I can't quite figure out the mormon love affair with C.S. Lewis.

Maybe the love is a result of cherry picking only the parts they like?

Here's a quote from C.S. Lewis that seems aimed right at the heart of mormonism, a lethal shot:

"Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience."

Enjoyed it...thanks!

Nice quote. I think I'll put that on FB today.

An older thread discusses the fact that Ezra Taft Benson plagiarized his Pride sermon from C.S. Lewis.

http://www.exmormon.org/mormon/mormon315.htm

Possibly not the intent of this thread but "God in the Dock" routinely uses bad logic and poorly thought out premises. C.S. Lewis was a gifted writer and it almost seems like sacrilege to bemoan his work but in this case the world might be better off had he not ventured to compile his thoughts for this work.

God in the Dock was written to get modern thinkers off of god's back. Lewis was tired of us putting god on trial, as if it is a human's right to be able to judge god. Lewis made a valiant effort to try and point out that most of what we imagine as god's will is actuality man's interpretation of god's will. Lewis however didn't go so far as to decry all interpretation, he tried to lay a logical groundwork for how to tell what is and what isn't god's will. The failure of course is that Lewis appointed himself god's ambassador. If god is really interested in its creations knowing what it thinks god needs to do a better job of communicating.

BTW, Mormons love him because they agree with him.

Sorry for the rambling, I just get tired of Lewis worship.

Is anyone familiar with the "No True Scotsman" fallacy?

See here:

http://www.logicalfallacies.info/presumption/no-true-scotsman/

https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/no-true-scotsman

You've probably encountered a variation such as "You were never really converted" or "You never really had a testimony" or "You never really felt the Spirit" etc.

I have had relatives try to convince me to take another look at Mormonism by proclaiming that such a notable atheist as C.S. Lewis himself returned to Christianity.

It is amusing to consider that Mr. Lewis was never a "true atheist", as fallacious as that logic might be... Of course, most Mormons aren't familiar with logical fallacies whatsoever, so you might actually get away with that rejoinder!

I agree with jacob, (see post above). Mormon worship of C.S. Lewis is irksome. Lewis must be a best-seller at Deseret Books.

The guy does an almost mormon-like job of being better than average, but not so excellent as to rock too many boats.

And then, he is occasionally a religiously motivated purveyor of the don't-think, FEEL dogma. In other words, he's stupid in some ways.

Because they're liars, are witches, and in the temple wear war-robes.

It's not just Mormons, though the Mormon fascination is less understandable than other conservative Christians. There have been several articles of late about this phenomenom. I think it's because Lewis is easily quotable without any context. Lewis also rejected born again theology and essentially maintained that ones actions showed who you really were, regardless of what one said. Mormonism technically idealizes this, even though Mormons largely ignore it.

That Lewis was an intellectual light weight and quite skeptical of Mormonism can easily be ignored.

(That said, the Narnia books are fun and The Screwtape Letters is very good commentary on religion and the human condition.)

It's interesting to note that C.S. Lewis was atheist when he was a youngster. He hated the notion of God, especially after his mother died when he was 10. After her death he ceased believing in God and became interested in mythology and the occult.

His horrific experiences as a soldier in WW I only solidified his atheism.

He didn't re-convert to Christianity until he was in his early 30s.

Near the end of his life, when he was 58, he shed his longtime bachelorhood and married a Jewish woman (who converted to Christianity). She had bone cancer and died within 3 years of their marriage.

He suffered a crisis of faith after her death, writing:

"Meanwhile, where is God? This is one of the most disquieting symptoms. When you are happy, so happy that you have no sense of needing Him, so happy that you are tempted to feel His claims upon you as an interruption, if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be — or so it feels — welcomed with open arms. But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence. You may as well turn away."

Great quote. I never heard that one as a mormon. And you are right, I heard many people praise and quote c.s. lewis as well.

I just quoted this on my FB page and one of my most TBM friends liked it. LOL! She didn't know it was directed at TSCC.

C.S. Lewis enjoyed writing stories about fantasy people who lived in imaginary lands, where everything was way too black and white, and where the moral lessons were depicted just a little too perfectly. Hell the only difference between his works, and the Book of Mormon is that C.S. Lewis never claimed Narnia was real, and he was much better with plots and creating 3-dimensional characters.

Joseph Smith was the George Lucas of his day.

Are you comparing the Book of Mormon to the prequels?

It has become increasingly more difficult since CS Lewis's time to be both a genius, and overly religious. With so much information available so easily, you are not going to find too many people with inquisitive minds like Lewis or Tolken who still blindly follow religion.

Lucas is renowned for created one dimensional charicatures.

As for what's worse, the Book of Mormon or Star Wars prequels? That's like asking what shit smells worse. But, as much as it pains me, at least Star Wars made no pretense for being more that it is. (Though there is a religion of Jedi, so....)

just a guess but perhaps they feel that he provides them some level of legitimacy

Lewis spends a lot of time talking about trying to be good, which agrees with Mormonism. I have read on Christian (Protestant) boards that C.S. Lewis is not a Christian (evangelical) because he puts too much emphasis on works. That's also why Mormons aren't christians (Evangelicals).

Because it wouldn't make much sense for them to quote Thomas Lewis now would it. And who was Thomas Lewis?

http://exmormon.org/d6/drupal/bloodatn

He wrote in a profound and articulate fashion about the deep moral questions of his time. He brought all of his creative, intellectual, and philosophical talents to bear on a deep examination of his faith.

His Christian fiction, from Narnia to The Screwtape Letters, is entertaining and imaginative while also continuing his examination of moral questions.

Perhaps I'm unaware, but I have not seen work of similar quality come out of the modern Evangelical movement or the Mormon Church.

Modern Left Behind Evangelicalism discourages deep questioning and Mormonism squashes creativity. No wonder they're looking elsewhere for inspiration. Good books are good books.

Mormons love C.S.Lewis? Oh, ya gotta be kidding . . .

Often when I have been reading RfM I have been reminded of a scene from The Last Battle (the Narnia book). You know the scene?

All the fear-filled and self-absorbed dwarves are sitting in a circle in a magical land of abundance with their eyes firmly shut, because they believe with all they've got that they are in Hell and will suffer more if they see the horror of their surroundings. ITMT, the heroes beg them to open their eyes and so end their own torture, but they "KNOW" that Evil is merely tempting them with lies. There is no way to reach them in their delusion, so they are abandoned.

Maybe Lewis knew some Mormons?

They like C.S Lewis so much because of his seeming foresight and rationality.

Woo-Hoo! The Holy Spirit of Truth has converted a (dreaded) humanist/theist. They fight for US now.

Ultimately however, the man with the literary chops (beloved by anyone but a Mormon) who had the credentials they most covet, as in a Golden Contact, would have an intense dislike for their beliefs.

An essayist primarily and a novelist second, George Orwell, would have never sniffed their BS anymore than he would a fart.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/03/2013 04:43AM by lastofthewine.