This is the recording of a presentation by Dr. Jason Lepojärvi called Misreading C.S. Lewis on Friendship: The Charges of Sexism, Secrecy, and Snobbery. It is for the annual conference of the American Academy of Religion, which is in San Antonio, Texas, November 20–23.
“C.S. Lewis’s published writings comprise some forty-odd books in multiple genres, hundreds of essays, and thousands of letters. The theme that arguably rises above other themes is love, and within the family of different kinds of love, the love of friendship holds prominence. Although Lewis is often credited for accessible writing, there exists a number of popular misunderstandings about his ideas of friendship in particular. Several writers – theologians, philosophers, and literary scholars – have levelled serious charges against Lewis’s understanding of friendship. This paper will evaluate three of these charges in more detail. I will argue that are based on incomplete readings or complete misreadings of Lewis’s life and writings. This is not to say that Lewis had no blind spots (he certainly did), but that they are not always where his critics see them.”
Summary
