Book Review - Classic #15 - Mere Christianity

I don't know how to begin this book review.  I've probably typed and deleted a dozen sentences already.  Why should this be so difficult?

Because, I liked it.

I did.

Except.

No. Even that part, the part he got wrong, I liked.

Which made me wonder.

Who is this book for?

Christians?

Obviously. We love this stuff. Having a smart guy give smart reasons to explain why Christianity makes perfect sense feels...smart. It sits well, if you will. Many, if not most, of his arguments were things I had not previously thought about in terms of why I believe there is a God and why I believe that Christ was our Savior, and to have them explained to me with both his brilliant circular logic and then the helpful and much-easier-to-follow analogy, filled my believer's bucket.

But I don't think Lewis prepared these addresses (Mere Christianity is actually a compilation of radio addresses he delivered on the BBC during the Second World War) in order to simply preach to the choir.

Because Lewis was a former atheist, I believe he felt strongly, especially during such a major conflict as the war which included in its causes a fight against evil, that the world needed to understand where our morality comes from.  I think he was motivated to convince the masses that goodness isn't something we choose because it makes the world a better place or because our parents taught us the golden rule but rather, we choose it because God is real.  Christ is real.  And the possibility to become like them is real.

So, what about the others?  How would a non-Christian respond to Lewis?

It's hard for me to say, because, while I think he's very convincing and right quite a lot of the time, there are times throughout the book where I think he's wrong.  I think he's wrong because I have been taught something different and I believe that to be truth instead.  It's difficult for me to not take that one step further and assume that others who have been taught something else might thing he's wrong in even more places.

This inability for me to claim the book as all right is a stumbling block.  I want to be able to say, "Read this.  He makes the case for Christianity."  But I'd have to add, "However, I think he's a little off about the Godhead."    Lewis, himself, frequently cites his own reasoning as guesswork.  I admire his ability to say, "I can't be sure but this is how I think it works."  If he had done that with the Godhead, I'd probably be a lot more at ease with my reaction to the book but he doesn't.  He's pretty firm about how God begat Christ, which makes him his "Son" although they are the same being, just as a cube can be made up of more than one squares but they are not separate from the cube.    They are the cube.  God is God.  All of Him.  I'd continue to explain the Holy Ghost but it gets a little confusing.  My belief that they are three different beings is so much more clear to me.

Still, it is what it is.  A fascinating and articulate justification forChristianity.  And read with a proper British voice narrating in my head, it was a delightful and enlightening read.