C.S. Lewis
- Introduction
C.S. Lewis was one of the most renowned Christians in the early 1900s. Various history magazines at this time compared him to influential individuals such as Luther King Jnr and Pope John XXIII. Lewis’s popularity as a Christian rose because of his conversion from atheism to become one of the most ardent supporters of Christianity. This paper will look at how C.S. Lewis found God and converted to Christianity.
- C.S. Lewis Background
Lewis was referred to as Jack by his close friends and members of his family. Lewis was a university professor. He taught at Universities such as Oxford and Cambridge University(Lewis 69). Lewis specialized in literary criticism, science fiction and other forms of literature. During his career he produced various literary works that became best-sellers in England at the time. Some of his most renown works include; the Chronicles of Narnia. In this piece Lewis was critical of the initial story of creation that exists in the Bible. This work was geared in restructuring the story of creation in another way. In addition, Lewis presented some ideas about the story of the fall of man. He argued that there were other ways that man would redeem himself other than the conventional ways that were set out in the Bible. Lewis’ criticism of the Christian religion led him to write about 25 books. All these books criticized a particular Christian topic. Some of these works include; The Screw tape Letters, the Problem of Pain (1940), Surprised by Joy, Mere Christianity, the Great Divorce (1945), Miracles, and The Pilgrim’s Regress (1933). Scholars of the view that the book Pilgrim’s Regress told the story of Lewis’s conversion to Christianity though Lewis did so in disguise.
Owing to the influence of C.S. Lewis in England, he was invited in the Early 1940s on Radio broadcasts to give talks regarding the various works that he had written. Bearing in mind that England and the world at large was being involved in World War II, the talks that were given by Lewis begun to reach a greater audience both within and without Britain. As a result of this, these talks were compiled together and were used in the creation of his book entitled Mere Christianity.
One of the most controversial quotes regarding C.S. Lewis was his definition and perception of Jesus Christ. Many people both in and outside England believed that Jesus was their personal savior. They believed that Jesus was a great teacher who led humans on the path of righteousness. On the contrary Lewis argued in his book Mere Christianity that many people who call them Christians are faced with great dilemma with regards to Jesus Christ. According to Lewis people can view Jesus Christ in three ways. First of all, they can view Jesus is the greatest moral teacher to the human race or they can view him as not being so. Lewis is of the view that people should be allowed to decide whether Jesus was a lunatic person, a person who lied to people about himself, or whether Jesus is indeed the Lord as the Gospel claims(Lewis 117).
- C.S. Lewis Conversion to Christianity
Considering the hardline criticisms that Lewis had towards the Christian religion, his story of conversion is the most fascinating. Conventionally, conversion to Christianity entails a situation whereby human beings encounter various challenges in life but get to a turning point where thy acknowledge that the Lord is indeed the solution to the challenges that face them. Scholars argue that the desire for knowledge was one of the key factors that led to the conversion of C.S. Lewis to Christianity. His story of conversion illustrates the evolution of the church in terms of the intellectual understanding and interpretation of the scriptures.
First, it is important to understand that C.S. Lewis was born into a family that was protestant. His family lived in Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was born on November 29th, 1898. Lewis’s early childhood was a bit rough. At the age of 10 years, Lewis lost his mother cancer. This loss left the young Lewis to begin to question the validity of the Christian faith. Lewis was disillusioned by the Christian faith and this formed the foundation of his criticism of Christianity and its doctrines. He of the view that God’s nearness was not as the Christian faith illustrated it. For this reason Lewis rejected Christianity and its beliefs and become an ardent supporter of Atheism. During his youth, Lewis believed that Christianity was just a mythology just like any other myths that existent in many societies around the world. Lewis served in the British military at the age of 20. At this age he did not believe in any of the teachings of the Christian faith. His studies at Oxford University helped him to begin to scholarly and philosophically criticize the Christian faith and also defend his view of Atheism. Lewis read widely and the different books that he read enabled him to able to attain material support of Atheism. He focused on literary criticism, a tool that he used in the writing of books regarding various topics in the Christian religion.
However, the reading culture that Lewis had adopted begun to make him a more reflective person. As he grew older he began to deeply think about himself, his beliefs, and the lifestyle that he led. Lewis became attracted to two important writers whose works he had read widely. These writers were George MacDonald and G.K Chesterton. MacDonald was a minister in the Presbyterian Church. He was also a writer who had written many novels in the 19th Century. Chesterton on the other hand was a journalist. In addition to his journalist career, Chesterton was also a writer who specialized in Christian apology. In addition to reading works by Christian writers the conversion of Lewis to Christian religion was also shaped by his friends. Some of his friends that were instrumental in his conversion include Owen Barfield. Like Lewis Barfield was initially atheist. However, overtime he found the truth in Christianity and decided to convert to Christianity. Nevil Coghill was also another friend of C.S. Lewis. Having been an atheist before and a member of the faculty at Oxford, he spent quality time with Lewis. He was among the diverse groups of people who continued to convince Lewis why he had to attest to the fact that Jesus was indeed the Lord and the profound moral teacher of humanity.
- Moment of Truth & Subsequent Conversion
Scholars argue that the process of Lewis conversion was rather abrupt. It was in 1929 when took a bus ride. Before he boarded the bus, Lewis was an atheist. However, after he alighted from the bus, he had begun to believe that indeed God was existent. This did not mean that Lewis was to drop his atheist way of life and begin the process of searching the Lord. However, the revelations that he had regarding the clear existence of God amazed him. He was frightened and did not know what he should do. In his book Surprised by Joy, Lewis writes that “Amiable agnostics will talk cheerfully about ‘man’s search for Godto me, as I then was, they might as well have talked about the mouse’s search for the cat”(Lewis 44). Lewis argues that he would not embark on seeking the Lord. To him, it was the Lord who was in the process of seeking him. Lewis was of the view that God’s call for his conversion to Christianity was apparent and there was no way that he could find a place to hide himself. Lewis compared himself to the biblical character that was running away from God and was confronted by a large fish that swallowed him before releasing him to the city of Nineveh where he had been initially instructed to go and preach the good news to the people. Like the case of Jonah, Lewis understood that it was time for him to come to the lord and acknowledge that indeed Christ was Lord. There was no way that he would stay away from the goodness of the lord. Knowing that there is no way that he could resent the lord for there was no direction to hide, Lewis was more aware of the sinful ways that he had led for many years. In his book Surprised for Joy he explains that “For the first time I examined myself with a seriously practical purpose and there I found what appalled me: a zoo of lusts, a bedlam of ambitions, a nursery of fears, and a harem of fondled hatreds. My name is legion.”(Lewis 49).
Lewis found he scared and frightened by the turn of events in his life. Lewis became more aware of the love and forgiveness of the Lord. He began to see the hand of the Holy Spirit in opening up his heart for the acceptance of Christianity. In September 1931, he finally agreed to convert to Christianity. His friends JRR Tolkien and Hugo Dyson continued to challenge his criticism of Christianity and this set up the stage for Lewis’s conversion to Christianity.
On September 22nd 1931, Lewis officially acknowledged that indeed Jesus was Lord. He affirmed that Christianity was the religion based on the fact that Jesus was the profound moral teacher for all humanity. On the fateful day, Lewis was driven by his own brother to a zoo. Before living the house, Lewis was still not convinced that Jesus was Lord. However, when he left the zoo he was convinced beyond reasonable doubt that God was existent and that Jesus was Lord. Lewis explains in his book Surprise for Joy that when he accepted that Jesus was Lord he felt “ more like when a man, after long sleep, still lying motionless in bed, becomes aware that he is now awake”(Lewis 54). He compares his journey from atheism to Christianity to story of Apostle Paul. The biblical character Saul embarked on a journey to Damascus to persecute adherent of the Christian Faith. However, he encountered God on the way and was blinded. Upon his recovery, Saul acknowledged that indeed Jesus was Lord and was existent. For this discovery changed his name from Saul to Paul (Acts 9:1-20).
Unlike Paul who became blind upon encountering Christ, however there was a still voice of Christ in his inner consciousness that kept convincing him that God was all loving and this was the opportunity that his heart would finally say yes to the existence of the Lord. Lewis explained that before God came into his life he was a free man who was at will to do what he perceived to be best. However, he had the continuous feeling that he locking something out of his life. This was because he was resenting the Lord and this did not give him happiness. He understood that there was no guarantee that he would be able to shed off this feeling if he continued to live in the same lifestyle. The only way to cure his feeling of incompleteness to was to acknowledge that indeed Christ was Lord. As a way of acknowledging that Jesus was Lord, Lewis went back to the Anglican Church where his parents had brought him up at his early ages. On Christmas 1931, Lewis officially became a member of the Anglican Church and partook of the Holy Communion (Lewis 29). After this commitment to the church, Lewis began to write and give talks about Christianity and the reasons why he believed that Christ was the Lord. This was a total transformation for a man who had vehemently resented the existence of God. He had become a follower of Christ and joined the many people in the world who acknowledged that Jesus was Lord.
As a new convert to the Christian faith, Lewis began to explain the fault lines and the perils that were associated with atheism. He began to acknowledge important facets of the society such as the importance of preserving nature. He attributed nature to the lord bringing out ideas the story of creation. Unlike his prior beliefs, he now felt that the Lord had been involved in creation. Man had been given dominion over animals and other organisms that had been created by God. This radical change by Lewis indicates that it was the sorrows that had faced him during his early childhood that made him to distance himself from God. He had felt that God was not what he had thought him to be. The sorrows had made him to begin to find solace and comfort in atheism.
However, the fact remains that Lewis did not have comfort in the religion. Instead, he continuously struggled to justify his new beliefs in atheism. He had a feeling of incompleteness in his life. This is because he did not have the joy that comes as a fruit of the Holy Spirit. Instead, he was faced with deep sorrow that could only be disguised in material possessions that seems as the righteous way based on atheist school of thought. It is also important to note that God is always revealing himself to his people. Despite the continues struggle by Lewis to make sure that he distanced himself from the Lord, the fact remains that it reached a point that he could no longer hide from the will of God. Through his wide reading and writing God caused Lewis to begin to self-evaluate himself and his ways. In so doing, Lewis realized that his life was full of sinfulness that made him to feel as if he had so many burdens (Lewis 72). For these burdens to be alleviated, Lewis had to acknowledge that Jesus was Lord. He felt at ease and a person who had finally woken up from a deep slumber that was characterized by the lack of deep understanding of the Truth. It was through his conversion that many around the world were able to acknowledge that God really exists. This is because many people did not believe that a man who had professed that they did not believe in Christ had finally converted to the Christian religion. Therefore, through his conversion he was able to inspire many people both in England and in the world. For the rest of his life Lewis continued to attest that Jesus is the Lord. His faith in Christ was manifest in his several months of illnesses and recovery. He remained supportive of the Christian religion. Lewis died in November 1963. Ironically, the day of his death was the same day that the President of the United States JF Kennedy was assassinated in Texas (Wilson 69). It is reasonable to conclude that indeed the story of C.S. Lewis is clear testimony that God is existent.
.
Works Cited
Lewis, C. S. Surprised by joy: the shape of my early life. [1st American Ed]. New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1956. Print.
Lewis, C. S. Prince Caspian: the return to Narnia. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.
Lewis, C. S. The silver chair. New York: HarperCollins, 1994. Print.
Lewis, C. S. The allegory of love; a study in medieval tradition. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1936. Print.
Lewis, C. S. Out of the silent planet. New York: Scribner Classics, 1996. Print.
Lewis, C. S. All my road before me: the diary of C.S. Lewis, 1922-1927. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1991. Print.
Wilson, A. N. C.S. Lewis: a biography. New York: Norton, 1990. Print.
