A Critical Analysis Of C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity

C.S. Lewis lived from 1898 to 1963. During his lifetime, he wrote over thirty books. One of his most popular books is Mere Christianity. Mere Christianity is broken up into four books ranging from twenty-five to seventy-five pages. Content for each of the books came from a series of radio broadcasts between 1942 and 1944. They read like a conversation instead of an essay.
In Book One, C.S. Lewis seeks to explain the Law of Human Nature. He says that everyone appeals to some kind of standard of behavior that no one can keep. He shows how people make excuses for their behavior as if there is a standard. Lewis also says this “Moral Law” is not an instinct, social convention, or a result of education. When two instincts conflict, the stronger one …show more content…
Lewis was born into an Irish Anglican family. He was always taken to church, but he found the message of Christianity “uninspiring.” When his mother passed away, he began to think God was cruel and later began believing that there was no God at all. When Lewis later converted to Christianity, he joined the Church of England. He served in the trenches of World War I. Then, in World War II, he served as an air raid warden. He also gave talks to men in the Royal Air Force. Lewis knew it would not take many missions before the men were declared dead or missing. As a result, he was “prompted” to talk about suffering, pain, and evil. This is why Lewis was asked by the BBC to give the …show more content…
In Mere Christianity, he wanted to focus on the “core of Christianity” and he put a great deal of effort into making that happen. He sent copies of Book Two to four clergymen-an Anglican, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Roman Catholic. He tried his best to make sure his information was correct and that he did not have any denominational biases. The Methodist clergyman thought he did not say enough about faith and the Roman Catholic clergyman thought he spoke to much about the "comparative unimportance of theories in the explanation of atonement." Other than that, Lewis was able to accomplish his goal. Lewis also mentions atheism in his book. However, it is used in reference to his arguments as an atheist and why he changed his mind. Modern day readers may have some trouble getting into the book because although it is conversationally written, the English is not as modern. Lewis also is repetitive and detailed in an effort to build his argument. One can appreciate though that Lewis does not claim to be perfect. He says he is "neither high nor