138LEWIS, CLIVE STAPLES
LEWIS, CLIVE STAPLES (1898–1963).
British scholar, writer, poet, Christian
apologist, and lay Anglican theologian,
primarily known for his classic series of
children’s fantasy literature, The Chroni-
cles of Narnia (1950–1956). Although
Lewis studied and briefly taught philoso-
phy at Oxford, his professional expertise
was in medieval and Renaissance litera-
ture, which he taught for many years at
both Oxford and Cambridge and on
which he published numerous scholarly
works. However, following his gradual
conversion from atheism to idealism to
theism to orthodox Christianity (culmi-
nating in 1931), Lewis embarked on a
remarkable secondary career as an ama-
teur theo logian and highly effective apol-
ogist. His books The Problem of Pain
(1940— on theodicy), The Abolition of
Man (1943—on moral relativism and
cultural education), The Great Divorce
(1945—on free will and personal escha-
tology), Miracles (1947, 2nd ed., 1960—on
naturalism and the possibility of special
divine action), and Mere Christianity
(1952—on basic Christian doctrine) are
among the most widely read and dis-
cussed texts in the second half of the
twentieth century. Although Lewis’ vari-
ous arguments are often criticized by pro-
fessional philosophers and theologians,
his thought has proved surprisingly resil-
ient: it continues to fascinate and provoke
and find adherents among both academic
and general readers. In philosophy of reli-
gion, his theistic “argument from reason”
(presented in the first edition of Miracles,
famously critiqued by G. E. M. Anscombe
in 1948, and revised in the second edi-
tion) is still frequently discussed, as is his
imaginative exploration of post-mortem
freedom in regard to heaven and hell in
The Great Divorce.LEX TALIONIS. From the Latin, meaning
“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth”
(cf. Lev. 24:17–23). Law prescribing equal-
ity between crime and punishment. It is
often not appreciated how the lex talionis
may be understood as establishing a cap
on revenge. If someone unfairly destroys
an eye, it is not permissible for you to kill
the wrongdoer and his city.LI. See QI.LIBERAL THEOLOGY. Also known as
“modern theology,” the primary assump-
tion of liberal theology is that the content
or meaning of religious convictions are
separate from the way those convictions
are expressed or formulated. In this way,
concern for—and the use of—philosoph-
ical, cultural, and social discourse is a par-
ticular staple of liberal theology. Friedrich
Schleiermacher is often considered “the
father of modern theology.”LIFE AFTER DEATH. Theistic and
many non-theistic religions affirm that
human persons do not perish into noth-
ingness (cease to be in nihilum) at physi-
cal death, but continue to live either on