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Review Summary: I was fascinated by my reaction to this book |
Date: 2008-10-24 |
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Details: This is the CS Lewis book that I have had the most mixed reaction to. I loved all of his other books that I have read thus far. They include Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, Surprised by Joy, and the entire Chronicles of Narnia series. To me, Miracles is a mixed bag of some extremely good chapters and others that I did not totally agree with.
This book is more philosophical than his other works that I have read. It is basically an argument for the existence of miracles, which he defines as an interference with Nature by supernatural power. The argument seems to be mainly directed against Naturalists. His arguments are very similar to those being used in the ongoing debate with atheists that is going on today. I'm sure this book has influenced this debate.
One thing I confirmed in reading this book is that I do have theological differences with Lewis. Most of the other books I read of his tended to highlight the similarities of our beliefs, but this one did bring up some differences that I had expected. Chapter 10 is a good example to highlight those differences. In it he argues that things aren't always as they seem and people sometimes take scripture too literally and Lewis uses the example of people imagining that Christ is the literal physical son of a Father God. He then goes on to describe the traditional view of the Trinity. It turns out that I believe in the more simplistic literal view (I'm LDS). This chapter was an aside and not a part of the main argument, but it was interesting for me to see his view in this area.
The other big doctrinal difference is his view of creation of the universe and man. He believes in the traditional view of creation out of nothing of both matter and man; whereas I believe God created things by organizing existing material, and that man pre-existed as a spirit prior to his birth. Lewis spends time discussing the problems of evil related to this belief, which don't apply in my belief system.
One chapter I really liked was Chapter 8 where he discusses miracles and the laws of nature. I agree with him that a miracle does not have to violate a law of nature; just that it is caused by a supernatural force.
I do agree with Lewis that the greatest miracle is the resurrection. I was fascinated to read his view on what the resurrection entails. Again, I have a much more simplistic view of the resurrection than he does. I do believe that resurrected beings have bodies of flesh and bone as do Christ and the Father. He believes more in a totally different state that is indescribable.
Overall, this book helped me to better understand the differences between my beliefs and that of mainstream Christianity. Lewis is a master of explaining difficult concepts, and though I didn't agree with everything he said; it was still well said. |
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Review Summary: The Philosophy of Miracles |
Date: 2008-10-02 |
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Details: "Miracles" is probably my favorite non-fiction book by Lewis. It is his most philosophical work, and one in which he builds a logical argument one step at a time throughout the entire book. I still remember the feeling after my first reading: a feeling of just having gone through an incredible and wonderfully articulate thinking process.
What seems to have led Lewis to writing the book is the question, "How reliable are the Gospels and the other New Testament writings that tell us about the life of Jesus?" It is a question that has been hotly debated in the last few hundred years, especially among German theologians of the 19th and early 20th century.
What C. S. Lewis criticized about this debate is that since the supernatural is essential in the Gospels, the discussion has often centered around philosophical presuppositions rather than historical evidence. Theologians such as Rudolf Bultmann, Lewis maintained, doubted the historical reliability of the Gospels not because they had historical evidence to do so, but due to a philosophical presupposition that miracles do not happen. Which is an assumption they could not have possibly obtained from reading the Gospels. It is something they brought to their reading. But where did they get it from? How did they know that miracles do not happen?
Thus C. S. Lewis wrote "Miracles," where he presses the question about the reliability of the Gospels to an even more essential question: "Can the events told in the Gospels - including their miracles and predictive prophecies - happen at all, or are they absolutely impossible?"
That is a question the Gospels will not answer for us. It is a philosophical question we have to deal with before we approach the Gospels. If we conclude beforehand that certain stories in the Gospels cannot possibly happen, no amount of historical evidence will convince us. As Lewis says, if someone who disbelieves in angels one day sees an angel, he will probably say that it was an illusion. Supernatural experience will not convince someone who holds an anti-supernatural philosophy. "What we learn from experience depends on the kind of philosophy we bring to experience."
Likewise, what we learn from the Gospels depends on the kind of philosophy we bring to the Gospels. "It is no use going to the texts until we have some idea about the possibility or probability of the miraculous. Those who assume that miracles cannot happen are merely wasting their time by looking into the texts: we know in advance what results they will find for they have begun by begging the question."
Thus Lewis discusses miracles not on the ground of Experience but on the ground of Reason. Is it reasonable to believe in the (at least theoretical) possibility of miracles? (And by "miracle" is meant something that interferes with the natural processes of this universe, something that acts into Nature from above.)
To greatly simplify his argument in "Miracles," the answer to this question is so obvious that many people do not see it. They cannot see the wood for the trees. They forget that everyday they experience causes from outside of Nature acting into Nature. They forget about themselves. They - that is, Homo sapiens - have the ability to interfere with the natural processes of this universe. We are in a very real sense a miracle!
Talking about Nature as if there were nothing unnatural about it and as if miracles were something utterly unreasonable is not well thought out, Lewis maintained. Miracles are theoretically reasonable because they are an interference with Nature, and our own experience demonstrates that Nature has already been interfered with. WE are in it. Miracles are therefore nothing entirely different from what every human being has already experienced.
This, of course, does not mean that miracles (other than the miracle of the human being) do in reality occur (and Lewis has much more to say in the book). It only means that they do not contradict Reason, and that they are not so foreign to our experience as some people would make us believe. They are not an insult to the order of existence, since such "insult" happens all the time by our hands.
If one agrees with Lewis' reasoning, one can start approaching the Gospels with an open mind instead of rejecting its miracles from the outset.
- Jacob Schriftman, Author of The C. S. Lewis Book on the Bible: What the Greatest Christian Writer Thought About the Greatest Book |
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Review Summary: A refreshing mental snack |
Date: 2008-08-29 |
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Details: Miracles was a much-needed reminder of why I love to read: the powerful articulation of a principle, the surprise of the perfect analogy or metaphor, and a fresh perspective on an old challenge. Lewis's goal in Miracles is to convince us that miracles are not unreasonable. He does this admirably. He points out that one subscribing to materialism has no real grounds on which to criticize miracles. In fact, the materialist has no warranted grounds for his choice of materialism because Reason itself is not grounded in materialism. However, the chapter "Christianity and 'Religion'" looms as the most brilliant in the book. In it, he delineates a god that men create from the God who is. He concludes the chapter with the following statement: "There comes a moment when people who have been dabbling in religion ('Man's search for God!') suddenly draw back. Supposing we really found Him? We never meant it to come to that! Worse still, supposing He had found us?" |
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Review Summary: Refreshingly Reasonable |
Date: 2008-01-06 |
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Details: It might first be said that this work is quite unlike many of Mr. Lewis' other popular texts. While his clarity of thought and his uncanny ability to transfer thought to page in such a manner that the reader can clearly understand the author's logic remain present in this text; this work is, by no means, light or easy reading. That is, this particular work faces the tremendous challenge of formulating a logical and reasonable argument from the position maintaining that supernatural events are not entirely illogical or unreasonable. Mr. Lewis has successfully presented his argument in terms of both sound logic and persuasive argumentation; however, the presentation delves into the philosophical depths to achieve these ends. As such, the reader should be prepared for an experience which will require thoughtful contemplation if the subject matter is to be appreciated to its fullest, or any subsequent degree of entirety.
While this work is, as the title suggests, about miracles, one might want to avoid prematurely associating this work with other experiences had with similar subject material. The concept of miracles can be a stumbling block for many and, as a result, the subject might be overlooked or avoided as to not feel uncomfortable in one's own beliefs. However, this text presents the subject in an extremely approachable manner which will be appreciated by anyone who both wishes to tap into this particular issue and seeks logic in any explanation, argument, and position. If the curious reader is concerned about the depth of the subject matter, they may wish to first preview this text through any number of means before purchasing it as it might become quickly apparent whether or not that which the reader seeks to gain can be drawn from this work. Whatever the case may be, with time and a willingness to entertain the concepts contained within the pages of the text, much insight can be gained in this, yet another, masterpiece composed by C.S. Lewis.
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Review Summary: Convincing Logic |
Date: 2007-11-25 |
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Details: Well written though the man is admittedly taking on a huge task to provide a logical proof for the existence of the divine and its willingness to "invade" the natural world. He does spend a lot of effort logically rebuffing naturalism to make his point. I'm not sure if it's a good thing to attempt to make a point by rebuffing another view. Maybe so. Anyway, be prepared to re-read several topics just to make sure you understand the man before moving on - or maybe I'm just a little "thicker" than I thought. I had a similar experience reading Stephen Hawking's "A Brief History of Time". I had to re-read a lot of the material to really get it down in my mind.
So I'd had this laying around the house for a couple of years. I picked it up to read because though I was raised in an Evangelical church, I disown much of what my "old family" has gone on to achieve (such as Will Perkins authorship of Colorado's hate-filled Amendment 2 back in 1992... or was it 1988? Perkins was once my youth group leader - shudder). As a middle-aged man, I found I was having a great deal of trouble accepting much of what I see in the world today, like precious little children being victimized by sexual monsters, random killing on campuses, a President who claims to know God but has inflicted untold misery on hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions. I was really struggling with these issues. I needed something to reconcile what I wanted to believe (like Fox Mulder and his poster on his X-Files office wall professing "I want to believe") about the existence of God and what might really be the awful truth. As it turns out, this book is a step back toward God and Christianity for me (but not the Christianity of the evangelical right-wing, neo-con movement - that is a is a wolf in sheep's clothing and may very well be evil).
Read, ponder, wonder, enjoy, ask, pray, and so on. |
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out of 43 Reviews
