Surprised by Jack: C. S. Lewis on Mere Christianity, the Bible, and Evolutionary Science

David Williams’s series Surprised by Jack begins by pointing out that C. S. Lewis is held in such high esteem by American evangelicals that we often overlook the fact that his actual views did not entirely conform to popular evangelical paradigms. Williams focuses on three main issues where Lewis’s stated views might surprise his admirers.

The first of these is how Lewis understood the inspiration of Scripture and the function of myth in Genesis. For Lewis, myth hardly means “false”; instead, myth can speak truth in ways that history and science fall short. The second issue in Williams’s series is how Lewis understood the Fall of humanity—particularly what is central to this doctrine and what is purely speculative. The third and final issue concerns the relationship of science and faith—Lewis made it quite clear in his writings that he believed there was no real conflict between “mere evolution” and “mere Christianity.” For more, read David Williams’s four-part series!