Atheist Theorist Sigmund Freud Clashes With Famed Christian Author C.S. Lewis on God & Sex In Epic Stage Play
- Posted on April 18, 2012 at 5:40pm by
Billy Hallowell
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Dr. Sigmund Freud was renowned for his wild theories and offbeat psychoanalysis. Conversely, C.S. Lewis gained esteem as a well-respected literary genius. Freud, an avowed atheist, rejected God’s existence and called belief in the almighty a neurosis motivated by the “longing for a father.” Lewis, on the other hand, embraced Jesus Christ wholeheartedly.
The two, in practically every sense, were polar opposites. Just imagine the sparks that would have flown had they interacted on some of life’s most basic questions. Now, based on a popular stage play in multiple U.S. cities, you can actually see the epic clash unfold.
While there’s no definitive evidence that the two ideological opponents ever interacted, a blockbuster play, “Freud’s Last Session,” documents the would-be conversation that could have unfolded had the two complex characters met. Recently, I went to see the play and was blown away by its tight-knit and hard-hitting dialogue. At moments in the production the banter is uncomfortable, yet pointed, as Freud and Lewis poke around for soft spots in one another’s thought processes.
The setting of the play, too, adds to the pathos emitted by the character-driven storyline, as the faux conversation occurs on the very day that England entered World War II and just two weeks before Freud was to take his own life (the famed doctor committed suicide following a battle with cancer). The two characters, whose concocted, yet accurate-to-their-person words, feud throughout “Freud’s Last Session” over God’s existence, sex, love and the meaning of life.
On The Huffington Post, Robert Bullen provides a more detailed explanation of the show and its intent:
Lewis (Mark H. Dold), a devout Anglican, has been invited to Freud’s London office for unknown reasons. Freud (Martin Rayner), who’s suffering from the late-stage oral cancer which requires him to wear a nearly medieval mouth prosthesis, keeps him guessing, but soon the topic at hand becomes clear: how can a man as seemingly brilliant as Lewis believe in such an “insidious” lie as the existence of God? Lewis argues that it is indeed possible for an educated man to believe in science and also have faith.
While a tad contrived, [writer Mark] St. Germain’s setup, which was inspired by Dr. Armand S. Nicholi Jr.’s 2003 book The Question of God, offers ample opportunity for these two brilliant and opposing minds to spar off in a game of theological showdown. Both sides of the argument are delivered with equal passion. Yet, Lewis, who’s just beginning his ascent as an intellectual giant, comes out of the discussion relatively unscathed, while Freud, who’s approaching his final weeks, seems worse for wear, though seemingly invigorated by the 1.5 hour debate.
George Morfogen (Sigmund Freud) Jim Stanek (C.S. Lewis) of the New York City production of "Freud's Last Session"
Taking on history’s most debated subject matter, “Lewis” and “Freud” brilliantly battle it out over questions surrounding a higher power and the origins of life. Theater-goers leave “Freud’s Last Session” with plenty to ponder. Rather than serving as mere entertainment, the show requires those watching it to think through important societal arguments, while exploring their own opinions on matters pertaining to God and man.
The show, which premiered in New York City back in 2010, has continued to enjoy success — so much so that the production has now opened in other cities across America. The original New York cast, featuring Dold and Rayner, has joined the Chicago, Illinois, production that recently opened.
The show also ran in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from March 1 through April 1 and it is slated to run in numerous other cities throughout 2012, including: London, Madrid, Seattle, Orlando and Detroit, among other localities. Find out more about the production here.
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Comments (62)
tankyjo
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 11:29amLooks like fun, but IF, you have read both Freud, and Lewis, the answers come clear.
Report Post »hi
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 9:57ammergedgospels.com gives a humorous apologetic approach to dealing with atheists.
Report Post »John 3:16
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 9:24amThe FOOL declares, there is no God!!! Drive on foolish man.
Report Post »PIL
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 2:14amThere’s good and bad about Freud, he was a friend of gun owners and he said that people who were afraid of firearms suffered from mental sickness.
Report Post »libertarians4freedom.blogspot.com
trueamerican40
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 12:50amI never bought the atheistic mind set…kind of a lazy man or woman’s way out of life. So you can do whatever you want and just be selfiish and then die to nothingness. And what if their is a God? And an afterlife? OOPS! Eternity…and what did I do while I was alive in the flesh? Scary stuff to gamble on an eternity…that’s a long, long, long time. Foolish as well.
Report Post »nelbert
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 7:03am@TRUEAMERICAN40
“I never bought the atheistic mind set…kind of a lazy man or woman’s way out of life.”
You do realize that an atheist would say the same about people of faith?
The interesting thing about the play is that, from the description here, it may be trying to offer a fair debate between the two ideologies.
Report Post »marinedad3
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 10:56pmThe, interestingly enough, ignored topic here is that C.S. Lewis, a renowned author of both children’s and adult literature, was originally and atheist himself!
Report Post »ChevalierdeJohnstone
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 10:35pmFreud masturbated too much.
Report Post »Sunnyy
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:09pmC.S. Lewis wrote the book, Mere Christianity…a very worthy read.
Report Post »hynzerelli
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 8:27pmI thought belief in god was a neurosis brought on by the need to know that this life isn’t it & that after u die u get to go to paradise w/ a invisible, omniscient, omnipotent big guy in the sky & if u believe that 1 I’ve got a bridge to sell u. I always thought Freud was a quack but maybe he had something there.Could u pass the speedballs over here, please……. What a ruuuuuuuuuuuuush
Report Post »mickgringo
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:18pmWas in the neighborhood and thought I’d inquire about that bridge for sale…… Does it come with a wet bar? Maude, where’s my black Russian? Dude’s got a real thirst that needs to be tamed….. A little worried that I might be getting a visit from an old complex… Oh Oedipus darling, where did I leave my bowling ball? Walter says it’s time to roll! Maude… Maude! My black russian!!
Report Post »mdeputy7
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 9:05am@hynzerelli,
Report Post »My goodness are you wrong. A belief in God is NOT the easy way out. I will agree that there are many religions out there that describe what you are saying (only being there to make you feel better), but Christianity is so different from that. Yeah living eternally in Heaven is a big deal, but it’s still a selfish motive. The motive behind true Christianity is helping OTHERS find Christ so THEY can have eternal life. If it’s all about me making it to Heaven, then I am just as selfish as everybody else out there. It’s not about making me feel better about when I die. It’s about serving the only God that was NOT created by man to the best of my abilities.
Mojoron
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 8:24pmI wonder who wrote the play, it sounds a lot like what Peter Kreeft writes about in his books.
Report Post »hynzerelli
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 8:12pmjeez I posted 2 paragraphs & somehow they didn’t appear.What’s the heck s going on w/ the comments??
Report Post »The Third Archon
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 8:10pm“Dr. Sigmund Freud was renowned for his wild theories and offbeat psychoanalysis. Conversely, C.S. Lewis gained esteem as a well-respected literary genius. ”
Report Post »What is SHOULD SAY is:
“Dr. Sigmund Freud is renowned for having founded the modern professional discipline of psychology. Conversely, C.S. Lewis gained fame in some circles as an author of predominantly children’s stories–some report good children’s stories, but children’s stories nonetheless.”
Locked
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:17pm“Dr. Sigmund Freud is renowned for having founded the modern professional discipline of psychology”
That’s quite the overstatement. Freud is famous for rekindling interest in how the mind works, which in turn led to further testing, which led to psychology as we know it today. Over the progression and refining of the field, many of Freud’s beliefs fell into disrepute, especially those concerning female sexuality and much of psychoanalysis. Not all of his views were rejected, of course; but a good number were.
Freud’s significance to the development of psychology is not to be overlooked, but I certainly would not call him a founder of the discipline. A forefather, yes… but not a founder. He’s more Miles Standish than Thomas Jefferson.
Report Post »Pilgrimsarbour
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 10:51pmWhile his children’s stories were very popular in his lifetime, they are actually a very small percentage of is total published output. Much of it was theological/philosophical in nature, both non-fiction and fiction. Really, you should just use Google once in a while, then you wouldn’t make such misguided statements.
Report Post »caitthegreat
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 2:14amI agree with your description of Freud, but Lewis was certainly a brilliant and influential figure of his time. His writing is excellent, profound, and logical. I don’t agree with all of his conclusions (and certainly not all of Freud’s), but his was an amazing mind and worthy of respect.
Report Post »nelbert
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 7:09amMethinks that what THIRD ARCHON is trying to point out is that the author of this article in the Blaze was a little less than objective in his descriptions of Freud and Lewis.
Report Post »The Third Archon
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 8:06pm“Dr. Sigmund Freud was renowned for his wild theories and offbeat psychoanalysis. Conversely, C.S. Lewis gained esteem as a well-respected literary genius.”
Which is not a biased personal interpretation at all…
The first paragraph of the respective entries from wikipedia, for cross-analysis;
Sigmund Freud (German pronunciation: [ˈziːkmʊnt ˈfʁɔʏt]), born Sigismund Schlomo Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939), was an Austrian neurologist who founded the discipline of psychoanalysis. Freud’s family and ancestry were Jewish. Freud always considered himself a Jew even though he rejected Judaism and had a critical view of religion.[2] Freud’s parents were poor, but ensured his education. Freud was an outstanding pupil in high school, and graduated the Matura with honors in 1873. Interested in philosophy as a student, Freud later turned away from it and became a neurological researcher into cerebral palsy, Aphasia and microscopic neuroanatomy.
Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as “Jack”, was a novelist, poet, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland. He is known for both his fictional work, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Space Trilogy and his nonfiction, such as Mere Christianity, Miracles and The Problem of Pain.
Report Post »mickgringo
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:25pmNo bias there, my fine feathered wiki-disciple…… Donny! I think I need a heimlich! Easy on the jerk, heavy on the diaphragm….. And have my black Russian waiting for me after I’ve stopped seizuring from laughter…..
Report Post »Lord_Frostwind
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 4:31amFirst rule of any search for information, never use wikipedia as more than a stepping stone to go after the sources cited. Anyone who can access that website can edit a wiki article.
Report Post »nelbert
Posted on April 19, 2012 at 7:17am@LORD_FROSTWIND
Ein minuten bitte, Herr Frostwind!
Though Wikipedia has a tarnished reputation, it might be prudent to point out that it has at times been correct where its more respectable counterparts were not.
Consider the tale (not tail) of the Vacanti mouse. This was a laboratory mouse that had what looked like a human ear growing on its back. The BBC (old respectable BBC) version of the story is wrong. The Wikipedia entry has the story right.
This is not to suggest that Wikipedia is the infallible oracle, but don‘t go round thinking it’s devoid of merit.
Report Post »Rowgue
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:48pmThese shows are idiotic. A friend once dragged me to one of these where “Thomas Jefferson” was going to have an interview/town hall meeting. It was the dumbest ass thing I’ve ever seen.
It‘s just a bad actor that can’t get real work doing a poorly executed impersonation of a historical figure and substituting their warped interpretation of that person’s views and beliefs. They memorize a few pertinent facts about the person and then just “wing it” from there.
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:10pmFreud was a coca addict. He admitted that it ruined his clarity of thought.
Report Post »Ya think so ?
Bad_Ashe
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:24pmGiven that the majority of Freud’s work has now been thoroughly discredited, and given that his logical thought processes were all filtered through his sexual neurosis, including his atheism. I’m confident that Lewis would have wiped the floor with him had they debated in reality.
Report Post »JACKTHETOAD
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 8:42pmAt first, Freud thought cocaine was THE miracle drug for all mankind. He found out otherwise, the hard way.
Report Post »MammalOne
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:10pmFreud was a moron, atheist or not.
Report Post »KickinBack
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 6:34pmI’d love to go see it…But not taking a trip to Detroit anytime soon.
Report Post »Cruel Logic
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:45pmActually you can see it in NYC or Chicago right now. I’ve seen it in NYC and thought it was great.
Report Post »kickthecan
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 6:33pm@BLACKYB This is what I found, what did you find?
Your Answer…
Report Post »You asked:
Sigmund Freud’s last words
Sigmund Freud
Sigmund Freud
“”Das ist absurd! Das ist absurd!” (”This is absurd! This is absurd!”)” were the last words of Sigmund Freud.
ProgressiveDeist267
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 6:25pmThis sounds interesting. Even though I wouldn’t agree with both atheist and Christians I like to see debates between the two groups.
Report Post »trueamerican40
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 6:21pmAll atheists renounce their stances when 2 things occur—1)front lines of a war and 2)upon their deathbeds.
Report Post »ProgressiveDeist267
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 6:28pmI would highly doubt that. Everyone is different and the concept of God is limited to the imagination of the mind of man.
Report Post »Git-R-Done
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 6:44pmProgressive – Any proof that it’s just an imagination?
Report Post »ProgressiveDeist267
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:10pmYou have taken my comment out of context! What I was saying the concept of God can be expressed using the limits of the human imagination. Faith is emotion not evidence to what religion is true. Human Beings are influenced by emotion and image. There is a small minority of people who really care about evidence to support their beliefs. Personally that is my opinion.
Report Post »ScienceIsNotEvil
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:19pmtrueamerican40
Then how do you explain the many thousands of front line battle troops that are admitted atheists?
Report Post »junior1971
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:34pmHey PROGDIOS; A simple imagination is useless to those who will only adhere to some other persons data regarding scientific theory yet still need proof of God. Ironically,of course, they do not need proof of the greatest example of imagination known to man. You know…… scientific THEORY? Regardless of that, a great philosopher name Neil Peart once wrote,”Those who choose not to decide, still have made a choice”.
Report Post »hynzerelli
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 8:08pmWhether I die today or tomorrow sorry no god delusion here.If I was in a trench fighting I wouldn‘t be praying I’d assume I was getting ready to be killed & would be trying to take as many as the enemy as possible.
Report Post »Yuuperguy
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 9:15pmSorry, not true, for example Pat Tillman, Ted Williams, both soldiers, both atheists. Many people have died as atheists and not converted on their deathbeds, Darwin for one. Ernest Hemingway. Lots of people.
Report Post »Rayblue
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 10:49pmPeople that I have assisted at their dying moments have had two different things to say. The ones that were young and were involved in reckless accidents asked for forgiveness from any God they could muster the strength to beg. The others asked for forgiveness for family and friends. That’s the difference between the weak in spirit and the strong in belief.. I hope you see the distinction.
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 6:17pmC.S. Lewis went through years as an atheist and became a believer. At least someone got wise.
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 6:16pmFreud did not seem to ever quite get it settled. He died by euthanasia of his own asking by his doctor.
Report Post »He died from cancer. He suffered a very long time. He made a statement, it seems, that he could not anyone for this as he did not believe in God, and could not blame Him. His daughter said the best way to really know her father was to not read any of his books.
2SENSEWORTH
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 6:08pmTwo dead guys debating. That’s worth the price of a ticket any day.
Report Post »Countryjustice
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 8:29pmyeah I‘m not sure some of these people know they’re dead. I’d love to pay for a ticket to see the agenda of the person or persons that put this show together.
Report Post »Their time to debate is over.
blackyb
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 5:53pmDarwin made a deathbed confession. He read the Bible and believed it before he died. Not sure about Sigmund Freud. I will check that out again. It has been quite awhile. These atheists try to live like hell and then hope they have time to repent. The problem is God knows what they are up to, some are sincere and some just want to stack the deck, just in case. A tree will lay where it falls.
Report Post »ProgressiveDeist267
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 6:27pmActually you’re incorrect. Darwin never repented on his death bed and many creationist groups advise Christians not to use that long winded argument in debates.
Report Post »momprayn
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:16pmPROGRESSIVE — Yes, indeed, some arguments cannot be totally proven and shouldn’t use, even if what you’re arguing for is ultimately right.
Actually, the correct answer is they don’t know for sure.
http://www.answersingenesis.org/articles/2009/03/31/darwins-deathbed-conversion-legend
Report Post »ProgressiveDeist267
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:24pmI can agree with that and Answer in Genesis was the website I mentioned.
“The problem with this is, this was never spoken by Charles Darwin. This is a quote from a woman who goes by the name “Lady Hope” (Believed to be Elizabeth Hope, a British evangelist) who supposedly was with Darwin at his death bed and reported that Darwin recanted. However, she was never near Darwin when he died, making all her claims about Darwin demonstrably false.”
http://www.talkorigins.org/indexcc/CG/CG001.html
Report Post »Yuuperguy
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 10:59pmDarwins wife, who was present denies this ever happened.
Report Post »blackyb
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 5:43pmNow look up what Sigmund Freud had to say on his death bed.
Report Post »ijava44
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:44pmDebate Topic – Is it time to outlaw all debates between scientists and religious people because they have become boring, ridiculous ,unproductive and nonsensical and lead to scientists to become even more arrogant and pompous then they already are?
Report Post »lukerw
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 7:45pmPower/Sex was the center of all his analysis… which has the ring of Truth… but hardly an arguement to convert anyone to his “religion”. On the other hand, CS lived in an English World that had Passed Away, and he did not know it. The point being: Why these two to represent Two Sides of an important Debate… alike another Perot / Gore?
Report Post »hynzerelli
Posted on April 18, 2012 at 8:02pmI thought belief in god was a neurosis brought on by the need to know that this life isn’t it & that after u die u get to go to paradise w/ a invisible, omniscient, omnipotent big guy in the sky & if u believe that 1 I’ve got a bridge to sell u. I always thought Freud was a quack but maybe he had something there.Could u pass the speedballs over here, please……. What a ruuuuuuuuuuuuush.
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