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Writer
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Joe Kelley:
Yes, that might just be about right… It is a powerful piece.
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Carolyn_SFO
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MattG
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Carolyn SFO:
I seem to recall that the title The Great Divorce was written in response to The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake. Blake’s poetry seemed to point to a theory that beyond innocence and experience (good and evil, perhaps) there was an enlightenment. I don’t think Lewis liked Blake’s idea
Carolyn, the titles do tend to agree with your memory and based on titles only, seems a perfect response.
Hi Matt,MattG:
that describes a soul’s passage from mortal to spiritual existence. Divorce is a separation from a former to a new life as is death…
I seem to recall that the title The Great Divorce was written in response to The Marriage of Heaven and Hell by William Blake. Blake’s poetry seemed to point to a theory that beyond innocence and experience (good and evil, perhaps) there was an enlightenment. I don’t think Lewis liked Blake’s idea
Carolyn, the titles do tend to agree with your memory and based on titles only, seems a perfect response.
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catsrus
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A priest guided me to C.S. Lewis by frequently quoting from The Screwtape Letters in his homilys. Since then, I have read everything by him that I can get my hands on. The Great Divorce is my favorite and I’ve read it four times and given copies of it as gifts. Also, Anthony Hopkins starred in a movie called Shadowlands about the later life of C. S. Lewis which is moving and entertaining.
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Faustina
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CS Lewis was also good friends with Chesterson. The three of them, Lewis, Tolkien and Chesterson would often sit together and in the evenings and discuss Christianity and world events. Chesterson also hoped that when Lewis became a Christian, he would convert to Catholicism.
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Teresita
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That was never so, alas, in this life, though I don’t doubt that they’ve had plenty of exchanges in Heaven! Chesterton died in 1936, before Lewis made any sort of name for himself as a Christian apologist. I’ve checked a number of biographies and can’t find any reference to their ever meeting. But Chesterton’s ‘The Everlasting Man’ was one of the books that influenced Lewis profoundly.
Sue
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Maccabees
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Lewis like was an anglican but hated the idea of women priests and I am sure the idea of homsexula bishops would have drove him over the edge he was a traditional high church anglican meaning he probably would be catholic today. The anglican movement would have gotten to liberal for him whatever predujice he had to Rome would have been reconsidered I am sure.
He was very catholic I see him crossing the Tiber in todays world.
I think he’s catholic now!
He was very catholic I see him crossing the Tiber in todays world.
I think he’s catholic now!
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Prester_John
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“Jack” Lewis and my father’s father, named Bennet, were correspondents, and good friends during the war years. Three names I do not see mentioned in reference to the “Inklings”, were: Te Lawrence, Sir Winston Churchill, and the war poet, Robert Graves. I mention Graves particularily because he is a relative, he’s dead(and cannot speak for himself, LOL), and died in Majorca Spain as a deathbed conversion to Roman Catholicism.
CS Lewis and my grandfather continued their trans-continental correspondence until the authour’s death. Curiously, my grandfather died exactly a year to the day of his receipt of Lewis’ last letter to him.
CS Lewis and my grandfather continued their trans-continental correspondence until the authour’s death. Curiously, my grandfather died exactly a year to the day of his receipt of Lewis’ last letter to him.
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patricius
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I agree that Lewis would be Catholic today-- Rome is the only “merely” Christian church left; all the others (possibly excepting the Evangelicals) have abandoned some of the ideas that were essential to Mere Christianity!
Interestingly, he didn’t see that this was already the case in his own time on the issue of contraception.
Interestingly, he didn’t see that this was already the case in his own time on the issue of contraception.
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Dismas2004
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C S Lewis Rocked the House.
The Chronicles of Narnia are awesome. He wrote them for his God daughter. He was an atheist who came to the faith by way of life circumstances and an Atheist english tutor who happened to admire Christian writers.
He would not be Catholic today however since he despised organised religion, expeically the Papacy. He joined the Episcaploian church while he was an Atheist out of respect for his father. He was a great apologist for Christ. His writings are very catholic, in the lower case sense. They appeal to the universality of Christ. In that sense he is Catholic, but he never was and probably never would have been since he didn’t like the idea of a Papacy.
The Chronicles of Narnia are awesome. He wrote them for his God daughter. He was an atheist who came to the faith by way of life circumstances and an Atheist english tutor who happened to admire Christian writers.He would not be Catholic today however since he despised organised religion, expeically the Papacy. He joined the Episcaploian church while he was an Atheist out of respect for his father. He was a great apologist for Christ. His writings are very catholic, in the lower case sense. They appeal to the universality of Christ. In that sense he is Catholic, but he never was and probably never would have been since he didn’t like the idea of a Papacy.
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Maccabees
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I think he might have gotten over his papacy hurdle if he lived to see the extrme liberalism of his beleoved Anglican church. He went to confession the anglican church took out their confesionals. He loathed the idea of women piests. THe anglican church ordains women priests. HE was conservative in doctrine I cannot imagin the man condoing the acceptance of abortion and a homosexual hierarchy all things the Anglican coomunion has looked the other way at. As a convert from atheism he made the big conversion there. He hated organized relgion. I am sure we have all read the stories of converts that hated the idea of the Papacy the Scott Hahns, the TIm Staples. If such anti-catholics could crostt the Tiber why not Lewis?
Considering his close realtions with some catholics such as Tolkien. His anti-catholcism wasn’t rabid if anything he respected their relgious views.
Considering his close realtions with some catholics such as Tolkien. His anti-catholcism wasn’t rabid if anything he respected their relgious views.
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Dismas2004
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Maccabees;
While I certainly hope this would have happened, I doubt it would. See, he wasn’t attached to any church. He didn’t have faith in church, but in Church. He was confirmed in the Episcopalian Church, but this was for his father’s benefit, not his. He beleived in a Universal unorganised church. Considering he was one of the greatest thinkers ever and all the arguments present today were present then, I doubt he would have accepted the papcy.
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RNRobert
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Another problem I think Lewis had with the Catholic Church was the canonization and devotion to the saints. In one of his books he said he preferred to pray with the saints rather than to the saints. In the anthology God in the dock there is a letter he wrote about the Anglican church possibly introducing their own canonization process; I don’t have the book in front of me at the moment, but from what I can recall he was opposed to the idea.
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patricius
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I know he had problems with the Papacy-- didn’t realize that bit about the saints. But in our time it’s become clear that in order to maintain “Mere Christianity” in any recognizable form you have got to have a living authority on faith and morals-- otherwise you wind up going through endless rounds of watering-down for the sake of convenience, a la modern mainline Protestantism.
I think Lewis had enough hard-headed British practicality to accept the Papacy as necessary to Christianity if he had lived to see what has happened to Christendom in the last 40 years.
I think Lewis had enough hard-headed British practicality to accept the Papacy as necessary to Christianity if he had lived to see what has happened to Christendom in the last 40 years.
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Church_Militant
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Lewis was not a Catholic but I hear that his friend J.R.R. Tolkein (who WAS a devout Catholic) was instrumental in his salvation. I’ve read a good bit of Lewis’s stuff and he’s very good. Read the Chronicle of Narnia or his Space Time trilogy…also The Screwtape Letters is VERY good. Lewis deals with some serious problems in his life & comes away strong. (See The Problem of Pain & The Great Divorce). He’s good…well worth the reading.
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