Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis offers an excellent summary of Christian belief and morality. These essays, originally given as radio talks, take readers through a basic and compelling introduction to the Christian faith.
The Christian faith contains a brilliant and straightforward interpretation of the meaning of life and human morality.
C.S. Lewis engages those deep convictions of the faith that most Christians across denominations share in common. “Mere” means not bare or simply, but the basic ground. To read his arguments is to gain a profound knowledge of key Christian beliefs: the Trinity, Jesus as fully divine and fully human, and creation.
Lewis threads these convictions into a rich and persuasive account of the Christian moral life. His vivid use of stories and analogies throughout the study will leave the reader transformed.
In this summary, you will learn:
- that God calls Christians to a particular and transformed way of life;
- that the Triune God desires to make Himself known to us; and
- why belief and morality cannot be separated.
There is a natural, moral law that we share with all humanity.
We argue with one another about a range of activities: cutting in line, not keeping promises, or refusing to share something fairly. The fact that we do this indicates that we believe in moral standards. It makes little sense for a basketball player to foul out if there is not a shared consensus about what counts as a foul. The same is true for the moral life.
We call this reality the “Law of Nature.” Just as the earth circles the sun, so also in human life do particular laws guide us. Some might object that people from different cultures or from different times do not follow the same moral laws. Some cultures have practiced polygamy, for example. Even so, our morality is not completely different. What culture admires someone who flees during a battle? Even if a culture practices polygamy, there is still a commitment to one’s wives.
Of course, we fail to follow the Law of Nature. We excuse our petty lies; important work leads us to disregard others. The fact that we make excuses is itself proof that this law exists.
Some object that this natural law is really just a “herd instinct” that we have simply learned growing up, much as we learn tastes for certain foods. Yet this Law of Nature is something more. A person could and often does have two conflicting instincts or desires – for example, wanting to give money to a needy person and wanting to save money for his or her family. The Law of Nature (or the Moral Law) enables us to judge well between these two.
Others argue that the Law of Nature is simply a social construct, like driving on the right or left side of the road. Some cultural habits are indeed only conventions, but the truth of the natural law transcends culture. If this were not so, we would never believe that there could be moral progress. The fact that we see Nazi morality as corrupt in comparison with a more civilized one is an indication that the Moral Law extends beyond a particular culture or social location. The natural law is not only a useful convention so that people can get along together; it has the reality of a fact, in the sense that we did not invent it.
The moral law directs our attention to a Higher Being.
There are more or less two ways that people have understood the source of this human Law of Nature. The materialists see its existence as a matter of mere chance: Thousands of years of random evolution have brought about humans like us. By contrast, the religious view understands that there is a Mind or a Presence behind the universe and its laws. Just as the builder of a house, however, does not show himself as one of the items in the house, so also does this Presence not turn into one of the items within the world. Rather, the way we can expect to see this Presence is through an inner influence or through laws directing us toward good acts.
We could add a third view. There are those today who regard the natural law as the outworking of a Life-Force. This force has led the universe toward fulfilling its purpose. This view, however, seeks in the end to avoid God while having the comforts of believing in something greater. Since this force is blind, there is no accountability.
Some readers might think this understanding of the Moral Law is simply nostalgic. As civilization advances, they imagine, so must morality. Real advancement, however, means admitting mistakes and getting closer to the truth of things, whether in math or morality.
Nor should the reader dismiss this argument as merely Christian. The God of the Bible has not yet appeared in this argument, though we can discern the kind of actions that the One behind the Moral Law desires: fairness, fortitude, integrity, and so forth. To begin this reflection with the Law of Nature is not intended to deceive the reader into accepting Christianity. It is rather to show that Christianity only begins to make sense when one consents that there is, in fact, a Moral Law…
Join Holy Reads to read the rest of Mere Christianity by C.S Lewis book summary.
Download the App here and access 1,000+ bestselling Christian book summaries in written, audio, and video formats
Stay connected