5 things (concerning CS Lewis) that I talked about in my XSA:
- Conversion:
He spent a long time mulling over the facts and reasoning things, but his actually decision for Christ came suddenly and pretty much decisively. This, my friends, the mark of the miraculous and of a man who lived by his convictions. No wishy washy fence-sitting for him! Though it was, after all, the unrelenting beckon of Christ, I still admire Lewis a little for being such a tough (but solid) win. - Pride:
Lewis mentioned many times about his inner struggles with pride and self-admiration (he was a pretty smart guy with more than just a few things to be pleased with). I found it particularly useful to parallel his inner conflicts with those of Paul the Apostle (see Rom. 7:14-20). Very interesting and somehow encouraging if you ask me (and I know you’re just dying to ask me). - Prayer:
Okay, so people pray. Muslims do it, Hindus do it, Jews do it, and Christians do it. A young CS Lewis did it for his cancer’d mother, but she died. What’s interesting is the kind of faith Lewis fostered out of this and what the final, matured product resulted in (which is nothing less of surprising). Instead of bitterness and skepticism, Lewis ended up with a very different (and I think, perhaps rare) understanding of the meaning of faith and prayer. - Power:
Lewis was very interested in occult practices, knowledge and power ever since he was a child. These interests were brought with him into his adulthood and stayed with him, oddly enough, even after his conversion to Christianity. It seems he struggled with himself over these fascinations and this theme crops up a lot in his books. - Worldview:
When Lewis became a Christian, his eyes were opened to a whole world of possible-realities (or real-possibilities) that he had been trying so hard to reject up until then. Had he not opened his mind to the possibility of God, I really doubt he’d have been able to flourish creatively as he did. All in all, there’s a huge contrast between how he was creatively before and after his conversion. This is wonderful, since all good things (such as creative energies and inspiration) do stem from God.
I’ve been “done” my essay for almost a day now and I’ll probably be running a copy of it by my supervisor tomorrow or Thursday before I submit a digital copy on TurnItIn. After that, I’ll post a copy here (in a PDF) for your perusal. I sort of threw strict structure formats out the window but I think as a whole it’s natural enough and flows pretty logically. I’m just glad I’m done now.