How You Lose Faith Without Noticing | The Silver Chair

How You Lose Faith Without Noticing | The Silver Chair

This week, we go underground in The Silver Chair, the Narnia book about how people actually lose their faith — not argued out of it, but slowly seduced out of it. We dig into Puddleglum’s answer to the witch as the best response to atheism in the series (and why it isn’t an argument at all), why Lewis treats spiritual deadness as environmental and not just moral, faith as remembered obedience, and more. Let’s get to it. In this episode: * (00:00) Intro * (01:07) Why this book grew on us * (04:44) Experiment House and Lewis on education * (06:09) “Will you promise not to eat me?” * (07:37) The four signs and our habit of forgetting * (09:17) The lost prince and the underworld * (10:38) Puddleglum stamps out the fire * (14:05) Why he doesn’t out-argue the witch * (15:13) You can’t reason with two different planes * (17:34) Seduction, not force * (18:54) Spiritual deadness as an environment * (20:18) The coffee shop and losing your discernment * (26:10) “There is no other stream” and the God who won’t promise safety * (31:04) Passing the torch, generation to generation Links * C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis] * The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia] * The Silver Chair: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silver_Chair [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silver_Chair] * The Silver Chair (movie): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098912/ [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098912/] * Plato: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato] * J.R.R. Tolkien: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien] * The Pilgrim’s Progress: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilgrim’s_Progress [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pilgrim%27s_Progress] * John Bunyan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bunyan [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bunyan] * Is God Really In Control? | The Horse and His Boy: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/is-god-really-in-control-the-horse-and-his-boy/ [https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/is-god-really-in-control-the-horse-and-his-boy/] * Have We Tamed Jesus? | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/have-we-tamed-jesus/ [https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/have-we-tamed-jesus/] * Donald Trump: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Trump] * Mere Christianity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Christianity [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Christianity] * The Screwtape Letters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Screwtape_Letters [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Screwtape_Letters] * The Great Divorce: * Weight of Glory: Connect with Adam * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avclark [https://www.instagram.com/avclark] Connect with Aaron * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown [https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown] Subscribe and stay in touch * Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org [https://thechristiansekptic.org] * Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod [https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod] * Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349] * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9 [https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9] * YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic [https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic] Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org [https://www.thechristianskeptic.org]. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic [https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic].

Why Can't You Fix Yourself? | The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

This week, we sail east through The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, an often overlooked book in the series, and the one where the villain isn’t “out there”, but inside the characters themselves. We dig into Eustace’s un-dragoning as one of the clearest picture of grace in the series, why the transformation has to hurt, Reepicheep as Lewis’s “argument from desire”, and more. Let’s get to it. In this episode: * (00:00) Can you fix yourself? * (01:01) Why Dawn Treader gets underrated * (05:15) The book with no villain * (07:21) The “un-dragoning” * (12:24) More Calvinist than Lewis realized * (15:39) Does grace have to be painful? * (17:37) Reepicheep and the argument from desire * (21:12) Longing, not fear, as the engine * (23:11) “By another name” and the Emeth problem * (26:17) The hiddenness of Aslan: “Courage, dear heart” * (28:09) The Lamb and the Lion: supposal, not pluralism * (31:19) Favorite moments and Reepicheep’s exit * (33:22) Looking ahead to The Silver Chair Links * C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis] * The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia] * The Voyage of the Dawn Treader: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_the_Dawn_Treader [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Voyage_of_the_Dawn_Treader] * The Silver Chair: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silver_Chair [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silver_Chair] * Plato: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plato] * J.R.R. Tolkien: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien] * Is God Really In Control? | The Horse and His Boy: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/is-god-really-in-control-the-horse-and-his-boy/ [https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/is-god-really-in-control-the-horse-and-his-boy/] * Have We Tamed Jesus? | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/have-we-tamed-jesus/ [https://www.thechristianskeptic.org/have-we-tamed-jesus/] * Doug Wilson: https://dougwils.com/ [https://dougwils.com/] * Mere Christianity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Christianity [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Christianity] * Planet Narnia: The Seven Heavens in the Imagination of C. S. Lewis: https://www.amazon.com/dp/019973870X [https://www.amazon.com/dp/019973870X] Connect with Adam * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avclark [https://www.instagram.com/avclark] Connect with Aaron * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown [https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown] Subscribe and stay in touch * Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org [https://thechristiansekptic.org] * Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod [https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod] * Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349] * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9 [https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9] * YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic [https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic] Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org [https://www.thechristianskeptic.org]. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic [https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic].

What Do You Do When God Goes Silent? | Prince Caspian

C.S. Lewis set Prince Caspian 1,300 years after the golden age of Narnia — long enough that Aslan has become a legend, the talking trees have gone silent, and the people who rule the land insist none of it was ever real. So, what do you do when the God you used to see has gone quiet, and the culture around you has decided He was never there? In part four of our series through the Chronicles of Narnia, we dig into the most generous portrait of an honest skeptic Lewis ever wrote (Trumpkin), whether there’s room for doubt inside the church, why Lewis thought certainty could be its own kind of unbelief, and the famous scene where Lucy is told she should have followed what she saw—even when no one else could see it. Let’s get to it. In this episode: (00:00) Intro (00:53) Why Prince Caspian is the most skeptical book in the series (02:07) Chronological snobbery: does “old” mean false? (03:24) 1,300 years later: a world that forgot Aslan (05:00) Trumpkin, the honest skeptic (07:18) Three kinds of faith: Trufflehunter, Nikabrik, and Trumpkin (11:54) Why honest skeptics are taking Christianity seriously again (13:01) The place for questions (and answers) (16:34) How should Christians hold their certainty? (18:38) When truth is forgotten, the culture decays (21:13) Why did Aslan disappear? Where is God now? (26:01) Faith means believing without sight (27:14) Lucy, and faith as perception (31:38) The marriage of faith and reason (34:53) Are myths “half-glimpses” of truth? (37:30) Reepicheep’s tail and generational faithfulness (40:33) Determinism and responsibility Links * C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis] * The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia] * Joe Rogan: https://www.joerogan.com/ [https://www.joerogan.com/] * Jordan Peterson: https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/ [https://www.jordanbpeterson.com/] * Martin Luther: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Luther] * William Tyndale: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tyndale [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Tyndale] * John Wycliffe: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wycliffe [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wycliffe] * Jim Jones: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Jones] * Doug Wilson: https://dougwils.com/ [https://dougwils.com/] Connect with Adam * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avclark [https://www.instagram.com/avclark] Connect with Aaron * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown [https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown] Subscribe and stay in touch * Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org [https://thechristiansekptic.org] * Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod [https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod] * Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349] * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9 [https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9] * YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic [https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic] Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org [https://www.thechristianskeptic.org]. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic [https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic].

Is God Really In Control? | The Horse and His Boy

The Horse and His Boy is the Narnia book most people skip—and the one with one of the most difficult question at its center: if God is behind every event of your life, including the painful ones, is that the most comforting idea imaginable or the most unsettling? This week we sit inside Aslan’s “I was the lion” speech and ask what it would mean if it were true. We also dig into the difference between God’s sovereignty and his providence, where C.S. Lewis actually landed on free will and divine control, why providence is something you can usually only recognize looking backward, and why, in the end, we both walk away from this strange, intimate little book feeling more comforted than unsettled. In this episode: * (00:00) Intro * (01:03) Real decisions, or God’s plan? * (02:00) The best Narnia book nobody reads * (07:00) From slavery to royalty: Shasta’s story * (13:30) “I was the lion” — comforting or terrifying? * (15:33) Sovereignty vs. providence * (19:45) Was C.S. Lewis a Molinist? * (24:11) Where we land: free will, control & the invisible hand * (29:10) Holding the mystery without weaponizing it * (37:14) Why Aslan won’t explain Aravis’s wounds * (40:22) The comfort of being seen in the dark Links * C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis] * The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia] * Al Mohler: https://albertmohler.com/ [https://albertmohler.com/] * John Piper: https://www.desiringgod.org/ [https://www.desiringgod.org/] * William Lane Craig: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lane_Craig [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lane_Craig] * Ravi Zacharias: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_Zacharias [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_Zacharias] * Providence by John Piper: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/providence [https://www.desiringgod.org/books/providence] * Charles Spurgeon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Spurgeon [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Spurgeon] * Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis: https://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652926 [https://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652926] * Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton: https://www.amazon.com/Orthodoxy-G-K-Chesterton-G-K/dp/1657592197 [https://www.amazon.com/Orthodoxy-G-K-Chesterton-G-K/dp/1657592197] * The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God by John Piper: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/the-misery-of-job-and-the-mercy-of-god [https://www.desiringgod.org/books/the-misery-of-job-and-the-mercy-of-god] Connect with Adam * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avclark [https://www.instagram.com/avclark] Connect with Aaron * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown [https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown] Subscribe and stay in touch * Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org [https://thechristiansekptic.org] * Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod [https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod] * Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349] * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9 [https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9] * YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic [https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic] Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org [https://www.thechristianskeptic.org]. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic [https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic].

Have We Tamed Jesus? | The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

There's a moment in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, where one of the kids learns that Aslan is a lion, gets nervous and asks if he's safe. And the answer, as Lewis writes it, is of course he isn't safe, but he's good. Most Christians can quote that line. It's one of the most famous lines in the entire series. We put it on coffee mugs, we hang it on our walls. But here's the question Lewis was actually asking—why does the Jesus most people know look so tame, so manageable, so agreeable? The Jesus we find most often in the American church is safe. He's predictable. He votes a certain way, he blesses certain things and disapproves of others. He shows up where he's invited and doesn't surprise anyone. That's what we're diving into today on The Christian Skeptic in part two of our series through The Chronicles of Narnia. Let's get to it. In this episode: * (00:00) Intro * (01:49) Was Lewis arguing for a specific atonement theory? * (04:53) The four atonement theories * (11:35) Would this convince anyone who didn't already believe? * (14:33) The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe recap * (20:38) Lucy and faith as perception * (29:04) The deep magic and Edmund as the human representative * (33:02) The Stone Table and the law * (34:48) Has the church tamed Jesus? * (37:11) What does a "not-safe" Jesus look like? Links  * C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis]  * The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia]  * J.R.R. Tolkien: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R._Tolkien]  * Mere Christianity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Christianity [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Christianity]  * Steve Brown: https://www.keylife.org [https://www.keylife.org]  * Three Free Sins: https://www.keylife.org/articles/three-free-sins [https://www.keylife.org/articles/three-free-sins]  * The Snow Queen: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snow_Queen [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Snow_Queen] * Hans Christian Anderson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Andersen [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Christian_Andersen]  Connect with Adam * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avclark [https://www.instagram.com/avclark] Connect with Aaron * Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown [https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown]  Subscribe and stay in touch * Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org [https://thechristiansekptic.org]  * Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod [https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod]  * Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349 [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349]  * Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9 [https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9]  * YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic [https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic]  Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org [https://www.thechristianskeptic.org].  Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic [https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic].