HeIn his final book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, The Last Battle, C.S. Lewis generated some controversy about his views on life after death, and heaven.  There were many debates about what Lewis meant when he described the character Emeth’s entrance into “heaven” at the end of the book.  Emeth is a follower of Tash, a false God, but at the end of his life he professes his love and belief for Aslan and is allowed into “heaven” despite his former belief in Tash.

Many believe this gives strong proof that Lewis was a supporter and believer in Universalism, or the belief theological doctrine that all human beings will eventually be saved no matter what their own religious choice may be, which he distinctly disagreed with.  This has still lead to many arguments over the true nature of this ending that still impacts readers to this day.

Louis Markos, over at Civitate.org, has written a compelling article on this very topic arguing that it is neither universalism nor post-mortem salvation that Lewis advocates in the final pages of the Chronicles.  He offers a well thought out and well-structured argument against the ideas that Lewis fans have debated for years.  Check out Markos’ full article here.  And be sure to check out the rest of his A to Z series on Lewis.

Another compelling scene within The Last Battle is Lewis’ portrayal and description of heaven.  This has been a challenging topic for centuries.  What exactly will heaven be like?  What will we experience?  Will it be like Earth 2.0? Lewis tackles this wonder towards the end of the book, and long-time friend of the Foundation, Randy Alcorn, lays out this description in a clip from a lecture he recently gave.  It details the point in the story when Lewis gives a clear message on what he believes Heaven will truly be like.  Check out Randy’s Blog for more great insight into the Christian world.

We here at the C.S. Lewis Foundation also want to wish a congratulations to our friend Melanie Stiles.  Melanie was recently recognized in the Christian Choice Book Awards for her work, The Heart of a Ready Scribe.  We’re always very excited whenever a friend and supporter of the Foundation is recognized in the Christian world.  Congratulations Melanie!