My toilet was clogged the other day. After having exhausted all my handyman ideas, I called the electrician. NOOOOOO!!! Of course not. Why not? Because for that problem I needed a plumber.
You think to yourself, “Now that is silly, to call an electrician to fix a plumbing problem.” What is even more silly is to go to a fiction writer like C.S. Lewis to learn your theology. How important to know who God is. How essential to understand the nature of God’s salvation. How critical to grasp what the Scriptures teach. Yet how foolish to look to C.S. Lewis for all that. Because he was not a theologian, but a fiction writer.
Allow me to walk you through a brief soteriology class to discuss one aspect of the doctrine of salvation, namely the atonement. There are a number of theories concerning the atonement. Now as I go through these, try to guess which one C.S. Lewis believed in.(Hint: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe).
- The Ransom Theory – Ransom was paid to Satan.
- The Recapitulation Theory – Christ had to share all of man’s experiences, even a sinful life.
- The Commercial or Satisfaction Theory – Sin disrupted God’s honor and in Christ God’s honor was restored.
- The Moral Influence Theory – Christ, in both His life and death, was a beautiful example and thus provided a moral influence.
- The Socian Theory – The atonement as an example.
- The Governmental Theory – Atonement restored God’s government to pre-sin status.
- The Mystical Theory – The cross of Christ provides a basis for “reformation”, not “regeneration”.
- The Vicarious Repentance Theory – Christ’s death shows His sympathy and identification with the sinner. Christ “repented” in the sinner’s place.
If you guessed the first one, the ransom to Satan theory, you are right. These are all heresies. The biblical view of the atonement is that of vicarious, penal substitution. Jesus Christ died as a substitute for sinners who would believe on Him. He bore the wrath of God for them. C.S. did not believe in substitutionary atonement.
But you say, “My kids love the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” I say, “So do mine, especially the movie.” But I can tell you this much. I am currently teaching theology to my kids. And I can assure I am not going to C.S. Lewis for help.
