1 Book I: Right and Wrong As a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe
C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity
Concordance
Index Item
1 Book I: Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe
1.1 I. The Law of Human Nature p. 17
1.1.1 C. S. Lewis makes note of a tendency in humans of appealing to a standard of absolute truth in quarrels and arguments. He calls this standard the Law of Nature or the Moral Law.
1.1.1.1 Looking back, have you ever used an appeal to absolute truth in your discussions with others?
1.1.1.1.1 There is a fundamental Rule about Right and Wrong
1.1.1.1.1.1 P. 18: This law was called the Law of Nature because people thought that every one knew it by nature and did not need to be taught it.
1.1.1.2 Lewis also says that no human appears to be able to keep the Law of Nature at all times but if someone feels that they have, they are an exception and should not read the rest of the book. Do you think you are an exception?
1.1.1.2.1 Humans Know the rule but do not follow it
1.1.1.2.1.1 P. 21: These, then, are the two points I wanted to make.
1.1.1.2.1.1.1 First, that human beings, all over the earth, have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way, and cannot really get rid of it.
1.1.1.2.1.1.2 Secondly, that they do not in fact behave in that way.
1.2 II. Some Objections p.22
1.2.1 Lewis sites two objections to his theory of natural law which have come to him through letters from readers.
1.2.1.1 The law is from instinct. Why does Lewis think that the moral law is not just a result of human instinct?
1.2.1.2 Social convention. Lewis dismisses the idea that moral law is a matter of how we are brought up or educated because...?
1.3 III. The Reality of the Law p. 27
1.3.1 Lewis concludes that the moral law (or natural law) is alive and active in human lives.
1.3.1.1 According to Lewis, the statement, "Men ought to behave decently in order to benefit society", is a redundant statement. Why?
1.3.1.2 Do you think the Law of Nature as described by Lewis is real and not made by man?
1.3.1.3 How is the law pressing on us?
1.4 IV. What Lies Behind the Law p.31
1.4.1 According to Lewis, Science cannot be used to discover the mind behind the creation of the universe, why not?
1.4.1.1 What is the one thing that is unique about man that is different than anything else a scientist can study?
1.4.1.1.1 If there is a rule then it must have been created by something other than us, what is that thing?
1.4.1.1.1.1 The Materialist View
1.4.1.1.1.2 The Religious View
1.4.1.1.1.2.1 P. 32: According to it, what is behind the universe is more like a mind than it is like anything else we know That is to say, it is conscious, and has purposes, and prefers one thing to another.
1.4.1.1.1.2.2 He is not preaching
1.4.1.1.1.2.2.1 P. 34: All I have got to is a Something which is directing the universe, and which appears in me as a law urging me to do right and making me feel responsible and uncomfortable when I do wrong.
1.5 V. We Have Cause to be Uneasy p.36
1.5.1 Lewis gives three reasons to consider religion as a means to satisfy the guilt imposed by the moral law.
1.5.1.1 Lewis suggests that one reason to reconsider religion is that humanity is on the wrong road. Do you think humanity is still on the wrong road?
We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where you want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turning, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking 1.5.1.2 Lewis states that if God is like the moral law, he is not soft or sentimental. Why is this shocking? What else points to the existence of God apart from the moral law?
1.5.1.3 According to Lewis, Christianity will not make sense to anyone until they realize...?
2 Book II What Christians Believe
2.1 I. The Rival Conceptions of God p. 43
2.1.1 Lewis discusses the major divisions of belief in God.
2.1.1.1 When discussing the different beliefs in God, they can be divided according to what? Why does Lewis state that Christianity is a more liberal viewpoint than atheism?
2.1.1.1.1 How People deal with the something: A GOOD God
2.1.1.1.1.1 Believers and Non Believers
2.1.1.1.1.1.1 P. 43: The first big division of humanity is into the majority, who Believe in some kind of God or gods, and the minority who do not. People who all believe in God can be divided according to the sort of God they believe jn.
2.1.1.2 The two major ideas about God which Lewis discusses are...?
2.1.1.2.1 Pantheism
2.1.1.2.2 Dominant God
2.1.1.3 The major concepts in Pantheism are...?
2.1.1.3.1 Believers: Pantheists
2.1.1.3.1.1 P. 44: One of them is the idea that He is beyond good and evil. The first of these views called Pantheism.
2.1.1.4 The major difference between Pantheism and Christianity is...?
2.1.1.4.1 Believers: a Dominant God
2.1.1.4.1.1 P. 44: The other and opposite idea is that God is quite definitely "good" or "righteous," a God who takes sides, who loves love and hates hatred, who wants us to behave in one way and not in another. This other View is held by Jews, Mohammedans and Chri
2.1.1.4.1.2 Commitment
2.1.1.4.1.3 P. 45: Confronted faith a cancer or a slum the Pantheist can say, "If you could only see it from the divine point of view, you would realise that this also is God."
2.1.1.4.1.4 The Christian replies, "Don't talk damned nonsense.""
2.1.1.4.1.4.1 For Christianity is a fighting religion.
2.1.1.5 One of Lewis major arguments against the existence of God when he was an atheist was that the world is very cruel. What was his answer to this question when he became a Christian?
P. 46: The very argument that the world is cruel proves that we have an idea of just and unjust, thereby proving the existence of God from the natural law.
2.2 II. The Invasion p. 47
2.3 Lewis discusses what he calls Christianity-and-water.
2.3.1 There are many people who reject Christian doctrine because it is not simple. What is Lewis' answer to this criticism?
P. 47: It is no good asking for a simple religion. After all, real things are not simple… if you want to go on and ask what is really happening - then you must be prepared for something difficult.
P. 48: Reality, in fact, is usually something you could not have guessed. That is one of the reasons I believe Christianity. It is a religion you could not have guessed.
P. 48: What is the problem? A universe that contains much that is obviously bad and apparently meaningless, but containing creatures like ourselves who know that it is bad and meaningless.
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C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity
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2.3.2 There are two views of good and evil that are discussed by Lewis, what are they?
2.3.4.1 If a good God made the world why has it gone wrong?
P. 48: There are only two views that face all the facts. One is the Christian view that this is a good world that has gone wrong, but still retains the memory of what it ought to have been. The other is the view called Dualism.
2.3.3 Why does Lewis reject dualism?
2.3.4.1.2 Dualism
2.3.4.1.2.1 P. 48: Dualism means the belief that there are two equal and independent powers at the back of everything, one of them good and the other bad.
2.3.4.1.2.2 P. 49: But the moment you say that, you are putting into the universe a third thing in addition to the two Powers: some law or standard or rule of good which one of the powers conforms to and the other fails to conform to.
2.3.4.1.2.3 The Existence of the Law of Nature Proves a God. The Existence of Evil Proves the Existence of the Devil as a Fallen Angel
2.3.4.1.2.4 P. 49: In fact, what we meant by calling them good and bad turns out to be that one of them is in a right relation to the real ultimate God and the other in a wrong relation to Him.
2.3.4.1.2.5 P. 50: To be bad, he must exist and have intelligence and skill. But existence, intelligence and will are in themselves good. Therefore he must be getting them from the Good Power: even to be bad he must borrow or steal from his opponent.
P. 50: And do you now begin to see why Christianity has always said that the devil is a fallen angel?
2.3.4.1.3 Christianity
2.3.4.1.3.1 P. 51: Christianity agrees with Dualism that this universe is at war. But lt 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.
2.3.4 According to Lewis' analogy of being in enemy territory, we go to church in order to...?
2.3.4.1.3.2 P. 51: Enemy-occupied territory-that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage.
P. 51: When you go to church you're really listening-in to the secret wireless from our friends: that is why the enemy is so anxious to prevent us from going.
2.4 III. The shocking alternative p. 52
2.4.1 Lewis discusses free will, Satan, and the nature of Christ.
2.4.1.1 What is the analogy that Lewis offers to answer the question of how something can happen that is contrary to the will of a being with absolute power?
2.4.1.1.1 Free Will
2.4.1.1.1.1 P. 52: Is this state of affairs in accordance with God's will or not? If it is, He is a strange God, you will say: and if it is not, how can anything happen contrary to the will of a being with absolute power?
2.4.1.1.1.2 P. 53: If a thing is to be free to be good it is also free to be bad… Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having.
2.4.1.2 Do you think it is possible for a creature to have free will and be incapable of doing wrong?
P. 53: If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible.
2.4.1.3 What was the sin of Satan and the sin he taught the human race?
2.4.1.3.1 Original Sin: Selfishness
2.4.1.3.1.1 P. 53: How did the Dark Power go wrong? . The moment you have a self at all, there is a possibility of putting yourself first -Wanting to be the centre -wanting to be God, in fact.
P. 54: That was the sin of Satan: and that was the sin he taught the human race.
P. 54: The reason it can never succeed is this. God designed the human machine to run on Himself.
P. 54: God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.
2.4.1.4 What are the three things that Lewis suggests were done by God to counter the schemes of Satan? Are you aware of queer stories in other religions mentioned by Lewis?
2.4.1.4.1 God's Response to Sin: Conscience, Prophesy, Jesus
2.4.1.4.1.1 P. 54: And what did God do?
First of all He left us a conscience,
Secondly, He sent the human race what I call good dreams: I mean those queer stories scattered all through the heathen religions about a god who dies and comes to life again and, by his death, has somehow given new life to men.
Thirdly, he selected a particular people and spent several centuries hammering into their heads the sort of God He was
These people were the Jews, and the Old Testament gives an account of the hammering process.
2.4.1.5 What is the claim of Jesus that Lewis says tends to slip by unnoticed because we have heard it so much? Why is it significant?
P. 55: I mean the claim to forgive sins: any sins. Now unless the speaker is God, this is really so preposterous as to be comic.
2.4.1.6 Why does Lewis think it is foolish to call Jesus just a great moral teacher?
2.4.1.6.1 Page: 56: Jesus
2.4.1.6.1.1 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 a level faith the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell.
You must make your choice.
2.5 IV. The Perfect Penitent p. 57
2.5.1 A theory is proposed as to how the Atonement of Christ works.
2.5.1.1 Christians believe the main thing that Christ came to earth to do was...?
P. 57: It is obvious that Christians think the chief point of the story lies here.
They think the main thing He came to earth to do was to suffer and be killed.
2.5.1.2 If God was willing to forgive us, why didn't he do so without having an innocent man killed?
2.5.1.5.1 P. 59: The central Christian belief is that Christ's death has somehow put us right with God and given us a fresh start.
2.5.1.5.2 We are told that Christ was killed for us, that His death has washed out our sins, and that by dying He disabled death itself. That is the formula. That is Christianity. That is what has to be believed.
2.5.1.5.3 Any theories we build up as to how Christ's death did all this are, in my view, quite secondary. lt is a matter of common experience that, when one person has got himself into a hole, the trouble of getting him out usually falls on a kind Friend. Now what
2.5.1.5.4 The one [theory] is the one about our being let off because Christ had volunteered to bear a punishment instead of us.
2.5.1.5.5 If you think of a debt, there is plenty of point in a person who has some assets paying it on behalf of someone who has not.
2.5.1.5.5.1 P. 59: When one person has got himself into a hole, the trouble of getting him out usually falls on a kind friend
2.5.1.5.5.2 Now, what sort of "hole" man had got himself into?
2.5.1.5.5.2.1 He had tried to set up on his own, to behavge as if he belonged to himself.
2.5.1.5.5.2.1.1 Fallen man is a rebel who must lay down his arms
2.5.1.3 How does Lewis define repentance?
2.5.1.5.6 Repentance
2.5.1.5.6.1 P. 60: This process of surrender - this movement full speed astern - is what Christians call repentance.
2.5.1.4 Are humans capable of perfect repentance? How does God help us achieve repentance?
P. 60: Can we do it if God helps us? Yes, but …
2.5.1.5 Many people say that it was easy for Christ to live a perfect life, suffer, and be crucified since he was God. Why does Lewis think this is a silly reason for criticizing Christianity?
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P. 61: That advantage - call it "unfair" if you like - is the only reason why he can be of any use to me. To what will you look for help if you will not look to that which is stronger than yourself?
2.6 V. The Practical Conclusion p. 62
2.6.1 The implications of life in Christ are briefly stated.
2.6.1.1 Lewis states that according to Christian belief, by sharing in the humility and suffering of Christ we shall share in...?
P. 62: Now the Christian belief is that if we somehow share the humility and suffering of Christ we shall also share in His conquest for death and find a new life after we have died and in it become perfect, and perfectly happy, creatures.
2.6.1.2 Lewis states that being a Christian is more than just mental belief, it involves the physical activities of...?
P. 63: There are three things that spread the Christ life to us: baptism, belief, and … Holy Communion
…I believe it on His authority…Every historical statement in the world is believed on authority.
2.6.1.3 According to Lewis, doing good in order to appease God is not the reason Christians do good . Rather, any good that a Christian does is a result of...?
P. 64: …the Christian is in a different position from other people who are trying to be good…the Christian thinks any good he does comes from the Christ-life inside him.
2.6.1.4 Lewis admits to having been puzzled by the idea that the new life is confined to Christians only. What is his answer to this question?
P. 65: Is it not frightfully unfair that this new life should be confined to people who have heard of Christ and been able to believe in Him? But the truth is God has not told us what His arrangements about the other people are.
But in the meantime, if you are worried about the people outside, the most unreasonable thing you can do is to remain outside yourself.
Christians are Christ's body, the organism through which He works.Every addition to that body enables Him to do more.
If you want to help those outside you must add your own little cell to the body of Christ, who alone can help them.
2.6.1.5 Another objection that Lewis sites is the question of why God does not deal openly and decisively with the Devil. What is his answer to this question?
P. 65: He wants to give us a chance of joining His side freely.
3 Book III Christian Behavior
3.1 I. The Three Parts of Morality p. 69
3.1.1 Lewis proposes three concerns of morality
3.1.1.1 The Three Parts of Morality
3.1.1.1.1 P. 70: There are two ways in which the human machine goes wrong.
3.1.1.1.1.1 One is when human individuals drift apart from one another, or else collide with one another and do one another damage, by cheating or bullying.
3.1.1.1.1.2 The other is when things go wrong inside the individual - when the different parts of him… either drift apart or interfere with one another.
3.1.1.1.2 P. 71Morality, then, seems to be concerned with three things.
3.1.1.1.2.1 Firstly, with fair play and harmony between individuals.