Question: Why do you quote C. S. Lewis favorably? Aren’t you aware of his many unbiblical beliefs, ...

Question: Why do you quote C. S. Lewis favorably? Aren’t you aware of his many unbiblical beliefs, especially the things he says in Letters to Malcolm?

Response: I was not aware of Letters to Malcolm by Lewis. It is quite distressing. Could that be something he wrote shortly before his death when he was turning toward the Catholic Church? His prayers for the dead, belief in purgatory, and rejection of the literal resurrection of the body are serious deviations from biblical Christianity. His contention that some pagans may “belong to Christ without knowing it” is heresy. I never read all of Mere Christianity (and that would be more than 30 years ago) and don’t remember seeing the errors you have pointed out.

In everything I’ve read of Lewis there have always been parts that bothered me (that we’re to become “gods,” the apparent affirmation of theistic evolution, the Tao, Merlin the Magician being God’s servant, neglect of Rapture, etc.) but I overlooked them because he had so many excellent insights. I’m puzzled how so much light can dwell with such darkness! With the liberals, modernists, the positive-confession heretics, et al., I rarely find any valuable insights to make them worth reading, but I do find much in Lewis. It is perplexing. I could never recommend Schuller, Peale, Hagin, or Copeland in any degree. They have almost nothing to commend them. Lewis, however, seemed to have so much to offer. Can I recommend him with specific warnings about his errors?

You’ve given me much to ponder. I’ll have to go back and read more critically The Abolition of Man, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, The Great Divorce, God in the Dock, and many others that I felt had so many excellent insights. Thank you for calling this to my attention.