STUDY GUIDE to Mere Christianity

1 STUDY GUIDE toMere ChristianityBy LewisIntroductionMere Christianityis possibly Lewis most frequently read work. Itwas originally given as a series ofbroadcast talks during the Second World War. Of his own qualificationsto speak on Christianity hesaid:It s not because I m anybody in particular that I ve been asked to tellyou what Christians believe. In fact it s just the opposite. [The BritishBroadcasting Corporation] have asked me, first of all because I m a laymanand not a parson, and consequently they thought I might understand theordinary person s point of view a bit better. Secondly, I think they asked mebecause it was known that I d been an atheist for many years and only becamea Christian fairly recently. They thoughtthat would mean I d be able to seethe difficulties able to remember what Christianity looks like from theoutside.

2 So you see the long and the short of it is that I ve been selected forthis job just because I m an amateur and not a professional, and a beginnernot an old hand. Of course this means that you may well ask what right I haveto talk on the subject at , when I d finished my scripts I sent them round to variouspeople whowereprofessionals: to one Church of England theologian, oneRoman Catholic, one Presbyterian, and one Methodist. The Church of Englandman and the Presbyterian agreed with the whole thing. The Roman Catholicand the Methodist agreed in the main, but would have liked one or two placesaltered. So there you ve got all the cards on the I m going to say isn t exactly what all these people would say;but the greater part of it is what all Christians agree One thing I canpromise you.

3 In spite of all the unfortunate differences between Christians, whatthey agree on is still something pretty big and pretty solid: big enough to blowany of us sky-high if it happens to be ability to get to the heart of Christian doctrine in this way was one of his greatest giftsandhelped to inspire a greater sense of solidarity amongst churchmen of many persuasions. As far as theworld at large was concerned, the level of public response to Lewis talks was considerable, anddivided, more often then not, into warm appreciation or vehement criticism. In a letter to Eric Fennof the BBC Lewis expressed no surprise at this great divergence of opinion:The two views you report aren t very illuminating about me perhaps;about my subject matter, it is an old story isn t it?

4 They love, or taken from Walter Hooper Lewis: A Companion and GuideBackgroundThe emphasis on moral law was especially important to Lewis because it seemed to him that:Look for Christ, and you will find Him, and with him everything else thrownin. Lewis Foundation, 20012the New Testament, by preaching repentance and forgiveness, always assumesanaudience who already believe in the law of Nature and know they havedisobeyed it. In modern England we cannot at present assume this, and thereforemost apologetic begins a stage too far on. The first step is to create, or recover,the sense of man,in doubting the reality even of good and evil, hascut himself off from his ancestors(with the age-old notion of the Tao, or Law of Human Nature) and the whole bedrock of Christianthought that related to interested in learning more about the idea of the Tao can find practical examples of it atwork in different cultures in the appendix to Lewis The Abolition of you want to learn moreabout this concept in the history of Christian thought,you can also look at Thomas Aquinas SummaTheologica, a work that Lewis almost certainly drew on for help with his definitions.

5 In theSummaNatural Law is defined as humans' willed participation in the Eternal Law of God, by using reason todiscern fundamental goods and is a basic question-and-answer STUDY GUIDE forMere Christianityavailable for downloadingfrom the internet members may like to work through this GUIDE prior to the meeting as it is best used as a check-list for making sure you have understood Lewis arguments. Or, alternatively, you might like to selectsomequestions from the GUIDE for use in the detailed chapter by chapter discussion the STUDY GUIDE we have provided has been gauged towards a different set of of the questions deal with unearthing the particularities of Lewis mostquestionsseek to spark debate within the group as to how far people agree with Lewis ideas, and howwe might apply his insights to our lives today.

6 We have providedat least one question per chapter forBooks1 and 2. Books 3and 4 furnishmore material for discussion because they were almost twice aslong. In view of this,it might be a good plan to divide your STUDY into three sessions starting withBooks 1 and 2 together and thenBooks 3 and 4 separately. Once again, we suggest that you pick andchoose questions according to your group interests and time constraints andthat youhave someonemoderate the discussion to ensure that everyone who wishes has a chance to 1(1) There has been a great deal of soft soap talked about God for the last hundred years. That is notwhat I am offering. What, in your opinion, isLewis offering us inMere Christianity ?(2)Do you agree with Lewis that we can all appeal to an objective sense of what is right and wrong a God-given conception of the Moral Law?

7 (3)How is the Law of Human Nature/Moral Law distinguished from other laws?(4)In our postmodern society, many argue that morality is relative to culture and upbringing. Howmight you answer them with Lewis arguments in mind?(5)What does Lewis say about the limitations of (a)Science, (b)PsychoanalysisLook for Christ, and you will find Him, and with him everything else thrownin. Lewis Foundation, 20013 Why, in his view, do neither of them pose a real challenge to belief in God? Do you agreewith him that there is no conflict?(6)According to Lewis, Christianity only begins to make sense when we have realized a few hardfacts about the kind of universe we live in. What, in his view, are the illusions that people have togive up before Christianity can begin to speak to them?

8 Can you think of any other illusionspeople might have to dismantle before coming to God?Book 2(7)Lewis raises a number of opposing belief systems to Christianity (Atheism, Pantheism, Dualism)and attempts to show why none of them fit the facts. Do you agree with his arguments here?Would you have anything to add to them?(8)Is there anything surprising in Lewis description of atheism as too simple ?(9)Do you think Christianity and water is a prevalent phenomenon? In what other ways mightpeople attempt to water down the faith?(10) What did you make of Lewis analogy of Christians as living in enemy territory ? Is this abiblical principle? In what other ways might the analogy be applicable to our lives?(11) Do you think Lewis distinctive style of writing reinforces his argument for Christianity ?

9 (12) ..out of that hopeless attempt [to be their own masters, and invent some sort of happinessfor themselves outside God] has come nearly all that which we call human history. Do youagree with this summation of world history? Would you have anything to add to it?(13)According to Lewis, God s rescue plan for humanity took the form of four things (the MoralLaw, good dreams of a dying god, the revelation given to the Jews, and finally the coming ofJesus).(a)Is good dreams a strange inclusion in this list?(b)Can you think of any examples of good dreams in pagan/heathen cultures?(c)Why was the Judaic revelation so important?(d)Are there any other ways in which God could be said to have revealed himself tohumanity?(14) If you are a Christian, you are free to think that all these religions, even the queerest ones,contain at least some hint of truth.

10 Can you identify any hints of the truth within other worldreligions? What do you think our attitude towards people of other faiths should be?(15)Despite Lewis famous words about the foolishness of accepting Christ simply as a greatmoral teacher, it seems that many people today still take that attitude towards Jesus. Why?(16)What did you make of the theory ofatonement that Lewis proposes? Are there any othersuch theories that have helped you in your understanding of what happened on theCross?Look for Christ, and you will find Him, and with him everything else thrownin. Lewis Foundation, 20014 Book 3(17) People often ask when the next step in evolution the step to something beyond man willhappen. Buton the Christian view it has happened already.