Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Heroes of the Faith: C.S. Lewis

Psalm 16:11

When Walden Entertainment (Disney) started filming for the Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, there was an increased interest in the author of the famous book series by the same name. Now, it seems most people have heard of C.S. Lewis, but not many know the man himself. I do not have the space here to give a full picture of his remarkable life. My aim is to whet the appetites of as many as possible to read his biography.*

Clive Staples Lewis was born in Belfast, Ireland on the 29th of November, 1898. He had a very active imagination and a love for literature. He was sent to a prep school in England because of respiratory problems in 1911 and stayed till 1913. It was during his stay at Malvern College that Lewis abandoned any faith in God.

After serving as an officer in WWI, he returned to studying and joined Oxford and having earned degrees he lectured in literature and philosophy. It was through the influence of his friends at a tight knit group called the Inklings (including JRR Tolkin - author of the Lord of the Rings Trilogy) in 1929 that he "gave in and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed..." He became a Christian two years later.

Jack (the name he was called by his closest friends) wrote many books worth reading on many subjects having a profound influence on all who would call themselves apologists today. His works include Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia, The Space Trilogy, and The Great Divorce to name a few.

Time does not allow me to tell of his touching marriage to Joy Gresham who died of cancer at the age of 45 in 1960. His book A Grief Observed was written afterward and remains a powerful perspective on suffering.

Throughout his life, C.S. Lewis remained a wonderful paradox between the imaginative wonder we attribute to children and the grown-up professor. He wrote about this quality in Mere Christianity saying, "God wants a child's heart and a grown-up's head." Perhaps this man, known by some as "the Narnian," knew something we need to learn. He was a man of profound intellect and learning, yet was down to earth and engaging. It reminds me of Psalm 16:11 "You (God) have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand."

* The best biography I've run across (and there are many) is Jack by George Sayer

Note: The picture source is http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis

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