Cs Lewis Beliefs

Thesis: John Ronald Reule Tolkien’s life experiences influenced his writing, beginning as a student, then a soldier, lexigrapher, professor, and then a writer to his own children; Tolkien’s life created the place known to most as Middle-Earth.

In C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Lewis emphasizes the three points of philosophy, themes, and symbolism throughout his writing. Lewis was a strong Christian man, and wanted to make children see and understand all the stories of the Bible. Therefore, he put Christian elements through his books, but with fantasy characters as well. Especially in this story, Lewis conveys the differences between good and evil. Aslan is represented as Christ just as the White Witch represents the sense of evil. Lewis wrote several books in this Narnia series, but The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe became the most famous and recognized of his novels.

Lewis experienced events in his childhood that would help mold him into the man he became, and influence his literature in the years to come. Lewis was an introvertive kid and enjoyed being by himself (Christian History Institute, para. 3). This introvertive attribute of Lewis helped him develop a strong love for reading. Lewis specifically enjoyed fantasy books about animals. This love of fantasy stories and animals would go on to influence his book series, The Chronicles of Narnia (Into The Wardrobe, para. 5). Lewis also shared a very close relationship with his brother

Early in John Lewis’ life he was exposed to scriptures in the bible which helped inspire Lewis further in life to be a better person. An early example of Lewis receiving these scriptures is seen when Lewis says, “An Uncle gave me a bible for Christmas when I was four… and yes, I do remember when I was four” (Lewis 27). What this statement is saying is at a very young age John Lewis was given a set of scriptures and they were so meaningful to him that he could remember when he received them. This can be evidence of a turning point in John Lewis’ life because this bible sparked something in him that he has remembered throughout his life. Further on in Lewis’ life he states, “By the time I was five I could read the scriptures myself, and one phrase stuck out to me strongly… Behold the lamb of God…which taketh away the sins of

One aspect that influenced Lewis’s works was religion. After Jack's mother died from cancer when he was nine, Jack started to walk away from Christianity. Ellaine Murray Stone explains that at one of the boarding schools Jack attended, a staff member nurtured his interest in atheism (Stone 21-22). C.S. remained an atheist and published Spirits in Bondage during that time, but Hugo Dyson and J. R. R. Tolkien were able to draw him back to Christianity. Stone describes Lewis’s conversion back to Christianity as one night when Hugo Dyson, and J.J.R. Tolkien, both Christians, and Lewis were together, the talk came to religion. The result was Lewis converting back to Christianity (Stone 44-45).

Did C.S. Lewis realize he had spiritual references in the Narnia series? Originally Lewis began writing the Narnia series for his grandkids but how did it come to have so much spiritual reference? By looking at characters, stories, views of God, and symbols it is clear Lewis incorporated religion all throughout the Narnia series especially “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe”.

C.S. Lewis is a Christian American author. He is a strong disciple for god through

C.S. Lewis wrote The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe because he wanted to write a children’s book “as a gift for his godchild” (Palmer). It began for him with a series of pictures that came into his mind. “Lewis stated, ‘Everything began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion” (Kennedy). A fairy tale was forming in his mind and “‘At first there wasn't anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord’” (Kennedy), As the story progresses and Lewis’s characters and storyline begin to develop a seemingly clear relationship formed between The Bible and this novel. “Given Lewis’s strong Christian faith, that is not surprising. In fact, once the story was established, Lewis said he ‘...saw how stories of this kind could steal past a certain inhibition which had paralysed much of my own religion in childhood’” (Kennedy.) Even though C.S. Lewis started off writing a children's novel, many people perceive it to be a novel written in parallel to the Bible. Lewis has used Biblical references and a classic storyline to prove that good will alway triumph over evil. Aslan is labeled as a divine figure in the novel; he is also known as the son of the Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea. Aslan’s death and resurrection is like that of Christ. The four children are all considered important to in the world of Narnia, but in the real world they are

If the study of literature shows nothing else, it shows that every author, consciously or subconsciously, creates his (or her) work after his (or her) own worldview. Tolkien is no exception. "I am a Christian..." he writes(1), and his book shows it. Christianity appears not as allegory--Tolkien despises that(2)--nor as analogy, but as deep under girding presuppositions, similarities of pattern, and shared symbols.

Similarly, Lewis’ colleague at Oxford, J.R.R. Tolkien also defended Fantasy, or as he called it, “fairy-stories.” Tolkien was known for his fantastic works that included The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and an assortment of companion books to the series. He was also well known for his criticism of Beowulf, “The Monsters and the Critics.” His Fantasy series have had broad implications on the fantasy genre as a whole since publication, influencing the current generation of writers with the firm grasp of history

The Two Towers by J.R.R. Tolkien is not often thought of as a Christian book. It is either viewed as a revolutionary fantasy book or an adventure book; rarely do people think of the book as having Christian roots. During his life, Tolkien was a devout Christian, so these morals and themes can be seen throughout his writing. By telling of the journey of an average fellowship, Tolkien tells a vast story with life lessons along the way. Rather than focusing on the developments of a single character, Tolkien develops several characters throughout the book, so comparisons among these characters offer valuable insight to human behavior.

Thus Douglas Charles Kane sets forth the inspiration for his meticulous review of the origin of the text Christopher Tolkien presented in 1977 as The Silmarillion. I confess that I myself belonged to the second group, until the publication of The History of Middle-earth volumes revealed the extent of the evolution of the Legendarium. Christopher has presented that evolution roughly in a chronological format, with The Book of Lost Tales containing Tolkien’s earliest writings and The War of the Jewels the latest concerning the tales of The Silmarillion. Anyone interested in following the development of a single tale, therefore, must work through portions of multiple volumes.

C.S. Lewis had an instinctive pleasure for a little bit of this and a little bit of that in what he wrote. Lewis’ love for “sweet disorder” is inspired by British poet Robert Herrick. This love allowed Lewis to unify excerpts and themes from religious works, mythology from various cultures, and literature of famous writers. Lewis had the ability to commerce a theme into an extensive, greater idea to construct it in what he wrote. Throughout The Chronicles of Narnia, he expresses the beauty he sees in disorder. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, The Magicians Nephew, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader are three of the main books that he shows his admiration. If Lewis had not used the literary elements of animals and planets in The Chronicles of Narnia series, then these books would lack the true art and connotation of what Lewis wants to portray throughout these books.

C.S.Lewis' conversion centered massively around self surrender, as for months and months he rejected God who cam to him many nights with his beliefs. Over and over he rejected them beliefs until one night C.S.Lewis reached his tipping point and accepted God coming to him. He got to his knees and began to pray, he had finally accepted God's beliefs and teachings, which resulted in his conversion.

As a transformed Christian, soldier, author, or speaker, C.S. Lewis inspired many in his lifetime. The trials he encountered in his life made him a more inspiring and respectable author and person. Narnia, one of his most popular works, demonstrates moral characteristics in ways we can more easily understand with fictitious characters and settings (Gilbert 14).