C.S. Lewis Probably Disagrees with You.
When I was in seminary, a group of us were sitting around and talking about theologians, as we Bible nerds are wont to do. During the conversation, a friend of mine brought up C.S. Lewis. I quipped, “One of the saddest days in a Baptist’s life is when he realizes Lewis disagrees with them on most things.” That in turn spurred on a conversation about Lewis and his theology. It shocked me to realize how little most people actually know about the belief systems of one of the most influential scholars of the last century. Everyone wants to claim Lewis, almost no one truly can.
Near my house, we have a large Catholic seminary. While perusing through the bookstore, I came across some of Lewis’ works, including The Great Divorce, Screwtape Letters, and Mere Christianity. It made me laugh, as I had seen those exact titles at the local evangelical bookstore across town. Between the two stores, one Catholic and one Protestant, they didn’t share a single scholar or author except one. Everyone wants to claim Lewis.
Now, why do I say that Lewis probably disagrees with you? The answer is because he likely does. Here are a few beliefs of his I think my Protestant brothers and sisters would disagree with.
Christ is truly present within the consecrated host during communion (Eucharist).
Purgatory is real, and souls will go there before entering Heaven.
Sacramental confession to an ordained member of the clergy is vital for the well-being of the soul.
Praying to saints is a good and useful practice.
Now, I must caution against my Catholic brothers and sisters before you get too triumphant and begin pointing out the Catholicity of Lewis. He was not a Catholic and held several major beliefs that put him in opposition to Catholic Orthodoxy.
The Pope is not infallible and cannot make binding declarations on the entire Universal Church.
Though transubstantiation is a good explanation, it is not THE explanation for Christ’s presence in the Eucharist, systematizing too much what the Bible meant for mystery.
Marian dogmas have gone too far. Lewis went as far as to call some of the attention paid to Mary “heresy.”
Confession is important, but it should not be compulsory, and there is forgiveness of sin without confession.
As you can see, C.S. Lewis was neither Protestant nor Catholic in the way both sides would like him to be. If Lewis were to be interviewed for a Pastor position in any modern Baptist or Evangelical church, he would be promptly thrown out as a candidate and soundly rejected. Likewise, Lewis would not have been a Catholic in good standing, as he ardently disagreed with several doctrines defined by the church as compulsory to be a Catholic. Lewis was not Catholic or Protestant, he was both and neither. He was an Anglican. He was not “on the cusp” of becoming Catholic, much to the disappointment of Tolkien. Nor was he going to become a low-church Protestant and give up the beauty of the Mass. C.S. Lewis was an Anglican through and through. Both Protestant and Catholic simultaneously.
I think one of the reasons so many people don’t even know which denomination Lewis belonged to is because his writing was so deeply approachable from all perspectives. Lewis tried his best to write the truth, bring people to the church, and be from a “mere Christianity” perspective. Lewis did have his own specific views and opinions that he would ardently defend, but those oftentimes got overshadowed by the popularity of his ecumenical writing.