Clive Staples Lewis

C. S. Lewis (http://cslewis.drzeus.net/)

Clive Staples Lewis, better known today as simply, C.S. Lewis was more than just a man of God. C.S. Lewis was a solider for Christ who devoted his life and literary works to the philosophies of Christianity and his personal faith. He pioneered into the world of theological literature and wrote from the heart. His voice echoed within the hearts of millions as they journeyed with Lewis from earth to heaven, to hell, and back again. After becoming a Christian in 1929 saying, "In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed..." Lewis wrote of his struggles and triumphs throughout his journey with Christ. He wrote on the philosophy of faith and the falsehood of atheism.

Clive Staples Lewis was born on November 29, 1898 in Belfast, Ireland. He was the younger of two sons in a very Protestant family, but lived much of his life as a devote atheist. When he was nine years old, his mother died of cancer on his father's birthday, and left her two sons bibles signed "from mommy, with fondest Love, August 1908." After the death of his mother, his relationship with his father worsened, and Lewis was sent away to Wynyard, a strict boarding school in Watford, Hertfordshire, England. He went through his schooling and attended a great deal of them. He eventually attended University College, at Oxford, and in 1924 became a tutor of philosophy at University College, Oxford. He left in 1955 to teach at Magdalen College, Cambridge. During this time he became a theist, who is someone who believes there is a God, but did not become a Christian. In 1931 Lewis became a Christian! One evening in September, Lewis had a long talk on Christianity with J.R.R. Tolkien (a devout Roman Catholic) and Hugo Dyson. That evening's discussion was important in bringing about the following day's event that Lewis recorded in Surprised by Joy: "When we [Warnie and Jack] set out [by motorcycle to the Whipsnade Zoo] I did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did."

C.S Lewis is a hero to me, not because of the fame he acquired from his writings, but what he went through to gain that fame. He lived on both sides of the spectrum. He was born into a Protestant family, and grew up with a Christian influence, yet, as a teenager he became an atheist, and remained one for nearly twenty years! Once he did become a Christian, his faith was unshakeable. He knew what it was like on the "other side," and once he found his true identity as a Christian man he became a man of the truth. Because he spent so much of his life as an atheist, by the time he became a Christian he had developed an explanation and counter-argument for just about every "issue" faced by Christians and their faith today. Having personally experienced much of these struggles and doubts, he was able to personally relate to those he spoke with. His phase of doubt ultimately strengthened his faith even more, and provided him with a steadfast foundation to build upon and support the growth of others.