Mere Christianity (from the author of Chronicles of Narnia!)

I recently finished a book by C.S. Lewis -- the author of The Chronicles of Narnia, if you can believe it! 😱 However, in this book, Lewis takes a completely different approach to literature, for he explains the theology, questions, and mysteries of the Christian religion...

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The book begins with bringing up the subject of morality. All around the world, since the dawn of time there has been a universal "code" of what human beings consider to be "right" and "wrong." It is a code that transcends borders, cultures, and languages.

For example, no culture has ever revered selfishness as a beneficial trait, and while humanity admires justice, we find things utterly detestable if it borders onto cruelty. Yet, how have we unanimously come to these agreements?

"First, that human beings ... have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it. Secondly, that they do not, in fact, behave that way."

"... you cannot have any real safety or happiness except in a society where everyone plays fair ... they try to behave decently."

This, in turn, brings our conscience into question. A conscience has no physical form, yet we have coined a term for it due to its prominence -- and influence. When we do something "wrong," whether we realize it prior to committing the action or not, our conscience leaves us with a nagging feeling of guilt.
Before we even had the CHANCE to label things good or bad, our conscience was already with us, eating us up inside. But, why is this?...

"I find that I do not exist on my own ...; that somebody or something wants me to behave in a certain way."

"There is nothing indulgent about the Moral Law. ... it does not seem to care how painful, dangerous, or difficult it is to do. If God is like the Moral Law, then He is not soft."

If God is our conscience working through us, then how is it possible that we live in a world full of such corruption? Well, to put it simply: because some people choose NOT to follow said moral code, regardless. God adorned human beings with freewill in the very beginning, and while freewill opens the possibility to great love, it also opens the doors to potential evil...

"Is this state of affairs in accordance with God's will, or not? ... If you make a something voluntary, then half the people do not do it. That is not what you willed, but your will has made it possible. ... Because freewill, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having."

Unfortunately, a large portion of us have used our freewill poorly. We have all gone off on our own paths, trying all SORTS of different things in a feeble attempt to chase after the one thing we all wish to obtain: happiness. Thinking that we know what is best for ourselves is what has gotten us into this mess in the first place! 🤦‍♀️

"... there is a possibility of putting yourself first ... the idea that we could 'be like gods' ... invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside of God ... And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history ... man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy."

AND, unfortunately, we have all been pursuing our own ideas of happiness since our earliest relationships with God. Adam ate the apple, angels mated with humans -- even the Israelites worshipped a false idol WHILE God was leading them through the desert! 😵‍💫 No matter what God did or provided His people with, they rebelled and chose their own ways. What was He to do?...

"... we now need God's help in order to do something which God ... never does at all -- to surrender, to suffer, to submit, to die. Nothing in God's nature corresponds to this process at all."

"Christ was killed for us, that His death has washed out our sins, and that by dying He disabled death itself."

(Image created using an AI art generator on NightCafe)

Enter Jesus; God descended onto earth in a human body, to experience life on earth. He sent His only Son, so that we may continue to be saved from our corruption. God gave us the example of what a perfect man can be, and how we as humans can try to achieve it. But, most importantly, Jesus reminded us of the one purpose that we all share on this earth: love thy neighbor as I love myself. This is the key to a harmonious society!

"This is what is meant in the Bible by loving him: wishing his good, not feeling fond of him nor saying he is nice when he is not."

For it is through learning to love others -- learning to love EVERYTHING that has the likeness of God within -- that we come to the entire purpose of our existence: to become more like Christ. It will require a lot of self-reflection; you will have to look deep inside yourself to figure out what needs to be corrected.

It is recognizing that everything that we have (not merely physical possessions, but even our own innate personality) comes from God -- without Him, we cannot be or do anything! It is recognizing that being a "nice" person in this life is not nearly enough -- we need to fully accept God into our lives in order to be saved.

"... everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God."

"'If you let Me, I will make you perfect. ... But if you do not push Me away, understand that I am going to see this job through. Whatever suffering it may cost you in your earthly life ... I will never rest until you are literally perfect -- until my Father can say without reservation that He is well pleased with you."

" ... as if Christianity was something nasty people needed and nice ones could afford to do without; and as if niceness was all that God demanded."

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Thank you for checking out this week's post! 🙏 As I commented previously, this was a very enjoyable -- and informative! -- book. It's always so interesting to read other interpretations of the Christian faith.
I wasn't able to include everything, but Lewis went into detail about other important topics as well: the devil's existence, specific sins such as pride and lust, a good marriage, etc. This is a book that I will hold onto for many years to come 🙏📚