by Adam Linton » December 22nd, 2005, 9:44 pm
bapple03,
I'll add my own affirmation of what Leslie has already shared with you. And, in addition to the letters and biographies (and these are outstanding suggestions), I also would cite his writings, as Lewis wrote regularly up through the end of his life -- books, articles, essays, in addition to the personal letters. I'd mention, especially, Letters to Malcolm: Cheifly on Prayer, among his very last. This would utterly dispell the notion about which you wrote.
I suggest reading a good biography. The two best, in my opinion, are:
Jack: A Life of C.S. Lewis, by George Sayer [my own first pick]; and also,
C.S. Lewis: A Biography, by Roger Lancelyn Green and Walter Hooper [also very good].
For that matter, even A. N. Wilson's biography of Lewis, less sympathetic (and many of us here would say, less accurate), provides no support to the idea of a later abandonment of faith.
To be sure, as Leslie pointed out, A Grief Observed makes clear that Lewis did certainly experience very real struggle in faith, but this is another matter. (I know of no authentic faith in which there is no struggle.)
Regards,
Adam Linton
we have not loosely through silence permitted things to pass away as in a dream