Dragons indeed. C. S. Lewis was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a deeply occult secret society, of which Alister Crowley was also a member. I do hope those students didn’t let their guard down!
Serge Agafonoff
31 May 2016 at 5:45 pm
Evidence, Vic, credible evidence? Crowley was ejected from HOGD, so he formed OTO branch in UK.
The point made by Dr Higgens is a good one.
Warren Nelson
31 May 2016 at 8:57 am
Seriously?
Dr. Deborah Higgens
31 May 2016 at 3:14 pm
I’m sorry, but I’ve never heard of this before and have never seen anything documented on this topic.
William Abbott
31 May 2016 at 7:34 pm
Alester Crowley
Serge Agafonoff
31 May 2016 at 8:10 pm
Or perhaps Aleister Crowley
Jack Hoehn
01 June 2016 at 12:09 am
Jack Lewis (C.S. Lewis to the rest of you) has described his fascination with the occult, the ancient, the pagan, and the secret, starting with his first exposure to literature, AT AGE 7-8! As a motherless child he was AT AGE 13 exposed to the weird and fascinating world of para-psychology, and he left his birthed Anglicanism for atheism.
As a 13 year old he describes the headmistress of his school and her influence on him like this: (Surprised by Joy, page 59) “She was floundering in the mazes of Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, Spiritualism; the whole Anglo-American Occultist tradition . . . I had never heard of such things before; never, except in a nightmare or a fairy tale, conceived of spirits other than God and men. I had loved to read of strange sights and other worlds and unknown modes of being, but never with the slightest belief.” He freely admits that he not only lost his faith, but his virtue and his simplicity. Jack Lewis had become a pagan and an atheist.
But as Lewis grew and continued his brilliant way in the world, Christ continued to tempt back C.S. Lewis with Joy, first “on huge waves of Wagnerian music and Norse and Celtic mythology” and finally claimed him as His own. As Lewis writes, “the great Angler played His fish, and I never dreamed that the hook was in my tongue…”
(Continued next comment….)
Jack Hoehn
01 June 2016 at 12:10 am
(….conclusion of previous comment)
And as he got closer to Christians and to their Christ, he learned more about his unregenerate self. (Surprised by Joy, page 181, “For the first time I examined myself…And there I found what appalled me: a zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears, a harem of fondled hatreds. My name was legion.”
So we come to 1929, the occultist boy is now a 31 year old Oxford Don, (Surprised by Joy, page 181, “You must picture me alone in that room at Magdalen…that which I greatly feared had at last come upon me…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 hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation.”
God in Heaven, what a fine Christian man you made of Jack Lewis! He is the prophet of his generation and many more to come. He has opened the doors to Christ closed by fanaticism, irrationality, and ignorance to thousands of Satan’s captives.
(Continjued next comment…)
Jack Hoehn
01 June 2016 at 12:12 am
(….concluded from previous) And how dare any presume to tar with pre-Christian sin, the blood bought purity of C.S. Lewis’s life and ministry! All claims that bogus membership in occult organizations having any bearing on the beautiful Christ filled reclaiming of the truths of pagan myth with the core of Godly Truth in his children’s fantasies (Narnia), his retelling of the Great Controversy in his science fiction trilogy(Out of the Silent Planet), and his brilliant apologetic defenses of (Mere Christianity) is worse than ignorant, it is slander.
Who can stand in the shadow of this hero of Redemption and warrior for Salvation like Jack (C.S.) Lewis and smear him with the sins of his youth! I’ll let Jesus say it (Matthew 23:13) “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces.”
William Abbott
01 June 2016 at 8:05 am
Dr. Hoehn, (Jack to the rest of you)
I appreciate your vigorous defense of CS Lewis. Unlike many who comment here I did not grow-up a Seventh-day Adventist. I was raised a cultural Christian and knew a only little about Christian belief, and only a very little indeed about Adventists.
When I was eighteen a friend of mine loaned me Lewis’ book, Mere Christianity. It changed my life. I was quickly persuaded there must be a God/Creator and also convicted I needed to decide whether I believed Jesus was the Son of God. I decided I did and I became a member of His church.
I approached Adventism as a mere Christian. I love the Seventh-day Adventist Church merely for the sake of Jesus Christ the head of the church. At Union College I had a couple beloved professors, one English, the other Theology, who were pretty enthusiastic about CS Lewis. So Lewis himself remained and remains a professor in my continuing Christian education.
What I don’t understand is why Vic associated Lewis with Aleister Crowley. It isn’t so much slander as it is insanity. Why? I did find something disturbing: When I Binged this search term: [ C. S. Lewis was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ] I found this ninth from the top: [C.S. Lewis, La Sierra; Video; … Lewis was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, … of which Alister Crowley was also a member.]
Thank you Vic. The truth marches forward.
William Noel
01 June 2016 at 9:50 am
I appreciate Dr. Higgens’ description of how the stories of C.S. Lewis take readers past the “watchful dragons” of established religion and allow us to explore the real character of God. His stories have played a role in the spiritual formation of my children and I hope they will remain classics for future generations to read.
Let’s not forget that Jesus told fictional stories to illustrate spiritual principles. The Bible calls them “parables.”
Those who wish to dismiss the works of Lewis because of real or supposed association with particular belief systems are prone to missing the value of the stories. No writer is perfect: not Ellen White, not C.S. Lewis and not me. Plus, no story is capable of addressing all questions or criticisms someone might raise about the theme. Yet they remain worthwhile and beneficial, as was evidenced to me after Review & Herald printed two of my spiritual novels and I had the blessing of having numerous teens tell me they enjoyed the stories and, most of all, they were challenged to examine and deepen their relationships with God. Those words made all the long hours of wrestling with how to describe a scene worthwhile!
Dragons indeed. C. S. Lewis was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a deeply occult secret society, of which Alister Crowley was also a member. I do hope those students didn’t let their guard down!
Evidence, Vic, credible evidence? Crowley was ejected from HOGD, so he formed OTO branch in UK.
The point made by Dr Higgens is a good one.
Seriously?
I’m sorry, but I’ve never heard of this before and have never seen anything documented on this topic.
Alester Crowley
Or perhaps Aleister Crowley
Jack Lewis (C.S. Lewis to the rest of you) has described his fascination with the occult, the ancient, the pagan, and the secret, starting with his first exposure to literature, AT AGE 7-8! As a motherless child he was AT AGE 13 exposed to the weird and fascinating world of para-psychology, and he left his birthed Anglicanism for atheism.
As a 13 year old he describes the headmistress of his school and her influence on him like this: (Surprised by Joy, page 59) “She was floundering in the mazes of Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, Spiritualism; the whole Anglo-American Occultist tradition . . . I had never heard of such things before; never, except in a nightmare or a fairy tale, conceived of spirits other than God and men. I had loved to read of strange sights and other worlds and unknown modes of being, but never with the slightest belief.” He freely admits that he not only lost his faith, but his virtue and his simplicity. Jack Lewis had become a pagan and an atheist.
But as Lewis grew and continued his brilliant way in the world, Christ continued to tempt back C.S. Lewis with Joy, first “on huge waves of Wagnerian music and Norse and Celtic mythology” and finally claimed him as His own. As Lewis writes, “the great Angler played His fish, and I never dreamed that the hook was in my tongue…”
(Continued next comment….)
(….conclusion of previous comment)
And as he got closer to Christians and to their Christ, he learned more about his unregenerate self. (Surprised by Joy, page 181, “For the first time I examined myself…And there I found what appalled me: a zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears, a harem of fondled hatreds. My name was legion.”
So we come to 1929, the occultist boy is now a 31 year old Oxford Don, (Surprised by Joy, page 181, “You must picture me alone in that room at Magdalen…that which I greatly feared had at last come upon me…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 hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation.”
God in Heaven, what a fine Christian man you made of Jack Lewis! He is the prophet of his generation and many more to come. He has opened the doors to Christ closed by fanaticism, irrationality, and ignorance to thousands of Satan’s captives.
(Continjued next comment…)
(….concluded from previous) And how dare any presume to tar with pre-Christian sin, the blood bought purity of C.S. Lewis’s life and ministry! All claims that bogus membership in occult organizations having any bearing on the beautiful Christ filled reclaiming of the truths of pagan myth with the core of Godly Truth in his children’s fantasies (Narnia), his retelling of the Great Controversy in his science fiction trilogy(Out of the Silent Planet), and his brilliant apologetic defenses of (Mere Christianity) is worse than ignorant, it is slander.
Who can stand in the shadow of this hero of Redemption and warrior for Salvation like Jack (C.S.) Lewis and smear him with the sins of his youth! I’ll let Jesus say it (Matthew 23:13) “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the door of the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces.”
Dr. Hoehn, (Jack to the rest of you)
I appreciate your vigorous defense of CS Lewis. Unlike many who comment here I did not grow-up a Seventh-day Adventist. I was raised a cultural Christian and knew a only little about Christian belief, and only a very little indeed about Adventists.
When I was eighteen a friend of mine loaned me Lewis’ book, Mere Christianity. It changed my life. I was quickly persuaded there must be a God/Creator and also convicted I needed to decide whether I believed Jesus was the Son of God. I decided I did and I became a member of His church.
I approached Adventism as a mere Christian. I love the Seventh-day Adventist Church merely for the sake of Jesus Christ the head of the church. At Union College I had a couple beloved professors, one English, the other Theology, who were pretty enthusiastic about CS Lewis. So Lewis himself remained and remains a professor in my continuing Christian education.
What I don’t understand is why Vic associated Lewis with Aleister Crowley. It isn’t so much slander as it is insanity. Why? I did find something disturbing: When I Binged this search term: [ C. S. Lewis was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn ] I found this ninth from the top: [C.S. Lewis, La Sierra; Video; … Lewis was a member of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, … of which Alister Crowley was also a member.]
Thank you Vic. The truth marches forward.
I appreciate Dr. Higgens’ description of how the stories of C.S. Lewis take readers past the “watchful dragons” of established religion and allow us to explore the real character of God. His stories have played a role in the spiritual formation of my children and I hope they will remain classics for future generations to read.
Let’s not forget that Jesus told fictional stories to illustrate spiritual principles. The Bible calls them “parables.”
Those who wish to dismiss the works of Lewis because of real or supposed association with particular belief systems are prone to missing the value of the stories. No writer is perfect: not Ellen White, not C.S. Lewis and not me. Plus, no story is capable of addressing all questions or criticisms someone might raise about the theme. Yet they remain worthwhile and beneficial, as was evidenced to me after Review & Herald printed two of my spiritual novels and I had the blessing of having numerous teens tell me they enjoyed the stories and, most of all, they were challenged to examine and deepen their relationships with God. Those words made all the long hours of wrestling with how to describe a scene worthwhile!