The Most Reluctant Convert

by David C. Downing

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 pray."" To a religious friend, he wrote impatiently, ""You can't start with God. I don't accept God!"" This young man was C. S. Lewis, the ""foul-mouthed atheist"" who would become one of the most eloquent Christian writers of the twentieth century. David C. Downing offers a unique look at Lewis's personal journey to faith and the profound influence it had on his life as a writer and eventual follower of Christ. This is the first book to focus on the period from Lewis's childhood to his early thirties, a tumultuous journey of spiritual and intellectual exploration. It was not despite this journey but precisely because of it that Lewis understood the search for life's meaning so well.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781666718935
Publisher:	Wipf & Stock Publishers
Publication date:	05/07/2021
Series:	C. S. Lewis Secondary Studies Series
Pages:	196
Sales rank:	379,109
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.42(d)

About the Author

David C. Downing is Co-director (with his wife Crystal) of the Marion E. Wade Center at Wheaton College in Illinois. His other books on C. S. Lewis include Planets in Peril, a critical study of the Space trilogy; Into the Wardrobe, an overview of the Narnia Chronicles; Into the Region of Awe, a study of how Lewis's wide reading in Christian mysticism enriched his own faith and imaginative writings; and Looking for the King, a novel in which two young Americans meet Lewis and Tolkien in Oxford.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	9
	Introduction	11
1	The Ill-Secured Happiness of Childhood	19
2	The Alien Territory of Boyhood	35
3	Mere Atheism in Early Adolescence	49
4	The Dungeon of a Divided Soul	63
5	Dualism During the War Years	81
6	"Spiritual Lust" & the Lure of the Occult	101
7	Idealism & Pantheism in the Twenties	123
8	Finding Truth in the Old Beliefs	139
	Epilogue	155
	Abbreviations of Lewis's Works	165
	Notes	169
	Biographical Materials on C. S. Lewis	183
	Index	187
	Permissions	192

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“An excellent and robust idea that has been skillfully and convincingly realized. I very much appreciate the elegant and sparing way that David writes, and was dazzled by the powerful speculative ending to the last chapter.”


- Colin Duriez, author of The C. S. Lewis Encyclopedia





“Downing has carefully traced the story of Lewis’s conversion as found in both published and unpublished writings. He balances the suddenness of Lewis’s final decision for Christ with the slow maturing of mind and heart within the context of literature, myth, and European Christian tradition. Especially valuable is Downing’s discussion of ‘The Quest of Bleheris,’ one of Lewis’s first attempts to write fiction.”





- Doris T. Myers, author of C. S. Lewis in Context





“Here’s a book that deals with the most important and neglected aspect of C. S. Lewis’s life—his conversion. Its value can’t be overestimated. It’s really good—no, it's BRILLIANT.”





- Walter Hooper, editor of C. S. Lewis: A Companion & Guide

Editorial Reviews

An excellent and robust idea that has been skillfully and convincingly realized. I very much appreciate the elegant and sparing way that David writes, and was dazzled by the powerful speculative ending to the last chapter.”

- Colin Duriez, author of The C. S. Lewis Encyclopedia



“Downing has carefully traced the story of Lewis’s conversion as found in both published and unpublished writings. He balances the suddenness of Lewis’s final decision for Christ with the slow maturing of mind and heart within the context of literature, myth, and European Christian tradition. Especially valuable is Downing’s discussion of ‘The Quest of Bleheris,’ one of Lewis’s first attempts to write fiction.”



- Doris T. Myers, author of C. S. Lewis in Context



“Here’s a book that deals with the most important and neglected aspect of C. S. Lewis’s life—his conversion. Its value can’t be overestimated. It’s really good—no, it's BRILLIANT.”



- Walter Hooper, editor of C. S. Lewis: A Companion & Guide

From the Publisher