How Evangelical Was C.S. Lewis?
One of my favourite Christian thinkers is C.S. Lewis. And I am not alone. Many evangelical Christians absolutely love Lewis. It is interesting to note that I never heard of C.S. Lewis growing up as an Anglican, despite Lewis being a dedicate Anglican.
It is among evangelicals that Lewis finds a home. But why?
In many ways, C.S. Lewis does not fit the mould of evangelical life and belief. Lewis smoke and drank a fair bit. He was a bachelor for most of his life and when he married, it was to a divorcee.
Many of Lewis’s beliefs could rub evangelicals the wrong way. He was open to some kind of evolution, he rejected a strict inerrancy, and embraced a number of Roman Catholic beliefs, such as purgatory.
Many evangelical thinkers today condemn other Christian thinkers with much few red flags than Lewis. To be fair, there are some who do reject Lewis:
While there may be insights into life that are profitable to be found in the works of C.S. Lewis, we think it not wise to encourage young or untaught Christians to feed on such a presentation of so-called Christian truth.
However, in general C.S. Lewis is embraced by much of evangelicalism. There is enough good within Lewis that many will ignore that which they disagree with.
How Evangelical Was C.S. Lewis?
If C.S. Lewis were alive today, would he identify as an evangelical? I suspect not. He definitely rejected the joining of faith and politics encouraged in some corners of evangelicalism.
Lewis was traditional and conservative on some social issues but could be critical of capitalism and could promote social welfare. Of course these are more contentious among American evangelicals than British and other international evangelicals.
Although Lewis would probably not identify as an evangelical, he could be described as broadly under the evangelical umbrella. This can be seen if we define evangelicals not as embracing inerrancy or penal substitutionary atonement, but rather these four marks:
- Conversionism — the belief that people need to be transformed
- Biblicism — a strong emphasis on Scripture
- Crucicentrism — emphasis on Christ’s saving work on the cross
- Activism — expressing faith through evangelism and service
Lewis did fit with these marks and so in this we can see where the overlap is with evangelicalism.
Why Are Evangelicals Drawn to C.S. Lewis?
Despite this, there is enough in the life and teachings of Lewis that should make a conservative evangelical uncomfortable. So why do they hold onto Lewis so tightly?
I believe it comes down to one of those marks of evangelicalism: conversion. Whatever else Lewis has to offer, he brings a compelling story of conversion. More accurately, two conversions: one to theism and one to Christianity.
These stories capture our imagination. We can see a transformation. Perhaps not in abandoning cigarettes and alcohol but of centring one’s life on proclaiming the Christian worldview.
That is why I believe many evangelicals love C.S. Lewis. Does Lewis belong to the evangelicals? No, Lewis belongs to all mere Christians. We might not agree with everything he said or taught, but we can be inspired by much of his work.
