Here’s the actual Lewis quote I had had in mind; it’s from the chapter “The Beginning” from Surprised by Joy:
To accept the Incarnation was a further step in the same direction. It brings God nearer, or near in a new way. And this, I found, was something I had not wanted. But to recognise the ground for my evasion was of course to recognise both its shame and its futility. I know very well when, but hardly how, the final step was taken. I was driven to Whipsnade one sunny morning. When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did.
From: Surprised by Joy by C. S. Lewis, from Project Gutenberg Canada
Whatever experience of God Lewis had here, it was imperceptible to him. The result was faith. I think we have good reason to believe that Lewis’s inexperience lead to “true” faith.
Clouser’s original quote was problematic enough, because it makes claims that don’t reflect my own (and others’) experience, or lack of it, which lead to faith in Jesus, or what is or isn’t “self-evident”:
Dales addition – [true] – made it a condemnation of anyone who has faith but not the way some people feel it should come about.
The implication is clear: If one doesn’t experience God in the way described in Clouser’s quote, it isn’t “true” faith. I shouldn’t have to explain to anyone with a basic Sunday school background why this is condemning.
As Knor points out:
No human has the ability to rightly judge if another’s “experience of God” or lack of experience is sufficient for faith to be, much less to be “true” (as opposed to “fake”?).
This is the point.
Jesus backs it up:
Changing the subject or deflecting will not change the point.