Posted on 11/04/2021 9:43:54 AM PDT by sphinx
Lewis’s conversion was two steps.....first when he finally believed in God......then much later when he understood salvation comes from Jesus Christ on a personal basis.
C.S. Lewis: “What is most certain is the vast mass of doctrine which I find agreed on by Scripture, the Fathers, the Middle Ages, modern R.C.’s, modern Protestants. That is true ‘catholic’ doctrine. Mere ‘modernism’ I reject at once.
[paragraph] The Roman Church where it differs from this universal tradition and specially from apostolic Xtianity I reject. Thus their theology about the B.V. M. I reject because it seems utterly foreign to the New Testament: where indeed the words ‘Blessed is the womb that bore thee’ receive a rejoinder pointing in exactly the opposite direction. Their papalism seems equally foreign to the attitude of St Paul towards St Peter in the Epistles. The doctrine of Transubstantiation insists in defining in a way which the N.T. seems to me not to countenance. In a word, the whole set-up of modern Romanism seems to me to be as much a provincial of local _variation_ from the central, ancient tradition as any particular Protestant sect is. I must therefore reject their _claim_: tho’ this does not mean rejecting particular things they say.” — letter he wrote to one H. Lyman Stebbens on May 8, 1945:
“The real reason why I cannot be in communion with you [Catholics] is not my disagreement with this or that Roman doctrine, but that to accept your Church means, not to accept a given body of doctrine, but to accept in advance any doctrine your Church hereafter produces. It is like being asked to agree not only to what a man has said but also to what he is going to say.”- C. S. Lewis, “Christian Reunion”, in Christian Reunion and Other Essays, edited by Walter Hooper, London: Collins, 1990, p. 17-18
Addendum: John Piper did an excellent job of summing up the good in C. S. Lewis, and the not so good. We must use discernment in all things. When Lewis got it right, he was an excellent communicator of Christianity for many people, and much of his work helped me immensely as a young Christian.
https://beggarsallreformation.blogspot.com/2011/09/two-excellent-quotes-by-c-s-lewis-on.html
I would just add that ensured (if conditional) perpetual magisterial veracity is just one of distinctive Catholic teachings that are not manifest in the only wholly inspired substantive authoritative record of what the NT church believed (which is Scripture, in particular Acts through Revelation, which best shows how the NT church understood the gospels).
Followup: We went to see The Most Reluctant Convert yesterday afternnon and enjoyed it a great deal. I thought initially that we would be getting a private screening, but people started drifting in during the previews. We ended with about 20 people — no teenagers, no cellphones — in an afternoon showing. Probably not bad for a C.S. Lewis film in the COVID era, when adult audiences have been slow to return to theaters.
A perfect movie? No. But it’s a very good movie that I would recommend to anyone interested in C.S. Lewis.
Interesting production note & an oopsie requiring explanation: The movie that I saw opened with a rather long prologue consisting of a “behind the scenes” tour of the making of the film. Many of the actors and filmmakers are introduced. (A faith based group was involved; it’s interesting to get to know some of them a bit.) It was an odd way to begin. I accepted it as a framing device, but then it seemed to go on too long.
It turns out that this was apparently a production mistake. The “prologue” was intended as a bonus feature to be shown AFTER the film. It somehow got transposed when the film was copied for release. I do not know if this mistake occurred with the original one-day, “event movie” limited release on November 3; I’m speculating here, but it may have occurred only when the one-day run did well and additional copies were made quickly for an expanded run. There wasn’t time to correct it before the extended run began. Anyhow, what I thought was an oddly long prologue was actually a misplaced bonus feature. That’s a new wrinkle for me. Nothing that I can’t roll with. It works ok in the film and that fact makes it interesting from a technical point of view. Think of it as a fluke U.S. Mint mistake on a coin — worth millions on the collectors’ market.
The style of the movie may not be to everyone’s taste. This is an adaptation of a one man stage play. It necessarily centers on an actor of mature years, who did the play, recalling the events of his youth. It is what it is. I am ok with that kind of movie.
I thought the theological discussions could have been expanded. That said, the film is obviously made for viewers who already know something about C.S. Lewis, and the issues presented will ring a bell.
Call to Action: we do a lot of complaining about contemporary movies. If we want the film industry to make more of “our kind of movies,” we need to support the good ones when they appear. Put this on your list to stream when it hits tv, and unless you are violently averse to sitting in a theater, this is one to go see in person. This will not be in the theaters for long. If you want to see it, go this week.
One theological question: there is one excellent scene in which Lewis, having become an intellectual convert to theism but not yet Christianity, begins to consider which religion, if any, might have merit. (Or all they all the same, just different paths?) He quickly concludes that of all the religions on offer, only Hinduism and Christianity stood serious scrutiny. Here I paraphrase, but, “Islam is just a Christian heresy. Everything that is good (or true?) about Plato and Judaism is in Christianity. And Buddhism is just a heresy of Hinduism.”
The first two points I follow easily enough (leaving aside whether I fully agree). But Buddhism as a Hindu heresy is a new-to-me idea. Thoughts?
Interesting movie. Worth seeing.
To the newbies: welcome to the movie ping list. Freepmail me if you want off.
Some people are on the list by request, but mostly I glean the names of people who weigh in on the frequent movie threads. I do not assume any special interest or expertise about movies, but I figure that if you are interested enough to torture a keyboard regarding a movie thread, you might be interested enough for a ping list.
All topics are open for discussion, but my hope is that we can nudge the conversation towards good, conservative-friendly films that we can recommend to others. Goodness knows, we do plenty of complaining about Hollywood nonsense (and worse). We need to notice the good stuff as well.
Thanks.
Re Buddhism. It started in India.
thanks for the post/ping sphinx! I saw it on 11/12 (there were 4 of us) and we all liked it. I too agree the prologue/prelogue? was long and awkward. I was worried that the whole movie would be that way. All in all it was good and I agree with you that we need to support movies that support God and country with our MONEY
Thank you for the review
Mere Christianity is a great read
Thank you for the ping. I don’t see new movies often these days (the last “new” one I saw in a theater was “Midway”, but don’t feel like going back to a theater again.
Boy. I used to love going out to movies with people.
Anyway, I have, late in my life become very interested in C.S. Lewis. I have been trying to find my way to God, and in that someone suggested “The Screwtape Letters” and it really struck a chord with me. Just wow.
I may check it out when is available to rent or get from the library. If given a choice for a conservative purpose, will rent or buy instead of checking it out from the library.
I too saw this movie yesterday at a 2pm showing in Tampa as a party of 3. The attendance also matched or slightly exceeded your count, theater had a capacity of about 90 and my estimate was a third full. Also match your surprise at the pre-play showing the behind-the-scenes setups. I found it informative, especially as the difficulties with Oxford & England’s bout with Covid were described and their sensitivity to the public while filming.
Max McLean (Narrator, Lewis in retrospect) was very good, no great surprise as he was the author & star of the source one-man play. Indeed I really cannot fault any of the cast nor the production, we were in England at the height of confidence. Loved the steam-punk of the train & antique lighting. Scenes of Oxford rang reminders of another favorite movie, “Chariots of Fire”.
I was a bit disappointed at a too early ending, I wanted a bit beyond that church service, but, still, is that not a good way to end, with the audience wanting more? This was the first movie I have seen in a theater for nigh on a decade as I am more inclined to buy for home viewing.
In terms of the quasi-genre of Christian movies, it ranks well but I have to say that my favorite is still “Amazing Grace” (2006 - William Wilberforce / Antislavery). That being said, bear in mind that this is a comparison of a major production against something much smaller!
In conclusion, I am most happy that I went to it and commend it to all. God Bless!
That is one GEICO Ad that should stay in the rotation, especially for Halloween. I also want the hairy human back to club a snarky lizard!
“If we want the film industry to make more of “our kind of movies,” we need to support the good ones when they appear.”
Exactly. I will stream it when it reaches that medium.
I would like to see that. Thanks for the tip.
Gautama Siddhartha was a Hindu before he became the first Buddha and his teachings became wide spread.
(In before “Tell me you got everything you know about Buddhism from Hermann Hesse without telling me you got everything you know about Buddhism from Hermann Hesse.”)
“late in my life”
Don’t wait until it’s too late. Imagine missing finding your way because you didn’t want to go to the place where your next step might be found, and “late in” became “end of” first.
Of course, a Bible-centered church or guided Bible study would be vastly superior, but if you have to take small steps, Lewis will do no harm.
PM me anything.
Thank you very much. I have had very useful and friendly offers of assistance on just this, and I both understand it and appreciate it.
I agree tbat the Joss Ackland version if SHADOWLANDS was superior. Claire Bloom was great as Joy Gresham. In the later film, Debra Winger played Gresham. Like the real life Gresham, Bloom and Winger shared Jewish heritage.
In MERE CHRISTIANITY, Lewis states that the greatest Christian sin is pride. Perhaps as a category of sin I can agree with him in part. The Bible teaches us that blasphemy is the greatest sin and it is one where there really should be no temptation. Today the most vile and hate-filled blasphemies (not just expressions of doubt or cynicism) are spewed constantly within the entertainment industry.
I’m surprised I hadn’t heard of this one. I hope it will be released on DVD or streamed
Going through old conversations and hoping for your continued physical well-being, and wondering how things are on the spiritual side.
Thank you for thinking of me in this respect, FRiend.
I am continuing to go to a monthly men’s group put on by my brother’s Baptist church, and I think it is doing me good. It has engaged the spiritual thought process and brought it closer to the front for me.
And that is a good thing.
I have come to the conclusion that I cannot navigate the remainder of my life on my own, or even aided by family and friends. In order to be happy and fulfilled, I need help they cannot provide.
And I think that is even a better thing...:)
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