman \u201cI call my mother and live with (she is really the mother of a friend) \u2013 an unbeliever, ill, old, frightened\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Mrs. Moore was a bit of a shrew. Women and C.S. Lewis<\/em> fleshes this out more, but she ridiculed Christianity, calling what today we mean by The Lord\u2019s Supper \u201ca blood feast,\u201d plus other insults, despite her knowledge of Lewis\u2019 fame as a successful lecturer and author on understanding the walk of faith.<\/p>\n

In spite of this, Lewis treated her respectfully, later even visiting her daily in a nursing home when she was so deep into dementia that it is doubtful she even knew he was her faithful visitor.<\/p>\n

C.<\/strong>S. Lewis spent much of his early life as an atheist.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

People unaware of his story seem surprised that Lewis considered himself an atheist from age nine until his early thirties. It\u2019s an inspiring and all-too-human story that often blows the minds of people who assume the often-quoted Christian author was rock-solid in his faith throughout his life.<\/p>\n

I love the look on people\u2019s faces when they learn this amazing truth about a man who lived in the era when almost everyone considered themselves to be a \u201cChristian.\u201d Yes, C.S. Lewis walked away from the faith he was taught as a child, but he returned.<\/p>\n

This should give encouragement to anyone with family or friends who have walked away from the church and to Christians trying to share the gospel with hardened atheists today. You never know\u2014they could be the next C.S. Lewis.<\/p>\n

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Carolyn Curtis<\/h2>\n

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Carolyn is an author and award-winning journalist. Read more from her at\u00a0CarolynCurtis.net.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n