C.S. Lewis was a close friend of J. R. R. Tolkien, and both authors attended Oxford University. In his memoir Surprised by Joy, Lewis mentions he was baptised in the Church of Ireland at birth, but fell away from his faith during his teenage years. Owing to the influence of Tolkien and other friends, at the age of 32 Lewis returned to Christianity. His conversion had a profound effect on his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is a novel written by C. S. Lewis. It was originally published in 1950 and set in the 1940s. It is the first-published book of The Chronicles of Narnia and is the best known book of the series.
Some have said that the main plot of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is an allegory of Christ’s crucifixion. The Lion, Aslan sacrifices himself for Edmund, a traitor who may deserve death, in the same way that Christ sacrificed Himself for sinners. The cross may be suggested by the Stone Table. As with the Christian Passion, it is women (Susan and Lucy) who tend Aslan’s body after he dies and are the first to see him after his resurrection. The significance of the death contains elements of both the ransom theory of atonement and the satisfaction theory: Aslan suffers Edmund’s penalty (satisfaction), and buys him back from the White Witch, who was entitled to him by reason of his treachery (ransom). In Christian tradition, Christ is associated with the Biblical “Lion of Judah”, mainly on the strength of Revelation 5:5.
C.S. Lewis was a literary genius. Through his stories he has painted images of earth and heaven that have shaped my thinking about my faith. He has inspired me to develop my own writing and poetry.
What about you? Who has inspired you along the way in your journey of faith?
Here’s my reflection on the writing process and my version of heaven.
Winter’s Heaven
Beyond the frontier
Of our temporal world,
We dare to dream and
Say the unsayable.
In this break for freedom
Form and substance are forged,
In the furnace of our heart
And beaten into a badge of honour.
This emblem of courage is worn
When we use words,
To describe a journey
To a destination unseen by our eyes.
In this winter Narnia
Reality and perception,
Blend into a heavenly forest
That we still pine and search for.
Poetic grace creates an open door
Through which we can all enter,
And experience Aslan’s kingdom
Where the streets have no name.
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.
~ C.S. Lewis.
Poetry in Motion 