The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Letters from Malcolm:Philosophical Reflections on Christiani

Hello all,

I have written a short philosophical book which is an exploration of Christianity that expands on many of Lewis’ major themes. What is unique to this work is that it is not a simple restating of Lewis’ more well known ideas. It is, rather, an attempt to get at very particular issues (such as original sin, predestination, the inspiration of Scripture, etc.) by looking at various things Lewis wrote that are much less talked about or well known. It is sort of the opposite of “mere” Christianity in that it attempts to discuss some of the more precise ramifications of Lewis’s writings in the realm of Christian theology. I, writing as Malcolm, challenge Lewis’ by quoting him and unpacking his ideas in a unique way in the form of letters. My aim is to reproduce the same structure found in Lewis’ Letters to Malcolm, coming from Malcolm’s point of view. It is divided into eight parts: God’s Existence, Sin, Foreknowledge and Providence, Freedom, Hell, Pain and Evil, Scripture, and Jesus. Each part can be read on its own but I consider all of it more understandable as a unity. What I try to do is take a sweeping summary of Lewis’ views on these topics and unpack some of the further questions that arise from his thoughts on them. The result, I hope, is a work that is an expansion of Lewis’ thought that can be useful for contemporary Christian theology.

Just wanted to share it for anyone interested in reading philosophy or Lewis.

This is an interesting looking essay. I have not finished it yet but the first section on belief in God was in my mind because a pastor friend of mine and I were having lunch together this week and he said that he shared concern along with a well known journalist who spent much time in Afaganistan and the Middle East who when asked what worried him most currently said that it was the number of people with TB. Not the lung disease but total believism! It seems to me that there is an element within most religions and it is also alive and well in Christianty too whereby we are expected to check in our brains when we enter. What do you think?