Week 2 Conversation- Pages 21-39

[Steve]

Lewis is still building his case for the Christian God, but is restraining himself with hopes of drawing in the unbelieving audience and not running them off right off the bat. Some interesting points are brought up in this section and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these and what parts struck you...

On page 31, he says that we are in a fix - if the universe is governed strictly by an “absolute goodness” then we are never going to be good enough to satisfy it plus we keep putting ourselves at odds with it everyday day without much chance of getting any better tomorrow. Reading that makes me grateful that our God is a merciful God and forgiving God otherwise life would be very defeating and hopeless. This also causes me to think about how I treat others - am I more like this “absolute goodness” or am I like God?

Starting on page 35, he begins the process of defining Christianity and starts with transitioning from an impersonal god to a personal God like the One we serve. Atheists view that there is no god at all - personal or impersonal. But I love how Lewis destroys their argument which brings in the concept of cruel and evil when those concepts are only valid in a Christian worldview. If there is no God, then there is no basis for good or moral actions. So, to say the world is cruel or evil, then the atheist has to “steal” from Christianity to make their argument. Frank Turek has written a wonderful book dealing with this called “Stealing From God” that I highly recommend.

What are some of your thoughts on this section and what spoke to your heart - please add to the conversation.