What difference can one man make?

On November 22nd 1963, two historical figures left this world. One was a world leader, heralded since as a man of vision, political tenacity, and mythical (at least seen now) accomplishments. This was none other than John F. Kennedy, our youthful and idolized president. He was gunned down in the midst of his prime-his potential for all he could do, ripped from this existence. On that same day a man, many called ‘Jack’ left this earthly realm, too. His life, productive, was short, too, or at least not long enough. At 64 years of age, by modern standards, his life seemed brief, but it was full of a life of service in the military, formal education, prolific academic accomplishments, and a legacy of literature that few in this world can match. During World War 2, each of these men, both known as ‘Jack’, gained legendary acclaim for their duties. One ‘Jack’ was a decorated soldier, his earned decorations in World War II included the Purple Heart, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three bronze service stars, and the World War II Victory Medal. The other ‘Jack’, nearly 20 years older, during WW2 was honored for his nightly broadcast that Air Chief Marshal Sir Donald Hardman wrote: "The war, the whole of life, everything tended to seem pointless. We needed, many of us, a key to the meaning of the universe…” this ‘Jack’ “provided that."

Our other ‘Jack’ was a man named Clive Staples Lewis, known the world over as C. S. Lewis. His family nicknamed him Jack, and he was known to them, and many of his friends, as such. The radio talks, broadcast on the BBC from 1941 to 1943 became anthologized as Mere Christianity, maybe the most heralded Christian Apologetic book ever written. Lewis would also write many others, on cslewis.com, the official website of Lewis, it states, as a brief biography:

“Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963) was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954, when he was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement.Lewis wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. C. S. Lewis's most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics in The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.”

Today, many Christian leaders of various persuasions count Lewis as a huge influence on their life. Christians that consider themselves, Calvinist, Armenian, or Molinist, find Lewis influential. Catholic, Protestant, and even Mormon, find Lewis' works of great importance. “Many books have been inspired by Lewis, including A Severe Mercy by his correspondent and friend Sheldon Vanauken. The Chronicles of Narnia have been particularly influential. Modern children's literature such as Daniel Handler's A Series of Unfortunate Events, Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl, Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials, and J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter have been more or less influenced by Lewis's series (Hilliard 2005). Pullman, an atheist and so fierce a critic of Lewis's work as to be dubbed "the anti-Lewis", considers him a negative influence and has accused Lewis of featuring religious propaganda, misogyny, racism and emotional sadism in his books. Authors of adult fantasy literature such as Tim Powers have also testified to being influenced by Lewis's work.” (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis#Legacy) Lewis’ legacy continues to thrive. My question to you, if you will, is why? Why does C. S. Lewis seem to matter so?

Personally, I am a Lewis fan. In my library of hundreds of books, Lewis represents a large portion, and is possibly the most represented (either by or about him) of all. I would venture to say, there are few homes that have no Lewis in their collections. Between The Chronicles of Narnia and Mere Christianity Lewis is read by as many as any author living or dead. This of course still begs the question, why? Why did a seemingly obscure literary professor become such a huge literary influence? Why did a man whose own late journey into faith become such a powerful apologist for the Christian Faith? Why does his writings still rank him among the most prolific authors living or dead? These questions are not so easily answered but, I will give my thoughts on why I think Lewis matters.

There are three reasons I feel Lewis is still important today. First, Lewis’ life, more accurately his conversion to Christianity, is still impacting today. Lewis’ journey to faith began in religion, detoured into atheism, found God thru logic, and experienced Christ thru the influence of friends. Much of this is mirrored in the lives of many, thus his experience speaks to us. Lewis found the writings of George McDonald and G. K. Chesterton as compelling and challenged his atheism. “As Lewis continued to read, he especially enjoyed Christian author George MacDonald. One volume, Phantastes, powerfully challenged his atheism. "What it actually did to me," wrote Lewis, "was to convert, even to baptize … my imagination." G.K. Chesterton's books worked much the same way, especially The Everlasting Man, which raised serious questions about the young intellectual's materialism.” (http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/131christians/musiciansartistsandwriters/cslewis.html?start=2) Almost prophetically, the writings of others would direct the path of one of the most read Christian writers, who would influence generations with his writings. Lewis also come under the influence of men like, Hugo Dyson and J.R.R. Tolkien. Dyson, would become famous for his expertise on Shakespeare, hosting a series of television specials on the subject of him. He even acted in a movie in 1965, Darling wherein he played the role of Professor Walter Southgate, a major literary character of the age who would die in the film. Tolkien became famous for his books, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, among others. These men, as well as other great intellectuals of the day, won Lewis over with clear logic and great understanding of the Christian faith.

This leads to our next reason why Lewis still matters, his contribution to literature. Lewis’ life was filled with Literature. As a small boy, he found solace in books, and his academic pursuits would lead him to become a widely recognized professor of literature and expert on English literature. Early in his life he would try his hand at poetry, with minimum recognition. After his conversion, Lewis’ writings became immersed with his new found faith, and that’s when his writings gain their greatest notoriety. Lewis wrote fiction as well. His Chronicles of Narnia are as beloved books as any ever written. They thinly veil his Christian beliefs, but are not apologetic in form. His space trilogy of novels, possibly are more overt in their pushing of the Christian faith. Yet, it is his apologetic writings, written in a smooth, conversational, intellectually probing way, that have had the most impact. Many a Christian can attribute some of their conversion to reading some writing by Lewis. This quote, often repeated (for good reason), from his book Mere Christianity illustrates his genius, “My argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how had I got this idea of just and unjust? A man does not call a line crooked unless he has some idea of a straight line. What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?” As a writer, especially a Christian writer, Lewis became a staple of great literature, which endures generations and never becomes dated.

Lewis’ third great importance is related to his writings, though it related to the specific genre of ‘Apologetics’. Apologetics is defined as “1: systematic argumentative discourse in defense (as of a doctrine) 2: a branch of theology devoted to the defense of the divine origin and authority of Christianity” (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/apologetics). If there is anything Lewis’ writings do, for the most part, is defend the faith. Anyone that has read Lewis comes away with a fresh, clear, defendable faith. His ability to bring out the essence of faith and the objections, rightly answered, are remarkable. For example, in God in the Dock, he wrote, “I didn’t go to religion to make me happy. I always knew a bottle of Port would do that. If you want a religion to make you feel really comfortable, I certainly don’t recommend Christianity.” No mincing of words, and clearly not a fairy tale type Christianity. In his Letters to an American Lady he writes, “We are not necessarily doubting that God will do the best for us; we are wondering how painful the best will turn out to be.” It is with this clear, to the point and honest assessment of our faith, that Lewis becomes an icon of Christian Apologetics.

New generations are discovering Lewis, thru his writings, the internet, and even now; movies. A love for Lewis and his writings is easily gained as you discover the wit, wisdom, and worth of the life and contributions of the man called ‘Jack’. A legacy forged in the midst of two world wars, pulled from a life of committed atheism, and borne in the crucible of grief and despair, God has left us a voice, not easily dismissed or overlooked. I, for one, will not hesitate to use his reasoning, intellect, and words, in my writing and personal attempts at apologetics. Thou Camelot was supposed to have occurred under the administration of the other 'Jack', and it seems as if it failed to materlize, we enjoy the benefits of our Narnia, created in the heart, mind, and soul of one, C. S. Lewis.

GOD BLESS

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