I just finished reading this book and it is absolutely brilliant!! I still don't know why I waited so long to read it, especially having heard so many respected Christian friends speak highly of its work. C.S. Lewis, well-known mostly for his "Chronicles of Narnia" children's books, put together this book from a series of talks he gave over the BBC radio during World War II. When Mr. Lewis put the talks into book form, he decided to keep the conversational manner, and it works wonderfully towards keeping things understandable. He was an intellectual--no doubt--but a down-to-earth one. "Mere Christianity" should be required reading for every Christian, as well as for anyone who is the tiniest bit interested in what Christianity really is.
It's difficult to try to condense down so many topics, but let me just share with you a few quotes from the various chapters.
From the chapter entitled, The Perfect Penitent: "Now what was the sort of 'hole' man had gotten himself into? He had tried to set up on his own, to behave as if he belonged to himself. In other words, fallen man is not simply an imperfect creature who needs improvement: he is a rebel who must lay down his arms. Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realising that you have been on the wrong track and getting ready to start life over again from the ground floor--that is the only way out of our 'hole'. This process of surrender--this movement full speed astern--is what Christians call repentance."
From the chapter about The Cardinal Virtues: "Prudence means practical common sense, taking the trouble to think out what you are doing and what is likely to come of it. Christ told us to be not only 'as harmless as doves,' but also 'as wise as serpents.' He wants a child's heart, but a grown-up's head."
One of my favorites is this one, from the chapter on Social Morality: "I may repeat 'Do as you would be done by' till I am black in the face, but I cannot really carry it out till I love my neighbour as myself: and I cannot learn to love my neighbour as myself till I learn to love God: and I cannot learn to love God except by learning to obey Him."
I could go on and on, but I'll close with one more and hope that it's enough to whet your appetite. This one is from the chapter on Faith and talking about temptations: "No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means--the only complete realist."
~Highly Recommended for Everyone!
(Originally Published in 1952; this edition by HarperCollins 2001)
