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The three friends who influenced him were his tutor Kirkpatrick, who taught Lewis "''a form of rigorous inquiry that sought objective truth through the relentless probing of an opponent's positions and definitions, a fierce and, in Kirkpatrick's hands, exaggerated version of Socratic dialogue.''"<ref>'''Edwards''', ''C. S. Lewis: Mere Christian'', op cit.</ref>  Owen Barfield, one of his close friends at Oxford, contributed to his acceptance of theism by forcing Lewis through debate to overcome his "''uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate common to our age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that count discredited.''"<ref>'''Lewis''', ''Surprised by Joy'' op cit.</ref> Liberated from the notion that the past was invariably wrong and that the present always the barometer of truth, Lewis was able to embrace the possibility that the ancient Christian narrative could have validity even in the twentieth century.<ref>'''Edwards''', ''C. S. Lewis: Mere Christian'', op cit.</ref>  

The three friends who influenced him were his tutor Kirkpatrick, who taught Lewis "''a form of rigorous inquiry that sought objective truth through the relentless probing of an opponent's positions and definitions, a fierce and, in Kirkpatrick's hands, exaggerated version of Socratic dialogue.''"<ref>'''Edwards''', ''C. S. Lewis: Mere Christian'', op cit.</ref>  Owen Barfield, one of his close friends at Oxford, contributed to his acceptance of theism by forcing Lewis through debate to overcome his "''uncritical acceptance of the intellectual climate common to our age and the assumption that whatever has gone out of date is on that count discredited.''"<ref>'''Lewis''', ''Surprised by Joy'' op cit.</ref> Liberated from the notion that the past was invariably wrong and that the present always the barometer of truth, Lewis was able to embrace the possibility that the ancient Christian narrative could have validity even in the twentieth century.<ref>'''Edwards''', ''C. S. Lewis: Mere Christian'', op cit.</ref>  

 

It was Lewis' frequent discussions with [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] that proved the final turning point. Tolkein was himself a devout [[Catholic]], and through their debates Lewis came to understand that while Christianity may itself comprise a mythology of sorts, it was, in fact, "''the true myth, myth become fact''" <ref>'''Lewis,''' ''Surprised by Joy'', op cit.</ref> and the one in which Lewis could put his full confidence, heart, mind, and soul. On the evening of September 19, 1931 he invited Tolkien and Hugo Dyson to dine with him in Magdalen College. The talk continued through the night, in Lewis' rooms and also out in the grounds of the college.<ref>'''Hooper, Walter''', in his preface to the 1979 edition of Lewis' ''God in the Dock'', London: HarperCollins (1979) ISBN 0-8028-0868-9 </ref> Lewis recalls in ''Surprised by Joy'' that an outing with his brother the following day saw his final acceptance of Christianity: "''When we set out [by motorcycle to the zoo] I did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did.''"<ref>'''Lewis,''' ''Surprised by Joy'', op cit.</ref> In a letter to his long time friend Arthur Greeves, dated October 1, 1931, Lewis writes: "''I have just passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ — in Christianity. My long night talk with Dyson and Tolkien had a good deal to do with it.''"     

It was Lewis' frequent discussions with [[J.R.R. Tolkien]] that proved the final turning point. Tolkein was himself a devout [[Catholic]], and through their debates Lewis came to understand that while Christianity may itself comprise a mythology of sorts, it was, in fact, "''the true myth, myth become fact''" <ref>'''Lewis,''' ''Surprised by Joy'', op cit.</ref> and the one in which Lewis could put his full confidence, heart, mind, and soul. On the evening of September 19, 1931 he invited Tolkien and Hugo Dyson to dine with him in Magdalen College. The talk continued through the night, in Lewis' rooms and also out in the grounds of the college.<ref>'''Hooper, Walter''', in his preface to the 1979 edition of Lewis' ''God in the Dock'', London: HarperCollins (1979) ISBN 0-8028-0868-9 </ref> Lewis recalls in ''Surprised by Joy'' that an outing with his brother the following day saw his final acceptance of Christianity: "''When we set out [by motorcycle to the zoo] I did not believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and when we reached the zoo I did.''"<ref>'''Lewis,''' ''Surprised by Joy'', op cit.</ref> In a letter to his long time friend Arthur Greeves, dated October 1, 1931, Lewis writes: "''I have just passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ — in Christianity. My long night talk with Dyson and Tolkien had a good deal to do with it.''"