The Summit Lecture Series 14: C.S. Lewis on Heaven and Hell, part 2 with Louis Markos

To purchase the entire Summit Lecture Series, Vol. 1 on DVD, go to: summit.org

In C.S. Lewis’ “The Great Divorce”, Lewis imagines if the people in hell could get on a bus and ride from hell to heaven. And when they arrive, the souls of the saints would come out and try to convince them to repent, give up their sinful ways and embrace Christ’s grace.

In this book, Lewis’ depiction of heaven is incredibly beautiful because it’s REAL. In comparison, when the damned souls arrive and try to walk, they can’t even bend the grass since they are so “ghost-like” and “insubstantial” compared to the heavenly beings.

In Lewis’ heaven, even nature itself is alive as the waterfalls laugh and the ground sings out praises.

The hook of Lewis’ story comes at the end, when we learn that the bus did not actually move, but grew. And yet, compared to the magnificence of heaven, even in its grown state, the bus is still smaller than a blade of heavenly grass.

You see, heaven is not only quantitatively different, it is qualitatively different. It’s actually outside of space and outside of time.

Then, in C.S. Lewis’ “The Problem of Pain”, Lewis devoted an entire chapter to heaven. In this book, the author writes that there is no reason to disbelieve that there will be animals in heaven. That’s not to say that animals have souls, but they will most likely be there.

Also in “The Problem of Pain”, we learn that heaven is the proper reward for those who love God and desire to be with Him. Heaven is the ultimate consummation for Christians.

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