I met CS Lewis in downtown Washington yesterday . He was having a conversation with Sigmund Freud. Well… perhaps it would be better to say that I saw a play that featured an imagined meeting between CS Lewis and S Freud (1). We had seats on the third row, so it felt like meeting them in person.

Dr. Freud insulted Prof. Lewis by remarking that he should just “grow up – be a big boy” and let go of his belief in God. With ideas taken from Freud’s Collected Works (2), the actor argued that belief in God was a neurotic response to childish needs.

Prof. Lewis displayed remarkable poise in defending his faith in Jesus Christ as the son of God. In a manner consistent with Lewis’ comments in Mere Christianity (3), the playwright had Prof. Lewis show sincere appreciation for Freud’s development of psychoanalysis yet confront his narrow-minded refusal to consider the possibility of God.

It was nice to see a mostly healthy debate on the value of faith and science by two brilliant men, even if it was just a play on a Saturday afternoon.

(1) Freud’s Last Session by Mark St. Germain. Theater J, Washington, DC
(2) Sigmund Freud. The Standard Collection of Complete Works (Translated by J. Strachey). London, 1959
(3) CS Lewis. Mere Christianity. New York, 1952.