Mere Christianity
C.S. Lewis
ISBN-13: 978-0060652920

In my atheistic youth, I read a lot of philosophical books on religion, which all had one thing in common: they sought to prove, through “reason,” why God did not exist.  At the time I didn’t want to “waste my time” with books on “Christian propaganda” because in my mind they were all a bunch of rubbish for the weak.  In hindsight, what I was doing was reading books that supported how I already felt.  Doing so made me feel better – because I was the one who was (and continues to be) weak.

I often wish I had read books like Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis when I was younger and more impressionable.  It seems like life would have been easier if I had discovered Christ sooner in my life.  I imagine though that I would not have been very receptive to the message at the time.  The virtues of faith, hope, and charity probably wouldn’t have appealed to someone who was angry, drunk, and selfish.

During World War II, C.S. Lewis was asked to give a series of radio talks on Christianity.  Those talks were compiled to form Mere Christianity.  Over time they were edited and revised to be a little more readable, and the text is quite fluid – as if C.S. Lewis is just talking to you.

If you’re looking for a book that has an answer for every philosophical argument against God or Christianity, this may not be it.  But for those on the fence between belief and disbelief, or for those doubters who need to be reinvigorated in their faith, this is a wonderful book.

Lewis begins by talking eloquently about what he calls the Law of Nature, or the Moral Law.  He points to an internal standard that we and all others have – something different from our animal instincts.  Then Lewis talks about what is behind this internal set of moral standards.  He successfully makes some simplistic but valid philosophical arguments for God.

At this point, the book quickly jumps to the subject of what Christians believe.  This is where C.S. Lewis really shines.  He does a superb job of focusing his efforts on the common beliefs of all who call themselves Christian, whether or not they are Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, or Protestant.

Mere Christianity covers a great deal of Christian morality, with individual chapters on Faith, Hope, and Charity.  All of this is done very eloquently, but in a simplistic enough way that most anyone should be able to take quite a bit from his point of view.

Lewis does not shy away from difficult topics such as the three-person God.  He defends his Christian beliefs admirably, and he is always very quotable.  There were several points throughout my reading of this book where I had to stop and reflect on a sentence or two.  I regret that I didn’t think to write down any of his inspirational quotes.  I guess that gives me another reason to reread this book in the future.

As this book is over 50 years old now, I was expecting it to be a little dry and possibly hard to understand.  Instead I found a fulfilling work that was nearly impossible to put down.  This book is a must read for all Christians and for anyone who’s on the fence.  Oh, and it’s fairly short too, so it won’t take up too much of your time.

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(5/5 Crosses)