The Poison of Subjectivism

When reflecting on the article "The Poison of Subjectivism" I was recalling an argument that I had with a fellow worker at the summer camp that I work at. I use the word "argument" here quite intentionally, because what started as a friendly discussion had quickly progressed into something much more personal, heated, and unpleasant than simply a debate. I don't exactly remember what the issue was; something I feel strongly about, like abortion, the education system, or something of the sort. Regardless, somehow we ended up on the subject of nature vs. nurture. I will avoid bulverism by not going into the details on the type of person that this certain co-worker was, but I will say, we did not see eye-to-eye on much. When C.S Lewis states that "To say that a thing is good is merely to express our feeling about it; and our feeling about it is the feeling we have been socially conditioned to have", he is referring to this "modern idea" that we are basically products of our environment. I am not saying that the "nurture" idea is completely wrong or completely right, I just feel that often we take the idea too far, as Lewis describes in this essay.

My co-worker and I ended our argument, each thinking that the other was crazy for believing what they said they believed. However, we did agree on one thing. In all things, we must obey God, and follow the commands He gives us through His word and His Spirit. Lewis brings up the question "Are things right because God commands them or does God command them because they are right?" This question struck me as one of the most interesting points in the essay, because I immediately thought that the first answer was right. Lewis instantly set me back by pointing out that if that was the case, then God would no longer have to be good. He could be an evil dictator God, commanding whatever He wants to. And the second is wrong too, because goodness did not precede God. Thinking of the union between God and goodness was a very new and intriguing thing for me, and I really appreciated Lewis' explanations and examples.

No matter what, Lewis' essay proves timely and vitally important still today. His sense of urgency in conveying His message in this essay is a good reminder of the seriousness of the issue. We can't labor under the assumption that humans can make their own truth. This is where we get into very dangerous territory. Lewis calls it the"fatal superstition that men can create values". This is truly a fatal mistake to make, and I needed to be reminded of this just as much as the original audience of this essay.