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摘要
摘要
An ECPA 2003 Gold Medallion Finalist!Listed inBooklist'sBest Adult Religion Books of the Year in 2002!His books have sold millions, including classics likeMere Christianity, The Screwtape LettersandThe Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.Yet C. S. Lewis was not always a literary giant of Christian faith. How did he leave behind a staunch atheism to become one of the most beloved and renowned Christian authors of our time?Other biographies of Lewis explore his childhood or his dramatic conversion to Christianity. But as David Downing reveals in this fascinating book, the rarely discussed period from Lewis's childhood to his early thirties took him on a tumultuous journey of spiritual and intellectual exploration before he became a "most reluctant convert." It was not despite this journey but precisely because of it that Lewis understood the search for life's ultimate meaning so well and went on to become one of the most compelling authors of the twentieth century. Weaving the people, places and events of Lewis's life together with excerpts from Lewis's own writing, Downing shows how Lewis's spiritual quest can also light the path for other seekers.
评论 (4)
出版社周刊评论
Since C.S. Lewis himself wrote two accounts of his conversion to Christianity (one being allegorical), is there any need for another? Downing, an English professor and noted Lewis researcher, answers this question well in the course of this very thorough work. While covering the same ground as Lewis's own Surprised by Joy, Downing focuses on the interior developments in Lewis's thought rather than retelling his conversion story. This difference in intent makes for a drier tone, but it also allows for a much deeper analysis. Downing's careful research uncovers many relevant passages for Lewis's various stages of thought, particularly from unpublished letters. He convincingly shows how reflective themes from Lewis's earliest days imagination and analysis, progress and tradition, flesh and spirit were developed, challenged, held in tension and resolved. In exploring the impact of Lewis's mother's early death and his strained relationship with his father, Downing keeps closely to the primary sources. This spiritual biography will function as a series of excellent explanatory notes alongside Lewis's narrative account, giving the sort of detail that true fans delight in. A pleasant surprise awaits readers at the end of the book, as Downing abandons his unadorned tone in favor of an imaginative exploration of Lewis's actual "final" conversion. Although he admits to its speculative nature, the narrative's firm foundation in Lewis's thoughts makes it a plausible and joyful creative journey. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
《书目》(Booklist)书评
Like many other ardent Christians, C. S. Lewis--the most important and popular Christian apologist of the twentieth century--fell away from the church into which he was born and rejoined it through conversion as an adult. Since he never wrote systematically of the period between those poles of faith, Downing, matching him in clarity and congeniality, does the job. He traces Lewis' early life chronologically, discriminating its periods according to the state of Lewis' belief in God. Initially Lewis enjoyed the "ill-secured happiness" (Lewis' own characterization) of childhood, which was swept away by his mother's death and his "exile" to boarding schools in England, where he passed the by-his-lights dismal condition of boyhood, in which he learned the snobbery and atheism of his adolescence. World War I service dented his nonbeliever's armor, and he vacillated between atheism and occultism. During postwar study and early teaching, he adopted in turn philosophical idealism and pantheism, which mirrored his continued snobbery and detachment. But having adopted the family of a buddy slain in the war, he wasn't truly detached. At last he acknowledged God, "and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England." Drawing cogently upon Lewis' and his associates' writings and other recollections, Downing creates an intellectual biography that seizes and sustains interest as though it were a spellbinding suspense thriller. --Ray Olson
Choice 评论
Downing offers a very well written account of C.S. Lewis's "inward pilgrimage" to Christianity. Like St. Augustine's, Lewis's pilgrimage was slow. It involved side trips through philosophies such as spiritualism and occultism. It is hard to explain Lewis's influence and popularity as a writer, apologist for Christianity, and literary critic, but the Lewis industry is very healthy and somewhat of an embarrassment with its elevation of Lewis to a level rivaling that of the church fathers and John Henry Newman. Although Downing, who reads Lewis's fiction as partly autobiographical, is probably correct when he suggests that many of the bad sorts in the fiction were persons that Lewis knew at Oxford, he may not do justice to the high-level intellectualism of Oxford at the time. The best part of Downing's book is its account of the reconciliation between Lewis and his father, while Lewis was in the hospital after being injured in the war. The bibliography reflects the large number of biographical studies on Lewis; Downing focuses more specifically on Lewis's conversion. The endorsements at the beginning of the book and on the back cover may offend some Christian readers. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. General audience. J. R. Griffin University of Southern Colorado
《图书馆杂志》(Library Journal )书评
Over the years, a number of good biographies of Lewis, the perennially popular Christian apologist, have been published. George Sayer's Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis is probably the least controversial of them, while A.N. Wilson's C.S. Lewis: A Biography is likely the most. This portrait by Downing (English, Elizabethtown Coll.; Planets in Peril) is unique in that it treats one aspect of Lewis's life: his conversion from atheism to Christianity. Focusing on his subject's inner journey, Downing considers the effect on Lewis of his mother's death; his estrangement from his father; the influence of a rationalist, atheistic, but well-loved mentor; his early interest in the occult and paranormal; and the trench warfare he experienced in World War I. Making use of both published and unpublished writings, Downing shows a deep understanding of Lewis and writes in a flowing style. For more than 25 years, Nicholi (psychiatry, Harvard Medical Sch.) has offered a course in which he compares the thought and life of the atheist Freud with that of Lewis as a way to consider questions about the existence of God, love, sex, and the meaning of life. Nicholi generally maintains a balanced view, letting Freud's and Lewis's words and actions speak for themselves. He examines why Freud remained an unbeliever (though not an unthinking one) and why Lewis accepted Christianity. While his sympathies obviously lie on the side of faith, Nicholi nevertheless offers a balanced view of Freud. Both books are well written and worthy additions to the rapidly growing literature on Lewis, although Nicholi's will probably appeal to a broader audience. Augustine J. Curley, Newark Abbey, NJ (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
目录
Acknowledgments | p. 9 |
Introduction | p. 11 |
1 The Ill-Secured Happiness of Childhood | p. 19 |
2 The Alien Territory of Boyhood | p. 35 |
3 Mere Atheism in Early Adolescence | p. 49 |
4 The Dungeon of a Divided Soul | p. 63 |
5 Dualism During the War Years | p. 81 |
6 "Spiritual Lust" & the Lure of the Occult | p. 101 |
7 Idealism & Pantheism in the Twenties | p. 123 |
8 Finding Truth in the Old Beliefs | p. 139 |
Epilogue | p. 155 |
Abbreviations of Lewis's Works | p. 165 |
Notes | p. 169 |
Biographical Materials on C. S. Lewis | p. 183 |
Index | p. 187 |
Permissions | p. 192 |