The Invasion by C.S. Lewis Doodle (BBC Talk 7, Mere Christianity, Bk 2, Chapter 2)

Notes: This is an illustration of C.S Lewis’ third talk of the third radio series called ‘What Christians Believe’. Notes below...
This talk became Chapter 2 of Book 2, in the book called ‘Mere Christianity’. Notes below...
You can find the book here: www.amazon.com/Mere-Christiani...
You can find this reading of Mere Christianity here: www.amazon.com/C-S-Lewis-War-...
(0:16) On atheism and simplified religions: “I think he [studying theology] can save himself time by confining his attention to two systems - Hinduism and Christianity. I believe these are the two serious options for an adult mind. Materialism is a philosophy for boys. The purely moral systems like Stoicism and Confucianism are philosophies for aristocrats. Islam is only a Christian heresy, and Buddhism a Hindu heresy: both are simplifications inferior to the things simplified. As for the old Pagan religions, I think we could say that whatever was of value in them survives either in Hinduism or in Christianity or in both…” (Lewis, De Futilitate).
“And if, turning aside from the religious attitude, we speak for a moment as mere sociologists, we must admit that history does not encourage us to expect much invigorating power in a minimal religion. Attempts at such a minimal religion are not new - from Akhenaten and Julian the Apostate down to Lord Herbert of Cherbury and the late H. G. Wells. But where are the saints, the consolations, the ecstacies? The greatest of such attempts was that simplification of Jewish and Christian traditions which we call Islam..." (Lewis, Religion without Dogma).
On simplified religions in Britain: "In every class and every part of the country the visible practice of Christianity has grown very much less in the last fifty years. This is often taken to show that the nation as a whole has passed from a Christian to a secular outlook. But if we judge the nineteenth century from the books it wrote, the outlook of our grandfathers (with a very few exceptions) was quite as secular as our own...one way of putting the truth would be that the religion which has declined was not Christianity. It was a vague Theism with a strong and virile ethical code, which, far from standing over against the "World", was absorbed into the whole fabric of English institutions and sentiment and therefore demanded churchgoing as (at best) a part of loyalty and good manners or (at worst) a proof of respectability...If the various anti-clerical and anti-theistic forces at work in the nineteenth century had had to attack a solid phalanx of radical Christians the story might have been different. But mere "religion" - "morality tinged with emotion", "what a man does with his solitude", "the religion of all good men" - has little power of resistance. It is not good at saying No” (Lewis, ‘The decline of Religion’).
(2:36) "So far from being the final religious refinement, Pantheism is in fact the permanent natural bent of the human mind; the permanent ordinary level below which man sometimes sinks, under the influence of priestcraft and superstition, but above which his own unaided efforts can never raise him for very long. Platonism and Judaism, and Christianity (which has incorporated both Platonism and Judaism) have proved the only things capable of resisting it. It is the attitude into which the human mind automatically falls when left to itself. No wonder we find it congenial. If ‘religion’ means simply what man says about God, and not what God does about man, then Pantheism almost is religion. And ‘religion’ in that sense has, in the long run, only one really formidable opponent-namely Christianity" (Lewis, ‘Miracles’, Chapter 12 - Christianity and ‘Religion’).
(13:23) The commonest question is whether I really "believe in the Devil." Now, if by "the Devil" you mean a power opposite to God and, like God, self-existent from all eternity, the answer is certainly No. There is no uncreated being except God. God has no opposite. No being could attain a "perfect badness" opposite to the perfect goodness of God; for when you have taken away every kind of good thing (intelligence, will, memory, energy, and existence itself) there would be none of him left. The proper question is whether I believe in devils. I do. That is to say, I believe in angels, and I believe that some of these, by the abuse of their free will, have become enemies to God and, as a corollary, to us. These we may call devils. They do not differ in nature from good angels, but their nature is depraved. Devil is the opposite of angel only as Bad Man is the opposite of Good Man. Satan, the leader or dictator of devils, is the opposite, not of God, but of [the archangel] Michael" (Lewis, Introduction to the Screwtape Letters).
The Morse code (at the very end) can be translated by pushing the captions/subtitles button on the video.

[@CSLewisDoodle]

The Morse code at the very end can be translated by pushing the captions/subtitles button on the video.

[@jonglass]

Ha. I got as far as "…y.o.u.r.a.d.v.e.r" and I knew the rest. ;-)

[@CSLewisDoodle]

The Morse Code during the video (12:42) is this: ..-. --- .-. / .-- . / .-- .-. . ... - .-.. . / -. --- - .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- . .--. .... -.... ---... .---- ..--- (Chart: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morse_code#/media/File:International_Morse_Code.svg)

[@DogandaTopHat]

Next level cleverness 👏

[@Macheako]

Lewis straight up calls Atheism a belief system for little boys Even from beyond the grave this man is still a spiritual sniper!

[@ara9ond]

"spiritual sniper" Lovely turn of phrase!

[@lifewasgiventous1614]

Haha that’s great.

[@yc3099]

Omg I'm an atheist doing some research on CS Lewis and this video series is flippin my brains out🤯🤯🤯 Brilliantly explained, professor. Not quite ready to convert, but quite ready to take my hat off to you!

[@1969cmp]

....as a ex-atheist, your post is very good.

[@samcarroll4767]

Please don't ever stop making videos. You make a difference, a big difference. Thank you

[@tonyc2569]

CS Lewis was such an amazing intellect. His efforts have helped Christians articulate the truth of Christ.

[@seanathaalexand]

I love the sass you can feel throughout this video. But seriously, love these vids. C.S. Lewis was a great mind, and a great Christian.

[@ActuarialNinja]

What a fabulous channel! Thank you CSLewisDoodle for putting in the hard work for our edification. I think if Lewis himself saw this, he would be proud :)

[@sunnychopper6663]

Super insightful video. Raised in Sikhism but never paid attention to religion until now as I'm growing up and expanding my view. Starting to learn religion with Christianity since my friend put me on to it. Loving Christianity so far. Going to be super interesting to see if and how Sikhism differs from Christianity or not. Ultimately, the argument presented is very sound and so I believe in it. Thanks for making this video!

[@littlerascaleventing]

I really do like the concept Lewis puts forth. He really was a great thinker, and it is good to see it illustrated. It helps solidify it.

[@noname-tu4sk]

KZbin just randomly recommended this channel and I'm so so glad it did! These videos are so catchy and interesting please don't ever ever stop making these!

[@jackjones3657]

I feel just that much wiser after having heard the humble Christian teaching of C.S. Lewis. What a wonderful gift he left to succeeding generations.

[@bonnieharalson2108]

"Wickedness...turns out to be the pursuit of some good in the wrong way." The depth of CS Lewis' works boggles the mind! The doodles help keep my brain fully engaged, since I'm more of a visual than an auditory learner! Thank you...

[@michaelcaldwell3709]

On so many levels, this is an insperation to the ears, eyes, brain and heart. It is Simply (excuse the pun) incredible!

[@pedroviaud1119]

What a simple way of explaining something so complicated ! How easy to understand the moral universe we are living

[@CSLewisDoodle]

0:01 See the previous talk (6) as to why Lewis found atheism too simple. You can find more examples of this in Lewis' own description of his journey, from disbelief to faith in God and His Christ, here: "Even among ancient authors the same paradox was to be found. The most religious (Plato, Aeschylus, Virgil) were clearly those on whom I could really feed. On the other hand, those writers who did not suffer from religion and with whom in theory my sympathy ought to have been complete ― Shaw and Wells and Mill and Gibbon and Voltaire ― all seemed a little thin; what as boys we called "tinny". It wasn't that I didn't like them. They were all (especially Gibbon) entertaining; but hardly more. There seemed to be no depth in them. They were too simple. The roughness and density of life did not appear in their books” (C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy).

[@moveaxebx]

I cannot thank you enough for this my friend. Exceptional quality. Thank you so much for your effort. God bless you.

[@ara9ond]

PLUTO IS A RECOGNISED PLANET AGAIN!!!!!!! WOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!!

[@looneyjacob744]

I really enjoy these illustrated videos. I read CS Lewis all the time, he's my favorite author, it's cool to watch this comic book style of his works. God Bless

[@lebenergy247]

these are almost addicting! in a positive way💟🤗🌻

[@honorablevessel]

I agree

[@chillwill361]

What is sweeter than truth to the spirit

[@lilyseestheworld7865]

Drawings are fascinating and the way the text is presented is marvellous. Of course the message is right on spot, as always! Thanks so much for the great videos.

[@charliehughes8706]

I've only gotten into CS Lewis in the last couple years. I think he's brilliant and the doodle art only keeps the imagination and concentration on track and is ingenious, imo.

[@katrinabrown5235]

Brilliant! So happy to find this site!! Thank you!

[@tonybamber1137]

Thank-you very, very much.

[@3Jereth]

I love this book so much. Your illustrations are exceedingly helpful with comprehension. Keep up the amazing work.

[@halocodplayer]

I'm falling in love with your channel, keep up the work!

[@oliverdog4]

This is such a enjoyable and helpful study tool. Your illustrations are very sharp and creative. Nice work. Keep it up I sincerely hope!

[@salli4588]

Excellent! Thanks so much! Happy Easter, and God bless!

[@heatherluna5075]

Love C.S. Lewis

[@JM-sx1rp]

These are so incredibly helpful!

[@SamBiddlevfx]

Excellent as always! Thank you for making these

[@erravi]

I love this channel. Lewis was a great writer

[@flashlitestriker4028]

The part toward the end, where Mr Lewis talked about the people that think they want to know the devil better, reminded me of "Tash" & his "worshippers" in Mr Lewis' book, "The Last Battle".

[@jeffbillon3765]

These are amazing. Great work

[@missisle123]

Absolutely stellar as usual! Thank you! =)

[@dannysutherland3235]

Beyond amazing!

[@BobbyMiller64]

Another awesome video. Thank you so much!

[@thespanielinquisition7167]

WONDERFUL AS ALWAYS

[@cullenkerr6556]

I thought my headphones were turning on and off really fast at the beginning on the video before I realized it was Morse code. Lol

[@michaelalex5245]

This was utterly fantastic

[@stevens.286]

Excellent and correct!

[@OnTheThirdDay]

Thank you for these videos. :)

[@cammo7540]

A need this book!

[@danelson78]

These videos do a great job summarizing C.S. Lewis. The depth of thought that he had was difficult to convey through writing. These illustrations are really helpful for visual learners like myself.

[@Nomansland77]

Wow, that was truly awesome thank you for sharing it :)

[@redshadow3191]

love the video. keep them comming

[@jakebull2571]

I love these videos so much

[@iktomi5]

Brilliant!

[@christofferjuhlin3035]

Great work, as always

[@gretschdrums.7290]

THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!

[@1allspub]

Wow, just wow.

[@elchemancheno854]

Thankk youu, seriously grateful 4 this, God bless this channel, excellent work

[@khaibernate]

So awesome when he busted out the colors for the planets.

[@77Zuriel77]

Awesome! Keep up the good work!

[@josephdaniel6242]

Excellent!!!!!!

[@annapobst]

So very good 👍 thank you!!!

[@rayscott9668]

Really awesome, thanks!

[@IcEye89]

I love these videos, they got me into reading Lewis - I only knew Narnia before. Any chance of getting Democratic Education as a doodle soon?

[@jencgold]

Wow!!!!😳😳😳😳

[@adrianmarthalopezzar4744]

This is legit !!!!!!!!!

[@w.ib.3632]

Evil is a parasite.. wow

[@CushingsSx]

Toooo good👍👌😍🧠🙏

[@MatthewFearnley]

I didn’t realise C.S. Lewis had basically solved the “Evil God” challenge decades before Stephen Law had even thought of it.

[@elijahaywago7274]

watertight argument

[@DG-mv6zw]

Not only was Lewis a fantastic apologist, he was apparently an accomplished cartoonist. Who'd have thought, eh?

[@daenithriuszanathos9306]

I see you included Pluto as a planet, you sly fox.

[@Joxxol]

Would the very first act of evil have to have been done for the mere sake of evil? How could an imperfection arise out of a state of pure and absolute perfection? How could pride arise out of a heart in perfect love and union with God?

[@CSLewisDoodle]

Lewis answers that in the next talk: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKndpptrjd1ofZY

[@rodthiessen5434]

As CS Lewis points out in another chapter in the book Mere Christianity, mankind was gifted with free will. He is not a robot made to do exactly what the Creator told him to do. Mankind is the highest creation oh God, created in the image of God with the ability to choose. And it's that choice upon which so much sorrow depends

[@mrs.teacher1589]

I just saw this was read by Philip Bird. I'm so disappointed. I thought this was the original BBC program with the voice of CS Lewis.

[@CSLewisDoodle]

Unfortunately the BBC recorded each new broadcast over the previous one due to WW2 shortages, so the only broadcast that has Lewis' own voice is the very last one - ' 'The New Man' which I doodled too also.

[@mrs.teacher1589]

@@CSLewisDoodle thank you so much for the clarification and information!

[@CSLewisDoodle]

You can find Lewis' voice in 'The Four Loves' American Radio Broadcasts also. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2XLemlpbdKmobM

[@OneMan-wl1wj]

Would like to add one more cause of cruelty that I believe Lewis overlooked. Indifference. Cruelty often arises from a lack of empathy, I've seen men be cruel out of ignorance and indifference to the suffering of another.

[@CSLewisDoodle]

The nearest we can get to evil in real life, Lewis is saying, is deliberate, premeditated evil, and that is worse than evil by thoughtlessness or by extreme self-focus. In fact, empathy for others is not always good, and sternness for others not always bad. Empathy, is ambivalent; it can be either good OR evil (for instance, you become cruel if you deny justice to a victim, say, by lies in the witness box in court, out of misplaced empathy for the offender). We have to be ruled by something higher than feelings or impulses or instincts. Lewis talks about the “herd instinct”, and “the desire to help others” here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/opC5inaneMqrpdk

[@OneMan-wl1wj]

@CSLewisDoodle I do agree that deliberate premeditated evil is evil at its worst and that empathy can be misplaced, but are you disagreeing completely that indifference can and often does lead to cruelty?

[@CSLewisDoodle]

Neglect definitely can. I think proverbs called neglect as a "near relative" of abuse (Proverbs 18.9). Abuse is worse, but both can kill. Abuse and neglect are both rooted in selfishness. The shocking, ironic thing is that the ideology that was the biggest murderer of innocent people that the planet has ever known, had empathy, not cruelty or neglect, at its heart! You can't make a god of anything, even "love for your fellow man" or "empathy", which is what Lewis is pointing out in Talk 5. What causes evil is doing what you ought not, and not doing what you ought.

[@brianthomson9249]

LOL (2:01 - 2:23)

[@The_Last_Rick]

I love what you have done, keep up the good work. thankyou.