C.S. Lewis: from theism to Christianity
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- Опубликовано: 23 мар 2007
- C.S. Lewis: It must be understood that my conversion at that point was only to theism pure and simple. I knew nothing yet about the incarnation. The God to whom I surrendered was sheerly non-human.
C.S. Lewis: [Reading from Chesterton] A great man knows he is not God and the greater he is, the better he knows it. The gospels declare that this mysterious maker of the world has visited his world in person. The most that any religious prophet has said was that he was the true servant of such a being. But if the creator was present in the daily life of the Roman empire, that is something unlike anything else in nature. It is the one great startling statement that man has made since he spoke his first articulate word. It makes dust and nonsense of comparative religion.
C.S. Lewis: As I drew near to Christianity, I felt a resistance almost as strong as my previous resistance to theism. As strong but shorter lived for I understood it better. But each step, one had less chance to call one's soul one's own.
C.S. Lewis: What Tolkien showed me was this - that if I met the idea of sacrifice in a pagan story I didn't mind it at all - I was mysteriously moved by it. The reason was that in pagan stories I was prepared to feel the myth as profound. Now the story of Christ is simply a true myth.
C.S. Lewis: I know very well when but hardly how the final step was taken. I went with my brother to have a picnic at Whipsnade Zoo. We started in fog, but by the end of our journey the sun was shining. When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and when we reached the zoo I did. I had not exactly spent the journey in thought. Nor in great emotion. It was more like when a man, after a long sleep, becomes aware that he is now awake.
"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." CS Lewis
This is so true.
"When a man, after a long sleep, becomes aware he is now awake."
"It was more like when a man, after a long sleep, becomes aware that he is now awake."
This is a common feeling after a conversion...I'm italian: Alessandro Manzoni, after his conversion to christianity, said more or less the same things...so romantic. :)
You are one good man if you can confidently say you are are good person and live a good moral life.
I can't, because i had flashes of thought that i am not proud of time to time, and sometimes i was carried away by articles in the news, sometimes i swear when trailing a slow traffic, unable to control my anger at times, impatience towards my children...
i did many wrongs
but glad HE gave me chances, many times in my life and i finally followed Him.
i just finished re-reading his book the last battle, i never realised before how much of it parallels the book of Revelation
C.S Lewis is awesome
The clips are from a DVD called "Question of God: Sigmund Freud & C.S. Lewis". You can find it on Amazon or PBS. There is also a book.
Thank You 🙏.
How wonderful, how personal, how vey recognizable. 'Awake you who sleep, arise from the dead, and Christ will give you Light!' Eph. 5:14. Yah Bless
Wow this is how I experienced God at first too! I hadn't deduced yet that it was Jesus Christ! Prayer without ceasing led me to discover that.
It just came out of nowhere and hit me like a tonne of bricks. Glorious mystery. It shocked me how simple it really was in the end.
If God prevented evil we would be unable to commit evil deeds, taking away our free will.
Chandler Simmons He loves you so much that your free will would could make you get on your knees and say thy will be done (going to heaven). Or not get on your knees and He’ll say your will be done (going to hell). He laid out how to live this life so you can become that in the after.
True - but often what ancients perceived as evil is mental illness, caused by chemical and emotional imbalances, which includes victimization of prior abuse.
Doctor Mu if that’s true, then how can you condemn evil acts if they’re only acting upon their brains chemical makeup?
It's the difference between having your child say, "I love you"; and having a pull-string doll say, "I love you". The child's statement is much more significant and meaningful, because the child CHOOSES to say it.
We just take everything for granted ya know lol typical humans tho I'm not surprised.
One of the greatest intellects of the twentieth century.
Jesus is so important that when he died, time started over again. I was born in 1989 and the reason I was born in the year 1989 is because it was 1,989 years after Jesus died.
Despite my previous comment I love CS Lewis's writing, his fiction, and his religious writings. Shadowlands is one of my favourite plays/films.
I strongly agree with you. The only thing is, I was a very strong christian for years and after I walked away from christianity, this is the exact feeling I got. I'm a humanist, maybe slightly pantheistic. I love this earth and it's people and creatures. I think I'm a better person now then I was then. This 'awake' feeling happens to alot of different people, for alot of different reasons. And it is romantic and poetic.
I have read and deeply enjoyed many of Lewis' writings. But my very favorite paragraphs are those found in the last pages of his autobiographical "Surprised By Joy" (also my favorite CSL book, and from which much of this video's material is taken). For me ineffably sublime, and ringing true as a golden bell.
So, what's the name of the original video-documentary? ... I would love to watch the whole movie.
ruclips.net/video/7L2uxf1NonA/видео.html
Pick it up at about the 35-minute mark. That's where this video leaves off
True affirmations are those that correspond to reality. So truth is a characteristic of statements that properly describe aspects of the real world. The Word of God stands true to reality. I can attest to this in my own personal life. I have seen God provide for me when I needed something. He has given me the grace I needed to make it through some of the most difficult times in my life. He saved me and has changed my life completely through His mighty power. He has helped me overcome so much!
This PBS documentary is a very good one on C.S.Lewis' conversion and worldwide impact as a writer.
I'm glad to see the reality of CS Lewis' conversion. Not by fact or reason, but by simple awe and pandering to emotion.
CS Lewis merely fell victim to his own ego and felt that he could not be victimized by prose written in third person singular. Just as many scientists feel they are too intelligent to be fooled by magicians and fakes.
Revelation is rarely perceived as right or wrong, but only a contrast to what was thought before. A belief in souls is not required for such feelings.
Christianity is not just a religion, but a full relationship.
Lewis has a way of capturing sensation and emotion no one else can match. His authenticity is unmistakable.
Thank you for sharing this.. would love to see what he would write today. Screwtape Letters is one of my favorites!
If we worked for salvation, we'd never know when we'd done enough. The fact is, man cannot redeem himself. We can't be holy enough for God unless we're PERFECT, and all of us fall short of perfection. So we need perfection to be handed to us by God's mercy.
God IS worth infinite ways of worship, but within the context of the one true faith. No-one comes to the Father except through the Son. He who does not know the Son, doesn't know the Father.
To anyone who's curious - this is from the PBS documentary "The Question of God" - great film; I learned a lot from it, from both sides of the fence.
Fun trivia: the actor playing C.S. Lewis is Simon Jones, who was Arthur Dent in original Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy radio program and TV series.
Could someone please tell me where this clip and the other come from.
I doubt that mankind will ever get a full explanation for how everything came to be and why everything in the universe is as it is, but we're closer to an answer now than we were before modern science, and only good can come of moving forward with science.
Thank you for this, uploader. I didn't remember the second man's name, now I have it. @ 5:06, there are photos of stone jars now extant. Neat huh? :)
Point made. Although, it still is a hard concept to grasp.
When I look at what we humans are, I find it evident that we aren't a by-product of the universe, but there is something behind our nature.
Self-awareness/consciousness, moral values, the law of human nature, etc.. these I find to be evidence for a personal God, that created us for a reason. I find humans rather incompatible with deism.
Although I find deism much more respectable than naturalism.
Here it is so Benny won't have to:
Luke 22:70
'They all asked "are you the Son of God?" Jesus replied "You are right in saying I am"'
CS Lewis was an amazingly deep person. He is an example to so many about what humans believe in. A lot people can't explain their belief in God because its so hard to comprehend. CS Lewis decided to choose God over all other beliefs and he should be respected. CS Lewis was called to God and he followed him the best he knew how. If you have not felt God calling your name, it's o.k. but don't put down those who choose him. Life is about choices, what we believe and what we do. God Bless
And Faith's what to build up Love's as Hope's lest fallen moral beings¿¡
Clive Staples "Jack" Lewis and John Ronald Reul Tolkien, are both colledge classmates from oxford, both WWI veterans and also best of freinds!!!
I gotta sleep, it's 6:00 A.M. in Atlanta, but I hope this conversation doesn't die just yet
Real talk.
Is there a full video of this? pls give it to me, or title of this video so i can watch it all!! pls help
I remember watching this video waaay back in '07-'08.
Follow-up question:
If God did not allow evil, how would we be free?
God gave man a decision to stay in garden of Eden but he did warn them the tree was forbidden to touch. That event created sin because humans are innately corrupt and so we need are sins atoned. If they were honest and resisted from this sacred place we could be pure. I'm just giving my opinion lol
You’re getting at free will.
EXCELLENT! Thank you so much for this!
Cosmology has brought us much closer, because not only are scientists just studying the structure of the atom; they're studying where matter, antimatter and dark matter came from and how they came to be.
And many of those people who died this past week are in heaven right now. And they wouldn't want to come back. It's so glorious and so wonderful. - Billy Graham, September 14, 2001
I think it is very good when people suffer. To me, that is like the kiss of Jesus. - Mother Theresa
Thanks I'll certainly check those books out.
Now C S Lewis is the new saint - Saint C S Lewis of Narnia, the foremost authority on christianity and the reason we should all convert.
I am a seminary student that has studied things like systematic theology and eschatology, but I can't say that I completely understand suffering either. However, I can say God has launched a plan to rescue the world from its misery. I don't believe in cursing the darkness. I believe in lighting a candle. That's why I teach truth to people.
As for you last comment, psychology has a very good description of our morality, where it comes from, how it is practiced, why it is practiced in that manner, etc.,
If the structure of your brain changes, your morality changes. That is complete evidence for the fact that our brain is what we are, and that the way our brain is formed is what makes us rational, moral, etc.
I have found that for which I was looking. I pray you will come to the place where you can embrace a God you cannot fully understand, but can experience and know. He cannot be contained in this world, explained by our vocabulary, or grasped by our understanding, but He can be experienced, and to that I can testify. Seek Him and you will find Him if you search for Him with your whole heart.
@sergiomarchelli I would agree Sergio. Remembering who you are is the hardest part here. But still, all beings are fragments of the source. The path is grand when we choose love over fear.
c s lewis is a legend and a gift by our almighty god
@Ozkhar25 You are the creator as a shard of the one exists within us all, and as you know, you need no book for this. Your intentional thoughts are all that matter. This world holds two important meanings; Service to self, or service to others. Yet, we all still make it to the same place. Do you think you could learn all there is to know with only one life? This life is but a veiled illusion meant for us to experience the experiment of forgetting. May the light surround you always.
God simply wants us to be able to love and be loved...He doesn't necessary wants us to be happy in this life, but it's absolutely important for us to understand how to love other men and women...this is the meaning of suffering. By suffering, you became able to love. ;)
I completely agree. Our desires have nothing to do with whether there is a God or not. However, it speaks volumes of our motivations for why we we choose to believe what we believe. May I ask you which you desire, a world with or without God? To worship nature is the ultimate insult to God. To attribute glory to that which was designed to bring God glory is twisted. God’s creation echo’s the truth that He is glorious. The beauty of creation is an inaudible voice screaming out the majesty of God!
I want to argue that evil is not the absence of good, but more the perversion of good. Lewis claims that good can be done just for the sake of being good, but evil can only be done by perverting our original being. Therefore, good came first, or perhaps simply was, and sin is arrived later. It is certainly a test in a way, but I think of it more as a battle constantly being fought within ourselves. And to win that battle and witness the full glory and joy of the universe is our greatest hope.
I HEART MR. LEWIS.
it's the Fact and is the Truth.
The fundamental difference between Christianity and any other religon is this: every other religion in the world is man trying to reach up to God, but Chrsitianity is in essence God reaching down to man (in the form of Jesus, paying for our sins on the cross and rising from the dead).
Why would we strive for it if it was handed to us? Sincere trying isn't good enough, only spotless beings can approach God. That doesn't mean we're ever going to be as perfect or good as God--there are different levels of perfection and goodness, just as there are different levels of beauty.
@De4sher I agree with you in this way. I come often across people who say they are "EX" Christians,but what kind of Christian does not believe Jesus arose from the dead. Truth is there is no such thing as "ex" Christians,just hypocrites who used to clap at church.
what program is this an excerpt of?
Just for reference, what are your thoughts on 6.4 on in Tractatus?
Where does this clip come from? Is it from a documentary? I'd love to know. I'd love to own it.
Where is this clip taken from? What is the name of the documentary? I want to buy it.
I used to be a cynic. Heck, honestly I was an atheist. I believed that God in any shape or form just didn't exist.
Then I hit a real low point, I was bankrupt, depressed and purely self-centered. I hated my life, I saw no reason to live according to the morals set upon us by just as flawed humans, I wanted to end things.
And then, I met a family friend who was a Christian. He brought me to church, and I went. I spent a year just being a cynic about the faith, but still attending because I liked the company and someone in that church (we never ended up tgt but she's still a friend).
In Dec 2019, I went on a camp with the youth group and on the final night, as I sat there impatiently waiting for sermons to end, I heard God's voice, so full of love and mercy. In that moment I knew God was real, and while I would only wholly accept Him through baptism 2 years later, I had already accepted He was the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and He is real.
The mercy and hope of God is real.
That is what I meant when I said Evoluton is a theory. I'm not disputing whether or not it is true. I want to stress that it has not been perfected (i.e. understanding of it is still developing). Science is the observation of what we can observe in arbitrary units; there is no scope yet known to arbitrarily prove or disprove God. It does not necessarily mean God and science don't mix, it highlights the fact that 'measuring 'God is out of the scope of current scientific research methods.
Where did you get this? Please post the rest of the video or a link to its entirety
Brilliant. Lewis is my hero.
sheesh you've been discussing for WEEKS!!!
All that is righteous and good in this world is done in his name although they know it not, just as all the wickedness and wrongdoings is done in the name of the evil one even as they profess it to be done for the holy one.
@xpo50 It takes the spirit of God to truly know God, as it says in I Corinthians 2:10-14
Logic and faith go perfectly together. Faith is what sustains a person through the rough-and-tumble of life, but it's (often) logic that brought him or her to believe in the first place.
Yes, many have been revered as gods before, but in Jesus' case you're talking about a man who's been 'dead' 2000 years and still inspires fervent devotion from millions. Just a tiny difference between him and Alezander, wouldn't you say?
Like I said, I was a die hard all for God Christian. Gave my life over, in going to school and studying to be a minister, the evidence led me in the wrong way. With faith, you have to assume something is true for your foundation-then create truths on top of that. Faith for me is something I couldn't do if, I have to be honest with myself. I'm glad Jesus helps you tho, delusions can do many things for many people. Both good and bad.
The place Jesus has prepared for us is full of motorbikes & He and I shall go riding often in eternity.
@MCulpa What a great counter-argument!
I'm sure you'll convince plenty of people with that one! Zing!
And I love how your whole conversation with me is about evidence. The facts, evidence...then it's not about being smart or educated, its about the heart. Spirituality maybe, blind faith, ignorance.
I see your point, and I agree that Pagels in particular has some very convincing arguments. I guess this may be where the issue of faith in the Church Tradition comes into play... besides, i think there is a difference between non-canonical and non-important. While books such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Didache may not be "Inspired" in the same way, and not canonical, they still add to our understanding of early Christian Christology, etc.
"no evidence I can be a little more sure about?"
Probably not. Are you suggesting that if you saw some guy on TV doing miracles in the name of Christ, you would suddenly convert? That if she did them in front of you, you wouldn't think it was some kind of stage magic?
Many lines of "objective" evidence could open you to the possibility, but a relationship with God can only come through personal experience. For that, we have the story of Christ, lives transformed by Him, and prayer.
When Lewis said that people in Hell want to be there, he didn't mean it literally. He was saying that those who are in Hell unwillingly send themselves there. When they reject Christ, they are basically saying they don't want to be saved from Hell, even if they don't realize it.
Science is attempting to explain where it all came from with the assumption that there was always something and the question is what it used to be and what it is now. "How the universe came to be" is something that science has made a great deal of progress on, particularly in the past few decades. However, this enters the realm of pure empirical science, which will never guarantee a definite answer, which is why I don't expect to convert any non-atheists on the topic of "the beginning."
@0:55, can anyone tell what he is saying here? I cannot figure it out.
Now you've got me confused 😫
Rum thing. A European phrase meaning that's odd.
@@newlife4677 Thanks!
@LameUsername17
Well I'm a physicist (a theorist), so I'm well versed in cosmology and I love it too! I think this is an argument against a god of the gaps, but it just doesn't affect the other ones I had mentioned. It also has some hidden assumptions and pretty deep ones too! You should read Paul Davies critique of it (he's a physicist and atheist, or agnostic, I'm not sure) as he explains why this isn't neccessarily a good thing on Hawking's part.
It's Arthur Dent
Sorry to break the seriousness, but doesn't anyone recognize the actor from the BBC and NPR Radio production of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy?
Oh - wait - I'm sorry. I lied - this is from "Beyond Narnia" - equally good, but it does not compare and contrast God / Theism vs. Evolution / Atheism like "The Question of God" does. So, if you like C.S. Lewis - this is a great film to learn more about him, but if you're not interested in him, I'd suggest "The Question of God" for theological debate and really neat high-end discussion.
Every religion explains everything, in a sense, the goal of science is beyond conjuring up an explanation to an unexplained event.
@LameUsername17
It is actually not in violation of Occam's Razor (which, after all, is just a principle and not a Law) but inferred from an agnostic position on "super"natural (whatever that really means I have no idea; if it means it doesn't have natural explanation then I don't see why everyone fusses over it, the irrationallity of root 2 has no natural explanation and is purely abstract).
We will know once a book or revelation is given to us by a perfect being, as that would be a completely consistent book, with not a single problem, fault, etc., there would be no way for us to quarrel over details and problems as there would be none. If god exists he has yet to reveal himself, because if he exists and reveals himself/herself it will be complete, consistent, and completely perfect. We can't be capable of producing consistency if God can't.
Is that really him, he sounds awesome, thank you so much for this!!
Joe Balaich That’s an actor portraying him but nonetheless a great performance
Wonderful!!!
Thank you!
@OperationNautilus According to the Word that is correct. There are many people who believe in God but don't worship Him, give Him their time, money and service. The word teaches that God desires a relationship with us. That is difficult to understand but I believe it. I don't think there is a half way, all the way or nothing.
Best quote about CS Lewis's writings is that "he is chewing more than he has bitten off," by Christopher Hitchens.
C.S. Lewis was a genius. He was living proof that you dont have to sell your brain to believe in the truth of God and jesus Christ!
His works live on, rooted in truth and the love of God!
what did he say at 0.56?
------ thing seems to have really happened once.
What was the word before "thing"?
where is this video from? what series?
@LameUsername17
Alright here's an argument that's simple and while does not admit to any particular God is interesting nonetheless:
1) Being (that is you, me, a table, air, etc.) is either dependent or self-existing (it's existence is caused or it's existence is self-explanatory)
2) Not all being can be dependent (or else what would they depend on?)
3) Therefore there must exist at least one being which is self-existing
...
Yes, we all operate on a level of faith. I don't have the same understanding as Isaac Newton, but I trust his judgment. The reason I call them enemies of Scripture is because they not only choose to disbelieve, but set themselves up as ardent antagonist of it. The reason Scripture seems inconsistent to them is because of their worldviews. Your worldview affects your interpretation of Scripture.
GOD is real, and GOD is good.....
A great man knows he is not god, and the greater he is the better he knows it...! That's highlight
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God....faith is a gift, you can't earn it or gain it by human reasoning, for the Gospel (the good news) is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to those who are saved it is the power of God unto salvation. Man has a free will to accept God's gift (Jesus = who paid the penalty for sin, hence sin being the reason for suffering in this world). Type 'Passion of the Christ'.
The video is from PBS special, on the existance of God, it Details the life of C.S. Lewis and Sigmund Frued
Isn't the guy playing Lewis here Bridey from Brideshead Revisited?
That was a reply only in the chronological sense that it happened after I made my point.