Gruenwald, Oskar. “Renewing the Liberal Arts: C.S. Lewis’ Essential Christianity.”Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies. 14.1/2 (2002): 1-24.Academic SearchPremier. EBSCO. NC State U Libs. 28 Jan. 2006 <>In the first sentence of his essay, Oskar Gruenwald lays out his thesis by stating,“The thesis of this essay is that liberal democracy is in crisis, since it lacks a transcendentmoral guide, and that the renewal of liberal arts education is a key to restoring the ethicalfoundations of both individual liberty and popular self-government” (1). Basically,Gruenwald argues that educators place too much value on the sciences and scientificmethod, which leads student to a lack of “understanding of what it means to be human”(4). He strongly believes C.S. Lewis’ writings to be a great tool in which to teach studentshumaneness. He states, “C.S. Lewis recalls what modern man has forgotten: theuniqueness and the challenge of being human” (4).In order to support his claim, Gruenwald summarizes Lewis’ contribution tointellectual thought about humaneness, using examples fromChristian Reflections,MereChristianity, andThe Abolition of Man. From these works, Gruenwald identifies “Lewis’essential Christian worldview” in terms of three elements: “(1) the Tao, Natural Law, orthe moral sense, (2) the ecumenical inspiration ofMere Christianity, and (3) the quest fortruth and authentic values in the real world” (6).Overall, Gruenwald makes a strong case for the inclusion of theology, and morespecifically, Christian scholarship, in liberal arts education. In closure, Lewis states, “Toprepare men and women to live in community and liberty in peace is the ultimatechallenge of a true liberal arts education. C.S. Lewis points the way, but each pilgrimmust find their own path from here to eternity” (22).This article can be helpful for an instructor teaching C.S. Lewis’MereChristianityas a model for argumentation and critical thought in that on pages 11-14
