Note: Once again, this review was originally an Instagram story so I did not go as in depth as I could have.
Overview
Mere Christianity is about, well, mere Christianity. In this book, C.S Lewis explains his understanding of the Christian faith using simple language.
The book addresses Christianity as a worldview. From how the world came to be and the existence of God all the way to Christian morality and theology. Lewis covers the fundamental grounds of the faith.
This book is a rational case for Christianity, a defense and explanation of what Christians believe. It is not bound by the boundaries of denomination or politics, it is, simply, an introduction to the Christian faith through the mind of a brilliant man. Very fundamental stuff.
Much of this book was given as a broadcast talk. So in a sense you're basically reading a podcast, pretty cool, huh?
Why Read This?
Whether you are a devout Christian, or a searching agnostic, or an atheist, this book will be worth your time. C.S Lewis is a brilliant writer/thinker. Like, this guy is SO.GOOD at thinking and articulating his thoughts. Every chapter had me, a Christian of almost 8 years, going "Woah, my mind is blown" or "why have I not thought of this before???"
Anyone curious about what the Christian faith is all about but finds reading the Bible intimidating will find Mere Christianity to be a much easier starting point (although, you must eventually read the Bible to fully understand the faith). This book is seriously a classic. A must-read when it comes to Christian literature.
The ideas in this book are written in a very understandable and clear way. It rationalizes Christian values to a degree that everyone can understand, unlike Christian books that are filled with religious jargon. This book also utilizes many illustrations to explain difficult ideas.
A lot of times, Christians have difficulty conveying their values in a way that a layman can understand. But the reality is, Christian values make a lot of sense indeed, and upon deeper investigation, offer a wealth of wisdom. Lewis, being the intelligent thinker he is, explains those values and their benefits and why they make sense brilliantly. Every chapter is filled with common sense and shows that Lewis has spent a great deal of time pondering upon these ideas himself (he was a great skeptic in his earlier years).
Potential Pitfalls
This book is primarily all C.S Lewis' thoughts. As much of a brilliant thinker he may be, human thoughts are bound to be flawed. Lewis quotes very little scripture in this book, which is fair because this book is about his rationale, but that means extra work for Christians, they must make sure the contents of this book line up with scripture.
Another thing: Lewis utilizes a lot of illustrations to prove his points. Illustrations are great, Jesus spoke in parables all the time to prove His points. However, illustrations can be very flawed sometimes. I see bad comparisons all the time on political or religious issues. So make sure you carefully examine and consider Lewis' illustrations, see if they are successful in proving his points fairly.
Lastly, Lewis makes quite a few broad generalizations on humans. I have always shied away from doing that because I know my presumptions on people may be very wrong. Lewis is much wiser than me though, and he's known a lot more people than I have, so I give him that (and honestly, I think most of his generalizations are accurate, it's just that no one likes to admit those things). Just know that if you use his generalizations without carefully observing and considering it first, you are in danger of misrepresenting people and making a clown of yourself.
Aside from that, the book is seriously great, go read it.
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