C. S. Lewis is a popular author for Evangelical Christians these days. Two of his children's books have been turned into movies, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and now Prince Caspian. Lewis is also well known for his apologetic works, especially Mere Christianity.
I have just completed a seminary course at Ashland Theological Seminary on the Theology of C. S. Lewis. One of my requirements was to write a research paper on one theological topic and explore Lewis' theological views. Since we at Crossroads Community Church are now in the process of considering the multi-site strategy, we are in the process of asking the question, "What is a church?" With that background in mind I decided to look at Lewis' writings to explore this same question.
In particular I addressed the question of how would C. S. Lewis have viewed today's contemporary church. We know that he believed the purpose of the church was to attract people to Christ. But what would he have thought of rock and roll music in the church? Would he have identified with the concept of a "church for the unchurched?" My research paper attempts to answer these questions.
If you'd like to see my conclusions, download the link below, a PDF file. Be forewarned that this is an academic work, heavily footnoted and written in a formal style. But hopefully it will be interesting to those who wonder about C. S. Lewis and today's contemporary, evangelical church.
