Jerald L Manley

The Imaginative Christianity of C. S. Lewis Jerald L Manley

Publisher Marketing: C. S. Lewis did not mix a little harmless error with Christianity; he included a little harmless Christianity in his error. The testimony of both his life and his writings is that his error was not merely a side porch to his teachings, but was instead foundational of his writings; his false views are not peripheral literary touches, but are central and vital to his beliefs. It is impossible to endorse the one (his writings) without attaching some measure of acceptance to the other (his teachings). The writings and the teachings are indivisible; they are a unified whole and it is dishonest to present selected fragments as an organic whole. No verbal gymnastics can justify promoting the writings of C. S. Lewis while walking a tightrope separating his teachings from those writings. To promote Lewis is to advocate and to propagate his heresies. His most loyal friends, his most adoring disciples, and his most fawning supporter do not deny his erroneous teachings, but they accept, excuse them, or ignore them, seeking to "drink around the poison." This is a practice that is itself an error. The consequences of this duplicity have been devastating and are discernible in the lifestyle and the faith of this generation of adults that were Christian school educated and of churches pastored by men influenced directly or indirectly by writers such as C. S. Lewis.