Sin, Grace, and Conversion in C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Abstract
Was C. S. Lewis Pelagian? While his apologetic works make skillful use of the concept of free will, some worry that he takes the emphasis on free will too far, allowing no room for God's gracious intervention in works such as The Great Divorce and The Problem of Pain. This essay seeks to challenge a Pelagian characterization of Lewis. It argues that there is in Lewis’s theology a dialectic in which the burden for damnation rests solely with the sinner’s own free choice, and yet where God is solely to praise for actively rescuing the saved, resembling a single predestination soteriology.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Karl Barth and Christian Theology
Evelyn Waugh and Hans Urs von Balthasar Studies
Theology and Philosophy of Evil
Publication details
- Journal / source
- Sehnsucht The C S Lewis Journal
- Volume
- 19
- Issue
- 1
- Publication date
- 14 January 2026
- Language
- EN