Saturday 24 September 2011

80 Years Ago: C. S. Lewis Was Converted in a Motorcycle Sidecar



The statue of C. S. Lewis in Belfast. Image courtesy of Wikipedia.






Joel Kontinen

When C. S. Lewis stepped into the sidecar of his brother’s motorcycle in September 1931, he did not believe in Jesus. However, before they reached their destination, he had become a Christian.

A little earlier he had given up on his atheism.

Historians do not tell us how fast C. S’s brother speeded on their way to a zoo, but two days before his conversion Lewis (or Jack as he was called) had talked with his Christian friends J. R. R. Tolkien and Hugo Dyson about God, myths and Christianity.

It was a long debate. By 3 AM Tolkien had had enough. Dyson, however, continued with his arguments for Christianity. He said that it works, giving us peace and setting us free from sin.

Sitting in the sidecar, Lewis had time to think about Christianity with the result that he accepted the call of Jesus Christ and began following Him. Lewis was 33 years old.

Lewis became one of the most popular Christian authors of the 20th century.

Source

Graves, Dan. 2011. C.S. Lewis' Sidecar Conversion. Christianity.com.