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VOLUME 21.2 I WWW.RZIM.ORG
JTHUE MAGSAZINET OF RATVI ZAHCHARIIASN INTERNKATIONIALN MINISGTRIES
Surprised by
C.S. Lewis
PAGE 2
+
THE POWER
OF BEAUTY
PAGE 26
GOD IN
PURSUIT
PAGE 28
AN UNOBSTRUCTED
VIEW
PAGE 30
UNWANTED
GIFTS
PAGE 34
Just Thinkingis a teaching
resource of Ravi Zacharias
International Ministries and
exists to engender thoughtful
engagement with apologetics,
Scripture, and the whole of life.
Danielle DuRant
Editor
Ravi Zacharias International Ministries
4725 Peachtree Corners Circle
Suite 250
Norcross, Georgia 30092
770.449.6766
WWW.RZIM.ORG
TABLE of CONTENTS
21.2
VOLUME
2 30
Surprised by C.S. Lewis An Unobstructed View
The year 2013 marks the fiftieth John Njoroge describes a humbling
anniversary of C.S. Lewis’s death. moment in a soccer match. His
For probably most people, writes reaction afforded him a window
Alister McGrath, “Lewis is the into his soul in a way that might
creator of the fabulous world of have been impossible had things
Narnia, the author of some of the turned out differently.
best-known and most discussed
children’s books of the twentieth 34
century…. But there is far more Unwanted Gifts
to C. S. Lewis than this.”
C.S. Lewis writes, “God shows us
26 a new facet of the glory, and we
The Power of Beauty refuse to look at it because we’re
still looking for the old one.”
As a Scot, Stuart McAllister grew
Danielle DuRant suggests that
up with a love of the countryside.
the asking for and receiving of
His early encounters with nature
gifts often taps into our deepest
evoked something within him that
hopes and fears.
at first he did not understand. But
like C.S. Lewis, he was gradually
37
awakened to the power and role of Think Again
beauty to reflect God’s glory.
The question of being an apologist is
28 not so much in answering someone’s
God in Pursuit question whether you use an apologetic
or not, writes Ravi Zacharias.
Margaret Manning reflects upon
Rather, it is whether the apologetic
C.S. Lewis’s reluctant conversion you already use is a good one or not.
and the glimpse into God’s character
that Lewis’s story—as well as count-
less others—affords. Who is this God
who seems particularly enamored
with the averse prodigal, who leaves
the ninety-nine sheep to pursue the
one lost sheep?
JUST THINKING•TheQuarterly Magazine ofRAVI ZACHARIAS INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES
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Surprised by C.S. Lewis
by Alister McGrath
Fifty years after his death, Clive Staples Lewis remains
one of the most influential popular writers of our age.
Despite being widely seen as a literary and cultural
landmark, there were really three C.S. Lewises. Alongside
the author of bestselling novels, there is a second, less
well-known persona: Lewis the Christian writer and apologist.
The third and perhaps the least familiar is the distinguished
Oxford don and literary critic who packed lecture theatres
with his unscripted reflections on English literature.
JUST THINKING•VOLUME 21.2 [3]
Taken from C.S. Lewis – A Lifeby Alister McGrath. Copyright © 2013 by Alister
McGrath. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.
W
HO IS C.S. LEWIS Perhaps on account of his very public
(1898–1963)? For many, commitment to Christianity, Lewis
probably most, Lewis is remains a controversial figure, who elicits
the creator of the fab- affection and admiration from some of
ulousworld of Narnia, those who share his delight in the Christian
the author of some of the best-known faith, and ridicule and contempt from
and most discussed children’s books of some of those who do not. Yet whether
the twentieth century, which continue one thinks Christianity is good or bad, it is
to attract enthusiastic readers and sell in clearly important—and Lewis is perhaps
the millions. Fifty years after his death, the most credible and influential popular
Lewis remains one of the most influential representative of the “mere Christianity”
popular writers of our age. Alongside his that he himself championed.
equally famous Oxford colleague and Yet there is a third aspect to Lewis,
friend J. R. R. Tolkien (1892–1973), author perhaps the least familiar to most of his
of The Lord of the Rings, Lewis is widely admirers and critics: the distinguished
seen as a literary and cultural landmark. Oxford don and literary critic who packed
The worlds of literature and cinema have lecture theatres with his unscripted
been deeply shaped by both of these reflections on English literature, and
Oxford authors. Yet without Lewis, The who went on to become the first
Lord of the Ringsmight never have been occupant of the Chair of Medieval and
written. Lewis may have created his own Renaissance Literature at the University
bestsellers, but he was also midwife to of Cambridge. Few might now read his
Tolkien’s masterpiece, even proposing Preface to “Paradise Lost”(1942); in its day,
Tolkien for the 1961 Nobel Prize in however, it set a new standard through
Literature on the basis of this epic work. its clarity and insight.
For these reasons alone, the story of C.S. Lewis’s professional calling was to
Lewis is worth telling. the “groves of Academe.” His election as
But there is far more to C.S. Lewis a fellow of the British Academy in July
than this. As Lewis’s long-term friend 1955 was a public demonstration of his
Owen Barfield (1898–1997) once remarked, high scholarly repute. Yet some in the
there were really three C.S. Lewises. academic world regarded his commercial
Alongside Lewis the author of bestselling and popular success as being inconsistent
novels, there is a second, less well-known with any claim on his part to be a serious
persona: Lewis the Christian writer and scholar. From 1942 onwards, Lewis strug-
apologist, concerned to communicate gled to maintain his academic credibility
and share his rich vision of the intellectual in the light of his more popular works,
and imaginative power of the Christian above all his lighthearted musings on the
faith—a faith he discovered in the middle diabolical world of Screwtape.
of his life and found rationally and spiri- So how do these three Lewises
tually compelling. Much to the annoyance relateto each other? Are they separate
of some, his Mere Christianityis now often compartments of his life, or are they
cited as the most influential religious somehow interconnected? And how did
work of the twentieth century. they each develop? This book aims to tell
[4] JUST THINKING•RAVI ZACHARIAS INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES
the story of the shaping and expressing of concerning his character. However, the
Lewis’s mind, focussing on his writings. It vast scholarly endeavours of the last two
is not concerned with documenting every decades have clarified questions of his-
aspect of Lewis’s life, but with exploring torical importance (such as Lewis’s role in
the complex and fascinating connections the Great War), explored aspects of Lewis’s
between Lewis’s external and internal intellectual development, and provided
worlds. This biography is thus organized critical readings of his major works. This
around the real and imaginary worlds biography tries to weave these strands
that Lewis inhabited—primarily Oxford, together, presenting an understanding of
Cambridge, and Narnia. How does Lewis firmly grounded in earlier studies,
the development of his ideas and his yet able to go beyond them.
imagination map onto the physical Any attempt to deal with Lewis’s
worlds he inhabited? Who helped him rise to prominence has to acknowledge
craft his intellectual and imaginative his misgivings about assuming a public
vision of reality? role. Lewis was indeed a prophet to his
In our discussion, we shall consider own day and age, and beyond; yet it must
Lewis’s rise to fame, and some of the be said that he was a reluctantprophet.
factors that lay behind this. Yet it is one Even his own conversion seemed to take
thing for Lewis to have become famous; place against his better judgement; and
it is another for him to remain so fifty having been converted to Christianity,
years after his death. Many commentators Lewis spoke out on its themes largely
back in the 1960s believed that Lewis’s because of the silence or unintelligibility
fame was transitory. His inevitable decline of those he believed were better placed
into obscurity, many then believed, was than he was to engage religious and
just a matter of time—a decade at most. theological questions publicly.
It is for this reason that the final chapter Lewis also comes across as something
of this work tries to explain, not simply of an eccentric, in the proper sense of
why Lewis became such a figure of that term—someone who departs from
authority and influence, but why he recognized, conventional, or established
remains so today. norms or patterns, or who is displaced
Some of the more important early from the centre of things. His curious
biographies were written by those who relationship with Mrs. Moore, to be dis-
knew Lewis personally. These continue to cussed in some detail in this work, placed
be invaluable as descriptions of what him well outside the British social norms
Lewis was likeas a human being, as well of the 1920s. Many of Lewis’s academic
as offering some important judgements colleagues at Oxford came to regard him
L
ewis was indeed a prophet to his own day and age, and beyond; yet
it must be said that he was a reluctant prophet. Even his own
conversion seemed to take place against his better judgement; and having
been converted to Christianity, Lewis spoke out on its themes largely
because of the silence or unintelligibility of those he believed were better
placed than he was to engage religious and theological questions publicly.
JUST THINKING•VOLUME 21.2 [5]
as an outsider from about 1940, both on themselves bombarded with what the
account of his openly Christian views and American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay
his unscholarly habit of writing popular (1892–1950) called “a meteoric shower of
works of fiction and apologetics. Lewis facts,” raining from the sky.1How, she
famously described his distance from asked, might these be combined to
the prevailing academic trends of his day disclose meaning, rather than remaining
when he referred to himself as a “dinosaur” a mere accumulation of information?
in his inaugural lecture at Cambridge This biography adds to what is known
University in 1954. about Lewis’s life, while also trying to
This sense of distance from the centre make sense of it. How are these facts
is also evident in Lewis’s religious life. to be woven together, so that they may
Although Lewis became a highly influen- disclose a pattern? This biography of
tial voice within British Christianity, he Lewis is not another rehearsal of the vast
operated from its margins rather than its army of facts and figures concerning his
centre, and had no time for the cultivation life, but an attempt to identify its deeper
of relationships with leading figures of the themes and concerns, and assess its
religious establishment. It was perhaps significance. This is not a work of
this trait that endeared him to some in synopsis, but of analysis.
the media, anxious to find an authentic The publication of the collected
religious voice outside the power structures letters of C.S. Lewis, carefully annotated
of the mainstream churches. and cross-referenced by Walter Hooper
This biography sets out, not to during the period 2000–2006, is of
praise Lewis or condemn him, but to landmark importance for Lewis studies.
understandhim—above all, his ideas, and These letters, taking up some 3,500 pages
how these found expression in his writings. of text, offer insights into Lewis that
This task has been made easier by the were simply not available to an earlier
publication of virtually all that is known generation of Lewis biographers. Perhaps
to remain of Lewis’s writings, as well as a most important, they provide a continu-
significant body of critical scholarly liter- ous narrative backbone for an account of
ature dealing with his works and ideas. Lewis’s life. For this reason, these letters
The vast amount of biographical are cited more than any other source
and scholarly material now available throughout this biography. As will become
concerning Lewis and his circle threatens clear, a close reading of these letters forces
to overwhelm the reader with fine detail. review and possibly revision of some
Those trying to make sense of Lewis find widely accepted dates in Lewis’s life.
I
t is only fair to tell readers from the outset that this wearying
yet necessary process of checking everything against documen-
tary evidence has led me to one conclusion in particular that pits
me, not simply against every Lewis scholar I know, but against
Lewis himself. I refer to the date of his “conversion” or recovery of
belief in God, which Lewis himself, in his book Surprised by
Joy, locates in “Trinity Term 1929.”
[6] JUST THINKING•RAVI ZACHARIAS INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES
This is a critical biography, which memories, no privileged disclosures, and
examines the evidence for existing no private documents on which to draw.
assumptions and approaches, and corrects Every resource used in this biography is
them where necessary. In most cases, this either already in the public domain or
can be done simply and subtly, and I have available to public scrutiny and inspection.
seen no reason to draw attention to those This is a book written by someone
corrections. On the other hand, it is only who discovered Lewis through his writ-
fair to tell readers from the outset that ings, for others who have come to know
this wearying yet necessary process of Lewis in the same way. The Lewis I have
checking everything against documentary come to know is mediated through his
evidence has led me to one conclusion in words, not through any personal acquain-
particular that pits me, not simply against tance. Where other biographers refer to
every Lewis scholar I know, but against Lewis as “Jack” in their works, I have felt
Lewis himself. I refer to the date of his it right to call him “Lewis” throughout,
“conversion” or recovery of belief in God, mainly to emphasise my personal and
which Lewis himself, in his book Surprised critical distance from him. I believe that
by Joy(1955), locates in “Trinity Term this is the Lewis whom he himself would
1929” (that is, at some point between wish future generations to know.
28 April and 22 June 1929).2 Why so? As Lewis emphasized
This date is faithfully repeated in throughout the 1930s, the important
every major study of Lewis to have thing about authors is the textsthat they
appeared recently. Yet my close reading write. What really matters is what those
of the documentary material points texts themselves say. Authors should not
unequivocally to a later date, possibly as themselves be a “spectacle”; they are
early as March 1930, but more likely in rather the “set of spectacles” through
the Trinity Term of that year. On this which we as readers see ourselves, the
point, I stand entirely alone in Lewis world, and the greater scheme of things
scholarship, and the reader has a right to of which we are a part. Lewis thus had
know that I am completely isolated on surprisingly little interest in the personal
this question. history of the great English poet John
Milton (1608–1674), or the political and
F
rom what has been said already, it social context within which he wrote.
will be clear that there is no need to What really mattered were Milton’s writ-
justify a new biography of Lewis to ings—his ideas. The way Lewis believed
mark the fiftieth anniversary of his death we should approach Milton must be
in 1963. Yet perhaps there is a need to allowed to shape the way we in turn
offer a small defence of myself as his approach Lewis. Throughout this work,
biographer. Unlike his earlier biographers wherever possible, I have tried to engage
—such as his longtime friends George with his writings, exploring what they say,
Sayer (1914–2005) and Roger Lancelyn and assessing their significance.
Green (1918–1987)—I never knew Lewis Though I did not know Lewis as a
personally. He was someone I discovered person, I can relate well—perhaps better
through his writings in my early twenties, than most—to at least some aspects of
a decade after his death, and who, over a Lewis’s worlds. Like Lewis, I spent my
period of twenty years, gradually came to childhood in Ireland, mainly in
win my respect and admiration, though Downpatrick, the county town of County
mingled with continuing curiosity and Down, whose “long, soft hills” Lewis knew
abiding concerns. I have no illuminating and loved, and described so beautifully. I
JUST THINKING•VOLUME 21.2 [7]
L
ike Lewis, I was an atheist as a younger man, before discovering
the intellectual riches of the Christian faith. As someone who
is often called upon to offer a public defence of the Christian faith
against its critics, I find myself both appreciating and using Lewis’s
ideas and approaches, many—but not all—of which seem to me to
retain at least something of their sparkle and power.
have walked where he walked, paused The Pilgrim’s Regresswas thus assigned to
where he paused, and marvelled where August 1932, when it was written, rather
he marvelled. I, too, felt that twinge of than May 1933, when it was published. This
yearning at seeing the distant blue process of intense engagement with pri-
Mountains of Mourne from my childhood mary sources, which took fifteen months,
home. Like Lewis’s mother, Flora, I also was was followed by a reading—in some cases
a pupil at the Methodist College, Belfast. a somewhat critical rereading —of the
I also know Lewis’s Oxford well, substantial secondary literature concerning
having been a student there for seven years, Lewis, his circle of friends, and the
before—after a brief spell at Lewis’s intellectual and cultural context in which
other university, Cambridge— returning they lived, thought, and wrote. Finally, I
to teach and write there for twenty-five examined unpublished archive material,
years, ending up as Oxford University’s much of which is held in Oxford, which
chair in historical theology, as well as casts further light on the shaping of
becoming what Oxford calls a “Head of Lewis’s mind and on the intellectual
House.” Like Lewis, I was an atheist as a and institutional context within which
younger man, before discovering the he worked.
intellectual riches of the Christian faith. It became clear at an early stage
Like Lewis, I chose to express and enact that a more academic study would be
that faith in the specific form found in necessary to engage some of the scholarly
the Church of England. And finally, as questions that emerged from this detailed
someone who is often called upon to research. This biography avoids such
offer a public defence of the Christian details of scholarly engagement; notes and
faith against its critics, I find myself both bibliography have been kept to the bare
appreciating and using Lewis’s ideas and minimum. My concern in this volume is
approaches, many—but not all—of which to tell a story, not to settle occasionally
seem to me to retain at least something arcane and invariably detailed academic
of their sparkle and power. debates. Readers may, however, like to
know that a more academic volume will
F
inally, a word about the method be published shortly, offering scholarly
used in writing this biography. The exploration and justification of some of
core research began with a close the assertions and conclusions of this
reading of Lewis’s entire published biography.3
output (including his letters) in strictly But enough of apologies and pre-
chronological order of writing, so that liminaries. Our story begins in a world of
the development of his thought and long ago and far away—the Irish city of
writing style could be appreciated. Belfast in the 1890s.
[8] JUST THINKING•RAVI ZACHARIAS INTERNATIONAL MINISTRIES