Reading The Problem of Pain allows one to see the best but also the worst of C.S. Lewis and an honest recognition of both are necessary.
Written at the eve of World War II, The Problem of Pain has been one of the most important examinations of the existence of evil, the purpose of suffering, the happiness of men, and related questions. It really is required reading for anyone (believer or non-Christian) who wants an enlightened, kind-hearted and well-argued perspective. Indeed, some of what I believe are Lewis’ most perceptive and eloquent observations are in this book. However, The Problem of Pain also contains some of the apologist’s weakest stuff. Here’s a quick review. I hope it encourages you to go weigh Lewis’ The Problem of Pain yourself.
* Lewis’ presentation of how the “Numinous” (that elemental human experience of spiritual awe) and man’s natural sense of morality combine into the historical event of Jesus’ Incarnation is very good. An example:
“There was a man born among these Jews who claimed to be, or to be the son of, or to be ‘one with,’ the Something which is at once the awful haunter of nature and the giver of the moral law. The claim is so shocking – a paradox, and even a horror, which we may easily be lulled into taking too lightly – that only two views of this man are possible. Either he was a raving lunatic of an usually abominable type, or else He was, and is, precisely what He said. There is no middle way. If the records make the first hypothesis unacceptable, you must submit to the second. And if you do that, all else that is claimed by Christians becomes credible – that this Man, having been killed, was yet alive, and that His death, in some manner incomprehensible to human thought, has effected a real change in our relations to the ‘awful’ and ‘righteous’ Lord, and a change in our favour.”
* Sharing elements of his excellent book, The Four Loves, C.S. Lewis’ evaluation of love in this book is profound and very memorable. He shows how a concept of permissive love (i.e. a divine “grandpa” who wants nothing but seeing everyone have a good time) doesn’t fit either the natural world as we know it or the spiritual world. His analogies of how God’s love works are all gems. And if you only have a little time, read the chapter “Divine Goodness” to get those treasures. Really good.
* Lewis has many other compelling points in his argument and he makes them with humility, wit and reason. Again, I think you’ll find some of his best writing in The Problem of Pain. However…
* …You’ll also find in the book some terrible clunkers. For instance, his chapter on animal pain is very weak. In the first paragraph of that chapter, Lewis says of animals, “everything we say about them is speculative” but he then goes on for a dozen pages and does just that. And, quite honestly, his speculations are just not pertinent let alone convincing. More serious a weakness is his way-too-brief comments on heaven and hell – key elements of any thorough discussion of evil, pain, suffering, etc.
* But the greatest weakness of The Problem of Pain is Lewis’ long chapter on “The Fall of Man” in which he delves so far into Darwinian theory that, for all intents, he rejects the literal interpretations of Adam, the Garden of Eden and, for that matter, the Old Testament.
“I have the deepest respect even for Pagan myths, still more for myths in Holy Scripture,” says Lewis but he goes on to suggest that man physically descended from animals. Then, quite mysteriously, somewhere in the dim dark past, new creatures evolved with a new awareness "of God and of itself as self.” With this “new species” came the power of choice. “We do not know how many of these creatures God made nor how long they continued in the Paradisal state. But sooner or later they fell. Someone or something whispered that they could become gods…For all I can see, it might have concerned the literal eating of a fruit, but the question is of no consequence.”
Well, the question of a literal interpretation of Genesis may not be of consequence to Lewis, but it certainly is to me. Indeed, it is this cavalier attitude to the “myths” of Scripture that is the most annoying (no, one must even say dangerous) element of the man’s work. And yes, I say this as one who remains an admirer and regular reader of C.S. Lewis. It is, after all, imperative to mark the errors of one’s mentors even as he seeks to emulate their strengths.
With this said, I do recommend again The Problem of Pain to discerning readers. You’ll find it of great value in many areas including even the sharpening experience of responding to the things you might find objectionable.
