LANGUAGE IN INDIA

Strength for Today and Bright Hope for Tomorrow

Volume 14:9 September 2014
ISSN 1930-2940

Managing Editor: M. S. Thirumalai, Ph.D.
Editors: B. Mallikarjun, Ph.D.
         Sam Mohanlal, Ph.D.
         B. A. Sharada, Ph.D.
         A. R. Fatihi, Ph.D.
         Lakhan Gusain, Ph.D.
         Jennifer Marie Bayer, Ph.D.
         S. M. Ravichandran, Ph.D.
         G. Baskaran, Ph.D.
         L. Ramamoorthy, Ph.D.
         C. Subburaman, Ph.D. (Economics)
Assistant Managing Editor: Swarna Thirumalai, M.A.

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An Evaluation of the Claims of Higher Critical Thought to
Read between the Lines of History and Scripture
A Critical Analysis of C. S. Lewis’s Position

Tom Shetler

Abstract

One of the important, if not central, controversies in the conflict between Fundamentalism and Theological Liberalism in the first half of the twentieth century was the argument over the nature of Sacred Scripture. Is the Bible the revealed word of God as the Fundamentalists and Evangelicals proclaim? Or does it only reflect the religious feelings and experiences, first of the Jews, and then of the Christians of the first and second centuries A.C.E. as the Liberals claimed? Are they warranted in making these revisions or are they based on something other than the historical evidence? This paper tries to answer these questions making a critical analysis of C. S. Lewis’s position as presented in his widely read Mere Christianity.

Key words: Fundamentalism, theological liberalism, revealed Word, C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity


Is the Bible Revealed of God?

One of the important, if not central, controversies in the conflict between Fundamentalism and Theological Liberalism in the first half of the twentieth century was the argument over the nature of Sacred Scripture. Is the Bible the revealed word of God as the Fundamentalists and Evangelicals proclaim? Or does it only reflect the religious feelings and experiences, first of the Jews, and then of the Christians of the first and second centuries A.C.E. as the Liberals claimed? In making this claim, Liberals were often revising the traditional understanding of the historical record whether of ancient Israel or the early centuries of the Christian church. This historical record was composed of both the rabbinical tradition of historic Judaism and the writings of the historians of the church including the vast amount of literature from the church fathers. In many cases, the modern critics of the traditional account present radical departures from the widely held conclusions of several generations of church historians. For example, The Jesus Seminar included the Gospel of Thomas as a legitimate Gospel and even titled the record of their attempt at historical reconstruction, The Five Gospels (James K. Beilby & Paul Rhodes Eddy, The Historical Jesus: Five Views, (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2009), 46).

This choice reflects the attempt of many scholars of the last several decades to develop a historical narrative that describes a competition between various groups in the first and second centuries for dominance of the emerging Christian tradition. Included in these groups were the gnostics (from which the Gospel of Thomas arose), the Ebionites who wanted to retain the legalism of the Old Testament, and the group built around the teachings of the Apostle Paul which will eventually become orthodox Christianity.

One must ask, as we will in this paper, are they warranted in making these revisions or are they based on something other than the historical evidence?

C. S. Lewis’s Intervention

In attempting to find an answer to these crucial questions, we will look to a somewhat surprising source, C.S. Lewis. Lewis was a classical scholar who came to Christ in adulthood, and that after a period in which he claimed to be an atheist. As a Christian writer, he stands as one of the most influential Evangelicals of the twentieth century. Lewis wrote prolifically and broadly, his works range from the children’s classics, Chronicles of Narnia, to possibly the most widely read apologetic book of all time, Mere Christianity.

This is only the beginning part of the article. PLEASE CLICK HERE TO READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN PRINTER-FRIENDLY VERSION.

Tom Shetler
Faculty
Bethany Global University
Bloomington, MN 55438
USA
tomshetler@hotmail.com
tom.shetler@bethfel.org
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