Mere Christianity A Revised and Amplified Edition, With a New Introduction, of the Three Books, Broadcast Talks, Christian Behaviour, and Beyond Personality

Reading this, I got the deliberate impression that it was meant entirely for people who are already believers and that it exists for the purpose of better articulating the believer’s belief and for outlining the proper worldview one should take to best serve Christianity. If you aren’t already a believer, aside from the earnest presentation and heartfelt endorsement for bettering this world...more

Reading this, I got the deliberate impression that it was meant entirely for people who are already believers and that it exists for the purpose of better articulating the believer’s belief and for outlining the proper worldview one should take to best serve Christianity. If you aren’t already a believer, aside from the earnest presentation and heartfelt endorsement for bettering this world through love and good deeds, this book does not have the structure to change one’s mind. Religion is dependent on faith and faith, as described by C.S. Lewis is like saying that although he has never been to New York and therefore cannot verify by his own experience that a place called New York exists, people who’s authority he can trust have been to New York and experienced New York and have assured him that there is indeed a place called New York. The proof of God in this book is presented as metaphor and speculation and a sort of ‘it just feels as if this were right’ type of reasoning and it doesn’t feel convincing to someone who isn’t already convinced so much as it clarifies one’s own faith. The admirable way of living advocated by the book struck a chord with me though the emphasis on how these acts were only transitory means to achieve a closer relation with God was discomforting. How the book attributes all goodness to God seems dismissive of the good done by humans. But you know. It’s like the rather cold but straightforward dedication at the beginning House of Leaves. “This is not for you.”   hide