Inside “The Invasion”Lewis shares his belief that the disbelief in “God is too simple and is a boys’ philosophy” just like our naive worldview which claims, “good God in heaven,” and omit all the creeds of evil/hell as if they did not exist.
(C.S.Lewis, p. 40) When it comes to Christianity many critics come across the dilemma of it being “suitable for a child of six.” (C.S.
Best services for writing your paper according to Trustpilot
Lewis, p. 41) But each time an intellectual Christian try to clear it to someone by describing it in more detail or revealing relevant facts and ideas of their perceptions, critics of Christianity or those who wish to destroy the religion complain that this version of religion is “too complicated” since, assuredly, a Christian God would make his religion simple. (C.S.Lewis, p. 41) This concept is, undoubtedly true. The world is a complex place, and so religion must be complex as well.
One of the whys and wherefores where Lewis enjoys Christianity is that “you could not have guessed it.” (C.S.Lewis, p. 41) If Christianity were perfectly unassuming and simple, then Lewis would doubtlessly think “we were making it up”.
(C.S.Lewis, p. 41) C. S. Lewis approves Christianity for its sincere moral intricacy and peculiarity mirroring, he believes, the intricacy and oddness of reality itself.
There is a dualistic distinct way to think about the wicked we see in this world. The first is the Christian view: “this is a good world that has gone wrong, but still retains the memory of what it ought to have been.” (C.S.Lewis, p. 42) The second example is the Dualistic view that the universe is a “battlefield” in which Good and Evil are continuously fighting one another.
Although Lewis has a lot of respect for the Dualistic view, it has some significant problems. According to Dualism, there are two gods: one good, one bad. The two gods are independent of one another, they both existed from all eternity. (C.
S.Lewis, p. 42) Presumably, one is hateful and cruel, while the other is kind and merciful. A question arises, how can humans estimate which god is the “good” god, and which one is the “bad” god? How can one choose one side, what specification can one appeal to their judgment? There is no answer to the question without bringing in a third law of some nature, which one god strictly obeys, and the other doesn’t. So therefore, another question is asked, who made the law? Dualism points to the idea that there must be some being who doesn’t just employ power over the material universe but who also makes and controls the laws of right and wrong. C. S.
Lewis also makes the argument that it is unviable to be bad for its own sake or to make badness one’s good. When people behave reckless or wicked, one of two things happens: 1) they feel guilty, because, deep down, they continue to believe in morality; 2) they get a fascinating feeling from breaking the rules/laws because, once again, they’re still aware of morality. Put another way, some can be ignorant of evil, but one cannot be ignorant of good.
Thus, badness isn’t a “worthy opponent” for good it is just “spoiled goodness.” In all, the Dualistic worldview winds up appearing a lot like Christianity. There are two powerful beings, but they’re not on an equal footing. Instead, the evil being is a “parasite,” perverting the powers of goodness. It’s no coincidence that in Christianity, the devil is described as a “fallen angel” in Christianity, evil itself is a kind of “fallen good”; and good that has been corrupted into something else.
(C.S.Lewis, p.
45) “The Invasion” explains that in Christianity, Satan was a fallen angel; a corrupted version of God’s goodness Dualism and Christianity aren’t as distant as some says it goes, in a sense, God and the Devil are fighting one another. The difference between Christianity and Dualism, however, is that in Christianity, the Devil isn’t God’s equal; he’s a malicious, underlying spirit. Lewis amounts his findings in this chapter which entail evil and the presence of goodness, but good doesn’t entail the reality of evil. Evil is an underlying way and form of corrupted good.
ReferencesC.S.Lewis. (n.d.).
The Invasion. In C. Lewis, Mere Christianity.
