The problem is not that modern evangelicals are less intelligent than Lewis. As Mark Noll explains in his book The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind, the problem is that our sharpest intellects have been channeled into biblical scholarship, exegesis, and hermeneutics. While that is a vital enterprise, we rarely give the same scholarly attention to history, literature, politics, philosophy, economics, or the arts. As a result, we are less aware of the culture than we should be, less equipped to defend a biblical worldview, and less capable of being a redemptive force in our postmodern society?less aware, as well, of the threats headed our way from cultural elites.
You and I need to follow Lewis?s lead. We must liberate ourselves from the prison of our own narrow perspective and immerse ourselves in Christian ideas ?down the ages.? Only then can we critique our culture and trace the trends.
The best way to celebrate Lewis?s birthday is to be at our posts, as he liked to say?with renewed spirits and with probing and informed minds.
For further reading and information:
C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (HarperSanFrancisco, 2001 version).
C. S. Lewis, Miracles (HarperSanFrancisco, 2001 version).
C. S. Lewis, The Abolition of Man (HarperSanFrancisco, 2001 version).
Charles Colson, ? The Oxford Prophet ,? Christianity Today,
Charles Colson, ? Cultural Prophecy: Lewis learned from the greats ,? Boundless,
Charles Colson, ? C. S. Lewis: Prophet of the Twentieth Century ,? Wilberforce Forum.
James Tonkowich, M. Div., ? In Praise of Old Books ,? BreakPoint WorldView, March 2004.
BreakPoint Commentary No. 040412, ? Everything Old Is New Again: C. S. Lewis and the Argument from Reason .?
BreakPoint Commentary No. 031121, ? Three Died That Day: Reflections on November 22, 1963 .?
Dr. Armand Nicholi, The Question of God: C. S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life (Free Press, 2002).
Mark A. Noll, The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind (Eerdmans, 1994).
Mark A. Noll, ? The Evangelical Mind Today ,? First Things, October 2004.
Chuck Colson
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Chuck Colson was the Chief Counsel for Richard Nixon and served time in prison for Watergate-related charges. In 1976, Colson founded Prison Fellowship Ministries, which, in collaboration with churches of all confessions and denominations, has become the world's largest outreach to prisoners, ex-prisoners, crime victims, and their families.
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