Mere Christianity

by C.S. Lewis

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14,063 ratings, 4.23 average rating, 1,361 reviews (more data...)

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2		3%
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published

February 25th 2001 (first published 1943) by HarperSanFrancisco

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Paperback, 227 pages

isbn

0060652926 (isbn13: 9780060652920)

description

A forceful and accessible discussion of Christian belief that has become one of the most popular introductions to Christianity and one of the most pop...more

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12/18/07

Darknightdestiny rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

Read in January, 2003

recommends it for: Anyone looking for an honest representation of Christianity

I read this for the first time a long while ago, and then again in December of 2007. Each time I read it I find something new. It's fairly amazing to be able to point to a page and say, "That was me a year ago, a month ago, a day ago!"

This is not a new set of instructions on how to be a Christian—it's a very straightforward explanation of the roots of the Christian faith, a naked package of easy to understand information which builds logically from the very beginning. It ...more I read this for the first time a long while ago, and then again in December of 2007. Each time I read it I find something new. It's fairly amazing to be able to point to a page and say, "That was me a year ago, a month ago, a day ago!"

This is not a new set of instructions on how to be a Christian—it's a very straightforward explanation of the roots of the Christian faith, a naked package of easy to understand information which builds logically from the very beginning. It starts off with an appeal to every man's human nature, then goes about covering every base as to why man's nature is the way it is. Lewis is careful to present each alternative path of question and then refute it using logic and reason which should appease the skeptic and the doubtful.

The book is full of good humor and amiable narrative, but Lewis doesn't compromise or sugar-coat the cornerstones of the Christian faith. It is what it is, and by the time one is through with the book, whether he decides it is something he wants to make the central part of his life or not, there is no question as to what is actually is. The lines of choice are quite cleanly cut, and there's no room left to meander in the middle without a good deal of trying to convince oneself that he/she didn't just read what he thinks he did.

It's a fairly short and easy read, considering the subject matter, though not for those who are looking for an easy way out. I'd recommend it to anyone, really. Christianity is so often misunderstood, mostly due to media coverage and misconceptions about the people in the Church themselves. I think that a lot of people, Christian and non-Christian, have the idea that when someone becomes a follower of Christ the whole of their behavior and attitude changes overnight; then when they foul up, it seems like everyone enjoys talking about it and seeing it. This book talks about matters of the heart like this business of being happy to find others in the wrong, or becoming proud with one's own "successes" in Christianity. Lewis talks about Christianity being a process of producing a particular kind of new man, instead of a group of people who follow a set of rules. Interestingly enough, it is also these actions created in us by God's Spirit, saying "yes" to His prompting and the way He wants us to live, which miraculously turn us into these new sons and daughters of God. Lewis also talks about how this process is worked through us, so that we have no room to be proud or think that it's of our own doing. His illustrations are useful and easy to understand, but he warns us not to substitute them for the Real Thing. Likewise, his book is not the Bible itself—it is merely here to help and to give a defense of what he calls "Mere Christianity", the beliefs which are common to all Christians, the things on which we do not differ. Where one is confused about what it means to be a Christian, how one is saved and changed, and what it demands of the individual, Lewis explains what it means to become a son or daughter of God.

I think that this book is useful for anyone who is a Christian, who is deliberating on whether or not to become one, or who has a Christian friend. Or, if one is interested in studying Christianity for personal enrichment, he's most likely to gain more understanding from this book than any humanities or civilization textbook. It's one of my favorites, because the misrepresentation of Christianity in the media and by people who hardly understand it has been a source of frustration for me throughout the majority of my life.(less)

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01/25/08

Paul rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

bookshelves: finally-threw-it-at-the-wall

I had to stop reading this, it was making me ill. It may be that every single sentence in this book is either wrong or offensive or inane or all three. Here's a passage from page 45 - CS is talking about what he calls Dualism (i.e. Manichaeism) whereby the existence of evil is explained by there being two equal forces in the Universe which are in perpetual contention, the Good one and the Bad one. CS says:

"If Dualism is true then the Bad Power must be a being who likes badness f...more

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10/21/07

Danny Vanderbyl rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

Read in October, 2007

recommends it for: Militant Jihadists, their Enemies, Friends

Read it, even for the last chapter alone!

Most people have no idea about what Christianity is. That is the reason that CS Lewis' book exists.

If you are looking for a book that will convince you to take the leap of faith and become a Christian (like so many 1-star reviewers who said they were unconvinced) then don't waste your time. No book will convince you. However, if you are looking for the facts about real Christianity (not as a religion, but as a relationship) then y...more Read it, even for the last chapter alone!

Most people have no idea about what Christianity is. That is the reason that CS Lewis' book exists.

If you are looking for a book that will convince you to take the leap of faith and become a Christian (like so many 1-star reviewers who said they were unconvinced) then don't waste your time. No book will convince you. However, if you are looking for the facts about real Christianity (not as a religion, but as a relationship) then you can't do much better than Lewis. Although his voice is rather formal (read: evidently British), seekers will give him some latitude on this. If you want the egg, get past the shell.

As an aside, I personally did not become a Christian because of the 'scientific facts,' although I did assure myself that I wasn't committing intellectual suicide by doing so. I used to be very fond of evolution. If you want this same validation, you can either talk to a Christian who knows the facts (as I did), or read something like what Lewis has presented. Simple.

If everybody read this book, I can imagine at least a few of the following would happen:
1. Most people in Western culture would stop calling themselves Christians, and would either become one or become a real athiest. They would at least be standing for something instead of falling for anything.
2. Other cultures would stop saying ignorant things like "America (or wherever) is a Christian nation." The facts in Lewis' work speak against this. They would stop saying that they have a holy war against these so-called Christians (who are in fact not Christians at all.)
3. Heaven forbid, some people might realize the inheritance and gift they could receive and actually choose to find out about God by taking an Alpha course or reading that "Bible" thing ;)

If you like reading novels, you'll probably find the book dry until the last chapter. But don't miss this book on that account. Even if you read only the last chapter (about the next evolution of humanity), you'll have captured a significant (and inspiring) picture of real (er, Mere) Christianity. When you do, you might just be tempted to go back and read the book and see what all the fuss is about (and how he could possibly make such an outrageous statement.)

Well , that was long and rant-ish. But I love you all and I hope you read this book.
Look at my Listmania for some ideas about other crucial books like Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas.

Feel free to contact me.

Cheers,
Danny(less)

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03/04/08

Mark rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

Note: I am reviewing the "Anniversary Edition pub. 1981"

C.S Lewis comes from a long line of Christian apologists that have relied upon emotion and hope to justify a metaphyscial existence of God. In other words the argument is: I feel that God exists, and so because I have this feeling that God exists, God must exist in reality. Another form of this sort of thinking is based in Anselm's ontological argument, later used by Descarte. My rating of two stars stems from my di...more Note: I am reviewing the "Anniversary Edition pub. 1981"

C.S Lewis comes from a long line of Christian apologists that have relied upon emotion and hope to justify a metaphyscial existence of God. In other words the argument is: I feel that God exists, and so because I have this feeling that God exists, God must exist in reality. Another form of this sort of thinking is based in Anselm's ontological argument, later used by Descarte. My rating of two stars stems from my dislike of what Lewis does rather than how he does it. Even more so than William James, who's arguments remind me of Lewis' arguments, Lewis is a literary giant. His writing style is interesting, imaginative and entertaining. How he presents his argument would warrant (at least from me) a higher rating, but what he does is simply more of the same worn out arguments for the existence and the goodness of God.
For example, in Chpt. 3 he claims that humans are "haunted by the idea of a sort of behaviour [sic] they ought to practice", and that "they did not in fact do so." He points out that we have an idea of a better sort of behavior together with the acknowledgement that we do not in fact behave better than we do. We have an idea that is better than reality, and so the reality of that idea, being 'better' than just the idea, must be possible. Later on, Lewis states that his faith is based on reason and writes, "The battle between faith and reason on one side and emotion and imagination on the other." The important point to me is the separation of emotion and imagination from faith: that is the sticking point. To clarify his point he also writes, "Faith, in the sense in which I am here using the word, is the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted." Here, Lewis seems to equate faith with reason (which is his goal in the book), but does so based on unjustified grounds. Lewis, and other religious apologists, rely upon the assumption that simply because I have faith in something better, that that "something better" must necessarily be a reality. There is nothing that justifes this proposition.
I respect Lewis as a writer, and this book while not one of his best in my view, is an example of his talent. That being said, I don't like when good writers use their talents to misconstrue words and ideas in order to accomodate their arguments.(less)

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04/12/08

Jason rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

Read in November, 1992

Mere Christianity is such a classic work, and having been read by millions over the past sixty years plus years, it is difficult to say anything new about it. As the years have rolled on though, a different society, with different needs and expectations has arisen that sees the world a little different than the British society, in the midst of all the moral and spiritual challenges that happened in the World War II years.

Lewis' is more of a classic apologetic. He speaks of universal ...more

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03/13/08

Amber rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

Lewis is brilliant! Here's a quote from the book that's never left my head:

"I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with the man who says he is ...more

Like this review? yes (5 people liked it)

3 comments

02/06/08

Marty rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

bookshelves: front-room-bookshelf

Read in May, 2007

What an astounding, impressive, fulfilling read. I am not normally a non-fiction reader unless it is a good historical piece or biography ... those I will lap up. But a book on religion? As a pretty dedicated church goer myself, I must candidly say that unless the book is actual scripture itself, it might as well be one of those desperately snobbish self-help books full of zippy motivation quotes and the same principles you find in all other books of the same genre, just worded slightly differen...more What an astounding, impressive, fulfilling read. I am not normally a non-fiction reader unless it is a good historical piece or biography ... those I will lap up. But a book on religion? As a pretty dedicated church goer myself, I must candidly say that unless the book is actual scripture itself, it might as well be one of those desperately snobbish self-help books full of zippy motivation quotes and the same principles you find in all other books of the same genre, just worded slightly differently. Yet in Mere Christianity, I found none of the superficiality I've previously experienced with other books that delve into philosophic explorations of religion. This is a real study, a deep probe. There is nothing artificial about it. Thank goodness my wife is a huge C.S. Lewis fan or I might not have picked it up at all. But she recommended it to me, and I had it on a trip, and for hours and hours I read, mesmerized in a way that few thrillers can even achieve. What did I find? I found that in this work C.S. Lewis single-handedly legitimizes religion as a belief, lifestyle, and philosophy. And what makes Lewis most credible is that Mere Christianity is not designed to make any reader comfortable, from agnostic to new age believer to hard core Christian. His ideas and reasoning are solid and unavoidable. His ability to address concerns is acute and thorough. He is not pompous, but he is confident. Where he is unsure of something, he admits it, though I'd be careful to deviate from such a sound philosopher. Probably his greatest talent is his use of applicable examples and parallel images. Where a concept is vague, he has the ability to nail it down, to apply it to the known. C.S. Lewis rings of truth throughout. And probably the most important thing in his book, or in any book for that matter, is that when I put it down, I was determined to be a better person, to fix up deficiencies in my life. Mere Christianity is not "merely" another book on religion or Sunday School manual; it is a call to arms for every person who picks it up, regardless of their faith. Go to it with an open mind, and be prepared to act afterwards.(less)

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05/21/07

Chris Brenna rated it:

Read in January, 1993

recommends it for: nobody

Taking a quick glance over the reviews offered for this book, I see a lot of people expressing the idea that it convinced them that a Christian could be intelligent and still be a Christian, or that C.S. Lewis offers "logical" arguments for the Christian faith. I won't deny that C.S. Lewis was a brilliant man. But at the risk of being really unpopular (because criticizing Lewis is on par with criticizing Abraham Lincoln or Mother Teresa), I have to say that it would have been better ...more

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02/25/08

George Bradford rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

bookshelves: god-shaped-hole

As solid an explanation of Christianity as I have ever encountered. Beautiful writing. Clarity of thought. Solid reasoning. The text of this book originated from a series of BBC radio lectures C.S. Lewis delivered to England while Nazi bombs rained from the sky. Set in that context, the imperative is clear. Christianity is not doled out as a panacea for every sheep in the flock. It is presented, rather, as an choice of free will, guided by grace and dedicated to justice.

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09/02/07

Stephanie rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

bookshelves: christian

Read in September, 2007

People either love this book or hate it. Without passing judgment I don't see how people can actually hate it. Seriously. C.S. Lewis simply breaks down the fundamental truths of Christianity. Personally I love how he goes beyond all the denominations, beyond who's more right, beyond who's more wrong and finds that common thread they all seem to follow. From there it's a real eye opener.

However, I do have to say the book is so rich with philosophy I found myself reading sentences...more

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12/23/07

Skylar Burris rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

bookshelves: christianity, nonfiction, religion

As a now more mature Christian, this book does not impress me as deeply as it once did, because I don't see its arguments as being objectively persuasive to the non-Christian. (Some of them, which seemed to me compelling at the time, now seem too simplistic, admitting of only a few possible arguments.) Yet when I read it as a teenager, I had just read the Gospels for the first time in my life, and I had been deeply struck by Christ's words and sense of authority. I WANTED to be a Christian at th...more

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08/16/07

Andrew rated it:

This book shed the first signs of light toward my walk with Christ. This book is actually a compilation of a radio series Lewis gave during World War II when the Nazis were bombing London. His messages were meant to inspire and give hope during a time of horror and bloodshed.

His arguments are borrowed heavily from the Augustinian school of thought, but he makes those arguments relevant to the modern thinker. In my opinion, C.S. Lewis is the most important religious scholar of the 20t...more

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09/09/08

Lavinia rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

bookshelves: 2004-or-older, 2005, nonfiction-biographies-memoirs

Read in April, 2005

un om care s-a schimbat de la a avea bios [viata biologica] la a avea zoe [viata spirituala] inseamna ca trece printr-o schimbare la fel de mare ca si statuia care a fost schimbata din piatra cioplita in om real.
tocmai aceasta este esenta crestinismului. lumea aceasta este atelierul unui mare sculptor. noi sintem statuile si se zvoneste prin atelier ca intr-o zi unele din noi vor capata viata.

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03/05/09

Luann rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

Read in March, 2009

Why have I never read this book before? You will recognize lots of familiar quotes from this book. I especially like the way Lewis can draw such good analogies--the images really stick in your mind. Examples: "Imagine yourself a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house...You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace." Or this one: "Christians have often disputed as to whether what leads the Christian home is good acti...more

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02/20/08

Diane rated it:

Read in January, 2004

Next to the Bible, this is the most quoted book by theologians. I read and reread and refer to this book whenever I can. My first time through, I kept notes of thoughts, questions, comments, quotes, etc. and had 25 pages when I was done. There are passages I have committed to memory, because Lewis' thoughts on certain topics are so profound and inspired. What an amazing person!

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06/12/08

Luke rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

Read in July, 2008

Man!

I really didn't like this book.

I've been going through an atheistic reading phase (Richard Dawkins mainly) and I made the mistake last month of trying to delve into the good book for the Unification Church that goes by the title The Divine Principle. (The Unification Church followers are called Moonies and it's largely regarded as a cult.) Oh boy was that reading wacky but somehow eminently uninteresting. That takes almost enough talent to make me a believer.
...more

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05/01/08

Keely rated it:

(review of isbn 0060652888)

bookshelves: non-fiction, philosophy, religion, reviewed

Read in May, 2008

It is no wonder that Christians should revere a miracle-working carpenter. I think one must be the son of a god to build an attic before the rest of the house.

There is no fundamental basis for Lewis' arguments. I was hoping to find something more thought-provoking and convincing, but it just felt like the same old ideas Aquinas and Descartes bandied around. These are no longer sufficient in a world of thermodynamics and evolution.

The skill and intellect of Lewis are witho...more It is no wonder that Christians should revere a miracle-working carpenter. I think one must be the son of a god to build an attic before the rest of the house.

There is no fundamental basis for Lewis' arguments. I was hoping to find something more thought-provoking and convincing, but it just felt like the same old ideas Aquinas and Descartes bandied around. These are no longer sufficient in a world of thermodynamics and evolution.

The skill and intellect of Lewis are without question, but the way he meanders about duality, truth, social darwinism, pathetic fallacy, comparative anthropology, and scientific process tends more towards self-justification than any profundity.

Lewis clearly wants to believe, and wants to bolster and justify those beliefs, but he never overcomes a reasonable burden of proof. Since belief seems so important to him, Occam's Razor suggests that he doesn't have a 'secret vault' of excellent religious proofs which he failed to elucidate here. He's put together the best indications he could find, but they don't add up to much.

Every time Lewis embarked on a thought, it would grow and blossom in intriguing ways until he would simply bunch together the whole bundle, tie it with a bow, label it 'god's handiwork' with a reverent bow, and move on before reaching an insight. It made me think the allegory in Onan has been widely misread.

The righteousness of his belief contrasts hypocritically with the way he blithely writes off any other faith or reason. To believe everyone else is so faulty but still think yourself infallible is not only insulting, but a black mark on any otherwise reasonable mind.

I like Lewis, both his tone and his mind. In many ways, I found I wanted to find something compelling in him. I wanted to find something that made sense. I sense Lewis also wanted to find something that made sense, something he could attach himself to. After being alone and afraid in a grand world ripped by World Wars, he wanted meaning.

He found it. He found a meaning he could cling to, but in reading this book, I found his grasp was too tentative. I cannot share it with him, because it does not find its tenacity in reason, but in romanticism, in idealism, in fear, and in self-blindness.(less)

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04/25/08

Yulia rated it:

(review of isbn 0020869401)

Read in January, 1998

I had to read this for a high school religion class on those who questioned their faith (the least creepy of the religion options my school offered, I assumed). Ah, but how foolish not to have taken a class run by the lovely school chaplain. Instead, I get someone who deems it appropriate to call one of his students the most moral in the class, note in my mid-semester report that I dragged on discussions after he'd have preferred to move on (what I considered being thorough and making fine dis...more

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02/26/08

Nicole rated it:

As a nonbeliever, I began reading Mere Christianity with the expectation that C.S. Lewis would give me a good argument to wrestle with mentally for a while. I had heard so much about this book, especially from people who got much closer to Christianity because of it, that I assumed it was not only well written but also persuasive and well thought out.[return][return]About a third of the way through, I was wondering when the persuasion and thoughtfulness would kick in. I had heard of the lunatic,...more

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08/18/07

Ben rated it:

(review of isbn 0684823780)

Read in August, 2007

An interesting book, particularly for those with at least a passing interest in the basics of Christianity across all (or at least, so Lewis claims) denominations. As a book of philosophy, however, it leaves much to be desired. He often starts from easily arguable premises and moves through a series of questionable steps of logic in order to prove the truth of Christianity. And some of the bigger - and perhaps, for some, more pressing - questions he leaves untouched, acknowledging that, at least...more

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We discussed many books at this last meeting (which was a lot of fun), so I'm including many here. If we don't have a clear winner, I'll narrow it to the top 3 the 1st week in March and we can re-vote.

Mere Christianity

3 votes, 27.3%

Atlas Shrugged

5 votes, 45.5%

Rebecca

3 votes, 27.3%

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"Christianity agrees with Dualism that this universe is at war. But it does not think this is a war between independent powers. It thinks it is a civil war, a rebellion, and that we are living in a part of the universe occupied by the rebel." More quotes...