Sigmund Freud & C S Lewis - The Question of God

[_aussieguy55]

Has anyone seen the this PBS dvd There is a discussion group throughout discussing the various issues of God, suffering etc. I found the book compelling in that it convinced me the Lewis was the happiest of the two individuals. Can we be good without God? Do we do good for ego or altrulistic reasons?

[_The Nehor]

I found that program while channel-surfing. I found it very well done. As a C.S. Lewis fan I was partisan but both sides were represented very well.

[_aussieguy55]

What interested me in the DVD was the responses by the guy from the Skeptics society. He argues one can be good without a belief in God. One interesting fact was about Lewis' speeches during the WWII years on the BBC. I read somewhere Lewis had to be trained in presenting a speech without any breaks as that would allow the German propagandist to get in at that wave length.

[_The Nehor]

What interested me in the DVD was the responses by the guy from the Skeptics society. He argues one can be good without a belief in God. One interesting fact was about Lewis' speeches during the WWII years on the BBC. I read somewhere Lewis had to be trained in presenting a speech without any breaks as that would allow the German propagandist to get in at that wave length.

Nice, I might try to hunt down an audio recording. I've only read the written transcript.

[_richardMdBorn]

Here are some brief clips from Lewis (not his wartime talks).

http://cslewis.drzeus.net/multimedia/audio.html

Richard

[_Daniel Peterson]

If Scratch will permit, I would simply like to recommend Armand Nicoli's The Question of God: C. S. Lewis and Sigmund Freud Debate God, Love, Sex, and the Meaning of Life as a very interesting book

http://www.amazon.com/Question-God-Sigm ... 074324785X

I haven't seen the PBS program, but would like to.

[_richardMdBorn]

It appears that you can get tapes of C.S. Lewis talking from

C. S. LEWIS MEDIA: Audio Tapes and Videos Available from the Episcopal TV-Radio Foundation.

The following items are available directly from:

The Episcopal Radio-TV Foundation
Suite 230
3379 Peachtree Road, N. E.
Atlanta, GA 30326

1-800-229-3788 (Call for prices)

VIDEOS

* Mere C. S. Lewis - Produced by the ERTF for the International C. S. Lewis Conference, this is a biographical video of excellent quality and content.
* The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (Animated Version).
* Shadowlands - the original movie starring Joss Ackland and Claire Bloom.
* The Chronicles of Narnia (BBC/Wonderworks Videos) - Including TWW, PC, VDT, SC

AUDIOS

* The Four Loves - 4 audio cassettes, with Lewis himself describing the four kinds of love: storge, philia, eros, and agape.
* Comments and Critiques - not as well known as the previous tape, but a tremendous set of audios, with Lewis discussing Charles Williams, Pilgrims Progress, and my personal favorite, The Great Divide, which was Lewis's inaugural lecture at Cambridge. Also on these three audio cassettes is a recording of Lewis's BBC Introduction to The Great Divorce.
* C. S. Lewis: His Journey and Ours - With the Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III and the Rev. William H. Barnwell. 5 audio cassettes. Explores Lewis's powerful understanding on the Christian faith, including his own journey as a Christian. Works discussed are: MERE CHRISTIANITY, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, THE GREAT DIVORCE, PERELANDRA, THE LION, THE WITCH, AND THE WARDROBE, and TILL WE HAVE FACES.

http://personal.bgsu.edu/~edwards/cslmedia.htm

[_aussieguy55]

One point I found not mentioned in the DVD but mention in the book was Freud writing privately to a Christian theologian in Switzland. Did Freud have doubts about his doubts? Also there was an occassion when Lewis was involved in a debate and he felt very bad because he felt he lost the debate.After Lewis' conversion friends and collegues noticed how different he was. He said he was the most reluctant convert in all England. Freud's theories of the id, ego and superego and complexes don't when you read the psychology textbooks have the same importance today. Psychoanalysis takes a long time and is expensive. And yet when you hear of conversions to Christianity on countries like South America you read of men changing their lives from ones of drinking and womanising to good husbands and fathers and the next generation become middle class. Nicholi's book seems to give the impression that Freud was not very happy with his sexlife and yet Lewis reported great happiness in that area. Freud was scared of death, Lewis was not.