Some of the Biblical errors of C. S. Lewis’ doctrine.

Doctrine simply means teaching. We usually refer to Doctrine as the collective teachings of a denomination or person. It can be used singularity or collectively. This simple article is not to examine the full Doctrine beliefs of C. S. Lewis, it is doubtful that one could ever concisely pen down some of the illusive ideas that Lewis had throughout his lifetime. This article will call into question and evaluate a few of his Doctrines brought out in Mere Christianity that are unbiblical. The word heresy has been used as a cry to murder many people who simply disagreed with an established religion, so I do not use it lightly. I am not accusing Lewis of anything more than being wrong, confused, and/or deceived. I do not wish to run him through the mud, but I find it alarming at how many professing Christians quote and read C. S. Lewis, and how many pastors praise his works. It is the goal of this article to warn you to further look into the works and life of C. S. Lewis and see if this is someone you want to influence your walk with God.

1. Belief in evolution –

“People often ask when the next step in evolution—the step to something beyond man—will happen. But in the Christian view, it has happened already. In Christ a new kind of man appeared: and the new kind of life which began in Him is to be put into us.”

“The ordinary man believes in the Solar System, atoms, evolution, and the circulation of the blood on authority—because the scientists say so.” “It is not merely the spreading of an idea; it is more like evolution—a biological or superbiological fact.” Mere Christianity book 2 chapter 5.

See also book 4 chapter 11. The entire chapter explains that Lewis believes that a new kind of evolution has occurred and it is how man evolves into a new spiritual type being. The entire chapter is creepy and has many theological problems.

“So what?” You may say. “It is common for people to believe in evolution. It does t make them bad people, right?”

Here is the problem: Genesis presents the creation Story as factual. If evolution is correct, Genesis is wrong. Jesus quotes Genesis as literally true. If Genesis is wrong, that says one of two things about Jesus: he would have to either be a dumb idiot who didn’t know evolution was true or he would have to be deceiving the multitudes. Either way, he would not be qualified to take away the sins of the world. But of course Genesis is true, and Jesus was affirming that. Not only that, but Jesus himself is called to be the creator of the world, and he made everything perfect, first try. Evolution is completely antithetical to the Biblical naritve. C. S. Lewis can not be trusted to give us an accurate picture of God if he holds an inaccurate view of scripture as serious as this error is.

2. Salvation by sacraments –

“There are three things that spread the Christ-life to us: baptism, belief, and that mysterious action which different Christians call by different names—Holy Communion, the Mass, the Lord’s Supper. At least, those are the three ordinary methods.”

“At least, those are the three ordinary methods.”

“I cannot myself see why these things should be the conductors of the new kind of life.”

“It explains why this new life is spread not only by purely mental acts like belief, but by bodily acts like baptism and Holy Communion.”

“God never meant man to be a purely spiritual creature. That is why He uses material things like bread and wine to put the new life into us.” Mere Christianity book 2 chapter 5.

He is implying that they are all means to being born again. While he doesn’t come out and say that “mass” and “baptism” are required for salvation, he makes it clear that they are a way that God “spreds the Christ-life to us.” He goes on to imply that there may be more means to aquire the new birth. “At least, those are the three ordinary methods.” In context, he is talking about the natural birth and the “Christ-life, ” which must mean the new birth in Context. While he doesn’t explicitly state that you must be baptized and take mass to be saved, he does imply that it is a viable option.

Baptism and the Lord supper are NOT related to the new birth. They are only symbols and statements that believers partake in after they are regenerated. This is papal nonsense that is 100% unscriptural. The Bible clearly tells us what is required for the new birth:

John 3:16-20 KJV

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither 

A man is not condemned because he didn’t get mass, but because he didn’t believe. I could spend pages proving this point, but we will move on.

3. Loss of salvation / working to keep salvation –

“In the same way [as commiting suicide takes your natural life] a Christian can lose the Christ-life which has been put into him, and he has to make efforts to keep it.” bracket words are mine. Mere Christianity book 2 Chapter 5.

“You have free will, and if you choose, you can push Me away.” Book 4 Chapter 9

Lewis said, I will quote it all in a later point, that “There are people (a great many of them) who are slowly ceasing to be Christians but who still call themselves by that name: some of them are clergymen.”

It can not be doubted that Lewis did not hold to the doctrine of enternal security. In and of itself, that is not a huge problem. I know many senscire Christians who are confused about this subject. The Bible teaches that we have become (those who received christ as savior) the sons of God John 1:12. We are made joint heirs with Christ, Romans 8:17 etc. God tells us that he gives us everlasting life, life that never ends for any reason. It is my strong position that I can never earn my salvation, nor can I be trusted to keep it. I am made alive in him and have tasted the heavenly gift.

Hebrews 6:4-6 KJV

For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,

And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,

If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

4. Questions that unbelievers go to Hell –

“Here is another thing that used to puzzle me. Is it not frightfully unfair that this new life should be confined to people who have heard of Christ and been able to believe in Him? But the truth is God has not told us what His arrangements about the other people are. We do know that no man can be saved except through Christ; we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved through Him.”

In reference to the end of the world when Christ comes back to rule he states,

“That will not be the time for choosing: it will be the time when we discover which side we really have chosen, whether we realised it before or not.” Indicating that some people are on God’s side without even knowing it. Mere Christianity book 2 chapter 5. For example, a Buddhist of good will may be led to concentrate more and more on the Buddhist teaching about mercy and to leave in the background (though he might still say he believed) the Buddhist teaching on certain other points. Many of the good Pagans long before Christ’s birth may have been in this position. And always, of course, there are a great many people who are just confused in mind and have a lot of inconsistent beliefs all jumbled up together. Consequently, it is not much use trying to make judgments about Christians and non-Christians in the mass. It is some use comparing cats and dogs, or even men and women, in the mass, because there one knows definitely which is which. Also, an animal does not turn (either slowly or suddenly) from a dog into a cat.”

5. Implies that Christ became a Son of God by evolutionary means –

“The first instance [of ‘a change from being creatures of God to being sons of God’] appeared in Palestine two thousand years ago.” Mere Chrisianity book 4 chapter 11.

I do not know for sure, but this quote and others like it make me think Lewis believed the Christ himself became God through a process that is mysterious. I can not prove this, but, at the very least, he is unclear on this point, and it reminds me of gnostic theology that Lewis seems to have no problem with.

6. Progressive salvation –

“The world does not consist of 100 per cent. [sic] Christians and 100 per cent.[sic] non-Christians. There are people (a great many of them) who are slowly ceasing to be Christians but who still call themselves by that name: some of them are clergymen. There are other people who are slowly becoming Christians though they do not yet call themselves so. There are people who do not accept the full Christian doctrine about Christ but who are so strongly attracted by Him that they are His in a much deeper sense than they themselves understand. There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it.”

Book 4 chapter 10

Salvation is not progressive. This is a Roman Catholic doctrine that has crept its way into modern corrupted versions of the English Bible because the translators used Catholic and gnostic texts. These versions often say something to the effect of “being saved” or “becoming saved” instead of just saved. While coming to the understanding of who Christ is may be a process, salvation comes when one understands who Christ was, what he did, and cries out for mercy.

Romans 10:9-10 KJV

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

7. Ye shall be as god(s) –

“The command Be ye perfect is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were ‘gods’ and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him—for we can prevent Him, if we choose—He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, a dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness.”

Book 4 Chapter 9.

It seems that Lewis believes the lie that satin told Eve, “ye shall be like God…” In Genesis. While it is true that we are supposed to conform to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29), we are not going to be “gods.” He says that,”he said (in the Bible) we were ‘gods,'” but that is clearly wrong. The only passage that he could be getting that from is Psalm 82, when God is judging the unrighteousness of the judges. There are different thoughts on Psalm 82, but none that I am aware of teach we will become these gods that God judges. It doesn’t make sense.

8. Odd things he says –

“Now the Christian belief is that if we somehow share the humility and suffering of Christ we shall also share in His conquest of death and find a new life after we have died and in it become perfect, and perfectly happy, creatures”

Is this the Christian belief?

“Another possible objection is this. Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of secret society to undermine the devil?”

Isn’t this an odd way to describe Christ’s coming? Mere Christianity book 2 chapter 5.

“Eggs and alcohol and a good night’s sleep will be the real origins of what I flatter myself by regarding as my own highly personal and discriminating decision to make love to the girl opposite to me in the railway carriage. Propaganda will be the real origin of what I regard as my own personal political ideas. I am not, in my natural state, nearly so much of a person as I like to believe: most of what I call ‘me’ can be very easily explained.” Just plain odd as is all of chapter 11.

9. Partial? Universalism –

“In the first place the situation in the actual world is much more complicated than that. The world does not consist of 100 per cent. Christians and 100 per cent. non-Christians. There are people (a great many of them) who are slowly ceasing to be Christians but who still call themselves by that name: some of them are clergymen. There are other people who are slowly becoming Christians though they do not yet call themselves so. There are people who do not accept the full Christian doctrine about Christ but who are so strongly attracted by Him that they are His in a much deeper sense than they themselves understand. There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it. For example, a Buddhist of good will may be led to concentrate more and more on the Buddhist teaching about mercy and to leave in the background (though he might still say he believed) the Buddhist teaching on certain other points. Many of the good Pagans long before Christ’s birth may have been in this position. And always, of course, there are a great many people who are just confused in mind and have a lot of inconsistent beliefs all jumbled up together. Consequently, it is not much use trying to make judgments about Christians and non-Christians in the mass. It is some use comparing cats and dogs, or even men and women, in the mass, because there one knows definitely which is which. Also, an animal does not turn (either slowly or suddenly) from a dog into a cat.”

Universalism is the idea that all people from verious walks of life and religions will go to heaven regardless of their faith in Christ. Lewis holds that a person can be saved without knowing Jesus, though it is Jesus that saves him. This is the teaching of the Romanist papal anti-Christ religion. This is rank damnable heresy! It is the nail in the coffin. Lewis might be considered a mere Christian by many, but he did not understand the very basic and all-important Gosple. He teaches a different Gosple and a different Jesus. I hope he repented of his views on this before he died, but it is doubtful.

2John verses 7-11

For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist.

Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.

If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:

For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.

C. S. Lewis does not agree with Christ, and therefore, I must conclude that as christ followers we should have nothing to do with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather reprove them. I hope you take this article in the spirit in which it was written, sober warning to evaluate those in whom we give ear to.

S. T. 
Acts 20:24
"But, none of these things move me..."