Do You Know Someone Like This?
“You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England.”
( Surprised by Joy , by C.S. Lewis)
Those of you familiar with the writings of C.S. Lewis understand what a gifted writer he was. There are many gifted writers in all genres of literature, but his gift was astounding. How he used words to convey meaning was beautiful. Plain and simple, he is a joy to read.
The quote of his above is one that I remember reading not so much for how wonderfully it is written — and it is — but for how well it would describe the struggle of some I know in their fight against belief in God. While the second half of the quote is not yet applicable to their situations, I hope and pray they eventually give in to His “unrelenting approach”.
I cannot help but wonder how many of them take the time to read C.S. Lewis’ works like “Mere Christianity”, “Miracles”, and “Surprised by Joy” (just for starters). I would dare say not many.
I cannot help but wonder how many of them take the time to read C.S. Lewis’ works like “Mere Christianity”, “Miracles”, and “Surprised by Joy” (just for starters). That alone is worth a prayer.
God Bless.
I’ve read C.S. Lewis. And he’s a very good writer.
His arguments for god, however, are unconvincing. Not least because his experience of being an atheist in no way mirrors my own.
October 31, 2008 at 1:26 pm
First, sorry for the delay. As a father and husband, not to mention employee, life keeps me busy.
Regarding your comment, it might help to allow yourself to see the bigger picture of what Lewis is trying to say.
For example, when I went to basic training the goal was to get us to function as a team so as to learn to function in the even bigger team that is the U.S. Air Force. It didn’t matter that I was a black guy from Harlem, that Artie was a white guy Louisiana, or that Jimmy Lee was white guy Arkansas, we needed to learn how to function as a team of U.S. Airmen if we wanted to graduate. It wasn’t easy and the cultural similarities lacking quite a bit, but in the end it had to be done. Our willingness to focus on the larger context eliminated the need for the more comfortable similar experiences of race and cultural familiarity one is naturally inclined towards, and allowed us to focus on becoming part of something much bigger than what we were used to. I’m happy to say it worked.
I’m not sure which of Lewis’ works you’ve read, but I find it difficult to believe that you could be referring to “Mere Christianity” seeing as it’s so general in its approach, not to mention a logical tour de force.
Ultimately, the choice is yours, including the choice of calling his arguments unconvincing; however, if you’re going to go through life looking for experiences that mirror your own as some sort of criteria for the basis of their validity, you’re in for some surprises. Blaise Pascal, no slouch in the thinking world by any means, wrote, “Reason’s last step is the recognition that there are an infinite number of things beyond it.”. I ask that you consider this statement.
November 8, 2008 at 7:25 am