It seems that Reformed people do not think he is reformed. I think this is based on the Reformed thinking that Lewis over-emphasized freedom: perhaps adhered to libertarian freedom. But tell me what you think of this passage in Surprised by Joy where Lewis talks about his conversion to Theism:
Now, we've all read this passage, probably more interested in the autobiographical elements instead of the theological ones. But it does seem interesting that Lewis emphasized freedom, but then emphasized God's compulsion, God's approach being contrary to desire. In fact, Lewis seems to endorse compatibilism: we're most free when I am what I do. By implication, if what I am necessitates what I do, then Lewis is right: necessity is not contrary to freedom in this sense, and I think Jonathan Edwards or John Calvin might agree.
Then, what about Lewis becoming aware of a fact presented to him for which Lewis felt that he could choose? Was this the beginning of the Spirit's effectual call as it manifested itself in Lewis' particular consciousness? Or was this Lewis reacting to Spirit enabled prevenient Grace? The wikipedia entry introduces the concept thus:
The odd thing was that before God closed in on me, I was in fact offered what now appears a moment of wholly free choice. In a sense. I was going up Headington Hill on the top of a bus. Without words and (I think) almost without images, a fact about myself was somehow presented to me. I became aware that I was holding something at bay, or shutting something out. Or, if you like, that I was wearing some stiff clothing, like corsets, or even a suit of armor, as if I were a lobster. I felt myself being there and then, given a free choice. I could open the door or keep it shut; I could unbuckle the armor or keep it on. Neither choice was presented as a duty; no threat or promise was attached to either, though I knew that to open the door or to take off the corslet meant the incalculable. The choice appeared to be momentous but it was also strangely unemotional. I was moved by no desires or fears. In a sense I was not moved by anything. I chose to open, to unbuckle, to loosen the rein. I say "I chose," yet it did not really seem possible to do the opposite. On the other hand, I was aware of no motives. You could argue that I was not a free agent, but I am more inclined to think that this came nearer to being a perfectly free act than most that I have ever done. Necessity may not be the opposite of freedom, and perhaps a man is most free when, instead of producing motives, he could only say, "I am what I do." Then came the repercussion on the imaginative level. I felt as if I were a man of snow at long last beginning to melt. The melting was starting in my back — drip-drip and presently trickle-trickle. I rather disliked the feeling.
You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words compelle intrare, compel them to come in, have been so abused be wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation.
Then, what about Lewis becoming aware of a fact presented to him for which Lewis felt that he could choose? Was this the beginning of the Spirit's effectual call as it manifested itself in Lewis' particular consciousness? Or was this Lewis reacting to Spirit enabled prevenient Grace? The wikipedia entry introduces the concept thus:
Prevenient grace is a Christian theological concept rooted in Arminian theology.[1] It is divine grace that precedes human decision. It exists prior to and without reference to anything humans may have done. As humans are corrupted by the effects of sin, prevenient grace allows persons to engage their God-given free will to choose the salvation offered by God in Jesus Christ or to reject that salvific offer.
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