On this day in 1898, C.S. Lewis was born.

C.S. Lewis, one of the most respected Christian writers, is the author of the beloved children’s classic Narnia tales. Yet it took Lewis until his adult life before he became a Christian and accepted the truth about God.

As a youngster growing up in Northern Ireland, Lewis was raised as a Christian. He even turned more to the Christian faith after his mother died in 1908. But in his teens Lewis abandoned his faith. He became more interested in German mythology, which led him to see Christianity as “kind of . . . nonsense into which humanity tended to blunder.” Lewis became an atheist (one who believes there is no God) while a student at Oxford University and remained one well into his thirties.

After graduating in 1925 with honors, Lewis became an English professor at Magdalen College. During that time he met fellow writers and friends, J.R.R. Tolkien (author of the Lord of the Rings trilogy) and Hugo Dyson. Lewis became a Christian after a long discussion with Tolkien and Dyson about the Christian faith. The next day Lewis recalled, “When we set out [by motorcycle to the Whipsnade Zoo] I did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did.”

Lewis went on to become a strong defender of the faith, and no doubt would agree with the psalm writer that “Only fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’” The good news for Lewis and anyone with doubts is that God is patient with us and is eager for all to come to the same conclusion of faith as Lewis (2 Peter 3:9).

In The Case for Christianity Lewis wrote, “Now is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It won’t last forever. We must take it or leave it.”

Have you taken it?

Only fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, and their actions are evil; no one does good! (Psalm 14:1).

To Do

If you haven’t already done so, get a copy of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe from the library and read it.

Also on this day

1929—The first airplane flight over the South Pole was made by U.S. Navy Lt. Commander Richard E. Byrd.

1934—The Chicago Bears beat the Detroit Lions in the first NFL game broadcast nationally.

1961—Mercury-Atlas 5 carried a chimp named Enos into orbit.

From Betsy Schmitt and Dave Veerman, 365 Trivia Twist Devotions: An Almanac of Fun Facts and Spiritual Truth for Every Day of the Year (Cincinnati: Standard, 2005). Scripture quotations are from the New Living Translation unless otherwise noted.