The World of C.S. Lewis

Clive Staples Lewis (1898–1963)

A British literary scholar, Christian apologist, and fantasy writer.

C. S. Lewis was “a man who understood God with reason and felt Him with imagination.” Once an atheist in his youth, he journeyed through war and suffering, philosophy and literature, ultimately arriving at faith. He became one of the greatest thinkers and storytellers of the 20th century, building bridges between reason and belief, pain and hope, reality and fantasy.

Childhood and the Beginning of Imagination

He came from a cultured middle-class family. His father, Albert, was a solicitor, and his mother, Florence, an educated woman, taught Lewis both mathematics and literature. 

From early childhood, Lewis was a boy rich in imagination. Together with his older brother Warren, he created an imaginary kingdom called “Boxen,” inventing stories and drawing maps for it. However, in 1908, at the young age of nine, he suffered a great loss when his mother died of peritonitis. After this, he lost his trust in God and harbored doubt and anger toward faith. This would go on to profoundly shape his later theological and literary journey.

Atheism, War, and Philosophical Skepticism

In his teenage years, Lewis formally declared himself an atheist and delved into German philosophy and Norse mythology, seeking the possibility of a godless order and morality. 

1918, on a French front, he was wounded in the lungs, torso, and legs by shrapnel from a German shell and was sent back to England. His close comrade, Edward Moore, was killed in action, and Lewis, honoring a promise made to him, spent the rest of his life living with and caring for Moore’s mother, Jane Moore.

The war engraved in him the realities of pain, death, and meaninglessness, while at the same time awakening fundamental questions about life and faith.

Academic Renown: The Oxford Prodigy

After the war, Lewis achieved outstanding academic success at Oxford University, earning First Class Honours in all three disciplines of Classics, Philosophy, and English Literature. Having attained what is known as a “triple first,” he was appointed as a Fellow in English Literature at Magdalen College, Oxford, beginning in 1925.

During this period, Lewis wrote literary criticism, poetry, and essays, honing his scholarly precision on reason and aesthetics, myth and morality. Yet within him, the conflict over the existence of God continued to linger.

Conversion: The Integration of Reason and Faith

In 1929, Lewis finally converted to theism, confessing that he was “the most reluctant convert in all England.” Then, in September 1931, during an early morning walk with his close friend J. R. R. Tolkien, he engaged in a conversation about Jesus Christ and underwent a full conversion to Christianity. He became a member of the Church of England.

His faith was not rooted in emotion or tradition, but rather in rational inquiry and logical persuasion. From then on, he began his work as a Christian apologist and embarked on a unique writing journey that connected faith and reason.

Work as a Christian Apologist

After his conversion, Lewis published Mere Christianity, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, and other works, proclaiming the rational foundations of faith to the public, especially through BBC radio broadcasts during the Second World War.

The Problem of Pain (1940) is a philosophical work that logically addresses the existence of God in the face of suffering.

Mere Christianity (1942–1944), based on his wartime radio talks, presents the core doctrines of Christianity in a clear and persuasive manner.

During this period, Lewis established himself as one of the foremost Christian thinkers of the modern era, uniting reason and emotion, philosophy and faith.

Literary Zenith: The Chronicles of Narnia and the Majesty of Fantasy

From 1950 to 1956, Lewis published his seminal seven-volume series The Chronicles of Narnia. Though known as fantasy for children, the series is intricately woven with Christian allegory, symbols of sacrifice and resurrection, and the tension of moral choice.

Aslan, who appears in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is widely interpreted as a clear Christ-like savior figure. The Chronicles of Narnia is regarded as a dual-layered literary work, blending imagination with faith, and morality with philosophy.

During the same period, he also published The Space Trilogy (science fiction), The Screwtape Letters (a satirical theological essay), and The Four Loves (a philosophical treatise).

Love and Loss: Marriage to Joy Davidman and Her Death

In 1956, Lewis married Joy Davidman, an American poet. At first, the marriage was a formality intended to help Joy legally remain in the UK during her battle with cancer, allowing her to extend her visa and receive medical treatment. However, the two gradually developed deep affection for each other and fell genuinely in love.

Not long after, Joy’s condition worsened following a cancer diagnosis, and she passed away in July 1960. Her death brought Lewis profound sorrow. He captured his inner anguish and the shaking of his faith in A Grief Observed, a work regarded as one of the most honest confrontations with doubt and the existential pain of suffering.

Final Years and Death 

After the death of his wife, Lewis’s health declined. He suffered from heart failure and kidney disease, and withdrew into a quiet, reclusive life.

On November 22, 1963, he passed away peacefully at his home in Oxford.

On the same day, U.S. President John F. Kennedy was assassinated, and novelist Aldous Huxley also died—an extraordinary coincidence that has come to symbolize the passing of an era.

Lewis’s Legacy and Influence

Mere Christianity, a classic of Christian apologetics, has influenced the thinking of countless converts, while The Chronicles of Narnia is cherished not only as children’s literature but as a treasure trove of spiritual imagination. As a philosopher, literary critic, preacher, children’s author, and science fiction writer, he is regarded as a modern Renaissance figure who embraced both intellect and emotion.

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