A lot of Lewis’s ideas are quite Orthodox—the soteriology of “The Great Divorce” and a lot of the theological hints dropped in the Narnia series are very non-Western. I know Lewis had a close Orthodox friend (whose name escapes me), was very fond of the Orthodox liturgy (remarking that it was better than anything in the West, and apparently considered conversion, but, living at a time whan Orthodox-Anglican union was still a seemingly live issue, never took the step. Indeed, some Orthodox jokingly speak of ‘our father among the saints Clive Staples Lewis’ even though he remained an Anglican all his life.
How interesting! I’ve observed in some discussions with Anglicans in recent months that the Anglican Communion (at least those parts that still believe in God) seems to be moving toward an ecclesial understanding rather like that of Orthodoxy.
Orthodox yes, as the statement of poster 8 by Lewis was lifted from Philipians 2:3. IN LOWLINESS OF MIND, LET EACH ESTEEM OTHER GREATER THAN HIMSELF".
I remember when pride was a vice. Today it is exalted. Self love, self acceptance, self affirmation, self ad nauseum. Someone said, "Deny self, take up the........". He was a smart guy. He seemed to have right understanding of the world. He was really smart.
"In the day that you eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, your eyes will be open and you will be as god". Yes, lets exalt self and self actualize as Abraham Maslow so ordered, and realize that we are that. Or as Carl Jung told us, we are part of that collective spirit, the collective unconsciousness and in us dwells infinite potential.
It is important to remind ourselves of what we have established today. Whether one is involved in psychotherapy, witchcraft, socery, or self-improvement techniques, the underlying philosphy is the same. The entire Ne Age movement embodies ancient occult ideas repackged in pseudoscientific language for modern consumption. It is naturalism/pantheism/ in opposition to supernaturalism/monotheism. In this schema man is a creature of the impersonal and uncreated cosmos rather than of a personal creator, and contains within himself (by virtue of his oneness with the cosmos) all wisdom, knowledge, and power. This is not ordinarily apparent because we have "forgotten" our true identities: and these limitless resources, which are now known only the the alleged "higher self", lie buried in Jung's "collective unconscious." I wonder, if we are God, how could we forget all of this repressed realized godhood?
The message, 'You are god', is a package which has been sold since Genesis 3. It has flown off of the shelf in many packages, but always the same. It is quiet simply, the lie. Self actualization, stolen by Maslow form the Hindu gurus 'self realization' continues to be sold in many guises, but always the same.