C. S. Lewis was said to have read everything and remembered everything he wrote. Although this is clearly an over statement, there is no doubt that Lewis had an exceptional memory and was very well read in his field. On his path of faith C. S. Lewis drew from a vast reservoir of skilled writers of the ancient past from Augustine to Boethius. But he also benefitted from contemporary literary mentors. When Lewis was serving in World War I he read The Everlasting Many by G. K Chesterton.It deeply challenged Lewis’s world view which was then atheistic. Chesterton showed the young unbeliever the Christian world view of history in a compelling way.
G.K. Chesterton was a witty and prolific writer who excelled as novelist, poet, dramatist, art critic, biographer, and Christian apologist. There is no evidence that the Lewis and Chesterton ever met. But Chesterton’s literary works were a mighty source of mentoring for Lewis in his journey of faith.
Another contemporary of C. S. Lewis was Dorothy L. Sayers who was a renowned mystery novelist, poet, essayist and playwright. She was also a student of classical and modern languages. Her mystery novels which feature amateur detective Lord Peter Wimsey remain popular to this day.
In his own apologetic work C. S. Lewis cited Sayer’s insightful book The Mind of the Maker to show how God is not limited by time in responding to millions of prayer requests. Like a novelist who creates characters in a book, God is not constrained by the sequence of time here on earth. Lewis’ own mind was informed by this great lady of literature.
So what is the value of being mentored by literary writers of faith? Isn’t the Bible alone all that we need? Interestingly, the Bible is filled with examples of those who were exceptionally learned and were able to pass on what they knew to help other believers.
The paths their lives took make their spiritual contribution at times quite surprising. Some were reluctant to serve God at first while others were actually His enemies. But when the sovereign God of salvation finally captured each of them, He used their literary capabilities and other skills for a divine destiny.
We are told that Moses received a first class education in Pharaoh’s court. Stephen in the New Testament tells us: “And Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was mighty in his words and deeds” (Acts 7:22). Although Moses took a 40 year detour out in the wilderness of Midian, no doubt the training he received while in his youth served him well when he was called to deliver the Children of Israel out of bondage. Through Moses would come God’s inspired Law to instruct the people of God.
Saul of Tarsus who would become the Apostle Paul was an academic scholar in Judaism. Paul would bear witness to his academic pedigree by telling others that he had studied under Gamaliel, one of the top Hebrew scholars of his day: “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel[according to the strict manner of the law of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day” (Acts 22:3). Clearly Paul’s immersion in the Old Testament and his rigorous education in Greek philosophy were used both in his missionary work and as a foundation from which Paul’s New Testament epistles would be written (Acts 17:28).
C. S. Lewis expressed his passion for good writing like this: “Literature adds to reality, it does not simply describe it. It enriches the necessary competencies that daily life requires and provides; and in this respect, it irrigates the deserts that our lives have already become.”
What literary works have helped mentor you in your walk of faith?