Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life

"In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God..." "I was driven to Whipsnade one sunny morning. When we set out I did not believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did...it was...like when a man, after long sleep, still lying motionless in bed, becomes aware that he is now awake." For a long time I've been fascinated by the person, C.S. Lewis. What caused him to be the way he is? ...to write the Chronicles of Narnia, a best-selling children's fantasy; The Screw-tape Letters, a dialogue; Mere Christianity, a layman's apologetic; The Space Trilogy, a science-fiction; The Abolition of Man, a short treatise; Till We Have Faces, a mythology; Reflections on the Psalms, a commentary; The Pilgrim's Regress, an allegory; The Great Divorce, a novella; and now--Surprised by Joy, an autobiography! Can you say "prolific"? I haven't even scratched the surface. If we complied C.S. Lewis' diary, letters, poems, and essays, not to mention his scholarly work on Medieval Renaissance literature, and his reflections on love, evil, pain, and theology than we've got a truck load of sheer writing masterpieces. Few Christian authors are more well read than C.S. Lewis. Thus, I'd almost forgotten that C.S. Lewis at one time in his life, was not a Christian, and for a long duration he even professed to be--yes--an atheist. Not an atheist like the New Atheists of today, but like an Old Atheist. The difference is that the Old Atheist simply believed Theism was false, but the New Atheist, today, believes that Theism is not only false, but evil, even supremely the cause of evil. He respectfully denied God's existence. While reading Surprised By Joy I was, needless to say--surprised. C.S. Lewis' life was rather simple, even common. He was terrible at sports, read a great deal, and thought many of the same things I have thought in my child-hood. He went to a "normal" preparatory school, went to a common College, and joined the army to fight in WWI. Most of our great grandfather's have done that. The one thing that sets C.S. Lewis apart from the common character is that he was, more than any person I've heard of--extensively well-read. He read books like a 3-week starved lion in front of a freshly killed antelope. He devoured them. Not Christian books. In fact, some notable influences in his life were Norse Myths like Thor, Odin, and Loki, fantasy tales, ancient literature from the likes of Virgil, Euripides, Dante, Homer... He read basically the entire western canon, and was influenced by agnostics like George Orwell (author of 1984), other famous authors like Faust, Wordsworth, Shelley... And in all honesty, if you were to mention a notable book from history, everything from Voltaire's Candide, to Darwin's Origin of Species, to the Wizard of Oz, he read it. And from the man who has read, been exposed too, dabbled in, and even believed for a short time, most ideas and human philosophies man has come up with, said this about his own reading: "A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading." In short, it was C.S. Lewis' reading of books that pushed him from Atheism to Theism and then from Theism to Christianity. We as Christians, for the past how ever many decades have been afraid of reading books that ought not to make us afraid. It is not the Christian that ought to be afraid of reading the Great Books of the past, it is the Atheist. The overwhelming testimony of the greatest of human philosophies give testament to the book that stands above them all--the Bible. Like a truth that rings so loudly on the hearts of men and women throughout history, you would have to plug your ears, and ignore your reason, selectively choose your literature, and shut your eyes to human experience to retain a sound belief against a truth that so tugs on each of our hearts. After reading the books confirming his Atheism for most of his higher education, C.S. Lewis interestingly makes the comment that it was not that the books and philosophies he began suddenly seemed so blatantly wrong, he remarked that they we simply boring, "Christians are wrong, but all the rest are bores." Atheism was boring. In short, he maintains that he was unsatisfied with the explanation of Atheism. Somewhere he calls Atheism, "too simple". It does not provide to complex explanation for the world we live in; pain, evil, love, joy, hardship, friendship, beauty... You cannot maintain any of those fundamental human experiences with a consistent belief that the Universe was an accident of evolutionary processes. Notably, as the title is called Surprised by Joy, it was when C.S. Lewis realized joy was much more than an "aesthetic experience" that he began to search for a truth that was comprehensive enough to fit the human experience. He found that in a person--Jesus Christ. Surprised by Joy was an excellent read! It is not like Augustine's Confessions, with beautiful confessions of sin and testimony of struggle, or like John Bunyan's Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners with an astonishing pilgrimage to repentance. It is a book of pure honesty to how C.S. Lewis lived his early child-hood and what shaped his testimony of conversion. I highly recommend reading Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis! It's one of the best autobiographies I've ever read, and even though I've not read many, it is probably better than many other autobiographies I'll read in the future.

CS Lewis, one of the greatest Christian apologists, just BARELY makes it to his actual conversion to Christianity; the real goal of this book is his conversion from atheism to theism. And that's QUITE enough of a story, particularly when in the hands of such a master stylist and genial guide. But there's much more here of value and interest — at root level, the interest that exists when one examines another's path through life. Anyone puzzled by the English Public School and University cultures will find much to enlighten them here — I'd definitely read SURPRISED BY JOY before assaying BRIDESHEAD REVISITED, for instance. But it is SHAMEFUL — are you reading this, publishers? — that anyone would think of charging money for something so poorly OCRd. Some errors are obvious: how many times did I mentally substitute "He" for "Fie," for instance? (answer: far too many!); but there are other instances where the correct word is difficult or impossible to discern. One takes this sort of thing patiently with free eBooks...but the publishers should be ashamed — and preferably punished by lack of sales — for clearly putting this (and many other) book(s) on the market when, clearly, they never paid so much as an intern — or any human — eyes to read it, just once, for correction. I Therefore DON'T recommend you purchase this book in this edition — go get a nice, dead-tree, edition, where you will have the pleasure of reading what CS Lewis actually wrote. Publishers: the ball is in your court. If you hope to compete in the eBook market...get on the stick.

Point: “Really, a young Atheist cannot guard his faith too carefully. Dangers lie in wait for him on every side.” Here is how God sought out a reluctant convert. Path: C. S. Lewis charts his path from childhood to belief in Jesus, the Son of God. He explains how a longing for “joy” drove him to the belief in Absolute, to Spirit, to God, to Jesus (“Joy is distinct not only from pleasure in general but even from aesthetic pleasure. It must have the stab, the pang, the inconsolable longing”). Along the way he points out signposts of where he was headed, logical fallacies he was believing, humorous anecdotes of friends and enemies, and an extremely persistent God following (or was he leading?) all along. Sources: Lewis walks the reader through the important characters in the story of his life. From his disgruntled teacher, to rationalistic friends, individuals were part of the molding and moving process in his life. Agreement: This was a fascinating read of how one man was brought to his knees in faith. His philosophical exploration of science and the supernatural would be valuable to read and ponder in today’s society. Personal App: Christianity is not illogical in the sense that it is without reason. It is the only reasonable explanation. Favorite Quote: “A young man who wishes to remain a sound Atheist cannot be too careful of his reading. There are traps everywhere—“Bibles laid open, millions of surprises,” as Herbert says, “fine nets and stratagems.” God is, if I may say it, very unscrupulous.” It would be worth another read and I would recommend it to someone who: - tells me that Christianity is devoid of reason - cannot ever see themselves believing in a personal God - who loves philosophy - believes science has all the answers - likes the works of C. S. Lewis Other books along this same theme would be: Chesterton, G. K. Manalive. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2011. On the Gospels and the Resurrection: Craig, William Lane. “Did Jesus Rise from the Dead?” In Jesus Under Fire: Modern Scholarship Reinvents the Historical Jesus, edited by Michael J. Wilkins and J. P. Moreland, 141–176. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.

Do you know what you believe and why? Do you know what joy and happiness are? Have you ever thought of these questions? CS Lewis did, or at least *tried* to think of the answers when he went and responded to questions about such issues. The result is what you might call an "intellectual autobiography", as I would call it. Lewis tried to determine the moral and spiritual development of his life generally that lead him to his (as of writing the book in his fifties) then viewpoints. Of great import to this is what he called "Joy" and his imaginative life. You see, Lewis, like all of us had some very deep ups and downs. His life could be great and fun, or it could truly *suck*, just as any of ours could. Add to this a somewhat corrupt system of education in the early 20th century, and you realize that childhood may not be pretty for the young lad. Indeed, it was not, and Lewis lost his faith. Well, he rather *abandoned* it. He had no use for Christianity, and was all for rationalism, thank you very much. All of this while he admits he was enamored of myth and had a vivid imaginative life. Then one day, he noticed a feeling called "Joy". He had had this sensation before, and it captured his heart, and on a long, winding and complicated journey, he would learn what this "Joy" really was about and where, or to Whom, it would lead... I really liked how the intellectual workings of Lewis' mind were put on display. As someone who went through some very hard times and uncertainties about the issues of faith, politics, morality, and other areas, it appealed to me to see how Lewis went about wrestling with his moral and religious issues. If you find such philosophical musings boring, or CS Lewis isn't your favorites person, you won't like this. If you do enjoy philosophy and like Lewis, as I do on both counts, this is the book for you.

Surprised by Joy is a prerequisite if one is to experience the maximum benefit of C.S. Lewis' apologetic works. That is, while one might not actually, and perhaps should not, read Surprised by Joy before some of his other titles it will certainly provide the reader with a new appreciation of Lewis' perspective. Throughout his life, as it is evident in his writing, Lewis returns time and again to face his own struggles, those questions born of his own thoughts, to explain and defend Christianity. As it might be imagined, some of the toughest questions that he ever presented were first shaped into a fit argument while he was confident that Christianity could not possibly be reality. Within this work, Lewis brings these difficulties to light, as well as his experiences which justified his thoughts at any given time and the thoughts which accompanied these experiences. The education, thoughts, and experiences of Lewis' early life are valuable enough in themselves with regard to an understanding of his adult conviction. However, it is also seen, after reading this work, that it was not only the Christian conviction which became finely tuned in his adulthood. Those difficulties which, at one time, prevented Lewis from accepting Christianity also matured over time into well developed arguments, positioning themselves contrary to his Christian faith. This, some believe, is what makes Lewis such a valuable asset; not only in terms of his ability to make converts out of secular society, but as an educator of Christians seeking clarification. He did not convert and completely forget his previous beliefs, rather his beliefs from any time grew in their ability to persuade and he continuously applied that which he understood to be greater truth to effectively demonstrate why, even the most persuasive and articulate, counter arguments and philosophical alternatives simply fell short of Truth itself. It is for this reason; the fact that much of Lewis' reoccurring subject material stems from difficulties made aware to him in his youth, that Surprised by Joy will provide the reader with a greater appreciation for C.S. Lewis' life's work. By the title alone, one might be led to believe that this is an autobiography portraying the time before Lewis embraced Christianity, and his path to conversion. It is true that this work is a revealing look into Lewis' early life and, what appear to be, most private thoughts. It is less about Lewis, however, than it is about the human struggle to achieve or even possess joy. Lewis seems to feel that any detail of his life, regardless of what the reader might want to know about him as a person, is willingly sacrificed if it does not somehow tie into his pursuit of joy. What might surprise the reader even more is that Lewis actually ends this work at a period of his life prior to his conversion to Christianity. Nevertheless, Lewis conveys the most trying obstacles in his journey, leading him to theism, while presenting the reader with enough information to bridge some of the, albeit few, personal gaps found in his presentations elsewhere. For a student of C.S. Lewis, Surprised by Joy is a must.

I just finished the 230-page book by C.S. Lewis, "Surprised By Joy - The Shape of My Early Life." I have read other works by Lewis on the topic of Christianity, and have profited by them all. This book is no exception. It is a worthy read for Christians and non-Christians alike. People with inquiring minds will enjoy Lewis' intellectual path from atheism to belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God--for this is what the book is about. (Whenever I read Lewis I want to take the book to a particular friend of mine who is as inquiring as is Lewis, but who is a determined atheist, or perhaps agnostic. He is determined not to believe, and I would wish otherwise for him.) I am not one of those "inquiring minds," but I still very much enjoyed the descriptions of his home and homeland, the early schools he was forced to attend, his tutors, his teachers, and his few friends. The narrative is very typically Lewis: not devoid of emotion, but removed from it to the extent that it doesn't cloud the story. His journey to Christ is very different from mine, but the closer he comes to faith, the more his path and mine intersect. Page 206, in the chapter "Checkmate," "The most religious (Plato, Aeschylys, Virgil) were clearly those on whom I could really feed. On the other hand, those writers who did not suffer from religion and with whom in theory my sympathy ought to have been complete--Shaw and Wells and Gibbon and Voltaire--all seemed a little thin; what as boys we called "tinny." It wasn't that I didn't like them. They were all (especially Gibbon) entertaining; but hardly more. There seemed to be no depth in them. They were too simple. The roughness and density of life did not appear in their books." (emphasis mine) I have not read any of the authors he mentions; my experience simply tracks with the last part of his statement. The truth of Christianity includes all "the roughness and density of life," and this book traces in a compelling way an intellectual's journey to that truth.

It is unlikely that I ever would have chosen to read this book on my own. I read The Screwtape Letters many years ago and started but lost interest in Mere...

C.S. Lewis' journey to Christianity is incredible. Despite being full of doubt, he does not allow his notions to obscure is better judgment - though they may cloud it at times. The way he walks the readers through critical reasoning and progression is eye opening and inspiring.