Question

From your viewing of the assigned video #1, C.S. Lewis and Intelligent Design, isolate 3 different and distinct arguments that C.S. Lewis makes that point to the fact that the entire universe had to have been created by a Divine Intelligent Agent, Who is above and outside of the universe itself. After you have isolated these 3 arguments, explain in detail, , how Lewis arrives at these conclusions.

Answer 1

Note: This response is in UK English, please paste the response to MS Word and you should be able to spot discrepancies easily. You may elaborate the answer based on personal views or your classwork if necessary.

(Answer) C.S. Lewis was initially an atheist in his younger years. Lewis had a tough personal life and faced challenging situations. One of the prominent peers in his life at the time was J.R.R. Tolkien. The two figures were at a bar, having a conversation about God and convictions. Lewis told Tolkien about how ridiculous all of these religions were and how they were all based on mythological beliefs. Tolkien was a devout Christian in his life and was asked by Lewis as to why he believes in Christianity. Tolkien simply said, “Because this myth is true.”

This was the trigger that led to Lewis viewing the subsequent events in his life with a different lens. He began viewing his struggles through the justification of struggles in the Christian doctrine. Lewis went on to become a Christian and even voiced his opinion about why he believes in the existence of God.

He justified that creation and evolution was the work of God by saying something to the effect that, “expecting that the universe came into existence for no reason would be like to pour milk on a table and expecting it to take the shape of a world map.” This leads one to the assumption that Lewis believed that the purpose behind the existence of the universe is love and that there was a creator who expressed his love through the creation of the universe.

Lewis believed that love was a subliminal element that came from God. The element of love tied the human beings together in the similar way that we are all carbon-based life-forms. That is why Lewis is quoted as saying that, “The happiness which God designs for his higher creatures, is the happiness of being freely and voluntarily united to him and to each other in an ecstasy of love.”

Prior to being a believer, Lewis believed that God was a construct of human minds in order to placate themselves from the worries of the world. However, upon believing, Lewis believed that God was the entity that bound the humans together and that is why he says that, “I gave in and admitted that God was God.”