Mere Christianity |
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C. S. Lewis
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Pages: 192 (Paperback)
ISBN: 0006280544
Pub: Fount
Pub date: 1997-12-01
Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 5424
Editorial Review:
In 1943, when hope and the moral fabric of society in Britain were threatened by the relentless inhumanity of global war, an Oxford don was invited to give a series of radio lectures addressing the central issues of Christianity. Over half a century after the original lectures, the topic retains its urgency. Expanded into book form, Mere Christianity never flinches as it sets out a rational basis for Christianity and builds an edifice of compassionate morality atop this foundation. As Mr Lewis clearly demonstrates, Christianity is not a religion of flitting angels and blind faith, but of free will, an innate sense of justice and the grace of God.
Reader Reviews:
simply wonderful! (0/0 people found this helpful)
CS Lewis shines in this book. He has the extraordinary ability to see into the heart of things and to provide simple answers to complex questions concerning christianity and humanity. Like the desert fathers, he shows considerable understanding of the human psyche and on every page, demonstrates his extraordinary humanity. I laughed in a deep and hearty way (and with joy) at some of his thoughts. Well done Mr Lewis; I hope and pray that you see the good Lord face to face!
a masterpiece of thoughts (1/1 people found this helpful)
this is BRILLIANT! Lewis explains to the heart, as well as the head... simply a must read for anyone, especially those searching and unsure. its not 'proof' as the atheist demands proof, but i was smiling with joy that God can be explained so elequently and logically... this book breathes hope. it will certainly get the brain cogs working if nothing else!
Mere Fiction (4/12 people found this helpful)
Mere Christianity is a very simple book. Hence the very simple nature of this review.
Firstly, Clive (The "C" bit of C. S. Lewis) thinks it solidifies his arguments to say "I used to be an atheist, but..." when all that does is add to the horror at how he could let himself get so caught-up in fairyland.
Secondly, most of the metaphors Clive attempts to use to demonstrate the apparent virtues of his new-found creed are cheap and inappropriate. Take the idea that "a hand without a body is like a man without a god"- this is blatant nonsense- man can and does function perfectly well without the need for a god. This is a yellow-weak approach to philosophy, transparent and belonging to the collective consciousness's sewage system.
Thirdly, this book serves as a very useful document to affirm to the atheist that he is correct. Nothing in here- not the suggestion that creation is too beautiful to be a cute combination of accident and evolution, nor the idea that most people have believed in a God throughout history so they can't all be delusional- is even remotely convincing, thus the atheist will quickly emerge from this childish stroll all the firmer in his original convictions.
Finally, and most worryingly of all, this book makes a more convincing case for Christianity than its modern equivalent- Anglican Bishop Tom Wright's "Simply Christian"- probably because it steers clear of theology (mythology?) and focuses instead on word-spinning of the lowest vulgar denomination. No wonder the gullible love Aslan so!
A mixed bag (0/2 people found this helpful)
A great start, with an interesting first section focusing on human morality and how very different human societies have had very similar moral underpinnings. After this, the book is variable, with some interesting and convincing observations on human society, but some less than convincing passages with sweeping statements that do not seem to hold water. The final section on theology I had to omit as it just did not, as yet anyway, hold my interest.
Merely patronising (3/14 people found this helpful)
The brief biography in the front of this volume describes Lewis as one of the greatest intellectuals of the twentieth century. That is not a conclusion that I would immediately come to having waded through "Mere Christianity".
Lewis clearly attempted to make his philosophy available to a wider audience than might reasonably be expected for a work of this type, which is a laudable aim. Unfortunately, he frequently comes across as no more than patronising, almost as though he were writing for children. To some extent he was a man of his time of course, and I am not a fan of revisionism in these cases.
Worse than that is the shocking paucity of credible, logical arguments to support his no doubt sincerely held beliefs. In general he resorts to baldly claiming that God is fact (on one occasion at least a capitalised "Fact" indeed!). Other vital planks are irrefutably true because the bible says so. QED apparently. Some of the rest of it he seems to have just conjured into existence himself, apparently spending considerable amounts of time second guessing why God does this, that or the other.
The "liar, lunatic or lord" theme (the famous 'trilemma') is fatuous in the extreme. It has no merit as an argument for belief, and to me only has impact if you are already a firm believer. In this case, you would be mortally shocked by the suggestion that JC could be liar or lunatic. If you are a rationalist, then your reaction to this will be "well obviously, just like every other self-proclaimed or posthumously annointed prophet, saviour and snake-oil salesman who ever lived!"
My particular favourite occurs in the chapter on Christian marriage, where he describes why the man should clearly be the head of the household. If you boil down his argument, it amounts to little more than a nicely dressed up version of "well it's obvious, innit?", or at best a Daily Mailesque "every right thinking person would agree ...". Even allowing for his awful but excusable early twentieth century Christian prejudices, his logic and reasoning is abysmal. See pages 113-114.
What annoyed me most was the constant belittling of common humanity. In Lewis' view of the world, we are all unworthy, sinful, hopeless, useless worms, fit only to grovel in the presence of our Lord, who we should all be terrified of.
Don't you ever think it is odd that almost all religions have terrible, angry gods, and that we poor humans are always sinners, failures, wretches doomed to eternal misery? That the only way we can redeem ourselves is by prostrating ourselves before whatever spiteful, vicious deity is in vogue in a given time or place? And that, rather conveniently, there is always a very human representative of the savage god around who can help you ... just so long as you do exactly as you are told.
Wouldn't religion be rather more fun if God was a laughing, joyful omnipotence, cheerfully welcoming you into heaven with a pat on the back and cold drink of your choice: "Welcome to the eternal party, I know it was a bit rough down there sometimes, sorry about that, some teething problems with free will. All sorted now. Sausage on a stick? Cheese straw?".
Evolution and the human desire for power are fascinating things.
I read, many years ago, Lewis' "The Problem of Pain", and struggled with exactly the same huge flaws, intellectual laziness and infuriating desire for self-humiliation that the author pours into this work.
"Mere Christianity" should certainly be read by believers and unbelievers alike. Thoughtful believers would, I sincerely hope, find much of Lewis' old-fashioned hair-shirt philosophising a wake-up call to how debilitating this kind of belief can be intellectually. Non-believers will yet again find a major work of religious apologia that fails utterly to deliver a single reason to move away from atheism.
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