"Mere Christianity" by C.S. Lewis

(If you actually make it through this entire post then I grant you 100 points on an imaginary reward chart).

Wow. There are some great thinkers out there and I don't think I make the cut. C.S. Lewis definitely does. This book is divided into 4 sections: Right and wrong as a clue to the meaning of the universe; What Christians believe; Christian behavior; and Beyond personality: or the first steps in the doctrine of the trinity.

The first three sections of this volume are taken from radio broadcasts given in the 1940's that Lewis later "tweeked" to put into book format. In the preface, Lewis says "I made a few additions to what I had said at the microphone, but otherwise left the text much as it had been." On the next page Lewis writes "The reader should be warned that I offer no help to anyone who is hesitating between two Christian 'denominations'... This omission is intentional."

I have found it very interesting reading the works of C.S. Lewis, a man who was once a decided atheist, who converted to Christianity after a great deal of thought and life experience. In this book, Lewis shares his thoughts and logical conclusions as to why Christianity makes sense; and although I highly appreciate his approach and agree with most of his conclusions, I personally believe that true conversion does not come by just thinking things through logically.

It is difficult for me to sum this book up in a nice and tidy review; each chapter lends itself to much discussion so I will instead chose one or two thoughts from each section of the book and ask for your comments on whether you agree/disagree with C.S. Lewis.

I was very much looking forward to the last book dealing with the trinity so that I could better understand my fellow Christians (many whom do NOT consider me a Christian because I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints) but found myself muddled in confusion on the topic of the Three-Personal God. In a nutshell, my belief of the Godhead (or trinity) is summed up in the First Article of Faith which reads: "We believe in God, the Eternal Father; and in His Son, Jesus Christ; and in the Holy Ghost." In other words I believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost - three distinct personages who are ONE IN PURPOSE. The Son testifies of the Father, and the Holy Ghost testifies of the Father AND the Son.

Book 1: Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe

In Chapter 1, entitled The Law of Human Nature, Lewis writes: "a body could not choose whether it obeyed the law of gravitation or not, but a man could choose either to obey the Law of Human Nature or to disobey it."

Question 1: Do you agree with Lewis that there is a Law of Human Nature?

Book 2: What Christians Believe

In chapter 2, entitled The Invasion, Lewis writes: "atheism is too simple. And I will tell you another view that is also too simple. It is the view I call Christianity-and-water, the view which simply says there is a good God in Heaven and everything is all right - leaving out all the difficult and terrible doctrines about sin and hell and the devil, and the redemption"

"Notice ... their idea of God 'making religion simple'; as if 'religion' were something God invented, and not His statement to us of certain quite unalterable facts about His own nature."

Question 2: Do you believe that religion is something created merely to help us here on earth or that it is really God teaching us "unalterable facts about His own nature" to help us return to Him?

Book 3: Christian Behavior

In this book I found a quote that I had previously been searching for (of course I did not search for it very hard or I would have found it before). I'm sorry it's very lengthy...

"No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means - the only complete realist."

Questions 3: Do you agree with this overall statement? Please share your thoughts with me.

Book 4: Beyond Personality: or First Steps in the Doctrine of the Trinity

Not only did I find the fourth book confusing, but I found many of Lewis's analogies in this section awkward (at least to me). Lewis shares his belief in a personal God, one who knows and loves his children and is not mysterious and out of reach - this I absolutely agree with. I had difficulty finding a definitive quote to share from this entire section of the book so I will just leave this topic alone. If you would like to share any of your personal beliefs about the Trinity (Godhead) please do.

I have taken a little bit of time to read the creeds that are adhered to by many Christian faiths. I find them confusing and wonder how these creeds, written by men who were NOT God's prophets on the earth, could be taken as doctrine by so many to this day. In reading about how the creeds came about I am under the understanding that it really ended up being compromises of the views of men. If you are interested in reading more about my understanding of the Godhead please go to the following link:

The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent by Jeffrey R. Holland

I highly recommend this book to anyone - of course I highly recommend any of C.S. Lewis' writings. Thought I do not believe that this can stand alone as a case for Christianity (the study of The Holy Bible, The Book of Mormon, prayer and pondering are the only sure ways) it was well thought out and was a fascinating look into the mind of C.S. Lewis.