C.S. Lewis, Human Being: A Review of Alister McGrath's "C. S. Lewis, A Life"

February 28, 2013 by Greg Garrett

Continued from Page 1

I've always wondered why, exactly, some of my evangelical students and lots of other American evangelicals fall so hard for Lewis, since the actual C. S. Lewis, who came smoking, drinking, and carrying some fairly kinky early sexual predilections, was no moral avatar. But McGrath also excels in his explanation for the evolution of Lewis's literary and theological reputation: "Engaging both heart and mind, Lewis opened up the intellectual and imaginative depths of the Christian faith like nobody else." (369) For those who needed their heart, mind, and spirit engaged, Lewis provided a compelling Protestant model—and many American Christians have mistaken Lewis for an evangelical himself upon learning that he converted from atheism to Christianity.

C. S. Lewis: A Life did not convert me from atheism to Lewisism; I'm not sure that anything ever will. I personally take my faith a little funnier, and so I would suggest we canonize Anne Lamott. But I can say that I admired McGrath's book tremendously and feel that I've gained a new appreciation for Lewis the writer, Lewis the Christian apologist, and Lewis the scholar. The next time I'm engaged by students, parishioners, or Internet trolls with questions or wielding quotes, I'm going to be much better prepared.

And I find that, strangely enough, I'm excited about returning to the Preface on Paradise Lost.

After all, I have to teach Paradise Lost this fall after many years' layoff, and I've never yet found a guide to Milton any better than C

. S. Lewis.

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About Greg Garrett

Greg Garrett is (according to BBC Radio) one of America's leading voices on religion and culture. He is the author or co-author of over twenty books of fiction, theology, cultural criticism, and spiritual autobiography. His most recent books are The Prodigal, written with the legendary Brennan Manning, Entertaining Judgment: The Afterlife in Popular Imagination, and My Church Is Not Dying: Episcopalians in the 21st Century. A contributor to Patheos since 2010, Greg also writes for the Huffington Post, Salon.com, OnFaith, The Tablet, Reform, and other web and print publications in the US and UK.

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