Leadership Library Spotlight
by on Oct 9th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
Book: The Question of God: C. S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life
Author: Dr. Armand M. Nicholi, Jr.
Sometimes it pays to stay up way too late.
About 5 or 6 years ago, I was resting on a couch in my apartment, watching television way too late into the night, or morning as it were. When I was struggling with a slight bout of insomnia, I would turn to "The Charlie Rose Show," as the steady conversation at his round table would either put me to sleep or give me some form of mental stimulation (if I have to be up, I might as well be productive).
One night, his guest was Dr. Armand Nicholi, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. For three decades, he has been teaching a very interesting class concerning the philosophical views of C. S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud. Lewis was a famous atheist-turned-Christian who taught at Oxford University and authored books that are still among “must read” lists of today’s theologians. Freud preceded Lewis in history, but he never abandoned his atheistic worldview. As a result, these two intellectual giants viewed life from two different perspectives.
Dr. Nicholi’s class was designed to peer into the religious worldviews of both men in order to discover why they believed what they believed, and how it affected the practical matters and larger philosophical questions that plague mankind regardless of religious affiliation. His goal was to be remain as objective as possible so that students could research the reasons and arguments behind each man’s philosophy, and then arrive at their own conclusions.
So popular was the class that Dr. Nicholi decided to publish a book that contained much of the content taught in that course. The discussion between him and Charlie Rose was so interesting that I ordered it the next day, and now I hope to spread my interest to you.
What makes this resource compelling is that it is not written from a Christian perspective, and though no author can be completely unbiased, there is as little attempt at persuasion as possible on the part of the author. He tries to bring Lewis and Freud’s own thoughts to the table so that the reader can make his or her own assessment.
The reason this book has value from the perspective of biblical manhood is that we cannot escape the practical impact that our beliefs can have over us. Beliefs are powerful things. They shape the way we view our life’s purpose, the use of our bodies, the way we relate to others, and how we should view suffering, joy, and death. Neither Lewis nor Freud were able to escape the consequences of their worldviews, but watching them live under the weight of their beliefs is helpful for us as we cannot escape the consequences of our own beliefs. Even passivity fails to keep us safe.
Therefore, Dr. Nicholi’s book can help to remind us that we should think carefully about the existence of God. If He does not exist, we are wasting what precious little time we have in our meaningless existence on a ghost story. If He does exist, then we dare not waste what precious little time He has given us on this earth to live for His glory and in prepare accordingly for eternity.
There is a part of me that thinks this book would make for a very interesting small group if that small group were made of Christians and non-Christians, particularly atheists. The conversations would be unforgettable. Someday, I may start a group to see what happens!
p.s. – You can watch the entire interview, if you are interested, at this link.