The Most Reluctant Convert: C. S. Lewis's Journey to Faith

by David C. Downing

Book Overview

In his teens, a young man wrote, ""I believe in no religion. There is absolutely no proof for any of them."" After serving in the trenches of WW1, the same young man said, ""I never sank so low as to... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0830832718
• ISBN13: 9780830832712
• Release Date: July 2004
• Publisher: InterVarsity Press
• Length: 191 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.7" x 8.2"

Customer Reviews

A Biography with Sparkle

C.S. Lewis was a complex man, and it would be easy for a biographer to bog down in the details. However, David Downing deftly weaves together an engaging and fast-moving story that follows various threads in Lewis's life, his writings, the major intellectual trends of the early 20th century, and Lewis's gradually unfolding Christian belief. Downing draws from Lewis's well-known writings, but also from letters and unpublished works to create a complex and intriging portrait. I found the book to be intellectually and spiritually nourishing. All in all a good story and a good read.

Intellectual Biography of The Highest Order

David Downing has achieved something quite remarkable with this book: He has succeeded in making a thoroughly researched, philosophically-heavy, intellectual biography an engrossing read.This is by no means a CS Lewis biography. It is, rather, a biography of Lewis' mind before, during and immediately after his conversion to a belief in Christ. Downing explores several avenues of Lewis' philosophical quest, none more so than his unceasing pursuit of "Joy." This pursuit leads Lewis, and the reader, through all stages of Lewis' intellectual and religious development--from atheistic materialism to the occult to philosophical Idealism to pantheism and finally to Christ. Along the way, the reader is introduced to many of Lewis' spiritual, philosophical and intellectual mentors. This could have easily (almost predictably) become a dry, excruciatingly dull narrative with all the readability of a poorly-written freshman philosophy text. Instead, it is a true page-turner as Downing relates Lewis' intellectual pursuit of the aforementioned concepts. One-by-one the philosophical challengers to Christianity are discovered, honestly scrutinized, shown be intellectually wanting, and ultimately rejected. Don't be put off by the centrality of philosophical discussion in this book. It is an easy read and it is actually quite fun to see how Lewis used his monumental intellect to punch irreparable holes in philosophical concepts considered sacrosanct by preening, self-important atheistic egotists. Though an atheist during his teens and twenties, Lewis never stopped pursuing iron-clad intellectual arguments which would quench his thirst for "Joy." His intellectual honesty never allowed him to be satisfied with answers which rested on shaky philosophical ground. And part of his restless pursuit of "Joy" was his search for a firm and unassailable theoretical foundation on which he could build a consistent belief system.Bravo to Mr. Downing for writing this marvelous book. Perhaps no other work allows us to peer more deeply into the mind of this magnificent intellect.

Downing Delivers!

Downing does well in his concise and colorful account of C.S. Lewis' progression to faith -- thus leading to a joyful life. Primarily Downing is helpful in allowing the reader a glimpse into the patient ascension of Lewis to discovering an intimate and substantial faith in Christianity. The reader is not simply walking blindly in this telling of Lewis' conversion, but is led by Downing with a careful examination of Lewis' own thoughts through this spiritual and thoughtful pilgrimage. Thus, Downing allows Lewis to speak for himself on many accounts through highlighting his own letters; and the writings of others close to Lewis, including his brother. The reader will also recieve a luminous lesson on 19th and 20th century thought; they will be intoduced to Rationalism, Romanticism, Idealism, Modernity and a host of other worldviews and religious expressions Lewis engaged in his early adulthood.This book affirms the reason why so many find solace and stimulation from this Christian literary giant. Lewis' genuine and ardent quest for faith should not be overlooked and can only command respect and admiration.

C.S. Lewis, the view from the outside

If you've ever wondered what C.S. "Jack" Lewis looked from the outside, rather than from inside his own head, this is the book for you. Mr. Downing writes in a very readable way, and has obviously done a tremendous amount of research. He writes mostly about the "lost" years in between Jack's early childhood, and the beginning of his conversion as an adult. Mr. Downing traces Jack's thought and theology through his own writings (letters and unfinished or unpublished works) and provides a coherent and very interesting overview of his development from a very cynical young man (though of substantially divided mind) through to the final step of his conversion, covering many things that Lewis himself either glossed over, or never discussed in his autobiographical work. It also covers how some of the conflicts that Jack ran into in his early life were later written about in characters in his novels - he actually made me want to go back and reread the "Perelandra" series, which I haven't been very impressed with up until now. If you've read much C.S. Lewis, and want to know more about him, I would recommend the book highly.