Katelyn Joyce- Potential Fallacies

 Though I usually love the works of C. S. Lewis, another element of reading the Great Divorce did not sit right with me. As they are walking through the afterlife, they are met with many individuals who deny the existence of God. These individuals are presented as being very calloused. They are lacking in respectfulness and compassion for others. This is explained through them being in Hell, their true intentions and perspective are harder to hide than it was for them on earth. Even in the case of the “fat ghost” who claims to be a well-rounded, thoughtful, reasonable, and intelligent individual, he is ultimately painted in the same manner as the others who are non-virtuous individuals. This didn’t sit well with me because there was not a single character presented who was not depicted as being irrational. Though I am a Christian, I am able to recognize that there are rational, compassionate, intelligent, logical, and loving atheists and agnostics. It seems to me that a straw man fallacy was used by Lewis to further his point that it is impossible to be fully rational and logical and not believe in God. It also furthered his point that compassion and kindness are virtues only held by those who are believers. I do not agree with that as I have met many individuals who do not believe who are very open, loving, and kind hearted. I think it would be most beneficial for Lewis to include intelligent, rational, and compassionate individuals in his writings of Hell and show how they interacted with this environment. I know I do not have all of the answers and am unable to see what the personalities of those in the afterlife is like so I cannot make a confident claim that Lewis is wrong. But, through the lives of unbelievers I have encountered on earth, I did not see the same characteristics presented here.

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