Reformer
🇬🇧C.S. Lewis
1898–1963 · British (Irish) · Theologian, Apologist & Author
“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”
Biography
Clive Staples Lewis was born on November 29, 1898, in Belfast, Ireland. He was a celebrated Oxford and Cambridge scholar, literary critic, novelist, and one of the most influential Christian apologists of the twentieth century. Raised nominally Anglican, Lewis abandoned faith as a teenager and embraced atheism. After years of intellectual wrestling, he converted to theism in 1929 and to Christianity in 1931, an experience he described as being 'surprised by joy.' He became a lecturer and tutor at Magdalen College, Oxford, and later the first Professor of Medieval and Renaissance English at Cambridge. His wartime BBC radio broadcasts on 'Mere Christianity' made him a household name across Britain and later the world. Lewis wrote with extraordinary range: from philosophical apologetics in 'Mere Christianity' and 'The Problem of Pain,' to imaginative fiction in 'The Screwtape Letters' and 'The Chronicles of Narnia,' to personal grief memoir in 'A Grief Observed.' He was a founding member of the Inklings, the famous Oxford literary group that also included J.R.R. Tolkien. His work revitalized public intellectual engagement with Christian faith and demonstrated that rigorous reason and literary imagination could serve the gospel. He died on November 22, 1963, the same day as John F. Kennedy's assassination.
Key Works
Lewis's canon includes 'Mere Christianity' (1952), distilled from BBC broadcasts and arguably the most persuasive popular apologetic of the twentieth century; 'The Screwtape Letters' (1942), a satirical epistolary novel from a demon's perspective; 'The Chronicles of Narnia' (7 volumes, 1950–1956), beloved fantasy allegories; 'The Problem of Pain' (1940) and 'A Grief Observed' (1961) on suffering; 'Surprised by Joy' (1955), his spiritual autobiography; 'The Space Trilogy' (1938–1945); 'Miracles' (1947); and 'Till We Have Faces' (1956). His literary scholarship includes 'The Allegory of Love' and 'The Discarded Image.'
Legacy
C.S. Lewis's legacy is unparalleled among twentieth-century Christian writers. His books remain perennial bestsellers and have guided millions from skepticism to faith. 'Mere Christianity' is consistently ranked among the most influential books of the century. The Chronicles of Narnia have sold over 100 million copies. Lewis demonstrated that Christian intellectuals need not retreat from rigorous scholarship or popular culture, but can engage both with grace and skill. Societies, journals, and academic centers bearing his name proliferate worldwide, and his influence continues to grow in the twenty-first century.