I absolutely loved Perelandra.  The imagery and storytelling were entertaining but the most compelling part of me what the battle between the Un-Man and Ransom.

I'm not talking so much about the actual physical fight - which was pretty awesome - but the ongoing verbal struggle the two engage in.  I felt exactly as Ransom did as he tried his best to convince the Green Lady that the Un-Man was lying, that his half truths hid important facts from her, and felt as he did that nothing he could do would be enough.  He begins to wonder why Maleldil hasn't sent anybody to help him.  It was all so unfair.

The climax then is when Ransom realizes that he is who has been sent and that it is his responsibility to stop the Un-Man.  This is the most important moment any of us can have.  When we realize that each of us has been sent to Earth with a specific duty to improve it - in such a way that only we are capable of doing it - we realize the importance of our life, our choices, and our time.  From there every moment takes on new meaning and we find ourselves actively participating in the battle between good and evil.

As I read Surprised by Joy, the most striking thing for me was how extremely unique all of our conversions are.  Notwithstanding the unique qualities of each conversion, there are common threads that run through each of them.

I think this is where joy comes in.  That longing that causes us to search out for the truth and that surprises us and 'stabs' us with intense feeling when we stumble upon it.  That initial contact with the divine startles us and causes us to think beyond what is right before our eyes.

From there life becomes a search for that joy - for the fullness we all long for.  When this pursuit if pursued earnestly and honestly, joy begins to fill our lives and will bring us to true conversion.

Regardless of what background one is born into, when one follows the Light of Christ they will be brought as close to Him as their circumstances will allow, and when they are allowed more, that desire will be fulfilled and they will be welcomed into His presence.

I love Surprised by Joy simply because it follows Lewis's spiritual journey until his conversion.  While his slow intellectually based conversion may not be the typical route we take on our paths back to God, but it is nevertheless still a valid one.

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As I read Chapter 11 of Lewi's Miracles, I couldn't help but draw connections to the world around me.  A number of my friends have left the religions of their families.  They "believe" but no longer "practice".  They are all about "God" but not "religion".  In reality they are about neither.

I love how Lewis describes the journey mankind takes to arrive at this position.  It begins with a notion that God really isn't a personage.  We remove any human connection we see in Him.  As bit by bit of Him is unraveled, we begin to worship a Great Nothing.

We feel good about it because this Nothing requires nothing of us.  That's how we justify that we can be all about God but not about religion.  By reducing Him to a Great Nothing, we are not required to take action.  We don't have to obey because He doesn't require anything of us and we don't have to accept the evolutionary humanist explanation of reality either.  The problem is that this mindset is just fence sitting.  The worship of that Great Nothing leads to a lifetime of nothing and a world without meaning.

I hadn't set down the book for more than ten minutes when I came across this article.  This is a problem today just as much as it was in Lewis's time.  Come on people.  Wake up and make a decision.