"The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands." — Psalm 19:1

In this article, we will compare the thought of two great scholars: Freud and C. S. Lewis. Freud was the founding theorist of psychoanalysis, while C. S. Lewis was a Christian writer and Oxford literature professor. Freud was an atheist; for him, life held no intrinsic meaning, and God was merely a psychological projection rooted in the need for a father figure. C. S. Lewis was once an atheist but later changed his line of thinking, believing that logic pointed toward a spiritual reality.

C. S. Lewis addressed Freud’s argument (presented in the book *The Future of an Illusion*) by noting that the fact that a human being might believe in God for comfort or because of a father figure does not rule out the possibility of God’s actual existence. The fact remains that, regardless of the reason for believing, philosophical arguments and personal experiences point to God.

Although Freud’s argument is flawed, the therapy method he created works. I myself have counseled people in church using concepts from psychoanalysis, and they were able to resolve certain dilemmas. Ultimately, Freud’s argument focuses on the motivation behind belief in God, whereas C. S. Lewis’s argument is grounded in classical philosophy.