From Spiritual to Renewed Imagination

C. S. Lewis' Quest for Joy, Imagination, and God

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51688/VC11.1.2024.art1

Keywords:

C. S. Lewis, imagination, joy, idealism, theism

Abstract

The conversion of C. S. Lewis to Christian theism weaves together his quest for joy and his evolving view on the power of imagination. Lewis' acceptance of Christianity raises questions about the nature of the relationship between these two fundamental elements of his philosophical evolution: joy and imagination. In this article, we aim to clarify this aspect of Lewis' intellectual and spiritual life by considering his philosophical development. The essential relationship between joy and imagination becomes clear only if we consider Lewis' intellectual journey from Atheism to Idealism and then to Christian theism. In this article, we consider Lewis' intellectual development from the moment he adopted his own version of subjective idealism.

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Author Biography

Yannick Imbert, Faculté Jean Calvin

Yannick Imbert holds the William Edgar Chair of Apologetics at Faculté Jean Calvin, Aix–en–Provence, southern France. He also serves on the theological committee of the National Council of French Evangelicals. As an apologist, Imbert’s special research interests include imagination and fantasy, the intersection of faith and culture. He is interested, in particular, in the many ways in which society is evolving, especially through technology. During the past decade, he studied transhumanism and wrote two books on this cultural movement aiming to transform human nature. The most recent one is Le charme de l’andréide. His current project is in the field of theological aesthetics.

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Published

2024-04-30

How to Cite

Imbert, Y. (2024). From Spiritual to Renewed Imagination: C. S. Lewis’ Quest for Joy, Imagination, and God. Verbum Christi: Journal of Reformed Evangelical Theology, 11(1), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.51688/VC11.1.2024.art1