I call it joy, which is here a technical term and must be sharply distinguished both from Happiness and from Pleasure. Joy in my sense has indeed one
characteristic, and one only, in common with them; the fact that anyone who has experienced it will want it again 1955:18.
4. Norsemen and rediscovery of Joy
Lewis was sent to a preparatory school named Cherbourg where he could discover his interest in The music of Richard Wagner from whom Lewis started to
know about epic operas of the ring cycle, which introduced him to Norse mythology. He felt that the music and mythology had caused momentary but
intense feelings reminding him of “Joy”. With the purpose to obtaining his “Joy”
again, he decided to study Norse mythology as he was sent to secondary school at Malvern College. At this time, however, he also again lost his Christian faith as he
felt that he was made up of two separate elements: one for the longing of Joy, and another for a fixed and certain belief in scientific materialism. He started to
approach atheism.
5. College Life and Conversion
At eighteen he took the scholarship examination for Oxford and was successful. After four years, Lewis ended up with three first class degree from
Oxford; Greek and Latin Literature, Classical Philosophy, and English Language and Literature. His interest in reading books had a significant influence or his
personal philosophy and from atheisms, he began to slowly approach theism. He started to believe in a universal spirit, yet he had not wanted to call it God.
In 1929, Albert Lewis died. This made Lewis felt really guilty since he had deceived him about his atheism. From that moment, He felt that God was looking
for him like a cat searching after a mouse. It was said “You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night,
feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to
meet
. That which I realty feared had at last come upon me”Kilby, 1964:19. Finally, he capitulated in the Trinity term. He knelt down in prayer and
admitted that God was God. Lewis thought that he was “the most dejected and
reluctant convert in all England”Kilby, 1964:19.
Lewis journey to theism continued as he had a conversation about Myths with his friends; Dyson and Tolkien in September 19
th
, 1931. Tolkien was able to convince Lewis that myths were actually Go
d’s way of preparing the ground for the Christian story. Therefore, the stories of resurrection throughout history were
precursor to Jesus’ true resurrection. In conclusion, Christianity can be to be the completion of all the mythology before it. Dyson also made a big contribution
explaining how Christianity worked for the believer in the way it can liberate humans from their sins and help them to be better people. From this discussion, all
of Lewis remaining arguments were demolished which led him to be a checkmated.
The final stage in Lewiss conversion to Christianity took place three days later when he had a travelling with his brother by motorcycle to Whipsnade Zoo.
From his conversion, Lewis realized that his previous experience of “Joy”; a
longing for another world was actually a kind of pointer for his longing for heaven or God.
6. Lewis’s prominence in Christian Apologetics and Literary World
