From The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette-
In this muddled, manic world of ours, which so often seems on the verge of a nervous breakdown, what possible relevance and comfort can be found in the words of a rumpled Oxford academic best known as an author of children's literature?
Plenty, apparently, for the stature and mystique that surround the life of Clive Staples Lewis has grown to a proportion that would likely perplex even his legendary mind.
Nearly a half century after his death on the same day J.F.K. was assassinated in 1963, Lewis' books have sold 100 million copies in 50 languages; another 2 million copies sell each year. Three movies made from the Chronicles of Narnia series have grossed $500 million.
My own interest began not with Narnia but after reading his classic explanation of the Christian faith, "Mere Christianity." That was 30 years ago and I was instantly charmed by the power of his prose and the clarity of his logic.
Recently, as I learned more, I found the storyline of his faith progression from atheist to advocate even more compelling than the canon of his literature. It's a story not widely known and quite improbable; it's as if the leading atheist of our age, say Richard Dawkins, also of Oxford, suddenly reversed himself to become a Christian evangelist.
Lewis' change of heart was so dramatic as to suggest (to me at least) a providential hand -- that God had a plan for C.S. Lewis that until the midpoint of his life had not yet been revealed.
Read more:
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11240/1170132-109-0.stm#ixzz1WKT7ghzi
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