Episode Details

C.S. Lewis was a committed atheist and Oxford medievalist who converted to Christianity and became its most effective popular apologist since G.K. Chesterton. He wrote Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and the Narnia novels — works that have sold hundreds of millions of copies and brought more people to Christian faith than any theologian of the twentieth century. He died on November 22, 1963, the same day as Kennedy and Huxley.

This episode traces Lewis from his Belfast childhood through the atheist years, the conversion influenced by Tolkien, the BBC wartime broadcasts, and the Narnia books that made theology accessible to children worldwide.

• The Belfast childhood, the mother's death, and the loss of faith that made Lewis an aggressive atheist
• The Oxford friendship with Tolkien and the late-night conversation that catalyzed his conversion
• Mere Christianity, The Screwtape Letters, and the wartime BBC broadcasts that made him a national voice
• The Narnia novels, the late marriage to Joy Davidman, and his death on the same day as Kennedy