I was in a friendly conversation with a fellow pastor some years ago. The tone changed rather quickly when I spoke positively about C.S. Lewis. In his perspective, Lewis was a dangerous writer who could lead people away from the safety of Reformed confessionalism.
Suddenly, in his eyes, I had gone from a faithful Reformed pastor to someone compromising my orthodoxy. The experience was so shocking and his tone so harsh that I kindly asked if we could continue this conversation another time and left. I knew nothing fruitful would come from that chat. Of course, we never continued that talk and I am frankly grateful. Such reactions stem from an over-reactionary perspective of theology. The idea is that we must be glued to our Reformed forefathers and read nothing else outside our tradition for fear that it might damage our pure ideas of interpretation.
As we approach Reformation Day, I find myself more and more grateful to God to those within and without my particular tradition. Those of us in the Reformational camp have a greater responsibility to provide a framework that is more whole, more catholic, and more complete than other traditions. After all, we produced the Puritans, Bavinck, Kuyper, Van Til, Bahnsen and Sproul. From the Reformation stemmed this gigantic sense that everything in the world is Christ’s and we are in him which means we seek to bring Christ to everything.
The idea that Lewis’ peculiar views on the imprecatory Psalms, for instance, would be a threat to the Reformation is absolutely bizarre. I could easily find peculiarities in Luther. However, the idea that Lewis’ genius would contribute to a more robust Reformation is precisely the kind of world we need to embrace. If the modern Reformed man or woman lives in fear that such and such an author or thinker will remove us from the Reformation, then we have adopted a very narrow view of the Reformation. We have failed to see precisely Calvin’s vision for the church, the Puritan’s vision for the world, and Kuyper’s vision for the culture.
So then, read broadly, hold on to your convictions closely, explore Christendom unashamedly and go to Narnia often. To be Reformed is to be unafraid; it is to know God and to know self.
Solus Christus!
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