WELCOME

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws

ALEC GUINESS

The conversion experience of the English actor, Alec Guinness, displays many of the qualities highlighted by Bellah in Habits of the Heart, especially the insistence on "finding our true selves independent of any cultural or social influence, being responsible to that self alone, and making its fulfillment the very meaning of our lives."

Alec Guinness de Cuffe was born in Marylebane, London, April 1914. His mother was Agnes Cuffe but there is no father's name on his birth certificate. Alec remembers his childhood as a time of great confusion. He and his mother were always on the move and, to add to the chaos, Alec's last name was changed twice before he reached the age of fourteen.

When he was sixteen years old he participated in the rites of confirmation in the Anglican Church. He revealed later what this experience meant to him:

At the age of 16, one early summer day, I arose from under the hands of the Bishop of Lewes a confirmed atheist. With a flash I realized I had never really beleived what I had been taught anyway.

Although he called himself an atheist and was ignorant of any theology, Alec did not reject God. It was the fundamentalist teaching of the church that he could not accept. His reason rebelled at accepting literally such stories as Jonah in the belly of the whale. Alec retained, however, a constant interest in religious matters. He responded to God's initial aim by searching for a religion that satisfied him. He tried going to a nearby Presbyterian Church where the sermons were more stimulating. He decided, however, that there was something about Christianity that distrubed him so he started looking elsewhere.

In his search for a religioon he went to a meeting of some Singhalese Buddhists. He admired the philosophy of the Buddhists but was disgusted by the superior airs of one of the monks. He never went back.

In 1938, when he was playing Hamlet, Rev. Cyril Tomkinson, An Anglican priest came to his dressing room. He told Alec that on the stage he was making the sign of the cross incorrectly. Thus began a significant friendship which lasted through the war until Tomkinson's death in the 1950's.

At the beginning of the war Alec tried to return to the Anglican Church, possibly as a result of his friendship with Rev. Thomkinson. He began getting up early to bicycle to a country church for Holy Communion. Unfortunately, his efforts did not last long.

During the early 1950's, Alec had two psychic experiences which seemed to make him very aware of death and the urgency to continue his search. The first experience centered about a picture by Meninsky of two Irish girls that hung in his bedroom. The girls were confronting each other amid green bushes and withered hedgerows. One night on entering the room Alec suddenly found "Luke 23:31. . . Luke 23, 31. . " pounding in his head. After finding a Bioble, he read, "For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" He looked at the picture more closely and for the first time he noted faces in the picture. The bushes in the picture appeared as loosely painted, self-sataisfied faces while the hedgerows were agnoized, screaming figures. A day or two later, he learned.that this experience happened on the anniversary of the artist's suicide. He was confused by the experience but felf it had some connection with death--his own death. He tried to put it out of his mind, without mush success.

The second experience took place in 1955. He entered a crowded restaurant for lunch but no table was available. While he was waiting in line, James Dean motioned for Alec to join him at his table. During lunch James described in glowing terms a new sports car he had recently purchased. Later, as they left the restaurant together, James showed Alec his car, bragging that it could go 150 miles per hour. Alec heard himself say,

Please, never get in it. It is now one o'clock Friday the 23rd. of September, 1955. If you get in that car you will be found dead in it by this time next week.

At four o'clock the next Friday, James Dean was killed driving that car. Again, God touched Alec and Alec felt this experience was significant. He could not avoid thinking about the way death could be so sudden and unexpected. He became even more anxious to solve his religious dilemna but even now did not seek help from anyone.

Alec then becme obsessed with Tarot cards. For six months he studied the cards for hours and read everything he could find about them. Then, unexpectedly one evening, he was again nudged by God. Suddenly, he felt appalled by his own actions and responded by throwing the cards and books into the fire. His wife was grateful that he had come back to his senses.

Through his friendship with Cyril Tomkinson, Alec had changed his anti- clerical attitude. It took another significant experience to change his anti- Catholism. He was cast in the role of "Father Brown" for a new film being shot in Burgundy, France.

One evening, he had a four hour break and started walking toward the hotel while still dressed for his role as a priest. Hearing scampering footsteps behind him, he was staratled when a childish voice called "mon Pere!" And a small hand grabbed his hand. As they walked on together, the child chattered non-stop until they reached his house and he disappeared through an opening in the hedge. Alec commented:

. . . I was left with an odd calm sense of elation. Continuing my walk, I reflected that a Church which could inspire such onfidence in a child, making its priests, even when unknown, so easily approachable could naot be as scheming and creepy as so often made out. I began to shake off my long-taught, long absorbed prejudices.

Alec responded bo God by admitting his prejudice and trying to overcome it. The following summer, Alec made a big step forward in shaking off his prejudices. His eleven year old son Matthew contracted polio and became paralyzed from the waist down. On his way home each evening, Alec stopped at a Catholic Church, rather than an angelican Church, in an attempt to find some inner peace.

One evening, in his desperation Alec bargained with God in these words, " Let him recover and I will never put an obstacle in his way should he ever wish to become a Catholic." One wonders If Alec was aware of the dynamics of his bargain. He did not promise to become a Catholic himself, but promised to give his son the freedom to join the Catholic Church. He had not completely rejected his prejudice but was moving step by step in that direction. Matthew recovered completely from the paralysis. Following the advice of friends Alec enrolled Matthew in the Jesuit school at Beaumont. At fifteen, Matthew became a Catholic.

God continued to nudge Alec toward the Catholic Church. In the summer of 1955, Alec went for a ride on his bicycle and, almost without thinking, pedalled to the church of St. Lawrence just two miles from his home. He had never been inside and now was impressed by its simplicity. Once again he bargained with God--if he saw the parish priest and liked his looks, he would ask for instructions in the Catholic faith. The priest walked into church, Alec approved of his appearance, and soon after began instructions.

As he learned about the faith, its demands seemed too easy so he decided to spend time at the Trappist monastery to see Catholicism at "its grimmest." One wonders if he was looking for yet another excuse to avoid following God's urges toward the Catholic Church.

After his stay at the monastery, Alec went to California for a part in "The Swan" intending to go to Mass every Sunday. The very first Sunday he was turned off by the biased remarks of a young priest and once again retreated into his indecision. He did not take the final step until he returned to England in 1956. Then he felt he had come home. Reflecting on his experience he realized:

There had been no emotional upheaval, no great insight, certainly no proper grasp of theological issues; just a sense of history and the fittingness of things. Something impossible to explain.

There are similarities between the conversion experiences of C. S. Lewis and those of Alec Guinness. Both had experiences in their youth which they could not understand but neither could they forget them. In both cases, God led them step by step to an unemotional acceptance of God. There is a striking difference, however, between the two as Lewis was never freed from his prejudices while Alec gradually overcame his. In Alec we notice the deep-seated individualism we usually associate with American culture. Throughout his search he did not reach out for help. He depended on his own efforts and the insights and the nudges God gave him from time to time.