Lewis was a convert to Christianity. The usual self-analytical deficiencies of religious believers are often gigantified in converts, possibly because they adopted their beliefs out of need rather than simple habit and thus will hug them much tighter.
I think there are two slightly different situations at work here. Lewis did grow up in a very Christian environment, and as such possessed the “antibodies” described in the linked post.
His being a convert from atheism—by means of some kind of emotional breakdown—didn’t, thus, make him into an advocate of following every passage of the Bible and every idea ever presented by the Magisterium; rather, it made him a zealous defender of every excuse for why you don’t need to do so in order to be a good Christian.
That’s fair—I didn’t mean to say that it was the exact same case, simply that similar topics had been discussed before. That wasn’t clear from the original comment so I’ll change it to make it a little more so.
B… But, but he wants … he … says you, it’s a good idea to … argh!
His failing in one area, does not make his quotes untrue. Just a bit iffy. Thats why I try not to quote Gandhi or Churchill anymore.
?
Yes, my thought exactly.
This isn’t the first time someone’s posted a quote from Lewis that he didn’t follow.
My reply was me expressing shock that someone like him would have grounds to lecture others about not giving money to questionable charities.
Lewis was a convert to Christianity. The usual self-analytical deficiencies of religious believers are often gigantified in converts, possibly because they adopted their beliefs out of need rather than simple habit and thus will hug them much tighter.
Similar ideas discussed here.
I think there are two slightly different situations at work here. Lewis did grow up in a very Christian environment, and as such possessed the “antibodies” described in the linked post.
His being a convert from atheism—by means of some kind of emotional breakdown—didn’t, thus, make him into an advocate of following every passage of the Bible and every idea ever presented by the Magisterium; rather, it made him a zealous defender of every excuse for why you don’t need to do so in order to be a good Christian.
That’s fair—I didn’t mean to say that it was the exact same case, simply that similar topics had been discussed before. That wasn’t clear from the original comment so I’ll change it to make it a little more so.