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Reality is iconoclastic, Lewis reminds us again and again. It bursts all preconceived notions of what life—and what God—should be like. You might insist that God is a human invention and then be "surprised by joy" into belief. You might spend most of your adult life uncomfortable around children and suddenly become stepfather to two boys. You might plunge into the heart of earthly love only to have it shatter and leave a grief too divinely significant not to be observed. You might order topsoil and be stuck standing in a gritty mess of dry dirt and candy wrappers … but dig, dig away.

Jennifer Trafton is managing editor of Christian History & Biography. More Christian history, including a list of events that occurred this week in the church's past, is available at ChristianHistory.net. Subscriptions to the quarterly print magazine Christian History & Biography are also available.

Copyright © 2005 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Christian History & Biography devoted an issue to C.S. Lewis in 1985. Its Winter 2005 issue also covers Lewis, and is available for purchase from our site. Lewis was also covered in the magazine's issue on the most influential Christians of the 20th century.

Previous Christian History Corners include:

Eat, Drink, and Relax | Think the Pilgrims would frown on today's football-tossing, turkey-gobbling Thanksgiving festivities? Maybe not. (Nov. 18, 2005)

Is It Wrong-Headed to Translate the Gospel for Culture? | Christian History Corner takes on the Christ and culture debate. (Oct. 28, 2005)

Old Words, Vibrant Faith | Christian pop/rock band Jars of Clay explains why the church needs more Redemption Songs. (Oct. 21, 2005)

J.S. Bach: For the Glory of God | Such humility is exceedingly rare among those who have gained worldwide fame (Oct. 14, 2005)

Bringing Peace to Paradise | The wave of the future needs the wisdom of the past (Oct. 7, 2005)

Emergents, Meet Saints! | The wave of the future needs the wisdom of the past (Sept. 30, 2005)

From Mutual Aid to Global Action | How the Anabaptist emphasis on practical acts of love led a tightly knit enclave to reach out to the world. (Sept. 23, 2005)

The Trailblazer | The first evangelical missionary to India set out to prove that the gospel does not destroy culture but transforms it from within. (Sept. 16, 2005)

Reformation Reoriented | Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom evaluate the Catholic/evangelical detente in Is the Reformation Over? (Sept. 2, 2005)

Ministries of Mercy: Mother Teresa | She stirred a generation by touching the untouchables. (Aug. 26, 2005)

Changed Lives: Luther | The daily gift of new life. (Aug. 19, 2005)

Liberating Faith | When Korea threw off Japanese rule in 1945, it was as much a victory for the church as for the nation. (Aug. 12, 2005)

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November (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49