Back to series
July 2010
It is very common among American Evangelicals to dismiss theology as a hindrance rather than a help to faith, but C.S. Lewis did not think this way.
“In a way I quite understand why some people are put off by Theology. I remember once when I had been giving a talk to the R.A.F., an old, hard-bitten officer got up and said, “I’ve no use for all that stuff. But, mind you, I’m a religious man too. I know there’s a God. I’ve feltHim: out alone in the desert at night: the tremendous mystery. And that’s just why I don’t believe all your neat little dogmas and formulas about Him. To anyone who’s met the real thing they all seem so petty and pedantic and unreal!”
Theology is like a map. Merely learning and thinking about the Christian doctrines, if you stop there, is less real and less exciting than the sort of thing my friend got in the desert. Doctrines are not God: they are only a kind of map. But that map is based on the experience of hundreds of people who really were in touch with God—experiences compared with which any thrills or pious feelings you and I are likely to get on our own are very elementary and very confused. And secondly, if you want to get any further, you must use the map. You see, what happened to that man in the desert may have been real, and was certainly exciting but nothing comes of it. It leads nowhere. There is nothing to do about it. In fact, that is just why a vague religion—all about feeling God in nature, and so on—is so attractive. It is all thrills and no work; like watching the waves from the beach. But you will not get to Newfoundland by studying the Atlantic that way, and you will not get eternal life by simply feeling the presence of God in flowers or music. Neither will you get anywhere by looking at maps without going to sea. Nor will you be very safe if you go to sea without a map.
In other words, Theology is practical: especially now. In the old days, when there was less education and discussion, perhaps it was possible to get on with a very few simple ideas about God. But it is not so now. Everyone reads, everyone hears things discussed. Consequently, if you do not listen to Theology, that will not mean that you have no ideas about God. It will mean that you have a lot of wrong ones—bad, muddled, out-of-date ideas. For a great many of the ideas about God which are trotted out as novelties today are simply the ones which real Theologians tried centuries ago and rejected.”
For some good basic theology, consider reading Systematic Theology, by Wayne Grudem.
1 C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, (New York: Touchstone), pp.135-137.
COPYRIGHT: This publication is published by C.S. Lewis Institute; 8001 Braddock Road, Suite 301; Springfield, VA 22151. Portions of the publication may be reproduced for noncommercial, local church or ministry use without prior permission. Electronic copies of the PDF files may be duplicated and transmitted via e-mail for personal and church use. Articles may not be modified without prior written permission of the Institute. For questions, contact the Institute: 703.914.5602 or email us.
-
Recent Podcasts
Questions That Matter Podcast – Kristi Mair and Reaching out in a Meta-Modern World
by Kristi Mair on September 22, 2023We've moved past post-modern. Apologist Kristi Mair explains...Read More
-
Work as a Holy Calling
by Aimee Riegert, Jerram Barrs on September 22, 2023
-
The Side B Stories – Alister McGrath
by Jana Harmon, Alister McGrath on September 15, 2023
-
Recent Publications
An Unlikely Friendship and a Beautiful Conversion
by Rosaria Butterfield, Ken Smith on August 15, 2023How a Liberal Feminist Was Introduced to Jesus...Read More
-
Reflections: Our Public and Private Lives
by C.S. Lewis Institute on August 1, 2023
-
Reflections: On Praying The Lord’s Prayer
by C.S. Lewis Institute on July 1, 2023
0
All Booked
0.00
All Booked
0.00
All Booked
19682
GLOBAL EVENT: Revival! 8:00PM ET
https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/?event=global-event-revival-800pm-et&event_date=2023-10-20®=1
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr
2023-10-20

Next coming event
Days
Hours
Minutes
Seconds
GLOBAL EVENT: Revival! 8:00PM ET
On October 20, 2023 at 8:00 pmCategories
Speakers
C.S. Lewis Institute
Author