C. S. Lewis, Reluctant Convert and (not so) Ordinary Anglican

• Authors: Dănuţ Mănăstireanu
• Languages of publication: EN

Abstracts

EN

After some passing considerations on the reception of Lewis in Romania, the present paper discusses the role played by Anglicanism in the late personal commitment of C.S. Lewis to the Christian faith, after years of atheism, scepticism, and agnosticism. It argues that in fact Anglicanism contributed very little to Lewis’s (re)conversion to Christianity. Furthermore, the paper agrees with the generally accepted idea that the particular calling that Lewis felt he had, that of being a Christian apologist, made him wary of being associated with the defence of any specific Christian tradition. In virtue of this special calling, Lewis also reacted quite strongly against certain aspects of Anglicanism, like, for instance, the ordination of women to priesthood, which he perceived as an obstacle to ecumenism and, implicitly, to an effective defence of the Christian faith in the public arena. In spite of all this, there is little doubt that Lewis has fully and unreservedly adopted Anglicanism as his preferred version of Christianity. From this particular stance, the life and ministry of C.S. Lewis made a huge public impact in the twentieth century and beyond. In light of the undeniable influence he had on the intellectual and religious scene in the last hundred years, one may ask not so much how Anglican was Lewis, but, rather, ‘why isn’t Anglicanism more like Lewis’.

Keywords

EN

Anglican; theology; apologetics; ecumenism; women ordination

• Publisher: Sciendo
• Journal: Linguaculture
• Year: 2014
• Volume: 2014
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 57-65

Dates

published

2014-12-01

online

2015-04-23

Contributors

author

Dănuţ Mănăstireanu

• World Vision International

References

• Berkman, A.J. “The Philosophical Christianity of C. S. Lewis: Its Sources, Content and Formation”. Diss. Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, 2009.Web. 14 Jul. 2014.
• Gibbs, L.W. “C. S. Lewis and the Anglican Via Media.” Restoration Quarterly. 32, 2, 1990. Print.
• Lewis, C. S. Surprised by Joy. Glasgow: Collins Fount, 1977. Print.
• McGrath, Alister E. C. S. Lewis. A Life: Eccentric Genius, Reluctant Prophet. London: Hodder & Stoughton, 2013. Kindle.
• McGrath, Alister E. The Intellectual World of C. S. Lewis. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2013. Print.
• Steffan, Melissa. “Q&A: Why Rowan Williams Loves C.S. Lewis”. Christianity Today online. http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/november-web-only/qa-why-rowan-williams-loves-cs-lewis.html. Web. 17 Jul. 2014

Identifiers

DOI

10.1515/lincu-2015-0030