The Abolition of Man

C. S. Lewis was not right about everything, but he got a lot right. There have been few writers like him who have been able to communicate the importance of thinking clearly and Biblically about God and life in this present world. Many have enjoyed his Narnia series and his creative and broad approach in writing thoughtful apologetics, science fiction, and entertaining parody. 

     He makes an interesting comparison in his book The Abolition of Man when he writes, “The serious magical endeavor and the serious scientific endeavor are twins.” It is interesting to notice how often Lewis plays on these two themes of magic and science in his writings to show how both of them provide ways of controlling people and their impressions by offering interesting and believable explanations and demonstrations without revealing their hidden secret. The magician can’t tell you how he did the trick, or the fun would be over. In like manner, those who insist that science is a sufficient explanation for everything and the only way forward, do not want to talk about what cannot possibly be explained by science, namely the existence of everything and the miracle of life itself, because that would undermine their basic premise that science is the only possible explanation for anything.

     So in that sense, the witchdoctor and the scientist are very much alike. They are both content to control people by offering explanations without valid proof. It is true that religion is often charged with the same aim, and there is a sense in which this is true. But the difference is that Christians embrace science, not as the enemy of God’s truth, but as a very important confirmation of what God has revealed about himself and his creation in his Word. Christians are not afraid of the findings of astronomy or the new physics that has emerged from our ability to examine life at the particle level where conventional laws of physics get bent. 

     The validity of our claim as Christians rests on the logical necessity of theism and intelligent design, which should be obvious to everyone who studies science, except those who have chosen to make science their religion. But as Christians, we have a more valid confirmation than the data from empirical science. We have the Word of God as the explanation of the miracle of life, and we have the Son of God who has come into human history and demonstrated God’s love, life and redemptive purpose for this fallen world.

      Lewis contends that the inevitable consequence of scientism is a materialistic reductionism of human existence, which makes us nothing more than a bundle of meaningless atoms and molecules that may be tampered with in any way necessary to bring about the goals of those who are in charge. Imagine the possibilities of genetic engineering to make the ideal human, or the pragmatic logic that eliminates the undesirable humans by means of abortion or euthanasia. When humans are valued and produced based on genetic coding, and those who have gained the knowledge and power to do so increasingly control our lives, our human existence will not be enhanced, but diminished and even abolished.

Whoever digs a pit will fall into it, and a stone will come back on him who starts it rolling. (Prov 26:27)