Letters to Malcolm Chapter 4

Lewis makes excellent points referring to Martin Buber's I and Thou essay

My copy of the book

Lewis opens by presupposing Malcolm presented two issues with prayer. One, he says, is a "practical problem for believers," while the other is simply an attack on Christians. He starts with the attack first.

The attack is only presented by people "if they know the Bible." I would add the caveat that if they know some of the Bible. In my younger apologetics days, I would entertain these discussions. I don't anymore because the only reason these non-believers know the Bible at all is to attack and catch Christians in word traps they have prepared for but which they believe the Christian has not. They are often right and it is one of the driving reasons behind why I harp on people reading and studying scripture on their own.

The average Christian is not prepared to enter into a debate about the scriptural voracity of their beliefs. This is doubly so for those aspects of scripture that a crafty non-believer has prepared for as an intellectual trap. They are unwilling to accept the premise there are no contradictions in the Bible only concepts we don't fully understand yet because we haven't studied them enough. They assume what they see as a contradiction is proof the Bible is wrong about everything. They believe if they can capture a Christian in just one contradiction, they can declare the entire belief system null and void. All that does is reinforce for them their belief that Christians are wrong about God. They have a host of other beliefs stemming from that, too, such as hateful bigots, intolerant, etc. The scripture Lewis proposes they object to is this one, and specifically, it is the word pair "making known." Let's look at that.

⁵Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
⁶Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:5–7 (NASB95)

Let's also look at the word Lewis associates with this charge of absurdity he makes, omniscient.

Omniscient

[ om-nish-uhnt ]
adjective
Having complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, or understanding; perceiving all things.