This book has been sitting on my shelf for years (since high school I think!), and I finally picked it up at last fall. I finished it sometime early this year, and am so glad that I took the time to read it. C.S. Lewis’ works are often praised for their foundations in truth and accessibility to a varied audience, among other reasons. Mere Christianity in particular is known for being accessible to the skeptic, or the individual who has doubts about the Christian faith (which, if we’re honest, is pretty much all of us at one point or another...myself most definitely included). Because Lewis was an atheist for some time, he understands both sides of the argument and approaches his defense of Christianity with warmth and grace. He acknowledges that at times there can be a great deal of difficulty in accepting the faith, especially where our emotions and ideas about “what’s fair” are concerned.
One of the things I liked about Mere Christianity was Lewis’ way of describing oft, and perhaps unnecessarily, convoluted Christian doctrines with simplicity. He says that “Doctrines are not God, they are only a kind of map....[but] if you want to get any further, you must use the map.” He discusses sin, our need for a savior, and the general order of things as prescribed by Christianity in a comfortable, conversational manner, yet his tone also conveys a deep desire for his readers to embrace the truth that he has come to accept. In my copy of the book, Kathleen Norris writes the following in the foreword:
“[Mere Christianity] is...a bold act of storytelling and healing in a world gone mad...it asks us to recognize that the great religious struggle is not fought on a spectacular battleground, but within the ordinary human heart, when every morning we awake and feel the pressures of the day crowding in on us, and we must decide what sort of immortals we wish to be.”
(note: Norris uses the term “immortals” here because Lewis once said, “There are no ordinary people. It is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit.”)
As Norris describes, Mere Christianity did indeed serve to remind me that the daily struggles existing within my own oh-so-human heart are ones that will ultimately lead me towards a great decision. It is a decision wherein I will choose the path that is wide...or the one that is narrow. My prayer is that, Lord willing, I will have the wisdom and strength to choose the narrow path. We are surrounded... no, bombarded...by ridiculous distractions on a rolling basis, when all the while there is a voice within the inner recesses of our beings that nudges us towards a glorious end, if only we will take the time to listen. C.S. Lewis knew this. He earnestly felt the weight of it. And I know and feel it too. There is nothing more important. So, I am grateful for his thoughts throughout Mere Christianity as they assist me in resetting my compass to the north, and encourage me to continue pressing on in that direction.
Speaking of pressing on in a set direction, I feel like I’m all over the place in describing this book and what I learned from it. There are a dozen thoughts springing around in my head like ping-pong balls. But that’s because I’m not really sure where to begin. There were so many nuggets to take away. I highlighted something on just about every page (although that may have something to do with my tendency to overuse highlighters!). In lieu of furthering my efforts to commend the text, I will allow it to speak for itself. Or in other words, here’s a sampling of the many quotes that were, in a nutshell, quite awesome...
“God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror: the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from. He is our only possible ally, and we have made ourselves His enemies.” (Book 1, Ch. 5)
“It is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.” (Book 2, Ch. 3)
“A Christian is not a man who never goes wrong, but a man who is enabled to repent and pick himself up and begin over again after each stumble--because the Christ-life is inside him, repairing him all the time...the Christian thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him. He does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.” (Book 2, Ch. 5)
“God is no fonder of intellectual slackers than of any other slackers. If you are thinking of becoming a Christian, I warn you, you are embarking on something which is going to take the whole of you, brains and all.” (Book 3, Ch. 2)
“Good and evil both increase at compound interest. That is why the little decisions you and I make every day are of such infinite importance. The smallest good act today is the capture of a strategic point from which, a few months later, you may be able to go on to victories you never dreamed of. An apparently trivial indulgence in lust or anger today is the loss of a ridge or railway line or bridgehead from which the enemy may launch an attack otherwise impossible.” (Book 3, Ch. 9)
“I think that all Christians would agree with me if I said that though Christianity seems at the first to be all about morality, all about duties and rules and guilt and virtue, yet it leads you on, out of all that, into something beyond.” (Book 3, Ch. 11)
I especially love that one! And one more...
“The more we get what we now call ‘ourselves’ out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become...Your real, new self...will not come as long as you are looking for it. It will come when you are looking for Him...Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it...look for Christ and you will find Him. ” (Book 4, Ch. 11)
Aaaaa-men. Clive, you know what’s up, man. My heart and soul devoured this book and were richly fed. Please read it if you haven’t already. It’s a good one!
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