Further Up and Further In: Orthodox Conversations with C. S. Lewis on Scripture and Theology

by Edith M. Humphrey

Drawing on Lewis s broad corpus, both his beloved classics and his less well-known writings, Humphrey brings Lewis into conversation with Orthodox thinkers from the ancient past down to the present day, on subjects as diverse and challenging as the nature of reality, miracles, the ascetic life, the atonement, the last things, and the mystery of male and female.

302 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 4, 2018

About the author

Edith M. Humphrey (PhD, McGill University) is the William F. Orr Professor of New Testament at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is the author of several books, including Grand Entrance: Worship on Earth as in Heaven and Ecstasy and Intimacy: When the Holy Spirit Meets the Human Spirit. She has also authored numerous articles on the literary and rhetorical study of the Bible.

Reviews

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a motley mix of essays about various different themes within Lewis's works. Humphrey writes authoritatively, picking and choosing what to focus on. I particularly liked her chapters on Till We Have Faces and the last chapter about gender. I don't always agree with her, and I do think she misses things (e.x. I disagree with her definition of "sacramental"). But you have to go into a book like this accepting the fact it isn't meant to be comprehensive, and most of the time I could see what she was trying to do. By the end of the book, though, I had to ask myself: "What value does this add to scholarship on Lewis?" And I'm not sure I can answer that question.

Table of Contents
I. Mapping the Terrain
1. Lewis and Reepicheep: Reality and Mythology, Writing and Reading ("An Experiment on Criticism" and Other Essays)
2. Creation, "Sub-Creation," and Thanksgiving (The Magician's Nephew, The Silver Chair, and Fr Schmemann's For the Life of the World)
3. "Worldview," Miracles, and Magic ("Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism" and Miracles)

II. Travelling in Arduous Places
4. Thinking Carefully and Acting Ethically (The Abolition of Man and The Pilgrim's Regress)
5. Theodicy, Spiritual Blindness, and Ascesis (Till We Have Faces and St Athanasius' The Life of Anthony)
6. Blessings and Curses: Justice, Atonement, and The Great Exchange (Till We Have Faces, and St Athanasius' On the Incarnation)

III. Plumbing the Depths and Climbing the Heights
7. Depravity and Possession (That Hideous Strength and Jonathan Edwards's "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God")
8. Blessings and Curses Revisited: Heaven and Hell (The Great Divorce and von Balthasar's Dare We Hope That All Men Be Saved?)
9. Sacrament and Essence, Masculine and Feminine (That Hideous Strength and Evdokimov's Woman and the Salvation of the World)

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I've read a fair amount of Lewis - and more and more all the time - I admit two things: firstly, I don't have a deep and abiding love of his works, and sometimes I find them to be a bit plodding.
However, he has written some wonderful works. Coupled with a recent re-read of the Chronicles of Narnia in my read-alongs, this was a wonderful book to read a bit of a time and ponder how he interacts with Orthodoxy - both big and little o.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: A survey of much of Lewis's literary corpus considering the theological themes developed in these works in interaction with Eastern Orthodox theologians.

Edith M. Humphrey is an Eastern Orthodox theologian who teaches in a Presbyterian seminary in Pittsburgh. She also has loved the work of C. S. Lewis since childhood, writing to him early in 1964, not knowing he had died not long before, asking if he would write more stories like The Chronicles of Narnia. In this work, she brings a lifelong love of Lewis and her own theological perspective to bear on a survey of much of Lewis's literary corpus.

The work is divided into three parts. The first, titled "Mapping the Terrain." She explores the way reading and writing, myth and reality found in story, may open our eyes to larger realities. In the Narnia accounts of creation, we consider our roles as "subcreators", listening to Orthodox theologian, Alexander Schmemann, We marvel at Grand Miracle of the Incarnation, as considered in Lewis's Miracles.

Part Two is titled "Travelling in Arduous Places." She considers Lewis's challenges of the subjectivism of the day (and anticipatory of the advent of post-modernism) in The Abolition of Man and Pilgrim's Regress. This forces us how then we are to think and live and the deeper journey of ascesis in Lewis's retelling of the tale of Psyche and Orual in Till We Have Faces. This brings us to the doctrine of the atonement and Athanasius's "great exchange."

The final part is titled "Plumbing the Depths and Climbing the Heights." In both Jonathan Edwards and That Hideous Strength we explore the nature of human depravity and the power of the demonic. More intriguingly, she explores the doctrines of heaven and hell, reflecting on Lewis's The Great Divorce. She touches on the "hopeful universalism" of Eastern Orthodoxy that finds echoes in this work but also suggests biblical and theological boundaries that I found quite helpful in discussing these matters, helpful enough that I quote them at length:

We cannot say that God's will may ultimately be thwarted.
We cannot deny that God "desires all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth" (I Tim. 2:4).
We cannot view the salvation accomplished by Christ as automatic in such a way that it violates human integrity or choice, or that it does not require a human response.
We cannot say that salvation depends upon us in a foundational sense.
We cannot say that human acceptance of God's loving offer is unnecessary.
We cannot claim to know that someone is damned.
We cannot say that the effect of Christ's righteousness on humanity is less powerful than Adam's sin.
We cannot say that the doctrine of hell is only "heuristic" -- that it is only a warning. (pp. 239-240)

I thought this quite a helpful summary both of what we know, and where as yet, we still see dimly. Her final chapter in this section includes a similar list of boundaries on matters of gender, reminding us both of the "reversals" that may warn us about established fixed gender roles, and yet being cautious of eliminating the distinction of male and female, given how embedded in reality maleness and femaleness are. Her caution is one against the unthinking embrace of one side or the other in the culture wars around gender.

Edith M. Humphrey offers a feast for any lover of Lewis or the Inklings. We listen to a fellow lover as she shares what she has seen and loved in Lewis. We listen to a careful biblical and theological scholar who brings us into conversation with Orthodox theologians. We consider the nature of our world, our role as sub-creators, how both contemporary thought and our fallen natures color our thought and lives, and the grand purposes revealed in the Grand Miracle, the Great Exchange, and our future hope. The title is fitting. The whole book invites us to join Lewis in pressing, "further up and further in."

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary review copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

[Joshua · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellently written, and honestly engaged; Mrs. Humphrey, who spent most of her life in ministry in the Protestant world, and with a love and speciality in Lewis, comes to us in this accessible yet academic exploration of the complexities of our cultural moment through the lens of Lewis’ works and her own Orthodox faith.

All in all I walk away with both more questions and more confidence in the robustness yet mystery of the Christian faith we hold, and it’s ability to navigate the complexities of our current moment with wisdom and grace.

[Sean Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can't believe this book doesn't have more reviews. What C.S. Lewis lover wouldn't enjoy delving deeper into his works, and written with a fresh perspective no less!? The author clearly has both a keen understanding of Lewis and a love of the subject matter that makes the book come alive. Since reading this, I have been able to re-read Lewis' works with fresh eyes and new insights. Any fan of Lewis is guaranteed to enjoy!