Even C.S. Lewis Is In The Primarily-Paul Camp = Even C.S. Lewis Is In The Primarily-Paul CampOne of my favorite fiction writers is C.S. Lewis. He was a brilliant author. Yet, even C.S. Lewis revealed himself to be a Paulinist who marginalized Jesus. Listen to his reasoning:
- Apeitheo only has one Greek meaning: disobey. (Lidell-Scott.) This is followed in ASV, RSV, NASV, WEB and GNB. Cfr. KJV and Luther’s Bible (“not believe”). Why the difference in the KJV & Luther? Because Pauline dictionaries of ancient Greek, while admitting “not believe” is a meaning “not found outside our literature,” claim the word apeitheo must mean disbelieve when used in Christian literature. (Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (eds. Bauer, Arndt, Gingrich, and Danker) at 82.) But why? Because unless we adopt a Pauline and idiosyncratic meaning ‘just for us Christians,’ then (John 3:36) undermines our favorite notions about salvation by faith alone, and our favorite verse to prove it: John 3:16.
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The epistles are for the most part the earliest Christian documents we possess. The Gospels came later. They are not ‘the Gospel,’ the statement of the Christian belief. ..In that sense the epistles [of Paul] are more primitive and more central than the Gospels — though not of course than the great events which the Gospels recount. God’s Act (the Incarnation, the crucifixion, and the Resurrection) comes first: the earliest theological analysis of it comes in the epistles [of Paul]: then when the generation which had heard the Lord was dying out, the Gospels were composed to provide the believers a record of the great Act and of some of the Lord’s sayings. (C.S. Lewis, “Introduction” to J.
B. Phillips’ Letters to Young Churches (Fontana Books n.d.) at 9, 10.)
Thus, Lewis is saying that Paul’s epistles are more primary than the Gospel accounts. The key facts are the death and resurrection of Jesus. If we believe these two facts, we are saved. ((Rom. 10:9).) Beyond that, Lewis acknowledges we can find “some sayings” of Jesus in the gospel accounts. However, they are not the gospel message. Then what of Jesus’ contrary claim? Jesus said: “I came to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom; that is the reason why I was commissioned.” ((Luke 4:43).) Lewis is confident that, to the contrary, the Gospel Jesus preached is not the Gospel we must obey. Instead, Lewis believed Paul had the Gospel we must follow.
Again, Lewis is saying nothing new. It was Luther’s view. It was Calvin’s view. It was or is the Billy Graham Association’s view. It was Marcion’s view two millennia ago. (See Appendix B: How the Canon Was Formed at page ix.) Yet, how can a Christ-centered life be based on de-emphasizing Jesus to accept Paul? It just doesn’t make any sense.
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A Better Explanation Why the Gospel Accounts Came Second