Mere Christianity

C.S. Lewis argues that he is not looking from the view point specific to a certain branch of Christianity, while he is anglican. The name Christians was first given at antioch (Acts 11:26) to ‘the disciples’. To those who accepted the teachings of the apostles. The book started as Radio broadcast delivered from 1942-1944 in WW2. He served in WW1. Lewis ‘ Christianity is not philosophy or theology but a way of life.
The Law of Human Nature People are moral creatures. The Law of Nature refers to morality. Morality is the standard to which all people expect all others to act. Everyone has different ideas about what is right and wrong. Human beings know morality and consistently break it. Some Objections
Herd Instinct? No, instincts pull us in many directions; we still choose which to follow. Social Convention? No, while decent behavior is taught to us, even children know right from wrong (regardless if they choose to follow it).
There are no real or objective rights vs. wrong, only different ideas of it. Reality of the Law The law of decent behavior is what people ought to do. They usually do not follow this. People should be unselfish and fair but they rarely are. Law of Decent Behavior is not what is necessarily useful, but what ought to be. What Lies behind the law The materialist view, matter and space just happen to exist; everything that happens is a sort of fluke, uses science. Science uses experiments to prove the religious view. What is behind the universe are more like a mind than anything else we know. It is conscious, has purposes, produces creatures like itself (with minds) Religion doesn’t need proof it needs faith. The Life-Force View Creative evolution is a God that uses evolution (a life-force). C.S. Lewis refers to this as wishful thinking. We Have Cause to be Uneasy The Moral Law within us is perfect expression of God. It does not care how hard or painful or dangerous whatever it asks us to do is. God is absolute goodness; it is we that make ourselves his allies and his enemies. Christian religion is a thing of unspeakable comfort but it begins with dismay. What Christians Believe- Rival Conceptions of God Christians believe God is good and completely separate from the world he created. Pantheists believe God is beyond good and evil and is the universe. Atheism is too simple. If the world has no meaning, we never should have found out it has no meaning. The Invasion The Christian view: God created a good world that went wrong. Dualism believes the world is a battleground in which a force of good battles a force of evil. Christianity believes in a force of evil that was created by God to be good and went wrong (Satan). The Shocking Alternative God created things with free will. Satan’s sin was his want to be God, therefore transferring this sin to Humanity. Judaism hammers God and his morality into its members. This is why Jesus’ claim was blasphemous (God is separate). Jesus was a great moral teacher so he must have been either the Son of God or the Devil of Hell. The Perfect Penitent
Atoning for sins is an important part of Christianity. It is unlearning self-will and self-conceit, undergoing a kind of death to be one with God. Only bad people need to repent; only a good person can repent perfectly. Jesus’ death was Gods atonement for all of our sins. The Practical Conclusion Christ-life refers to a new kind of life that God wants and prepares for us. The 3 things spread Christ-life to us; baptism, belief and, Holy Communion. Christ-life is what enables us to get back up when we fall. It helps us repeat the voluntary death. Christ is operating through us in this Christ life. God will invade the planet, but wanted to give us a chance to join his side freely.