From Atheism to Christianity: The Story of C. S. Lewis

by Joel Heck

C.S. Lewis was one of the most famous atheists of the twentieth century. Before he returned to the Christian faith and wrote the Chronicles of Narnia series and Mere Christianity, Lewis struggled with anger toward God. This is the story of his pilgrimage to Christianity. Providing greater insight into the atheistic phase of Lewis’s life than ever before, this book also helps Christians learn more about what leads someone to atheism and how to witness the Christian faith to them.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian, Theology, Religion

214 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 17, 2017

Reviews

[Dean · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my highlights for this year!!!
Here you can trace C. S. Lewis journey from being an atheist to becoming a Christian.....
Joel Heck has done indeed an awesome work in this book.
Meticulously researched, and so well written that it will hunt you unscrupulously to your remotest dreams and aspirations.
For me it was like a revelation and at the same time encouraging....
C. S. Lewis himself was for a long time an atheist, so he can very well penetrate and understand the mind of all that are full with doubts and hesitations.
I'll give it five stars, and recommend it to all seeking and open minded readers!!!
It was a real pleasure having the opportunity to read this jewel...
Don't be reluctant and pick this one up for your summer reading.
"From Atheism to Christianity: The story of C. S. Lewis" by Joel Heck, will be a guarantor for an indeed good, gripping and mesmerizing reading experience you wont forget so easily and you certainly will don't have to regret this one....
As always to all my goodreads friend:
All the best for you all!!!!
Dean:)

[Lily S. · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a christian yet I've always been interested in how people covert to religion from atheism or vice versa. What I'm interested in mainly is the psychological process, the most personal aspects of this matter. This book promised that exactly, that's why I decided to request it.

And in a sense I really got what I signed up for, a story about C.S. Lewis's road to christianity from atheism from early childhood describing the events that played a big role in both his atheism and christianity. I appreciate the process, his desires and motives to go towards the more spiritual readings which in turn slowly helped him change his mind, and the many other personal factors that played part in it for him. I found it interesting, despite not having my atheistic point of view affected. I've come to know Lewis through this book as an intellectual man, who was highly curious and accepting of other people's point of view while being able to defend his own which is quite appealing.

For me the proofs of God's existence (e.g evolution is too random to create reason, there cannot be any standard of good or bad if god doesn't exists) weren't all that convincing and was telling me about the general misunderstanding of evolutional theory and natural selection than being a proof for anything,but that's just my personal standpoint. The the point reading this book wasn't to change my mind ,but to see how a well known person thought about religion, and I had that explained in a perfectly satisfactory way.

So why 1.5 stars?

Frankly because of the author. A lot of times Heck was more 'visible' in the book than Lewis, his opinions were all over the book, poking through the writing style in a very dominant way instead of being a neutral narrating voice. Quite often when atheism was mentioned he was referring to it as if it was some kind of disease that some people get, as a completely negative thing which pessimistic, sad people adopt and not something to be approved,only something that people can overcome and know better in time. The writing style was like that even when he was writing about the atheistic years of Lewis so clearly it was Heck's opinion. On the other hand when Lewis was getting closer to converting to Christianity he suggested that it was the right way, basically that he has come to his senses.

Of course when a book is 'defending' the christian point of view or is written for a specifically religious audience it is very acceptable to write like that, I'm not denying that atheist authors do that as well. But this book is a biography in which a lot of times Heck's worldview comes through very oppressively while talking about a man who (whether religious or not ) was very accepting of ideas different from his own, something he didn't manage.

I would like to thank for Netgalley for providing a free copy of this book in exchange of a honest review.

[Angelyn Hobson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good book. My first attempt at a summary was “a book about Lewis’ literary influences on his journey back to Christianity,” but I’m not sure that does it justice. The book is easy-to-read and makes Lewis’ fascinating story very relatable.

[Peter Hoft · Rating 5 out of 5]

The middle section of this biography of C.S Lewis can be a bit tough to get through, but the overview chapters at the end bring it all together clearly. For fifteen years C.S. Lewis was an atheist trying to make the case that there is no God. It was like he was playing a game of chess with the Almighty. God won, and Lewis returned home to his Christian faith. He went from Realism to Idealism to Pantheism to Theism to Christianity.

[Darci · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the discussion of religion and learning about his 15 year journey to Christianity.

[Stan Shelley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a book dealer specializing in CS Lewis so I have read a lot about him. This is one of the very best books available dealing with Lewis. Why? Because it breaks new ground. Virtually all biographical material about Lewis reports that he became an atheist in his teen years and then became a theist at age 29 or 30 and finally a Christian a couple years later. The intervening years are covered, biographically, with his war years, education and early years at Oxford. Very little is said about the spiritual / philosophical path of his twenties. This book fills in this information in great, well researched, detail.
What was Lewis reading? What was he thinking? It is all here.
No one is better equipped to take on this task than Heck who has developed a one thousand page chronology of the life of Lewis and his brother. Every time Lewis wrote to someone about what he was reading and what he thought about it, that is in the chronology. Thus Heck can track the evolution of Lewis's thought.
If one cares about the life of Lewis or about the subject of atheism, this is a must read.

[Tarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a long journey of 15 years for C.S. Lewis to turn from atheism to Christianity. It was very much so an intellectual journey more so than spiritual. But he made it there eventually. He found God. And once C.S. Lewis found God, he stayed there in His glory.

There are a lot of technical religious terms used in this book. I was glad to already have a faint understanding of Lewis's life and conversion before I read the book, as that foundation helped me understand the book better. This work contains a lot of information pulled from many sources to create a deep look into Lewis's thoughts, life, friends and family, etc. Recommended for anyone who wishes to know how Lewis turned from atheism and accepted Christ into his life for good.

[Joan Cosas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn’t prepared for this book to be so academic and heavy on philosophy. I didn’t realize Lewis had been so deeply interested in philosophy, either. While it made some interesting points about arguments that can help draw atheists to theism, it gets too bogged down in pinpointing what exactly Lewis was thinking at what exact date, etc. The focus on all that detail was distracting & challenging to wade through. The book would be more aptly subtitled a chronology & analysis, rather than a “story.”

[Cardoso]

This book offers a fascinating and deeply human look at C.S. Lewis’s journey from atheism to faith. Joel Heck carefully traces the influences, writings, and inner struggles that shaped Lewis’s path, making his story both relatable and inspiring.

What I loved most was how the book balances biography with spiritual insight, it’s not just about Lewis’s life, but about the questions, doubts, and longings many of us face on our own journeys. Thought-provoking, engaging, and encouraging, a must-read for anyone interested in faith, doubt, and the story of one of Christianity’s greatest thinkers.

[Edward Durand · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very informative. Well written. I learn much about C. S. Lewis I was unaware of about him and his "chess game" with God.

[Weslie Odom · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lots of good information in Lewis’ conversion, but quite dense. The final two chapters were worth most of the book.

[Valerie R · Rating 4 out of 5]

DRY
It's more about what and who Lewis was reading (GIGO principle) than an interesting biography.
Nonetheless, what you consume/read does influence your thinking!

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a harder read than I had expected, but I also learned a lot that I didn't know before.

[Dr. Jim]

Professor Joel Heck’s handling of the fifteen years in C. S. Lewis’ life from atheism to Christianity was truly riveting. His sensitive handling of Lewis’ journey is based on previous biographies of his life, the author’s own amassed library, and of course, the many writings of Lewis. Commonly intertwined in the narrative are the comments of Heck’s analytical perspective both regarding Lewis’ life, the struggles of this highly introspective genius and his progressive journey from materialism to naturalism to idealism to theism and ultimately to Christianity. Being truly instructive to the reader, insightful interpretations surface as Lewis is drawn from progressively toward Christianity. Written within the matrix of extensive literary content, the writing is stabilized with the visual metaphor of a game of chess enabling even the right-brained reader to maintain perspective throughout. Although I would strongly recommend to this book to all, it would be of distinctive value to individuals who are seeking a counseling perspective regarding the topic of apologetics.

[Christi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I remember reading The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe when I was in elementary school.  Such a fascinating tale with a world that was bigger than my adolescent imagination.  Who could not fall in love with Narnia and that magical world?  

Over the years I've read excerpts from Mere Christianity and have heard the name C.S. Lewis repeatedly but I never realized that before he was one of the most famous Christians that he was actually a professing atheist.  From Atheism to Christianity is the journey of Clive Staples Lewis and his 15-year journey from materialistic atheism to Christianity

Author Joel D. Heck did a wonderful job of writing Lewis's story.  This book is incredibly well researched and leaves no stone unturned.  Heck did the majority of his research from Lewis's books themselves as well as other sources about the beloved author.  It is fascinating to see the progression as well as the motivation for C.S. Lewis's choices, not only on his spiritual journey, but his life in general.  You see where his inspirations stemmed from, what his focus was on as an adolescent, and each piece of his 15-year journey to Christianity.  You are introduced to the books Lewis was reading during that time as well as authors that helped mold his thinking.

The impact of the death of his mother when he was ten years old was pivotal.  Lewis was raised in a religious home but after her death Lewis was done with religion.  As his story progresses, you begin to see his thinking slowly change and develop over time, eventually evolving to Christianity.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone who has ever questioned their faith, who are themselves an atheist, or anyone who would like to read about an incredible man on a wonderful journey of faith.

*I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review