Into the Wardrobe

Can anyone point me in the right direction about what C.S. had to say about these two principles of the gospel? Did he ever speak about the difference, and the transition that is made from faith to knowledge? Thanks for your help.

I think it is in "Mere Christianity" that Lewis writes that "faith is holding on to something your reason has once accepted in spite of your changing moods." In other words, faith and reason are not opponents, but allies against one's unstable emotions.

Likewise, in Perelandra (?) the main character explains that while his _reason_ accepts that the eldil will carry him safely through space, his _nerves_ do not, and compares his experience to that of a man who, having faith in a future life, is facing a firing squad (the character jokes that it might be "good practice"). Again, reason and faith are similar.

I also vaguely (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) remember reading something in Lewis's study of medieval literature ("The Discarded Image") that the medieval concept of reason included the moral sense.

I would not like to suggest, however, that Lewis regarded reason and faith as equivalent. He does argue, however, against the common perception that they are dichotomous.

I hope that helps! Sorry for the stilted language - the shades of my high school essays are coming back to haunt me.

Another interesting examination of this is in Lewis' essay, "On Obstinancy in Belief." I have it in the collection of essays called The World's Last Night. As I remember, Lewis says that knowledge applies to things like scientific experiments, while belief/faith applies to relationships. You verify experiments, but you trust your wife (unless she proves to be untrustworthy). It's been a while since I read the essay, so I'm sorry I can't elaborate much. He also mentions that once someone puts faith in God, he begins to experience first-hand knowledge of "our increasingly knowable Lord."

Hope this helps.