A Man for All Times

by Maurice Pujol
Published September 29, 2006

C.S. Lewis is certainly one of the great Christian scholars and spokesmen of modern times; and I have come to a new appreciation of his intellectual prowess and spiritual enlightenment – two qualities which combined to give him one of God’s greatest gifts, wisdom.

Though popular among 20th century Christians for many years, Lewis’ name didn’t really filter down to popular culture until the 2005 release of The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, a film based on one of the Chronicles of Narnia children’s stories written by Lewis.

Anthony Hopkins portrayed Lewis in the 1993 film, Shadowlands, but the subject matter was limited to Lewis’ later-in-life marriage (1956) to American poet Joy Davidman Gresham. His marital happiness was short lived due to Joy’s death from cancer in 1960.

I first became acquainted with Lewis during my high school years, when I read Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters. Though I was too spiritually immature to appreciate the clarity of his insights, the two books nevertheless had a profound impact on my life. In fact, though this column isn’t a book review, I recommend these two works for those who have never read the works of the great man from England (though he was actually born in Ireland).

Lewis was a unique combination of Oxford scholar and anointed preacher. One can sense the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in his faith, a faith he didn’t embrace until he was in his 30s. Though he had received religious education as a youth, he had become an atheist as he advanced in the academic world. Like many of us, Lewis didn’t believe merely by accepting traditions from his elders. He arrived at faith in Jesus Christ and in the truth of the Bible as the most logical explanations of the world around him and the human nature he had so keenly observed.

God used Lewis in a mighty way during his life, and his legacy continues to influence new generations of Christians. I am certainly no Lewis scholar, for I am not a scholar at all; but I have read many of his works during the past year or so, including a re-reading of Mere Christianity.

There are so many memorable phrases in his writings that it’s hard to pin down a favorite few. One I ran across recently, however, remains quite relevant in today’s postmodern world. As a result of liberal Bible criticism and a general secularization of our culture, many people today, including those who identify themselves as Christian, agree with the assertion, “One religion is as good as another.” Another way to put it is “There are many ways to salvation (or heaven).”

Of course, Lewis wrote volumes about why this worldview is wrong, and that was just during the modern era from the early to the mid-20th century. If he were alive today, I’m sure he would have much more to write on the topic; for there is so much more material for debate in today’s politically correct society.

Lewis had a clear understanding of the unique place Christianity holds among the thousands of religions man has followed during his history. In fact, it is not a religion at all; it’s a faith system based on a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, the God-man.

As a student of mythology, Lewis was first familiar, and enamored with, Norse paganism of the Scandinavian countries. As he advanced in his studies, he also enjoyed the early Celtic myths of his native land and the classical stories in Greek mythology. He made an important point, though, that he never once confused these ancient beliefs with reality, or absolute truth.

In this context, though, Lewis made a very astute observation – paganism prefigured the perfect revelation of God that would come through Christianity, and Christianity fulfills all the visions and hopes of the ancients. In other words, the old myths represent man’s imperfect understanding of the Creator of the universe. The various attributes of the one true God were assigned individually to a host of deities, who were given human qualities to make them more personal and understandable.

God revealed Himself to men in various places over the centuries in these imperfect ways, perhaps as a preparation for the day when He would reveal Himself perfectly through Jesus Christ. In the same way, God instituted a system of imperfect blood sacrifices under the Old Covenant to prepare mankind for the one perfect sacrifice for sin that was offered by Jesus.

The words and works of C.S. Lewis, through produced in an earlier era, address the issues of this day just as powerfully as they did in the 1930s, ‘40s and ‘50s. He truly is a man for all times, a great spokesman of our faith for all seasons.

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