The Problem of Pain – C.S. Lewis

I’ve have been debating what book to discuss first. The book that I just finished was Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, but I will write about this book in the future. I wanted to start this conversation with something a bit more…well, you fill in the blank. Of course, if you want to argue that Harry does in fact deserve a place on the AP English booklist, I wholeheartedly welcome your rebuttal.

I will begin with a short commentary on The Problem of Pain by C.S. Lewis, which I started this past weekend. I’ve been listening to books in my car for as long as I’ve been able to drive. I have read/listened to many books in this way. While zoning out to the radio after a long day at work can be gratifying, it can also be quite a waste of valuable time. There is a wealth of knowledge out there to discover. An hour in the car each day over the course of a lifetime can really add up.

The only problem with seeking this knowledge at the library is that soon after you start one of these books, the library will inevitably send you an obnoxious notice that it’s time to return it. This is what just happened. I got through about a fourth of the book and then discovered that it was due today. Consequently, I’ll share a couple of insights from the opening chapters now and then continue the discussion once I’ve finished it in a few weeks when the library returns it to me. Maybe that will give me some time to write about Harry…

The book is appropriately titled. The “problem of pain” is a philosophical debate that has been around for many years. It goes as follows. God desires that his children be perfectly happy. However, all his children are not happy, which implies that God is not entirely benevolent, not omnipotent or both. Staunch atheists will use this logic to argue against the common beliefs regarding the nature of God. The purpose of this book is to show that this argument is a bit more complex than atheists make it out to be. C.S. Lewis argues that pain is not necessarily a bad thing. Pain is merely a byproduct of God’s love for us. Pain is produced as he seeks to teach us, to purify us, and make us into beings more like him.

LDS readers will quickly recognize that the words of C.S. Lewis are very similar to the words of ancient and modern prophets. 2 Nephi 2 discusses the plan of salvation at length. This chapter describes both opposition and agency, which are key components of The Problem of Pain. In Alma 14, Alma and Amulek watch as many righteous men, women and children are burned by nonbelievers. Amulek wonders why God doesn’t reach down and stop this injustice. Alma’s answer is that God refuses to take away the agency of the nonbelievers. Even though he promises glory to those burned and punishment at some future date for the offenders, at that moment he allows them to retain their ability to choose. By observing the consequences of our actions, we are hopefully led to make better choices in the future. Over time, we are able to shake off the carnal man and become more like our Father in Heaven.

It is not surprising that the general authorities of the church often quote C.S. Lewis. I believe that this occurs regularly for two reasons. First, the arguments of C.S. Lewis are well constructed and thought provoking. Second, his arguments often coincide with what the LDS community wants to hear. There have been many intelligent philosophers and theologians over the years who have presented arguments just as stunning as those of C.S. Lewis, but not all of them were in favor of God’s existence or supported LDS doctrine. This is why David Hume doesn’t come up all that often in General Conference…

I enjoy reading the works of C.S. Lewis for many reasons. I enjoy his wry sense of humor. He speaks about how men and women have the ability to use a beam however, they choose. “They can use a beam to build things, or they can use it whack their neighbor on the head.” He is often brutally honest.

I enjoy his provocative analogies. He describes life as a game of chess in which rules determine the movement of the pieces. If a player were able to take back a move whenever it became apparent that it had been a mistake or if he was allowed to remove an opponent’s piece whenever it became inconvenient, the game would become meaningless. For this same reason, the number of miracles performed by God, or in other words, the ways in which he deliberately and directly manipulates the laws of the physical world, are limited. “If God were to continuously take away pain and free will, he would in fact take away life itself.” Too many of us do not want a Father in Heaven that is concerned about disciplining us and making us better people. We instead want a Grandfather in Heaven who wants nothing more than to see his children living a life of contentment.

I enjoy the works of C.S. Lewis because they confirm my own beliefs. I am comforted by the fact that an intelligent and thoughtful man was able to come to the same conclusions as a fourteen-year-old boy who was tutored by God. I am not saying that God didn’t guide the thoughts of C.S. Lewis. I believe that he did. I’m just saying that God much more to Joseph Smith directly, while C.S. Lewis was able to cultivate on his own the spark that God had placed in his mind and heart. It shows me that God has enlightened men and women in many faiths outside of our own. It shows that he loves all of his children, no matter what religion they profess. He loves us infinitely. He spends every moment of his existence working to guide us back to his presence.

What has impressed you about the works of C.S. Lewis? What other books by him have you enjoyed? Are there books that you have not enjoyed? What other books by Christian philosophers have you found interesting?