Reviews
My least favorite kind of spirituality book. The author has an existing religious belief, and then tries to rationally justify it with reason. But his arguments are flawed and easily dispensed with. I would much rather read a memoir about his journey to faith, than an attempt to rationalize that which is basically irrational. If faith is belief without evidence, one should not try to logically prove the foundations of one’s faith.
Absolutely no words to describe how wonderful this book was! Every Christian should read it.
Read this in an attempt to strengthen my faith and address any concerns I might have. While I'm not sure I understand and believe everything yet, I know for sure that the way religion operates never fails to pose questions and get you thinking. (Goodreads, let us give half-stars: I think three is too low for this one)
Brings you back to the basics without sacrificing a complex discussion and understanding. I don’t agree with everything he said but there are things worth discussing amidst some wisdom.
Was intrigued by Lewis’ belief in purgatory and that he seemingly was open to evolution — both never were brought to my attention.
C.S. Lewis convinced me that a rare breed of contemporary Christian thinker exists: those who believed that the common reader/believer was not a fool. That the ability to reason and think for oneself wasn't reserved for the 'educated', whatever that may mean, but present in every person who gave pause in their lives and devoted some time to looking. And that reason (or logic, or any of its more technical cognates; a rose by any name smells just as sweet) could be simple yet powerful. Lewis' style is persuasive and commonsensical, conversational and brilliant. This text is presented in the form of expository reflections that he claims, are no more than the thoughts of an inexperienced believer, but he yields wonderful insight from his putting together of the experience of daily life and scriptural teaching. He takes a fundamental tenet of Christian belief - 'faith' or 'hope' or 'marriage' - and literally turns understanding inside out, while flooding the room of the mind with light. It is as if, prior to reading his reasoning on what some thing might mean, I had not, for all these years, fully understood the meaning of that thing and how it should be for me. That thing no longer is just a word gleaned from a verse, or a stock phrase thrown around in airy spiritual banter (that, whether one realises or not, mean nearly nothing to oneself). In gentle simplicity, his words illuminate the Word's lucidity and power. It would be helpful if a study edition of this book exists, with scriptural references, but then again maybe not. I've approached Mere Christianity as a reflective piece suitable for deeper engagement, and consider finding its scriptural accompaniment as a step taken in this endeavour.
I loved that C.S.Lewis put every religion aside and just presented the facts about Christianity. No bias, no agenda, just the facts. As a Christian, this book will put things into perspective. As a non Christian, this will help you understand the belief system of Christians. Whatever your belief or affiliation, this is a great read.
Must read
CS Lewis is such an amazing author! He has a way of writing that makes his books easy reads and still goes so deep with the topics he writes about.
A review from my old blog... Lewis utilizes all kinds of illustrations which put heady, complicated truths into easy to understand nuggets that the every day person can grab. Occasionally as I read along I had some aha moments and then again some moments where I understood the analogy or illustration but disagreed with the underlying point. The above happened several times in the last chapter where Lewis uses the Theory of Evolution as an illustration. No where does he say that he does or does not believe in evolution. For me, though, the illustrations just weren't as poignant because I do not believe in evolution. I found this book to be an interesting read. I suppose that I could have gleaned more from the book had I had the time to read the book much slower but still... I enjoyed the read.
This book blew the lid off Christianity for me, in the best way. As a lifelong Christian, Lewis posed philosophical, theological, and even scientific questions with logical answers that fit into gaps I didn't realize I had. He opened up a totally new realm of Christianity for me, like when you start studying abstract numbers in Algebra and suddenly you realize you were just doing children's math before. I highly recommend this to all Christians, and to anyone who thinks Christianity is just a hypocritical mess. C.S. Lewis has some simple (and some complex) ideas for you.
Always refreshing.
I think Lewis is the kind of author (or, to be more specific, this is the kind of book) that, whether you like it or not, won't leave you indifferent if you get to read the whole thing. And your opinion will always depend of your beliefs. For me, there is no middle ground. There are transitions, and there will be opposition, but the fact that Lewis published taking the risks involved in doing so is very important in this scope; this is not a book with a lack of arguments, actually, it's pretty consistent and I agree with most of it. I admire this man.
** spoiler alert ** I read this book as part of a book club and honestly found it hard to put down. Sorry book club, I have a read it a bit too fast. I would recommend this book if your knew to faith or have grown up in the church. All in all, it's a good read and amazingly still very relevant to our time today. “When you are tempted not to bother about another person’s troubles because they are no business of yours, remember that though his different from you he is part of the same organism as you.” What important message for 2020
I love C.S. Lewis' writing. I don't agree with everything he says, but I love the way he makes you think about things. And I personally think is analogies are A+.
This book is a classic for a reason. Excellent exposé by Lewis on the fundamentals of Christianity, managing, in his typical style, to keep the tone light and easy to read, and the book peppered with excellent and on-point illustrations throughout.
Highlights
“Good people know about both good nd evil: bad people do not know about either.”
But if treaties do not matter, and if there is no such thing as Right and Wrong—in other words, if there is no Law of Nature—what is the difference between a fair treaty and an unfair one?
Quarrelling means trying to show that the other man is in the wrong. And there would be no sere in trying to do that unless you and he had some sort of agreement as to what Right and Wrong are; just as there would be no sense in saying that a footballer had committed a foul unless there was some agreemnent about the rules of football.
It is true that some people may find they have to wait in the hall for a considerable time, while others feel certain almost at once which door they must knock at. I do not know why there is this difference, but I am sure God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wait. When you do get into your room you will find that the long wait has done you some kind of good which you would not have had otherwise. But you must regard it as waiting, not as camping. You must keep on praying for light: and, of course, even in the hall, you must begin trying to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and paneling.
This made me LOL but brilliant analogy, nonetheless.
It is more like a hall out of which doors open into several rooms. If I can bring anyone into that hallI shall have done what I attempted. But it is in the rooms, not in the hall, that there are fires and chairs and meals. The hall is a place to wait in, a place from which to try the various doors, not a place to live in. For that purpose the worst of the rooms (whichever that may be) is, I think, preferable.
It would be wicked arrogance for us to say that any man is, or is not, a Christian in this refined sense. And obviously a word which we can never apply is not going to be a very useful word. As for the unbelievers, they will no doubt cheerfully use the word in the refined sense. It will become in their mouths simply a term of praise. In calling anyone a Christian they will mean that they think him a good man. But that way of using the word will be no enrichment of the language, for we already have the word good. Meanwhile, the word Christian will have been spoiled for any really useful purpose it might have served.