C. S. Lewis and the Idea of Co-inherence

AbstractOutside Lewis’ extensive use of the word ‘co-inherence’ in his account of Williams’ Arthurian poems, it appears only in his letters, but this chapter argues that—like Williams—Lewis ‘shows’ co-inherence. He does this through metaphors, adding the dimension to co-inherence that seems lacking in Williams—an ‘indwelling’ of finite beings in the infinite Trinity. Until his late work, Lewis only finds an analogy between human passion and divine love, but once a human nature has become ‘supernatural’ through union with Christ, it participates in the relations of the Trinity in a way that Williams does not articulate. Lewis goes even further in Perelandra, giving the impression that everybody and every body participates in the life of the Trinity. Thus, he exhibits a tension between metaphors that show co-inherence and concepts that run counter to it. Finally, however, Lewis arrives at co-inherence between human and divine presences in the world.