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Series Code: TIJ
Program Code: TIJ002106A
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00:24 On the 15th of April 1919 it rained fire here. German 00:30 artillery fire near the French village of Rietz du Vinage where 00:35 a desperate action took place. These were the darkest hours of 00:39 World War I. The Germans had just deployed massive amounts 00:49 of troops to the western front during the spring offensive. 00:53 And the English lines looked like they were about to break. 00:57 But after launching a barrage of artillery fire the British 01:02 soldiers launched a furious counter attack. As the Germans 01:06 had returned fire a young 19- year-old Irish second lieutenant 01:11 crept forward with his company through the night. 01:14 A shell exploded. No one knows 01:18 whether it was German or British instantly killing his 01:22 friends and peppering the Irishman with shrapnel. Certain 01:25 that he would die and with shrapnel in his chest, legs 01:29 and arms he crawled away from the carnage till he was picked 01:33 up by a stretcher bearer. He was weary, broken, burnt out and 01:39 without hope. Yet just over 20 years later we find that same 01:45 man on the radio in London during the terror of the Nazi 01:49 blitz in World War II and he's bringing hope to millions, hope 01:54 to his nation. What information what message would bring hope 02:00 to a nation in its darkest hour and what does it take to turn a 02:06 person so completely around from having experienced the worst of 02:12 humanity and being without hope to becoming a hope bringer and a 02:17 beacon of light for millions? Well stay with us to find out as 02:23 we journey in the footsteps of C.S. Lewis, the hope bringer. 02:27 His story will inspire you and his message just may bring you 02:32 an extra boost of hope and peace too. 02:35 ♪ ♪ 02:53 C. S. Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the 20th 02:57 century and one of the most influential writers of his day. 03:01 Although he was an important academic lecturing at both 03:04 Oxford and Cambridge universities, most people know 03:08 him through the more than 30 books that he wrote including 03:12 classics like The Chronicles of Narnia which have sold over 100 03:17 million copies and have been turned into three major movies. 03:24 Clive Staples Lewis was born here to a Protestant family in 03:27 East Belfast, Ireland in 1898. His books have brought hope and 03:33 joy to generations. Most people know C.S. Lewis today as the 03:37 author of The Chronicles of Narnia, a series of books for 03:42 children that feature talking animals. Now that's no 03:45 coincidence. C.S. Lewis' love for animals showed itself early 03:50 in his life. When Jack was seven his family moved into this house 03:56 called Little Lia in East Belfast Lewis' family just loved books. 04:03 Lewis later wrote: 04:19 When his mother died from cancer just months before Lewis' 10th 04:24 birthday he became even more withdrawn. He was deeply hurt 04:29 by her passing. Lewis not only lost a mother but his father 04:34 never fully recovered from her death. Lewis and his brother 04:39 felt estranged from him and their life at home was never the 04:44 same again. Lewis' mother had given him a Bible, but her death 04:49 convinced him that the God of the Bible was at best just a 04:55 vague idea or at worst was simply cruel. At 15 years of age 05:00 Lewis completely rejected Christianity and became a 05:06 staunch atheist. His key interest became the world of 05:10 mythology. All of his life Lewis experienced an inner longing for 05:16 something which he later called joy. It was the idea that 05:20 something existed which was so much greater and more wonderful 05:25 than anything we experience as part of our normal lives. As a 05:32 teenager Lewis was fascinated by the ancient songs and legends 05:37 of Scandinavia and these intensified this longing deep 05:41 within him. In 1916 Lewis was awarded a scholarship at 05:49 University College, Oxford. It was a big culture shock for 05:54 Lewis coming from Ireland to England but it was an 05:59 opportunity that was too good to refuse. However, within months 06:02 of entering Oxford the British army shipped him off to France 06:06 to fight on the western front in World War I. It was a 06:10 terrible war. The most brutal and destructive conflict the 06:15 world had ever seen. On average roughly 6000 men were killed 06:21 every day in the war. Before it was over nearly 10 million 06:26 soldiers lay dead. Millions more were seriously wounded. About 06:31 half the British soldiers fighting in France became a 06:35 casualty of some sort. C.S. Lewis was one of them. That day 06:41 here among the trenches of northern France it was precisely 06:46 on his 19th birthday that Lewis was wounded by an exploding 06:50 shell. Two of his close friends were killed instantly. He later 06:56 wrote about his experiences in the war as someone trying to 07:00 forget: 07:22 But it wasn't his horrific experiences at the front that 07:27 turned his life around and pointed him to Christianity. 07:30 Instead they merely hardened him in his atheism. During the long 07:36 period of his convalescence from his injuries Lewis suffered from 07:40 depression and homesickness. Still he later wrote that his 07:45 ideal picture of happiness was: 08:00 In December 1918 Lewis was discharged from the army and he 08:07 quickly returned and finished his studies at Oxford. After 08:13 graduation he became a university tutor at University 08:16 College at Oxford and in 1925 he was elected a fellow in 08:21 tutoring English literature here at Magdalen College where he 08:26 worked for 29 years. The reality that C.S. Lewis loved Oxford and 08:32 the friends he had here and in a sense he never really left 08:37 Oxford again. During all this time Lewis was a very committed 08:42 and at times aggressive atheist. He rejected the idea of God. He 08:48 thought Christianity was shallow and for him God didn't exist 08:53 because if he did he must be cruel and heartless. His road 08:58 back to faith was a slow one over many years. It was filled 09:02 with road blocks that Lewis thought would be impossible for 09:07 him to overcome. He had to deal with hurtful emotional baggage 09:12 and also many intellectual obstacles. However, it was 09:17 precisely because of his commitment to rational, logical 09:22 thought that Lewis not only returned to Christianity but 09:26 became one of the greatest defenders. His road to faith was 09:31 influenced not only by his own reading but also by his 09:37 Christian friends and prominent among them was his colleague 09:40 J.R. Tolkien with whom he'd have long walks and debates. Of 09:43 course Tolkien is famous today for his works The Hobbit and The 09:48 Lord of the Rings. Lewis really resisted coming back to 09:53 Christianity, but in 1929 he accepted that there was, in fact 10:00 a God. But Lewis wasn't a Christian yet. He didn't accept 10:05 the Christian God until after a late night walk with Tolkien. He 10:09 wrote that he then became the most reluctant convert to 10:15 Christianity in all of England. Today we live in a largely 10:21 unbelieving age where people have turned away from God. There 10:26 were several key factors in Lewis' conversion that are 10:30 important and relevant. The first factor is the importance 10:34 of reason. For C.S. Lewis, Christianity had to make sense 10:41 first of all. It had to be logical and reasonable. One of 10:45 the most important issues for him was the problem of pain and 10:50 suffering. He came to see that while it's easy to blame God for 10:54 suffering atheism has no answer for it at all and that 10:59 Christianity actually did. It made more sense, was more 11:03 logical and certainly provided more hope. Next he became 11:09 convinced that the evidence for Jesus in the Bible in the 11:13 gospels is actually very strong. In the end he couldn't argue 11:18 against it. In the gospel story of Jesus he saw the evidence of 11:24 God's grace. Here in the life and teachings of Jesus he found 11:29 the only true comfort. Finally Christianity filled his deepest 11:35 needs and desires. For Lewis this went beyond just 11:41 intellectual arguments. Lewis came to experience the joy of 11:45 a faith that satisfied and filled the longings of his heart 11:49 In Jesus he found peace, hope and joy. Jesus filled the 11:58 God-shaped hole in his life. Lewis was no coward when it came 12:03 to doing his duty for his country but his greatest service 12:07 to his nation in those dark hours wasn't done in uniform. 12:11 It was through the medium of radio. After reading Lewis' book 12:16 The Problem of Pain one of the directors of the BBC asked Lewis 12:21 to start giving talks on radio. So from 1941-1943 while London 12:27 was under the terror of the German bombs of the blitz, Lewis 12:32 spoke hope to a nation that desperately needed it. These 12:40 broadcasts came from Lewis' deep Christian convictions and they 12:45 were appreciated by civilians and those in the armed forces 12:51 alike. As an example Air Chief Marshal Sir Donald Hardman wrote 13:07 These wartime broadcasts by Lewis were later written down in 13:14 his book Mere Christianity. And to show you the impact of this 13:18 book down to our day, Mere Christianity was voted the best 13:24 book of the 20th century by Christianity Today Magazine. 13:30 In 1930, the year before he converted to Christianity, Lewis 13:35 had moved into this house in a village near Oxford. It was 13:41 called The Kilns because it had been built on the site of a 13:43 former brick works. This was the house in which Lewis was to live 13:47 for the rest of his life. It was here that Lewis did his writing. 13:54 His books have reached a vast audience and they continue to 13:58 attract new readers every year. Lewis, as with Tolkien, wanted 14:04 to use his writing talents to share his Christian faith that 14:08 was so important to him. So he wrote a significant number of 14:12 books dealing with Christianity such as The Great Divorce, The 14:16 Screwtape Letters, and Surprised by Joy. Lewis believed that the 14:22 definition of love was what most sharply differentiated the 14:27 Christian world view from the secular world view. So he wrote 14:32 a book called The Four Loves which compared the Divine 14:36 unconditional love inherent in Christianity to the affection 14:41 for family and friends and sexual love. Lewis said that the 14:46 difference was that Divine love enables a person to love without 14:52 any direct personal benefit while most other forms of love 14:56 are at some level motivated by self-interest. This unique form 15:01 of love, unconditional love, doesn't simply evolve from 15:05 human experience, but rather was implanted in every human being 15:11 by God through what Lewis termed the moral law. It was also here 15:17 in the tranquility of The Kilns that Lewis wrote the universally 15:22 acclaimed children's classic, The Chronicles of Narnia, which 15:25 contained many strong Christian messages, ideas and concepts 15:29 that Lewis wanted to make easily accessible to young readers. 15:34 Lewis believed that stories could best convey the wonder, 15:40 the joy, the grand concepts of Christianity, to the minds of 15:44 children and capture their imagination. So The Narnia 15:51 Chronicles uses symbolism to tell the story of a great war 15:54 with all the world looking on. A battle between the forces of 15:59 light and darkness. And he uses Aslan, the noble lion of Narnia, 16:04 as a literary Christ figure who plays a pivotal role in the 16:08 story of Narnia, just as Jesus is central to the Christian 16:13 faith. He uses the story of Aslan as a retelling of the 16:18 central events in Christ's life, His birth, death and 16:23 resurrection. The Narnia books have sold over 100 million 16:28 copies and have been transformed into three major motion pictures 16:31 They have enduring appeal, unforgettable characters, places 16:37 and prose that stir the imagination and the heart. Many 16:43 people are also surprised to learn that Lewis also wrote the 16:47 science fiction trilogy through which he represents Christian 16:51 ideas. But what most people don't know at all is that C.S. 16:57 Lewis was actually a very important academic in his chosen 17:01 field which was late medieval literature with a special focus 17:06 on the use of allegory. So it's no surprise that we can see 17:11 allegorical elements throughout many of Lewis' books. Lewis was 17:16 a prolific writer and he surrounded himself with other 17:20 writers. In fact, in 1929 he formed an informal discussion 17:25 group among his fellow writers which he called The Inklings. 17:30 They used to meet here at the Eagle and Child Pub every 17:34 Tuesday morning where they discussed literature, philosophy 17:37 and religion. The reality is that C.S. Lewis was your typical 17:43 absent minded professor. His trousers were usually all 17:47 creased and wrinkled. His jackets were usually old and 17:51 stained and his shoes were scuffed and worn. In 1954, he 17:57 described himself like this to a young admirer: 18:11 In his way, Lewis is the perfect example of how God can use any 18:23 Lewis was never able to find lasting fulfilment in his 18:26 relationship with women. They seemed to be cut short by 18:32 tragedy. Remember how his mother had died of cancer? Well in 1957 18:37 Lewis married Joy Davidman. After reading Lewis' book she 18:43 had converted from Judaism to Christianity. They lived 18:48 together for three years in The Kilns until Joy died of bone 18:51 cancer three year later. They were the happiest years of 18:57 Lewis' life. He continued to raise Joy's two sons after her 19:02 death. Lewis was a very famous man when he died. However, news 19:09 of his death was overshadowed by the dramatic death of another 19:12 even more famous man, U.S. President John F. Kennedy who 19:18 had actually been assassinated on the same day less than an hour 19:22 earlier. C.S. Lewis was buried here at the Holy Trinity Church 19:27 in Oxford. Even today it's common to find flowers left here 19:31 on top of his tombstone. But the people of the United Kingdom 19:36 did more than this for Lewis. On the 50th anniversary of his 19:40 death in 2013 Lewis was commemorated together with 19:45 England's greatest writers at Poets' Corner in Westminster 19:50 Abbey. There's a floor stone dedicated to the memory of C.S. 19:53 Lewis at Poets' Corner. It's inscribed with words from an 19:57 address that he once gave: 20:09 Within Christian circles Lewis' books are loved in a way that 20:16 transcends denominational boundaries. Through his writings 20:22 Lewis has helped countless thousands of people to find 20:26 faith in God and to keep it in an age that hasn't been at all 20:30 friendly to Christianity. Today secular readers of Lewis' 20:37 fiction works are often unaware of the Christian theme there 20:41 enjoined but they are engrossed by Lewis' vision of heroic 20:46 battles between good and evil, or right choices being made in 20:50 the most difficult circumstances and visions of another world, a 20:56 better world, a heavenly world that breaks into our own. 21:00 In this way, C.S. Lewis' vision reaches out and still continues 21:05 to bring hope to millions just as he did during the 21:10 London Blitz in World War II. 21:12 Today, many people in our society have chosen atheism 21:18 and rejected belief in God. C.S. Lewis knew what it was like 21:23 to be an atheist. Not just that, he was a highly 21:27 intelligent and militant atheist. But he was a man 21:31 no hope in life as an atheist and if you don't have hope, 21:36 then you haven't got anything. 21:37 The reality is that many people today don't even bother to 21:42 think about things like whether God is real or not. 21:45 But Lewis did and he realized that it was difficult for him to 21:51 remain committed to rational thought and not to believe in God, 21:55 he found the evidence for God to be overwhelming, undeniable. 22:02 But there was something else, throughout much of his life, 22:05 nothing he experienced could ultimately satisfy him 22:09 and together with that Lewis experienced a deep longing 22:14 for a better world and an indescribable joy 22:17 that every now and then would break into his mundane reality. 22:22 But where did it come from? Well, C.S. Lewis came to 22:27 recognize that that joy had to come only from God. 22:32 He came to realize that he could only find ultimate satisfaction 22:36 in Him. God is the answer to our heart's longings and 22:41 our deepest needs. Only He could fill the God-shed hole 22:46 in our lives. Now this realization is nothing new, 22:50 thousands of years ago the psalmist David wrote this 22:54 in Psalm 145:16. 23:07 And then in Philippians 3:8, the Apostle Paul wrote this: 23:23 What he meant is that ultimate satisfaction only comes 23:27 from knowing Jesus Christ. 23:29 And that's what C.S. Lewis discovered and when you discover 23:33 that, he also discovered an endless source of hope 23:37 and he went on to share that hope, true hope, 23:41 lasting hope, with millions. 23:43 We've all experienced moments of great joy in our lives. 23:47 Now what if those moments were just glimpses of a better world, 23:52 an eternal world where that joy was constant and 23:56 reigned supreme? What about you? 23:59 Have you ever felt like you were missing out? 24:02 Like there's more, much more to life 24:05 Have you ever wished that those moments of greatest joy could 24:10 last forever? Well, what if they can. 24:15 There is a better world coming. If you would like to experience 24:19 more hope and joy in your life, then I'd like to invite you 24:24 to join with me and ask for it as we pray. 24:27 Dear Heavenly Father, We thank you because You were 24:32 the one who satisfies all our desires. 24:35 Thank you because you have prepared a better world for us. 24:39 Thank you for those glimpses of greater joy that waits for us 24:44 up ahead and we thank you for the hope that this gives us 24:48 in you and in your promises to us. Strengthen our faith 24:53 in you as we walk through this world and bring us finally 24:57 to our heavenly home, the place of complete joy and peace 25:01 in Jesus name we pray, Amen. 25:05 One of the issues that Lewis struggled with all his life 25:10 was the problem of pain. 25:12 It started with the death of his mother from cancer 25:16 when he was 9 years old and continued throughout his life. 25:19 His was the age old question, why did God allow that to happen? 25:26 If we are honest, we all have to admit that we experienced 25:30 pain and suffering. At first for Lewis, it became a reason 25:36 to reject God and turn away from Him, 25:38 but later he discovered that there was a way to deal with 25:43 suffering and pain when its apparently unbearable. 25:46 Lewis discovered that not only did Christianity have a 25:51 better answer to the problem of pain, but that the problem 25:54 of pain became a reason to draw closer to God. 25:59 Because this is an issue for all of us, I'd like to offer 26:03 you the FREE gift we have for all our viewers today. 26:07 It's a booklet called Finding Strength In the Midst of Pain. 26:12 This book is our gift to you and is absolutely Free, 26:17 there are no costs or obligations whatsoever. 26:21 This book brings hope and strength in the midst of 26:24 trouble and pain so don't miss this wonderful opportunity 26:28 to receive the gift we have for you today. 26:31 Here's the information you need. 26:36 Phone or text us at 0436333 555 in Australia 26:42 or 0204222042 in New Zealand, or visit our website www.tij.tv 26:54 to request today's free offer and we'll sent it to you 26:58 totally Free of charge and with no obligation. 27:01 Write to us at PO Box 5101 Dora Creek NSW 2264, Australia 27:11 or PO box 76673 Manukau, Auckland 2241 New Zealand. 27:21 Don't delay, call or text us now. 27:26 If you've enjoyed today's journey through the 27:29 experiences of C.S. Lewis and how he 27:32 turned from Atheism to being a bringer of true hope 27:36 to millions, be sure to join us again next week 27:39 when we will share another of life's journey's together. 27:43 Until then, remember the ultimate destination of life's 27:47 journey. 27:49 Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth and God will wipe away 27:52 every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, 27:56 nor sorrow, nor crying, there shall be no more pain 27:59 for the former things have passed away. |
Revised 2021-02-24