Date: Fri, 17 Jan 2003 18:54:12 -0800
From: Matthew Weber 
Subject: RE: (urth) DOORS: The Hero, The Otherworld, The Ending

> > Lewis was an Anglican, and not just because of the accident
> > of his having been born in England.
>
>Northern Ireland, actually...

Coorect, of course.

> > There's no indication in any of his devotional or
> > didactic writings that he disagreed with any of the teachings
> > of the C. of E.
>
>Well, there's a quibble, and one that shows him to be very
>High Church indeed: in "Letters to Malcolm" he indicates,
>if not a belief, at least a _desire_ to believe, in Purgatory.

Although it's true that the 39 Articles pooh-pooh Purgatory, it's 
important to remember that they were written by Puritans.  Modern 
Anglo-Catholic practice and belief tramples all over them.

I think Lewis' A-C tendencies have been overstated by the Hooper wing 
of Lewisites, just as the Wheaton College wing has overstated his 
evangelical leanings.  The reality of Lewis is more complex than 
either (see A. N. Wilson's biography for a fairly balanced portrayal).

Matt

To many people Victorian wit and humor is summed up by Punch, whose 
every joke is supposed to end with "Collapse of Stout Party", though 
this phrase tends to be as elusive as "Elementary, my dear Watson" in 
the Sherlock Holmes sagas.
	R. Pearsall, Collapse of Stout Party (1975), Introduction

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