In seven years of blogging, my most popular post has been C. S. Lewis on Homosexuality. It has had approximately 4000 readers to date. Since this topic has garnered a great deal of attention in the blogosphere recently (for example see: The National Catholic Register), I thought I would revisit the subject.
What many people writing on the topic of "C. S. Lewis and Homosexuality" fail to point out is that Lewis' lifelong friend, Arthur Greeves (pictured above) was a homosexual. In fact, when Greeves "came out" to Lewis in May 1918, Lewis wrote back saying:
Congratulations old
man, I am delighted that you have had the moral courage to form your own
opinions independently, in defiance of the old taboos. I am not sure that I
agree with you: but, as you hint in your letter, this penchant is a sort of
mystery only to be fully understood by those who are made that way—and my views
on it can be at best but emotion.[1]
At the time that Lewis wrote these words he was nineteen
years old and an atheist, albeit an atheist who was raised in the Church of
Ireland (Anglican). Nonetheless, these words, the first of Lewis’ printed
thoughts on the subject of homosexuality, reveal much.
First, Lewis displayed
an open and welcoming attitude toward his friend.
Second, Lewis saw it as an
act of moral courage to accept one’s sexuality and form one’s own opinions on
the matter, in defiance of what he calls “the old taboos”. One must remember
that at this time, not only was homosexual practice regarded as immoral by virtually,
if not all, Christian denominations, but it was also a violation of British law.
Third, the fact that Lewis uses the phrase “the old taboos” indicates that he
did not, at that time, view homosexual acts as a violation of natural law.
Fourth, Lewis notes that he is not sure he agrees with Greeves in his view of
homosexuality.
However, the fifth point Lewis makes is quite important: that
his own views on the subject are irrelevant, because homosexuality can only be
fully understood by those who are made that way.
This statement includes a
sixth point, that homosexuality is a matter of nature. Some people are “made
that way”. Lewis does not comment on the role of nurture.
Finally, Lewis
maintains that his views on the subject, as a heterosexual, can at best be but
emotion. Lewis recognizes that a feeling of revulsion towards homosexuality has
nothing to do with the rightness or wrongness of homosexual acts.
Conservative
Christians who appeal to Lewis as a proponent of their view that homosexual
acts are sinful will be quick to point out that this statement was made by
Lewis when he was young and when he was an atheist. Lewis made other statements about homosexuality later in his life that are more amenable to a conservative Christian perspective. All of these points are
true.
However, I think it significant to note that, so far as we know, Lewis
never rescinded this statement in writing or in conversation with his friend,
Arthur Greeves. In fact, Lewis and Greeves remained friends until Lewis’ death. The way Lewis related to Arthur Greeves may well provide a positive model for Christians with friends in the LGBT community.
[1] Walter
Hooper, editor, The Collected Letters of
C. S. Lewis, Volume I, London: HarperCollins, 2000, p. 371.
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