Allegations of literary hoax and misrepresentation leveled...

Allegations of literary hoax and misrepresentation leveled by a Southern California author against the literary executor of the C. S. Lewis estate were called “wholly unsubstantiated” this week by a 12-member panel that met in Redlands recently.

The allegations were made by Kathryn Lindskoog of Orange in “The C. S. Lewis Hoax” and published last year by Multnomah Press.

The works of Lewis, a British author who died in 1963, have become enormously popular in evangelical circles, but Lindskoog has argued that some writings published posthumously are not Lewis’. She raised questions about the role of Walter Hooper, an American who was briefly the personal secretary to Lewis before his death and named to manage Lewis’ literary estate.

J. Stanley Mattson, president of the Redlands-based C. S. Lewis Foundation for Christian Higher Education, said a colloquium on the book was held April 21 to evaluate the allegations in light of the foundation’s previously announced fund-raising plans to restore Lewis’ former home in Oxford and establish it as a museum and study center.

Multnomah Press provided summaries of the book’s allegations for the panel chaired by Hendrika Vande Kemp, associate professor of psychology at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. Panelists included British scholar Barbara Reynolds; Paul Ford, associate professor of systematic theology at St. John’s Seminary in Camarillo, and David Downing, professor of English at Westmont College, Santa Barbara.

“The Dark Tower,” a work judged by Lindskoog to be a forgery on stylistic grounds, was examined recently in manuscript form and declared to be in Lewis’ handwriting by four experts, according to Mattson.

Panelist Jennifer S. Larson, an antiquarian book dealer in San Francisco, said the qualifications of the experts and whether they were totally disinterested parties were open to question. But Larson also concluded that Lindskoog “advanced weak evidence” and did not explain contrary evidence in her allegations.

Lindskoog, in an interview, strongly questioned the expertise and neutrality of those who examined the manuscripts in question. She also said she was at a disadvantage: “Hooper never produced those manuscripts until after my book came out.” She called the Mattson panel “a kangaroo court” that was convened primarily to “oppose my book and not to examine the questions I raised.”

HOLIDAY

Ramadan, the monthlong period for devout Muslims of daytime fasting, reflection and charity, ended Friday. Prayers will be led at 7, 8 and 9 a.m. today at the Islamic Center of Southern California. The morning prayers at mosques mark the start of Eid-ul-Fitr, which includes several days of gift exchanges, picnics and dinner parties.

DATES

The Second Sunday of Easter, celebrated by the Ethiopian Orthodox Church of St. Mary in Los Angeles, will feature Bishop Paulos of New York as the principal speaker Sunday in a service at Dorsey High School. Vigil prayers begin at 5 a.m., the Divine Liturgy at 9 a.m. and the bishop’s sermon at 11 a.m., followed by chanting.

Is Operation Rescue “biblically justifiable?” A debate within the evangelical context will be held next Saturday night on the nationwide movement that tries to block entrances to abortion clinics and made its Southern California appearance in late March. Operation Rescue will be defended by Joseph Foreman, its national field director, and criticized by David Hagopian, a USC law school graduate. Reservations are recommended for the debate to be held at Victory Baptist Church in Anaheim and organized by the Simon Greenleaf Debate Society. Call (714) 998-2888.

The nondenominational Church of the Open Door moved from its longtime downtown Los Angeles site to Glendora four years ago but has kept certain traditions, including sponsorship of talks anticipating the Second Coming of Jesus in the “last days” that many evangelicals and fundamentalists believe have arrived. The “prophetic congress,” now the 29th annual, begins next Saturday with a 7 p.m. service at the Glendora church, then continues through May 21 with 20 speakers at 18 churches (mostly Baptist) from Lancaster to San Diego.

MEDIA

Episcopal News, a monthly newspaper distributed to 35,000 households in the six-county Los Angeles Episcopal Diocese, recently won the top award for excellence among diocesan publications in the Episcopal Church. The 16-page newspaper, which was runner-up in the competition last year, is edited by Ruth Nicastro.