Lewis and Freud Debate God

I few years back I saw a really good show on PBS called "The Question of God." It was based upon a book by the same title, written by Dr. Armand Nicholi. The contents of both pit the intellectual arguments for and against the existence of God, as argued by both Sigmund Freud (against) and C.S. Lewis (for). The end result is a fascinating debate between two of the most influential figures of the 20th century (read one review here).

The book is really hard to put down. Dr. Nicholi does a remarkable job of putting the arguments side by side throughout the book. It is the closest thing to a real debate that could be possible. I must say that Lewis holds many advantages in the debate: (1) He lived a little after Freud and had more time to read and answer his objections. (2) He himself was an atheist for the first 30 years of his life--thus, he knew and had sympathy for the atheists' best arguments. (3) He had read much more theology and philosophy than Freud. Though Freud is no intellectual lightweight here, he didn't have some of the benefits of Lewis in these areas.

Though the book tries to be objective to both sides of the debate, I came away feeling more confident of my own faith. Nicholi does a good job of communicating to us the "weightiness" of the subject matter. If one side is true and the other false then the consequences are considerable. As I weighed the consequences of Freud's arguments, it became clear to me that his view only leads to despair, lawlessness, and futility. Nicholi, in a very non-postmodern tone, argues that these points of view are "mutually exclusive--if one is right, the other must be wrong." Though the book and video seek to be neutral on the subject, Nicholi seems to believe that a conclusion needs to be made. Both Lewis and Freud saw it in this light and so should the viewer (reader). They are absolutely right! It was refreshing to read a non-religious book that actually gets that important point.