A Hipper C.S. Lewis?

If you are a C.S. Lewis fan, these are good days. With the coming films Prince Caspian in May and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2009), Narnia remains an “in thing” within popular culture. With even more Narnia sequels on the way and possible film adaptations of other Lewis works, including The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce, C.S. Lewis seems well positioned to be a giant in popular culture for years to come.

But, if C.S. (or Jack, as he liked to be called) were here today, I believe he would quickly bring us back to reality, warning us not to get caught up with “what’s in” at the moment. Lewis believed fashion – what’s cool and hip – is one of Satan’s most powerful seducers. It subtly distracts and derails our faith. Lewis illustrates this point several times in The Screwtape Letters and The Great Divorce. However, you may not have realized that he even expresses this same belief in The Chronicles of Narnia: Susan’s eventual loss of faith in The Last Battle seems to be based, in part, on her preoccupation with acting grown-up and her penchant for being fashionable.

Fashion may have been a big deal in Lewis’ day. However, “what’s popular” is far more seductive and alluring in today‘s media-saturated, attention-starved world than ever before in history.

To Jack, when you are preoccupied with the latest and greatest, you are focused on the temporary world rather than on things that really matter for eternity. Consider the following examples:

Clothing. When you are overly preoccupied with stylish clothes, your self-image and self-worth can become dependent, not on God, but on your wardrobe. Take, for example, What Not To Wear, a reality TV show that gives a style-challenged person a fashion makeover. I have watched the show occasionally and find it entertaining, but I believe that people can easily come away from watching that show feeling like they matter only so much as their approval rating from stylists Stacy and Clinton.

Entertainment. In the world of entertainment and pop culture, we can easily become obsessed with the Next Great Thing – the next generation iPod, the newest CD, or the upcoming blockbuster film. However, if we aren’t careful, the Next Great Thing can easily become an idol to both our heart and pocketbook.

Academics and philosophy. A preoccupation with fashionable thought – the latest trends in philosophy, religion, or another discipline – is dangerous. The drive to come up with an original, state-of-the-art idea ends up becoming more important than whether or not that theory is grounded in actual truth. In religious academic circles, for example, Lewis believed biblical Christianity is often looked down upon, not because of its truth claims, but because of the fact that its hard to be “cutting edge” with a 2,000 year-old, unchanging faith.

Church. Even within the church, believers need to guard against becoming fashion conscious. We can get so preoccupied with the latest methods of “doing church” or “reaching others” according to Willow Creek, Saddleback, or other popular model. But, in so doing, we risk neglecting what’s far most important: the simple gospel message of Jesus Christ.

Lewis believed that fashion in all of these areas is a dead-end street. “The more ‘up to date’ the look is, the sooner it will be dated,” says Lewis. What’s more, even if you are successful at being hip and up with the times, he warns that your days of being “in” are numbered. Jack writes in Experiment in Criticism, “If you take your stand on the ‘prevalent’ view , how long do you suppose it will prevail?…All you can really say about my taste is that it is old-fashioned; yours will soon be the same.”

In the end, we Lewis fans can enjoy the fact that C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia, and his other works are being read and appreciated by more people today than ever before. But let’s heed Jack’s advise and refrain from becoming distracted at the success of having “our man” getting so much worldwide attention.