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The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind
C. S. Lewis had one of the great minds of the twentieth century. Many readers know Lewis as an author of fiction and fantasy literature, including the Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy. Others know him for his books in apologetics, including Mere Christianity and The Problem of Pain. But few know him for his scholarly work as a professor of medieval and Renaissance literature.
What shaped the mind of this great thinker? Jason Baxter argues that Lewis was deeply formed not only by the words of Scripture and his love of ancient mythology, but also by medieval literature. For this undeniably modern Christian, authors like Dante and Boethius provided a worldview that was relevant to the challenges of the contemporary world.
Here, readers will encounter an unknown figure to guide them in their own journey: C. S. Lewis the medievalist.
What shaped the mind of this great thinker? Jason Baxter argues that Lewis was deeply formed not only by the words of Scripture and his love of ancient mythology, but also by medieval literature. For this undeniably modern Christian, authors like Dante and Boethius provided a worldview that was relevant to the challenges of the contemporary world.
Here, readers will encounter an unknown figure to guide them in their own journey: C. S. Lewis the medievalist.
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First published March 8, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 348 reviews
October 14, 2022
I am going to give this five stars as an important contribution to the conversation around Lewis. It is not a hard book but it reminds us that Lewis’s popularity may be rooted in the fact that he was a bit of a time traveler from the medieval world.
October 19, 2022
**I wanted to note that The Literary Life Podcast interviewed Jason Baxter in a podcast episode on Tuesday, October 18, 2022 and it was FANTASTIC. Highly recommend if you're interested in Lewis and what a medieval mind even means and why it matters.
I understood about 20% of this book. 😜 That seems like it would be a 1 star read instead of a 5 star read but I found the concepts in this book thrilling, and I recognized just enough to dig in my toes with glee. This is the kind of book that demands rereading. Each time I come to it in the future, the seeds planted by its concepts and ideas will have grown a bit more.
I love this view of Lewis and how his medieval mindset brings together so many of his writings with this common thread. Even Narnia becomes Lewis’s playground for imagining a world that has a far more medieval construction than a modern construction. Actually I wonder just how much Narnia planted some of the concepts from this book in my heart and mind so that I recognize them even if I don’t yet inhabit them. When I re-read this, I want it to be my own copy so I can underline and scribble and interact with the ideas in a more tangible way.
I would love to see Jason Baxter’s reading list that gave him the expertise to write this book. Lewis was considered one of the most well read persons of his day. I admire anyone who puts in the grit and effort to read what Lewis read and to interpret how those ideas interacted and ripened and matured in Lewis’s psyche to shape his life and thinking the way it did. Kudos to the author for sharing his knowledge with us!
I understood about 20% of this book. 😜 That seems like it would be a 1 star read instead of a 5 star read but I found the concepts in this book thrilling, and I recognized just enough to dig in my toes with glee. This is the kind of book that demands rereading. Each time I come to it in the future, the seeds planted by its concepts and ideas will have grown a bit more.
I love this view of Lewis and how his medieval mindset brings together so many of his writings with this common thread. Even Narnia becomes Lewis’s playground for imagining a world that has a far more medieval construction than a modern construction. Actually I wonder just how much Narnia planted some of the concepts from this book in my heart and mind so that I recognize them even if I don’t yet inhabit them. When I re-read this, I want it to be my own copy so I can underline and scribble and interact with the ideas in a more tangible way.
I would love to see Jason Baxter’s reading list that gave him the expertise to write this book. Lewis was considered one of the most well read persons of his day. I admire anyone who puts in the grit and effort to read what Lewis read and to interpret how those ideas interacted and ripened and matured in Lewis’s psyche to shape his life and thinking the way it did. Kudos to the author for sharing his knowledge with us!
March 1, 2023
I really enjoyed this but now need to read a lot more Lewis and then read this again.
August 3, 2022
I really enjoyed learning more about this key aspect of Lewis's identity. The more I read of him and from him the more I see how much medieval cosmology was the air he breathed.
The urge to read Boethius and reread Dante is strong now!
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 2 for '22 Reading Challenge: Inklings – About an Inkling)
The urge to read Boethius and reread Dante is strong now!
(The Literary Life Podcast’s 2 for '22 Reading Challenge: Inklings – About an Inkling)
June 8, 2022
Summary: An exploration of the great medieval writers whose works helped shape the mind and the works of C. S. Lewis.
Many of us who are Inklings lovers have heard the rule C. S. Lewis proposed that “after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in-between.” This was not mere scholarly pontification on the part of Lewis. As Jason Baxter observes, when asked about recommendations, Lewis would turn to a Kempis, Hilton, Theologica Germanica, Lady Julian, Dante, Spenser, Boethius, Milton, and the poet George Herbert. Rudolf Otto was the one relatively contemporary exception. Surprisingly, he read little or nothing of what many of us consider the great modern theological writers like Barth, Brunner, Tillich, or Niebuhr. This was Lewis the medieval scholar, the “third Lewis” lesser know to most of us who know him by his children’s stories and other fiction or his apologetics.
In this work, Jason Baxter contends that this third Lewis, in addition to scripture and ancient mythology, profoundly shaped all that Lewis thought or wrote. Lewis not only devoted himself to medieval scholarship, it was his native land, according to Baxter, and he was determined to bridge the chasm between the medieval and modern worlds, so convinced was he that even as there are things we understand that they did not grasp, there were things they understood that we have lost–and at times, we have slighted them in our understanding. The ancients also understood our smallness in the cosmos even though their models of the spheres were faulty.
He examines the cathedral of Salisbury and the writings of Augustine and Dante to capture the awe with which the ancients viewed the cosmos. It was his “medieval apprenticeship” that trained him that literature enables us to look, not at, but “along the beam” of light. The medieval sense of the world as a symphony reminds us of the chasm that has opened when we see the world, indeed all of life, as a form of machine. He was convinced of the need of a renewed chivalry that combined courage and civility in an age of “flat-chested” beings devoid of moral sentiments.
Baxter explores Lewis’s love of Dante, the wonder and weightiness of the Divine Comedy and the ways he drew upon this as he described the substantial weightiness of heaven in The Great Divorce. In Lewis we find both the apophatic of The Cloud of Unknowing and Otto’s “wholly other” and the incredibly intimate cataphatic of Nicholas of Cusa, captured in Lucy’s encounter with Aslan in Prince Caspian. In the unveiling of the pilgrim in Dante at the end of Purgatoria, we see Lewis’s own understanding of unveiling of our false selves when we stop hiding from God and are converted, portrayed in the concluding scene of Till We Have Faces. The final chapter explores the chasm between modern science and ancient myth and makes explicit that the ancients understood more of the world than we credited. We also discover the sources of Oyarses and the personalities of the planets.
We often say the Old Testament illumines the New. Likewise, the medieval writers and what Lewis gained from them illumine his writing and make our understanding of his works richer. Indeed, reading Baxter inclines me to pull Boethius off the shelf and determine to read all the way through the Divine Comedy, having not read past Inferno. I do have to admit, I’ve read Otto and fail to see Lewis’s attraction. In this case, I might choose Barth instead.
What Baxter also reminds me of regarding Lewis is how his voice stood out from the many clerical voices of his day. I can’t help but wonder if it was that he spoke from a different time, though living in ours, and hence from a different perspective. He brings “Narnian” (or perhaps Boethian) air into our modern, stale atmosphere. It also makes me wonder if so many who seek the mantle of Lewis miss something crucial–the startlingly different worlds of scripture, mythology, and ancient theological and literary figures with whom Lewis lived. He dared to speak from a different time rather than seeking to baptize the present with a veneer of Christianity. Perhaps we might begin, as this book models, with interspersing those old books with our new ones. Today we are encouraged to read diverse books. Lewis reminds us that the greatest diversity may be found in the writers from another time.
Many of us who are Inklings lovers have heard the rule C. S. Lewis proposed that “after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in-between.” This was not mere scholarly pontification on the part of Lewis. As Jason Baxter observes, when asked about recommendations, Lewis would turn to a Kempis, Hilton, Theologica Germanica, Lady Julian, Dante, Spenser, Boethius, Milton, and the poet George Herbert. Rudolf Otto was the one relatively contemporary exception. Surprisingly, he read little or nothing of what many of us consider the great modern theological writers like Barth, Brunner, Tillich, or Niebuhr. This was Lewis the medieval scholar, the “third Lewis” lesser know to most of us who know him by his children’s stories and other fiction or his apologetics.
In this work, Jason Baxter contends that this third Lewis, in addition to scripture and ancient mythology, profoundly shaped all that Lewis thought or wrote. Lewis not only devoted himself to medieval scholarship, it was his native land, according to Baxter, and he was determined to bridge the chasm between the medieval and modern worlds, so convinced was he that even as there are things we understand that they did not grasp, there were things they understood that we have lost–and at times, we have slighted them in our understanding. The ancients also understood our smallness in the cosmos even though their models of the spheres were faulty.
He examines the cathedral of Salisbury and the writings of Augustine and Dante to capture the awe with which the ancients viewed the cosmos. It was his “medieval apprenticeship” that trained him that literature enables us to look, not at, but “along the beam” of light. The medieval sense of the world as a symphony reminds us of the chasm that has opened when we see the world, indeed all of life, as a form of machine. He was convinced of the need of a renewed chivalry that combined courage and civility in an age of “flat-chested” beings devoid of moral sentiments.
Baxter explores Lewis’s love of Dante, the wonder and weightiness of the Divine Comedy and the ways he drew upon this as he described the substantial weightiness of heaven in The Great Divorce. In Lewis we find both the apophatic of The Cloud of Unknowing and Otto’s “wholly other” and the incredibly intimate cataphatic of Nicholas of Cusa, captured in Lucy’s encounter with Aslan in Prince Caspian. In the unveiling of the pilgrim in Dante at the end of Purgatoria, we see Lewis’s own understanding of unveiling of our false selves when we stop hiding from God and are converted, portrayed in the concluding scene of Till We Have Faces. The final chapter explores the chasm between modern science and ancient myth and makes explicit that the ancients understood more of the world than we credited. We also discover the sources of Oyarses and the personalities of the planets.
We often say the Old Testament illumines the New. Likewise, the medieval writers and what Lewis gained from them illumine his writing and make our understanding of his works richer. Indeed, reading Baxter inclines me to pull Boethius off the shelf and determine to read all the way through the Divine Comedy, having not read past Inferno. I do have to admit, I’ve read Otto and fail to see Lewis’s attraction. In this case, I might choose Barth instead.
What Baxter also reminds me of regarding Lewis is how his voice stood out from the many clerical voices of his day. I can’t help but wonder if it was that he spoke from a different time, though living in ours, and hence from a different perspective. He brings “Narnian” (or perhaps Boethian) air into our modern, stale atmosphere. It also makes me wonder if so many who seek the mantle of Lewis miss something crucial–the startlingly different worlds of scripture, mythology, and ancient theological and literary figures with whom Lewis lived. He dared to speak from a different time rather than seeking to baptize the present with a veneer of Christianity. Perhaps we might begin, as this book models, with interspersing those old books with our new ones. Today we are encouraged to read diverse books. Lewis reminds us that the greatest diversity may be found in the writers from another time.
July 6, 2023
As a lifelong fan of C. S. Lewis (and the Inklings generally), I’ve found the past decade or so very intriguing. The publication of a number of books and articles about Lewis’s thought has brought greater depth to my understanding of him—an understanding that makes me appreciate books and essays by him that I’d already enjoyed, but now I see with more insight. The more I learn about Lewis’s perspective on the world, the more I admire his out-of-place-ness and what that inspired in his faith and writing. And I think his reputation is still catching up to what we’re learning about him, as many people still regard him as merely a Christian apologist or children’s fantasy writer.
In this slim volume, Jason Baxter explores Lewis’s fascination for the medieval era—an era that, in some ways, Lewis saw as continuing to the industrial revolution, which, for Lewis, marked the next major shift in human culture. This book is packed with insights that connected to many other areas I’m currently thinking about, some of which I wasn’t expecting Lewis to be involved with. There were pleasant surprises in each chapter. It’s unfair to try to summarize the whole book in a short review, so I’ll point out a couple of chapters that offered particular interest to me.
“How to Pray to a Medieval God” introduces Rudolph Otto’s idea of the numinous (from The Idea of the Holy), which Lewis drew on to address the tension between apophatic (negating) theology—the concept that whatever we say about God is inadequate because we are enveloped in a “dark cloud of unknowing” in the face of a terrifying sublime, and words that we flawed humans use about God can get no closer to God than metaphors—and cataphatic (positive) theology—the concept that even though we are imperfect, we still bear the image of God, and that God, though unknowable, is also personal and loving. It’s a tension that Lewis writes through in some key moments of the Narnia stories, such as scenes in which Aslan is both terrifying and playful, and in Aslan that is no contradiction. Aslan is not a vague presence but a real, personal being. That’s a poor summary of a really great chapter, and it’s a chapter I look forward to reading with my students next year when I teach about the sublime.
The penultimate chapter, “Modern Science and Medieval Myth,” addresses the criticism that “people in the medieval era only had religious faith because they didn’t know what we know about how the universe really works.” Lewis’s response to that (and that criticism is exactly what he asserted before he became a Christian) is a variation on “metaphors we live by,” showing ways that modern science is also inherently metaphorical and the medievals were not as unaware of the way the universe works as we tend to assume. Lewis saw a need for connectedness—in language, metaphor, imagination, faith—that feels very current. It’s the kind of insight we need in order to resolve current and upcoming problems in social isolation and a perspective that sees the universe as nothing more than a big, impersonal machine. Again, a brief summary of a complex chapter is unfair, but there is much to continue contemplating here. A lot of people think of Lewis as someone who was a traditionalist, backward-looking, uncomfortable with his present context. But in fact, he is proving to be surprisingly prescient about issues we’re facing in society now.
The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis brings together a lot of research about Lewis. Even for Lewis readers who already know quite a bit about him, these chapters open up new vistas of understanding. And they will make almost any reader want to pick up the Lewis books that aren’t as often discussed, along with the books that he himself loved.
In this slim volume, Jason Baxter explores Lewis’s fascination for the medieval era—an era that, in some ways, Lewis saw as continuing to the industrial revolution, which, for Lewis, marked the next major shift in human culture. This book is packed with insights that connected to many other areas I’m currently thinking about, some of which I wasn’t expecting Lewis to be involved with. There were pleasant surprises in each chapter. It’s unfair to try to summarize the whole book in a short review, so I’ll point out a couple of chapters that offered particular interest to me.
“How to Pray to a Medieval God” introduces Rudolph Otto’s idea of the numinous (from The Idea of the Holy), which Lewis drew on to address the tension between apophatic (negating) theology—the concept that whatever we say about God is inadequate because we are enveloped in a “dark cloud of unknowing” in the face of a terrifying sublime, and words that we flawed humans use about God can get no closer to God than metaphors—and cataphatic (positive) theology—the concept that even though we are imperfect, we still bear the image of God, and that God, though unknowable, is also personal and loving. It’s a tension that Lewis writes through in some key moments of the Narnia stories, such as scenes in which Aslan is both terrifying and playful, and in Aslan that is no contradiction. Aslan is not a vague presence but a real, personal being. That’s a poor summary of a really great chapter, and it’s a chapter I look forward to reading with my students next year when I teach about the sublime.
The penultimate chapter, “Modern Science and Medieval Myth,” addresses the criticism that “people in the medieval era only had religious faith because they didn’t know what we know about how the universe really works.” Lewis’s response to that (and that criticism is exactly what he asserted before he became a Christian) is a variation on “metaphors we live by,” showing ways that modern science is also inherently metaphorical and the medievals were not as unaware of the way the universe works as we tend to assume. Lewis saw a need for connectedness—in language, metaphor, imagination, faith—that feels very current. It’s the kind of insight we need in order to resolve current and upcoming problems in social isolation and a perspective that sees the universe as nothing more than a big, impersonal machine. Again, a brief summary of a complex chapter is unfair, but there is much to continue contemplating here. A lot of people think of Lewis as someone who was a traditionalist, backward-looking, uncomfortable with his present context. But in fact, he is proving to be surprisingly prescient about issues we’re facing in society now.
The Medieval Mind of C. S. Lewis brings together a lot of research about Lewis. Even for Lewis readers who already know quite a bit about him, these chapters open up new vistas of understanding. And they will make almost any reader want to pick up the Lewis books that aren’t as often discussed, along with the books that he himself loved.
May 16, 2022
One’s normal reaction to a new book about C.S. Lewis is probably the same as a new book on John Calvin or the Five Points of Calvinism: “Not another one.” Jason Baxter’s book, however, has new material. Beginning with Michael Ward’s book on the planets and Narnia, theologians have realized that Lewis’s understanding of the heavenly spheres was more than just metaphorical. He had the exact same outlook as the medieval writers. We thank Jason Baxter for that insight.
Baxter sees Lewis as “Becoming Boethius.” Like the early medieval figure, Lewis bridged the gap between the Christian medieval world, especially prior to Aquinas, and our own time. But if Lewis is going to be Boethius, and if we are going to see what such a mind looks like, we have to see how the medieval mind viewed the planets. The planets provided man with a “harmony of the spheres.” The world and the planets were arranged in a musical interval. Here Baxter does an extended analysis of scenes in Lewis’s The Discarded Image.[1] It looks like this:
God
Primum Mobile, which causes the stellatum to move. The stellatum then move Saturn.
Saturn, for Dante at least, is the heaven of contemplatives. More commonly, though, he is Father Time.
Jupiter is the king.
Mars is iron-like.
Sol, or Sun.
Venus
Mercury
In the Christian era, these heavens were associated with angels. However, Lewis points out that the danger to monotheism “clearly came not from a cult of angels but from the cult of the Saints. Men when they prayed were not usually thinking of hierarchies and intelligences.”[2]
This extended detour serves to illustrate a point Baxter makes later. With the current talk about a disenchanted universe, one might be surprised to hear the disenchantment in the heavens. No longer could the heavens be seen as a harmonic prove of Platonic solids. That probably does not bother us like it would earlier ages.
Breathing Narnian Air
This was a fun chapter. Why do people resonate with Lewis’s works so much? They do because Lewis enables them to experience what “an idea felt like.” You feel the idea of Goodness. You can probably think back to a book where you had this experience. For me it would have been Spenser’s Faerie Queene or the scene with Mr. Valiant-for-Truth in Pilgrim’s Progress. In other words, you can “breathe the atmosphere of a story.”
There is a deeper philosophical issue at play as well. For it we again turn to Boethius. Humans normally know something via ratio, or discursive judgment. Every now and then, though, when hit with a powerful idea, we know via intellectus, or through actual intelligence. This is more intuitive. This is what Lewis meant in his famous essay about “looking along a beam of light.” When you look alongside a beam of light in a dark shed, your eyes are directed towards the opening and then you see much, much more.
Conclusion
I recommend this work to more advanced students of Lewis. Baxter also deals with Till We Have Faces and mysticism, both good and bad, so Lewis argues, in Letters to Malcom. One also needs to have a working knowledge of some scenes in Dante's Comedy, as they open up several key moments in Lewis's fiction.
[1] C. S. Lewis, The Discarded Image, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1964), 102ff.
[2] Lewis, Ibid, 120.
Baxter sees Lewis as “Becoming Boethius.” Like the early medieval figure, Lewis bridged the gap between the Christian medieval world, especially prior to Aquinas, and our own time. But if Lewis is going to be Boethius, and if we are going to see what such a mind looks like, we have to see how the medieval mind viewed the planets. The planets provided man with a “harmony of the spheres.” The world and the planets were arranged in a musical interval. Here Baxter does an extended analysis of scenes in Lewis’s The Discarded Image.[1] It looks like this:
God
Primum Mobile, which causes the stellatum to move. The stellatum then move Saturn.
Saturn, for Dante at least, is the heaven of contemplatives. More commonly, though, he is Father Time.
Jupiter is the king.
Mars is iron-like.
Sol, or Sun.
Venus
Mercury
In the Christian era, these heavens were associated with angels. However, Lewis points out that the danger to monotheism “clearly came not from a cult of angels but from the cult of the Saints. Men when they prayed were not usually thinking of hierarchies and intelligences.”[2]
This extended detour serves to illustrate a point Baxter makes later. With the current talk about a disenchanted universe, one might be surprised to hear the disenchantment in the heavens. No longer could the heavens be seen as a harmonic prove of Platonic solids. That probably does not bother us like it would earlier ages.
Breathing Narnian Air
This was a fun chapter. Why do people resonate with Lewis’s works so much? They do because Lewis enables them to experience what “an idea felt like.” You feel the idea of Goodness. You can probably think back to a book where you had this experience. For me it would have been Spenser’s Faerie Queene or the scene with Mr. Valiant-for-Truth in Pilgrim’s Progress. In other words, you can “breathe the atmosphere of a story.”
There is a deeper philosophical issue at play as well. For it we again turn to Boethius. Humans normally know something via ratio, or discursive judgment. Every now and then, though, when hit with a powerful idea, we know via intellectus, or through actual intelligence. This is more intuitive. This is what Lewis meant in his famous essay about “looking along a beam of light.” When you look alongside a beam of light in a dark shed, your eyes are directed towards the opening and then you see much, much more.
Conclusion
I recommend this work to more advanced students of Lewis. Baxter also deals with Till We Have Faces and mysticism, both good and bad, so Lewis argues, in Letters to Malcom. One also needs to have a working knowledge of some scenes in Dante's Comedy, as they open up several key moments in Lewis's fiction.
[1] C. S. Lewis, The Discarded Image, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1964), 102ff.
[2] Lewis, Ibid, 120.
January 20, 2025
I really enjoyed this foray into Lewis's medieval influences (Boethius stood out to me). Baxter has a solid grasp of Lewis's work and deftly shows how Lewis's professional life affected his popular/fictional works. The final chapter, "Modern Science and Medieval Myth: The Relevance of Medieval Cosmology," soothed me. All too often I find folks completely misunderstanding science and the world of scientists to create a false dichotomy between faith and science, and the way Baxter handles Lewis's understanding of medievalism and physics was particularly helpful. Lewis's thoughts on alien life were also really interesting.
Recommended for fans of Lewis who want to learn more on the subject (and golly I have to re-read Planet Narnia again!).
Recommended for fans of Lewis who want to learn more on the subject (and golly I have to re-read Planet Narnia again!).
November 8, 2022
About every third book I read whispers a susurration: read Boethius. And that, my friend, is my main takeaway from this glorious book. Lewis loved Boethius. (<- the combo alliteration and sibilance makes it such a satisfying sentence to say aloud)
Also, I am long overdue to delve into William Wordsworth's poetry. Baxter's book heaps more heavy-weight nourishment on my to-read list than I can read in my lifetime. Glory!
If you can't get enough of C.S. Lewis, this is the book for you. It is dense and takes an effort to work through. I gave it my "gold standard" strategy: listen with my ears (narrated by Simon Vance, not a hardship) while reading with my eyes.
Thanks to Jason Baxter's specificity of examples, I want to revisit Salisbury Cathedral, Elgar's Cello Concerto, and Mahler's Symphony No. 1.
Also, I am long overdue to delve into William Wordsworth's poetry. Baxter's book heaps more heavy-weight nourishment on my to-read list than I can read in my lifetime. Glory!
If you can't get enough of C.S. Lewis, this is the book for you. It is dense and takes an effort to work through. I gave it my "gold standard" strategy: listen with my ears (narrated by Simon Vance, not a hardship) while reading with my eyes.
Thanks to Jason Baxter's specificity of examples, I want to revisit Salisbury Cathedral, Elgar's Cello Concerto, and Mahler's Symphony No. 1.
September 16, 2024
The world is more like a symphony than a machine. Lewis wanted us to contemplate more than control our world, steeped as he was in the earthy enchantment of pre-modernity.
Let's hope he wasn't actually The Last Dinosaur, but the one that led us moderns back to true myth. The one that peeled back the veil of our mechanized lives enough for us to see true reality a bit more. The one who inspired us to view the world like jolly, enchanted Dinosaurs as well.
This book is a wonderful way to learn about the people and books that made Lewis' work what it was. Highly recommend.
Let's hope he wasn't actually The Last Dinosaur, but the one that led us moderns back to true myth. The one that peeled back the veil of our mechanized lives enough for us to see true reality a bit more. The one who inspired us to view the world like jolly, enchanted Dinosaurs as well.
This book is a wonderful way to learn about the people and books that made Lewis' work what it was. Highly recommend.
February 15, 2023
Synopsis: Dr. Jason M. Baxter comments on C.S. Lewis’s Medieval inspiration in an informative and moving work of cultural and literary analysis.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher. Opinions expressed are my own.
What to Expect
The book comprises an introduction, a conclusion, and eight body chapters. Chapters offer insight into the Medieval landscape and modernity, demonstrating the shift in thinking on either side of the “Great Divide” that separates one philosophy from the other. Among these marked shifts, we witness a new approach to the cosmos, as the universe became a mechanized object, rather than a living thing.
Chapters also demonstrate Lewis’s interaction with, and recycling of, these old ideas in his modern literature. For example, chapter five reveals Lewis’s indebtedness to Dante, while chapter six discusses his writings on, and response to, mysticism. I particularly enjoyed chapters four onward. Evil enchantment is such a relevant theme, which I so appreciate in Lewis’ The Silver Chair, so I expected this chapter (four) to be my favorite. However, the book seemed to keep getting better!
At just 165 pages, the book is, in my opinion, the perfect length: richly packed with timely and interesting information, without being overwhelming. The index at the book of the book offers an excellent reference point for specific writings by Lewis, as well as mention of notable topics. Because of this, as well as the clearly delineated chapter themes, I could certainly see this text used in conjunction with course materials on C.S. Lewis. I am so glad I read it!
Personal Interest
As I’ve mentioned in a number of reviews, nonfiction is not my go-to genre. However, I am interested in C.S. Lewis, partially because of my strong affinity with Narnia and partially because I’ve developed an interest in his work, more generally. During a college seminar on the Inklings, I had the opportunity to read Michael Ward’s Planet Narnia, which speculates that each of the Narnia books corresponds to one of the planets in the solar system.
For these reasons, I was quite interested in reading Baxter’s commentary on C.S. Lewis as a student of the Medieval period.
What I Liked
I would describe this book as Christian nonfiction, not only because the commentary is about a Christian, but also because of the way the content was handled. As a commentary, this book blew me away. Nonfiction isn’t my go-to genre, so I was prepared for a “drier” read. What I was not anticipating, which came as such a pleasant surprise for me, was the amount of devotional content within its pages. To be clear, this work is by no means a devotional, but so much of the content invited me into an experience of the wonder and beauty of God.
Favorite Quotes
Although most of us think of ‘eternity’ as that which goes ‘on and on,’ Boethius explains, we should call that perpetuity. Perpetuity is nothing more than an endless chain of brief moments, connected together. And given that eternity, on the other hand, is the ‘actual and timeless fruition of illimitable life,’ Boethius can call time an imitation of eternity.
p. 28, ch. 1, “The Lost Cathedral”
"This quotation, and the larger section it comes from, was meaningful for me, as it addresses the meaning of eternity. I appreciated the distinction made between eternity and perpetuity, based on the reality that God is outside of time."
"In fact, he felt that by creating a ‘world’ in which Christianity could be breathed, as opposed to being only thought about, he could help remove some of the associations of religion with hushed tones and medical sterilization that he, as a child, had found so off-putting…"
p. 45, ch. 2, “Breathing Narnia Air”
This was from a fun chapter that deals with the element of atmosphere in fiction. Lewis, of course, does an incredible job of developing the atmosphere of Narnia, and beautifully strips away the “associations of religion,” while bringing truth to life. I am so grateful for how the Lord used Narnia to do that for me, too!
Commentary
One of the hallmarks of Medieval literature, Baxter notes, is that authors of the period would recycle existing stories, while enriching them with fresh details and perspectives. For this reason, Lewis describes authors of the period, noting, “We might equally call our medieval authors the most unoriginal or the most original of men.”
Baxter, like the Medieval authors he comments on, demonstrates particular dexterity in amplifying existing content, for the reader. Delving into rich philosophical literature, he synthesizes the content in a way that is both understandable and relatable to the reader, without dumbing down the original author’s points. I found this to be very helpful, as I can easily get lost in such dense source material. While I wouldn’t choose to read, say Dante, for pleasure (though I read his famous work in college), Baxter successfully ignited my interest in the subject. Given my own biases towards such reading, I’m impressed!
In addition to synthesizing material, Baxter contributes his own voice and perspective in drawing the reader to the beauty of God. The writing is so fluid and powerful!
Recommendation Status
For both its scholastic merit and its beautiful presentation of ideas, The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis is a title I highly recommend.https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...#
Highly engaging and informative, the book also brims with wonder, inviting readers into a place of delight and awe with their Creator. That’s not something I can usually say about this sort of commentary.
For recreational readers, I would recommend the title to those who appreciate the works of C.S. Lewis. This is an academic title, and, although I am not a professor, I feel that it would make for excellent supplemental curriculum at the high school or college level; I could see the book being used in conjunction with Lewis’ writings.
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher. Opinions expressed are my own.
What to Expect
The book comprises an introduction, a conclusion, and eight body chapters. Chapters offer insight into the Medieval landscape and modernity, demonstrating the shift in thinking on either side of the “Great Divide” that separates one philosophy from the other. Among these marked shifts, we witness a new approach to the cosmos, as the universe became a mechanized object, rather than a living thing.
Chapters also demonstrate Lewis’s interaction with, and recycling of, these old ideas in his modern literature. For example, chapter five reveals Lewis’s indebtedness to Dante, while chapter six discusses his writings on, and response to, mysticism. I particularly enjoyed chapters four onward. Evil enchantment is such a relevant theme, which I so appreciate in Lewis’ The Silver Chair, so I expected this chapter (four) to be my favorite. However, the book seemed to keep getting better!
At just 165 pages, the book is, in my opinion, the perfect length: richly packed with timely and interesting information, without being overwhelming. The index at the book of the book offers an excellent reference point for specific writings by Lewis, as well as mention of notable topics. Because of this, as well as the clearly delineated chapter themes, I could certainly see this text used in conjunction with course materials on C.S. Lewis. I am so glad I read it!
Personal Interest
As I’ve mentioned in a number of reviews, nonfiction is not my go-to genre. However, I am interested in C.S. Lewis, partially because of my strong affinity with Narnia and partially because I’ve developed an interest in his work, more generally. During a college seminar on the Inklings, I had the opportunity to read Michael Ward’s Planet Narnia, which speculates that each of the Narnia books corresponds to one of the planets in the solar system.
For these reasons, I was quite interested in reading Baxter’s commentary on C.S. Lewis as a student of the Medieval period.
What I Liked
I would describe this book as Christian nonfiction, not only because the commentary is about a Christian, but also because of the way the content was handled. As a commentary, this book blew me away. Nonfiction isn’t my go-to genre, so I was prepared for a “drier” read. What I was not anticipating, which came as such a pleasant surprise for me, was the amount of devotional content within its pages. To be clear, this work is by no means a devotional, but so much of the content invited me into an experience of the wonder and beauty of God.
Favorite Quotes
Although most of us think of ‘eternity’ as that which goes ‘on and on,’ Boethius explains, we should call that perpetuity. Perpetuity is nothing more than an endless chain of brief moments, connected together. And given that eternity, on the other hand, is the ‘actual and timeless fruition of illimitable life,’ Boethius can call time an imitation of eternity.
p. 28, ch. 1, “The Lost Cathedral”
"This quotation, and the larger section it comes from, was meaningful for me, as it addresses the meaning of eternity. I appreciated the distinction made between eternity and perpetuity, based on the reality that God is outside of time."
"In fact, he felt that by creating a ‘world’ in which Christianity could be breathed, as opposed to being only thought about, he could help remove some of the associations of religion with hushed tones and medical sterilization that he, as a child, had found so off-putting…"
p. 45, ch. 2, “Breathing Narnia Air”
This was from a fun chapter that deals with the element of atmosphere in fiction. Lewis, of course, does an incredible job of developing the atmosphere of Narnia, and beautifully strips away the “associations of religion,” while bringing truth to life. I am so grateful for how the Lord used Narnia to do that for me, too!
Commentary
One of the hallmarks of Medieval literature, Baxter notes, is that authors of the period would recycle existing stories, while enriching them with fresh details and perspectives. For this reason, Lewis describes authors of the period, noting, “We might equally call our medieval authors the most unoriginal or the most original of men.”
Baxter, like the Medieval authors he comments on, demonstrates particular dexterity in amplifying existing content, for the reader. Delving into rich philosophical literature, he synthesizes the content in a way that is both understandable and relatable to the reader, without dumbing down the original author’s points. I found this to be very helpful, as I can easily get lost in such dense source material. While I wouldn’t choose to read, say Dante, for pleasure (though I read his famous work in college), Baxter successfully ignited my interest in the subject. Given my own biases towards such reading, I’m impressed!
In addition to synthesizing material, Baxter contributes his own voice and perspective in drawing the reader to the beauty of God. The writing is so fluid and powerful!
Recommendation Status
For both its scholastic merit and its beautiful presentation of ideas, The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis is a title I highly recommend.https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...#
Highly engaging and informative, the book also brims with wonder, inviting readers into a place of delight and awe with their Creator. That’s not something I can usually say about this sort of commentary.
For recreational readers, I would recommend the title to those who appreciate the works of C.S. Lewis. This is an academic title, and, although I am not a professor, I feel that it would make for excellent supplemental curriculum at the high school or college level; I could see the book being used in conjunction with Lewis’ writings.
August 9, 2022
This might be my favorite book I've read so far this year. An excellent look at Lewis and his influences.
November 28, 2022
Oh, man! I'm not sure I understood half of this, but it made me want to understand, to read Lewis more, to love Jesus and know Him better.
December 1, 2022
The best nonfiction I've read so far this year. Made me want to dive into more of Lewis's books and more medieval literature.
October 1, 2024
One joy of reading for decades is spiraling deeper into the minds of authors you love. I’ve read and reread my favorite Lewis books, and now I’ve started reading books about his books. What seems the most original and striking about his books are actually the most ancient ideas, it turns out. His enthusiasm for and deep understanding of his favorite medieval works inspired much of his thinking and offers a refreshing contrast to our materialist worldview. This book was beautiful (I gave it short shrift by listening on audio while doing chores—it deserves to be savored and underlined). I also highly recommend Chris Armstrong’s book on the same subject for an even deeper look at medieval thinking.
December 12, 2024
Wow wow this was AMAZING! A totally different book than what the title lead me to expect, in the best possible way. Everything I read about Lewis increases my admiration and awe, and I am so impressed with Baxter’s easy profundity.
January 22, 2025
So much depth to this, I didn't understand half of it. The parts I did understand, I loved! I may need to read some Boethius and the other major medieval players and revisit it. I did find myself really identifying with Lewis' feel of being born in the wrong time frame and his dislike of modernity.
February 10, 2024
“…nostalgia— viewed rightly— metamorphosizes into hope.”
Not to be ~melodramatic~, but this book made my heart burn with joy and otherworldly hope. When I read the Ransom trilogy last year, it felt like something that had been lost on me in the process of “growing up,” awakened once again with full-force. Baxter’s exploration of C.S. Lewis’ work helped me to understand why his stories have enlivened me in such a dramatic way. I want everyone to read this.
Not to be ~melodramatic~, but this book made my heart burn with joy and otherworldly hope. When I read the Ransom trilogy last year, it felt like something that had been lost on me in the process of “growing up,” awakened once again with full-force. Baxter’s exploration of C.S. Lewis’ work helped me to understand why his stories have enlivened me in such a dramatic way. I want everyone to read this.
June 18, 2023
I have to admit that I struggled to understand much of Jason Baxter's book on The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis. But I enjoyed stretching my mental muscles a bit, and will probably give it another try in the future - probably after reading Boethius!
May 26, 2022
Absolutely incredible. This might be my favorite book read this year.
In recent years, I have been working my way through some of the classics my reading diet has heretofore neglected (Homer, Virgil, the church fathers, Boethius, Anselm, Aquinas, Dante), and all the while, my love for Lewis has steadily increased. This book by Baxter demonstrates why.
Baxter gets Lewis; he gets Lewis’s unique greatness and, more importantly, why Lewis was so great: I.e., his medieval mind. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
In recent years, I have been working my way through some of the classics my reading diet has heretofore neglected (Homer, Virgil, the church fathers, Boethius, Anselm, Aquinas, Dante), and all the while, my love for Lewis has steadily increased. This book by Baxter demonstrates why.
Baxter gets Lewis; he gets Lewis’s unique greatness and, more importantly, why Lewis was so great: I.e., his medieval mind. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.
August 11, 2024
Some of the ideas and language in this book were hard to understand, but what I did understand, I adored, and what I didn't, I wish I did. This is one of those books where every sentence and phrase seems to whisper of heaven, and every page gave me multiple thrills! I especially loved the ideas of transposition, nostalgia for the future, and the world as both symphony and cathedral. Next up: Why Literature Matters!!
November 7, 2022
This was excellent & made me add a bunch of books to my “to read” list. not sure about the chapter on mysticism… but I have a lot to learn about medieval philosophy. this was my “about an Inkling” for @literarylifepodcast (16/22)
February 14, 2023
So much of this book went over my head. I will certainly need to reread it as I learn and read more. Being familiar with many of Lewis’ writings did help me out. I’m slowly putting more pieces of the puzzle together.
Want to read
August 23, 2024
April 12, 2025
Hard to put it into words, but refreshingly familiar. Helps to put into words why I am the way I am, thinking the things I do. I can't remember which, but either John Piper or Doug Wilson has said that Lewis has had more influence on their thinking than all the other writers they've read combined. And reading this book, chapter after chapter, makes me realize that I probably should say the same. I recommended this book to my wife, not so that she would know more about C.S. Lewis, but so that she would know more about me.
Listened to this through twice. On the second tour I couldn't help but be distracted by ideas for writing, and would recommend this book not only for those who are interested in Lewis, but who are interested in what made his writing so endearing.
Highly recommend.
Listened to this through twice. On the second tour I couldn't help but be distracted by ideas for writing, and would recommend this book not only for those who are interested in Lewis, but who are interested in what made his writing so endearing.
Highly recommend.
Read
April 9, 2024It’s hard for me to rate this book, as I think I only grasped about half of it, but what I did grasp was beautiful and enlightening. This will be one I reread in a few years after continuing to dive into the depths of good books and ideas.
August 14, 2025
I can’t breathe.
July 9, 2023
Some chapters were great & some were just ok, but I’m all in on anything about CS Lewis.It’s fascinating to dive into the influences of someone that you’ve enjoyed reading & really benefitted from. This inspired me to read Dante next.
June 9, 2022
Most people see me as simply a Presbyterian minister; almost a one-dimensional character. Some, who have gotten to know me better, see me as a minister and a family man. That deepens their perception of me. But there's another level of me that swims in martial arts, woodworking, and hand-carving. To know that other facet of me enriches a persons awareness of who and what I am. This is the value Jason M. Baxter, associate professor of fine arts and humanities at Wyoming Catholic College, supplies us with in regard to C.S. Lewis, in his new 176-page paperback, "The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis: How Great Books Shaped a Great Mind". This is a delightful read that will warm the hearts of many Lewis fans.
Baxter spends time delving into the part of Lewis's life that most Christian readers are vaguely aware of: the man's passion for, and profession in, medieval literature, ancient languages, and premodern mindsets. This is what the author calls "the third Lewis" as a way of addressing a richer backdrop to the man. And so, he writes the book to "explore how this third Lewis is just beneath the surface even in his more appreciated imaginative and devotional writings" (6). It seemed to me, as I was reading the work, that the author hit his mark.
The book traverses different angles in Lewis's medieval approach to life, politics, social mores, etc. It breathes an ancient atmosphere filled with enchantment and a pre-enlightenment tang. It travels through flatland moving further up and further on. The author allows Lewis to bring us out of our illusionary perspective of cutting down jungles, to see that we are really about the business of irrigating deserts. He leads us to become, increasingly, with Lewis ""nostalgic for the future" (164). The volume feels well-rounded in its investigations and analysis.
Of the many aspects I appreciated, two stand out. One is how the author shows Lewis's dependence on Dante and Boethius, as well as his embrace of the preperatio evangelica in his reading and writing. Baxter spends time, as an example, explicating the way Dante's imagery and aura filed Lewis's heart, and his writings, such as in "Perelandra" or "Till we Have Faces." The other high point was the author's chapter "Deep Conversion and Unveiling: When the "It" Becomes a "You"". This chapter was a rich display, not only of Lewis's struggle for (and against) being unveiled, but even my own. In this chapter the reader is gently confronted, and, with Orual, can honestly say, "I was a craver" but then come to find that "Joy silenced me."
"The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis" is worth the time spent in reading. It would make a valuable addition to a college lecture series. But it would also add some much needed texture to the perceptions of C.S. Lewis fans. I highly and unhesitatingly recommend the book.
My thanks goes out to IVP Academic. They speedily sent the book used for this review, on my request. Further, they added no stipulations nor shackled me to any requirements. This evaluation, thus, is all mine, freely made and freely given.
Baxter spends time delving into the part of Lewis's life that most Christian readers are vaguely aware of: the man's passion for, and profession in, medieval literature, ancient languages, and premodern mindsets. This is what the author calls "the third Lewis" as a way of addressing a richer backdrop to the man. And so, he writes the book to "explore how this third Lewis is just beneath the surface even in his more appreciated imaginative and devotional writings" (6). It seemed to me, as I was reading the work, that the author hit his mark.
The book traverses different angles in Lewis's medieval approach to life, politics, social mores, etc. It breathes an ancient atmosphere filled with enchantment and a pre-enlightenment tang. It travels through flatland moving further up and further on. The author allows Lewis to bring us out of our illusionary perspective of cutting down jungles, to see that we are really about the business of irrigating deserts. He leads us to become, increasingly, with Lewis ""nostalgic for the future" (164). The volume feels well-rounded in its investigations and analysis.
Of the many aspects I appreciated, two stand out. One is how the author shows Lewis's dependence on Dante and Boethius, as well as his embrace of the preperatio evangelica in his reading and writing. Baxter spends time, as an example, explicating the way Dante's imagery and aura filed Lewis's heart, and his writings, such as in "Perelandra" or "Till we Have Faces." The other high point was the author's chapter "Deep Conversion and Unveiling: When the "It" Becomes a "You"". This chapter was a rich display, not only of Lewis's struggle for (and against) being unveiled, but even my own. In this chapter the reader is gently confronted, and, with Orual, can honestly say, "I was a craver" but then come to find that "Joy silenced me."
"The Medieval Mind of C.S. Lewis" is worth the time spent in reading. It would make a valuable addition to a college lecture series. But it would also add some much needed texture to the perceptions of C.S. Lewis fans. I highly and unhesitatingly recommend the book.
My thanks goes out to IVP Academic. They speedily sent the book used for this review, on my request. Further, they added no stipulations nor shackled me to any requirements. This evaluation, thus, is all mine, freely made and freely given.
November 21, 2024
Summary: Discussion of how understanding the Medieval world and its books help to understand CS Lewis.
Over the years, I have read an enormous amount by or about CS Lewis. I am not Lewis scholar, I have not been systemically enough and I certainly haven’t read enough to know what the academy thinks of Lewis, but I have read read about 25-30 books by or about Lewis since starting this blog.
One of my complaints about the biographies of Lewis is that they say very little about Lewis’ discipleship, including Devin Brown’s which is about the spiritual life of Lewis. Part of what Baxter is doing in The Medieval Mind of CS Lewis is suggesting that a significant part of Lewis’ discipleship was the result of reading old books. That makes sense to me, although I do think that Lewis’ work with a spiritual director likely mattered to making that real.
What is helpful about The Medieval Mind of CS Lewis is the explanations of the references that are missed when we don't know about them. I have read a bit of Dante, but I don't know Dante well. I have never read Boethius and many others referenced here. What I love about reading young adult writer, KB Hoyle, is that she always has references and hints in her books. You can read her books without knowing any of the references and you get a good story. But as an adult reading her books, I get a lot more because I get the references. There is depth to the stories and the depth encourages rereading. That just isn't the case for a lot of current pop fiction. A lot of pop fiction assumes that the reader isn't paying attention, doesn't care about reference and is simply looking for an escape. Reading for escape isn't bad, I read for escape all the time. But I don't want to always read for escape. (It is not surprising that KB Hoyle taught at a Classical school before becoming a full time writer and publisher.)
I found The Medieval Mind of CS Lewis very helpful and if you like CS Lewis and want to understand more, you likely will like it as well. But I do have a concern, not about the book as much as the way that classical education is sometimes used. Recently a number of atheist or agnostics have been calling themselves cultural Christians, this trend seems to not be about Christianity as much as it is about shared culture. I get very wary of arguments for shared culture. I think there is real value in retelling fairy tales and old stories and finding traditional archetypes in those stories. That is part of what a good education should include.
But too often that encouragement to understanding western classics is not about understanding history, but to encourage a particular view of western cultural superiority. Doug Wilson is one of the biggest proponents of the Christian Classical school movement and the publishing company that he started and which publishes a good bit of curriculum for the Christian Classical School movement also published Stephen Wolfe's The Case for Christian Nationalism. Wilson and Wolfe and many others have been strongly influenced by Rushdooney (Christian Reconstructionist movement) and Robert Lewis Dabney (a proponent of white racial superiority as a requirement for being Christian.) The Christian Classical School movement does not need to promote western superiority, and people like Jessica Hooten Wilson (first link in this paragraph) are actively trying to promote a vision for Christian classical schools that is not rooted in western cultural superiority. But people like Thomas Achord are common in the Christian Classical School movement.
My second concern with the way that understanding references to classics goes wrong is when they are stripped of their history and context. Jordan Peterson's new book, We Who Wrestle With God, was reviewed by Rowan Williams and Brad East. I have not read Peterson's books so I am relying on their reviews for context. Peterson's book is about reading the Torah. But his Torah reading is about finding the archetypal stories and reinterpreting them for meaning. East's review suggests that he does that by stripping them of their Jewish context and interplay, which even as a non-christian, ends up promoting a type of supersessionism. Rowan Williams (retired Archbishop of Canterbury), mentions similar concerns, but is more concerned about the way that divinity is stripped from the stories. God is simply a concept for Peterson, not a being. That makes sense since Peterson does not claim to be a Christian or Jewish. However, the result of that is that it is simply stories which we place meaning on. And that meaning is limited by our perspective. Williams' central critique is
I do not think that Rowan Williams is as wary of the natural law as I am, but I do think what he is pointing out with Peterson is exactly why I am wary of natural law. Natural law can end up being reduced to our feelings about how things are and finding reasons for why things are the way they are. Peterson, unsurprisingly to anyone paying attention, find archetypal reasons for preserving patriarchy in the story of Adam and Eve. And Doug Wilson has previously found similar natural law arguments for Christianity being rooted in patriarchy and hierarchy ("every biblical Christian holds to patriarchy.")
I do not think that understanding classical influences on Christianity is inherently supporting western superiority or supersessionism. But it can lead to that. I think part of how we avoid that is by paying attention not just to classical influences on Christianity but reading eastern Christian tradition as well. And reading modern authors like Nnedi Okorafor, who are referencing African mythology in similar ways to how Lewis was referencing Greek and Norse mythology. It will take work to keep ourselves aware of ways that we can go wrong, but it is worth it.
This was originally posted on my blog at https://bookwi.se/the-medieval-mind-o...
Over the years, I have read an enormous amount by or about CS Lewis. I am not Lewis scholar, I have not been systemically enough and I certainly haven’t read enough to know what the academy thinks of Lewis, but I have read read about 25-30 books by or about Lewis since starting this blog.
One of my complaints about the biographies of Lewis is that they say very little about Lewis’ discipleship, including Devin Brown’s which is about the spiritual life of Lewis. Part of what Baxter is doing in The Medieval Mind of CS Lewis is suggesting that a significant part of Lewis’ discipleship was the result of reading old books. That makes sense to me, although I do think that Lewis’ work with a spiritual director likely mattered to making that real.
What is helpful about The Medieval Mind of CS Lewis is the explanations of the references that are missed when we don't know about them. I have read a bit of Dante, but I don't know Dante well. I have never read Boethius and many others referenced here. What I love about reading young adult writer, KB Hoyle, is that she always has references and hints in her books. You can read her books without knowing any of the references and you get a good story. But as an adult reading her books, I get a lot more because I get the references. There is depth to the stories and the depth encourages rereading. That just isn't the case for a lot of current pop fiction. A lot of pop fiction assumes that the reader isn't paying attention, doesn't care about reference and is simply looking for an escape. Reading for escape isn't bad, I read for escape all the time. But I don't want to always read for escape. (It is not surprising that KB Hoyle taught at a Classical school before becoming a full time writer and publisher.)
I found The Medieval Mind of CS Lewis very helpful and if you like CS Lewis and want to understand more, you likely will like it as well. But I do have a concern, not about the book as much as the way that classical education is sometimes used. Recently a number of atheist or agnostics have been calling themselves cultural Christians, this trend seems to not be about Christianity as much as it is about shared culture. I get very wary of arguments for shared culture. I think there is real value in retelling fairy tales and old stories and finding traditional archetypes in those stories. That is part of what a good education should include.
But too often that encouragement to understanding western classics is not about understanding history, but to encourage a particular view of western cultural superiority. Doug Wilson is one of the biggest proponents of the Christian Classical school movement and the publishing company that he started and which publishes a good bit of curriculum for the Christian Classical School movement also published Stephen Wolfe's The Case for Christian Nationalism. Wilson and Wolfe and many others have been strongly influenced by Rushdooney (Christian Reconstructionist movement) and Robert Lewis Dabney (a proponent of white racial superiority as a requirement for being Christian.) The Christian Classical School movement does not need to promote western superiority, and people like Jessica Hooten Wilson (first link in this paragraph) are actively trying to promote a vision for Christian classical schools that is not rooted in western cultural superiority. But people like Thomas Achord are common in the Christian Classical School movement.
My second concern with the way that understanding references to classics goes wrong is when they are stripped of their history and context. Jordan Peterson's new book, We Who Wrestle With God, was reviewed by Rowan Williams and Brad East. I have not read Peterson's books so I am relying on their reviews for context. Peterson's book is about reading the Torah. But his Torah reading is about finding the archetypal stories and reinterpreting them for meaning. East's review suggests that he does that by stripping them of their Jewish context and interplay, which even as a non-christian, ends up promoting a type of supersessionism. Rowan Williams (retired Archbishop of Canterbury), mentions similar concerns, but is more concerned about the way that divinity is stripped from the stories. God is simply a concept for Peterson, not a being. That makes sense since Peterson does not claim to be a Christian or Jewish. However, the result of that is that it is simply stories which we place meaning on. And that meaning is limited by our perspective. Williams' central critique is
"there is a risk of losing the specificity of the narratives, of ironing out aspects that don’t fit the template. Every story gets pushed towards a set of Petersonian morals – single-minded individual rectitude, tough love, clear demarcations between the different kinds of moral excellence that men and women are called to embody, and so on."
I do not think that Rowan Williams is as wary of the natural law as I am, but I do think what he is pointing out with Peterson is exactly why I am wary of natural law. Natural law can end up being reduced to our feelings about how things are and finding reasons for why things are the way they are. Peterson, unsurprisingly to anyone paying attention, find archetypal reasons for preserving patriarchy in the story of Adam and Eve. And Doug Wilson has previously found similar natural law arguments for Christianity being rooted in patriarchy and hierarchy ("every biblical Christian holds to patriarchy.")
I do not think that understanding classical influences on Christianity is inherently supporting western superiority or supersessionism. But it can lead to that. I think part of how we avoid that is by paying attention not just to classical influences on Christianity but reading eastern Christian tradition as well. And reading modern authors like Nnedi Okorafor, who are referencing African mythology in similar ways to how Lewis was referencing Greek and Norse mythology. It will take work to keep ourselves aware of ways that we can go wrong, but it is worth it.
This was originally posted on my blog at https://bookwi.se/the-medieval-mind-o...
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