Mere Christianity is a theological book by C. S. Lewis, adapted from a series of BBC radio talks made between 1941 and 1944, while Lewis was at Oxford during World War II. Considered a classic of Christian apologetics, the transcripts of the broadcasts, expanded into the book, originally appeared in print as three separate pamphlets: The Case for Christianity (1942), Christian Behaviour (1942), and Beyond Personality (1944). C. S. Lewis was invited to give the talks by Rev. James Welch, the BBC Director of Religious Broadcasting, who had read his 1940 book, The Problem of Pain.
Mere Christianity Summary
Lewis, an Anglican, intended to describe the Christian common ground. In Mere Christianity, he aims at avoiding controversies to explain fundamental teachings of Christianity, for the sake of those basically educated as well as the intellectuals of his generation, for whom the jargon of formal Christian theology did not retain its original meaning.
The Case for Christianity
Lewis spends most of his defense of the Christian faith on an argument from morality, a point which persuaded him from atheism to Christianity. He bases his case on a moral law, a "rule about right and wrong" commonly known to all human beings, citing the example of the Holocaust; even atheists believed that Hitler's actions were morally wrong. On a more mundane level, it is generally accepted that stealing is violating the moral law. Lewis argues that the moral law is like the laws of nature in that it was not contrived by humans. However, it is unlike natural laws in that it can be broken or ignored, and it is known intuitively, rather than through observation. After introducing the moral law, Lewis argues that there must be "something behind" it; namely, God.
The other underpinning of his appeal for a benevolent being is his argument that we cannot yearn for something that does not exist. The fact that people thirst reflects that they naturally need water and that there is no other substance which satisfies that need. Lewis points out that earthly experience does not satisfy the human craving for "joy" and that only God could fit the bill; humans cannot know to yearn for something if it does not exist.
After providing reasons for his conversion to theism, C. S. Lewis goes over rival conceptions of God to Christianity. Pantheism, he argues, is incoherent, and atheism too simple. Eventually he arrives to Jesus Christ, and invokes a well-known argument now known as the "Lewis triumvirate". Lewis, arguing that Jesus was claiming to be God, uses logic to point out three possibilities: either he really was God, he was deliberately lying, or he was not God but thought himself to be (which would make him delusional and likely insane). The book goes on to say that the latter two possibilities are not consistent with Jesus' character and it was most likely that he was being truthful.
Lewis claims that to understand Christianity, one must understand the moral law, which is the underlying structure of the universe and is "hard as nails." Unless one grasps the dismay which comes from humanity's failure to keep the moral law, one cannot understand the coming of Christ and his work. The eternal God who is the law's source takes primacy over the created Satan whose rebellion undergirds all evil. The death and resurrection of Christ is introduced as the only way in which our inadequate human attempts to redeem humanity's sins could be made adequate in God's eyes.
God "became a man" in Christ, Lewis says, so that mankind could be "amalgamated with God's nature" and make full atonement possible. Lewis offers several analogies to explain this abstract concept: that of Jesus "paying the penalty" for a crime, "paying a debt," or helping humanity out of a hole. His main point, however, is that redemption is so incomprehensible that it cannot be fully appreciated, and attempts to explain how God atones for sin is not nearly as important as the fact that he does.
The other underpinning of his appeal for a benevolent being is his argument that we cannot yearn for something that does not exist. The fact that people thirst reflects that they naturally need water and that there is no other substance which satisfies that need. Lewis points out that earthly experience does not satisfy the human craving for "joy" and that only God could fit the bill; humans cannot know to yearn for something if it does not exist.
After providing reasons for his conversion to theism, C. S. Lewis goes over rival conceptions of God to Christianity. Pantheism, he argues, is incoherent, and atheism too simple. Eventually he arrives to Jesus Christ, and invokes a well-known argument now known as the "Lewis triumvirate". Lewis, arguing that Jesus was claiming to be God, uses logic to point out three possibilities: either he really was God, he was deliberately lying, or he was not God but thought himself to be (which would make him delusional and likely insane). The book goes on to say that the latter two possibilities are not consistent with Jesus' character and it was most likely that he was being truthful.
Lewis claims that to understand Christianity, one must understand the moral law, which is the underlying structure of the universe and is "hard as nails." Unless one grasps the dismay which comes from humanity's failure to keep the moral law, one cannot understand the coming of Christ and his work. The eternal God who is the law's source takes primacy over the created Satan whose rebellion undergirds all evil. The death and resurrection of Christ is introduced as the only way in which our inadequate human attempts to redeem humanity's sins could be made adequate in God's eyes.
God "became a man" in Christ, Lewis says, so that mankind could be "amalgamated with God's nature" and make full atonement possible. Lewis offers several analogies to explain this abstract concept: that of Jesus "paying the penalty" for a crime, "paying a debt," or helping humanity out of a hole. His main point, however, is that redemption is so incomprehensible that it cannot be fully appreciated, and attempts to explain how God atones for sin is not nearly as important as the fact that he does.
Mere Christianity Quotes
On Belief and Reality
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
"If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark."
"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."
On the "Lord, Liar, or Lunatic" Argument
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus]: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice."
On Spiritual Growth
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house... You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."
"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg."
On Desire and Joy
"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."
"It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
On Humility and Pride
"A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you."
"True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less."
On Love and Forgiveness
"Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive."
"The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as though you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him."
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
"If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark."
"Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."
On the "Lord, Liar, or Lunatic" Argument
"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him [Jesus]: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice."
On Spiritual Growth
"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house... You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself."
"It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird: it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg. We are like eggs at present. And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg."
On Desire and Joy
"If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world."
"It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."
"God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing."
On Humility and Pride
"A proud man is always looking down on things and people: and, of course, as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you."
"True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less."
On Love and Forgiveness
"Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive."
"The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as though you did. As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him."
Legacy
Mere Christianity is widely admired and influential across a spectrum of trinitarian Christians, which may attest to the author's success in accomplishing the aim of restating theology in a way that avoids many controversies. The work is also widely admired by many nontrinitarian Christians.
Source and additional information: Mere Christianity
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