At an Anselm House event in 2023, Dr.Chris Armstrong presented a case for why C. S. Lewis may be understood as a Christian humanist. After laying out a chronological “map” of the various phases of humanism (beginning with its classical origins) and identifying each phase’s key questions, Armstrong explains the theological ideas at the core of Christian humanism. These ideas include the ramifications of the Incarnation, the creation of human beings in the image of God, and the intelligibility and goodness of Creation. Armstrong concludes with his “Top Ten Clues C. S. Lewis Was a Christian Humanist,” showing how Lewis’s work is grounded in the Christian humanist tradition in its deepest and fullest sense.
Dr. Chris Armstrong is an author, educator, church historian, and academic entrepreneur. He also serves as Program Fellow in Faith, Work, and Economics for the Kern Family Foundation and is Senior Editor of Christian History magazine. This lecture is provided courtesy of Anselm House.
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On Volume 134 of the Journal, Chris Armstrong talks about the “cultural nestorianism” of modern evangelical Christianity. In the same way that Nestorius thought that the two natures of Christ went on and off, but never existed simultaneously, so likewise do many modern Christians separate their spiritual lives and God’s influence from their ordinary lives and the material world. Armstrong argues that one means of correcting this error is to “contemplate” and “enjoy” the theological and cultural mindset of medieval Christianity. For evangelical Christians, says Armstrong, there is no better guide for this task than C. S. Lewis.
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