cultivatorarchivist reviewed on + 16 more book reviews
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"The real test of being in the presence of God is, that you either forget about yourself altogether or see yourself as a small, dirty object. It is better to forget about yourself altogether."
This a passage from a random chapter I selected. I can tell from this random reading that this book is refreshing, invigorating and a source of wisdom. I read a passage like the one above and ask myself, "How can CS Lewis, an upper-middle class Englishman, a literatus who chaired the English department in the second oldest and prestigious institution of higher education in the world have this kind of insight? Can a man of Lewis' social stature be a teacher of humility?" It makes me wonder about my own personal pride. In short, I highly recommend this book.
An intellectual's approach to Christianity. Lewis begins not with Christianity but with a logical stance that a non-Christian intellectual might have. Unlike many writers who take such an approach, Lewis takes this hypothetical interlocutor seriously. Part of the reason is because this is where Lewis himself stood before joining the church. From there he presents a series of simple statements that eventually build to a logical and solid series of conclusions. Mere aims to educate but beyond that to convince the outsider to join the Christian family.
Everything about the book is logically tight. Elegant. But the real wonderful thing about the Lewis' writing is that it is elegant without it being obtruse. The writing is logically sound but not so abstract as to confuse its audience. The writing is simple. The title reflects Lewis' goal of presenting Christianity at its most basic, wherein all denominations agree. The book however does veer into areas where controversy exists. That's unavoidable. After all Mere aims to presents the tenets that hold all Christians together, but in addressing some of the subtler points in these tenets Lewis inevitably relies on his own understanding to reach a point of clear understanding.
One point that did not sit well with me is the idea that we can and should separate our Christian and civic duties. He uses the example of the Christian government lawmaker. Now according to Lewis this lawmaker should keep his personal beliefs as separate as possible from his civic duties, and his vote should aim at some kind of common ground. That I believe is impossible. His idea of the Christian society sounded odd to me, partially because it reflects Lewis' own thoughts on the matter but also odd because to him this ideal is self-evident. Well, it wasn't so with me. All in all, I say this is a wonderful book.
This a passage from a random chapter I selected. I can tell from this random reading that this book is refreshing, invigorating and a source of wisdom. I read a passage like the one above and ask myself, "How can CS Lewis, an upper-middle class Englishman, a literatus who chaired the English department in the second oldest and prestigious institution of higher education in the world have this kind of insight? Can a man of Lewis' social stature be a teacher of humility?" It makes me wonder about my own personal pride. In short, I highly recommend this book.
An intellectual's approach to Christianity. Lewis begins not with Christianity but with a logical stance that a non-Christian intellectual might have. Unlike many writers who take such an approach, Lewis takes this hypothetical interlocutor seriously. Part of the reason is because this is where Lewis himself stood before joining the church. From there he presents a series of simple statements that eventually build to a logical and solid series of conclusions. Mere aims to educate but beyond that to convince the outsider to join the Christian family.
Everything about the book is logically tight. Elegant. But the real wonderful thing about the Lewis' writing is that it is elegant without it being obtruse. The writing is logically sound but not so abstract as to confuse its audience. The writing is simple. The title reflects Lewis' goal of presenting Christianity at its most basic, wherein all denominations agree. The book however does veer into areas where controversy exists. That's unavoidable. After all Mere aims to presents the tenets that hold all Christians together, but in addressing some of the subtler points in these tenets Lewis inevitably relies on his own understanding to reach a point of clear understanding.
One point that did not sit well with me is the idea that we can and should separate our Christian and civic duties. He uses the example of the Christian government lawmaker. Now according to Lewis this lawmaker should keep his personal beliefs as separate as possible from his civic duties, and his vote should aim at some kind of common ground. That I believe is impossible. His idea of the Christian society sounded odd to me, partially because it reflects Lewis' own thoughts on the matter but also odd because to him this ideal is self-evident. Well, it wasn't so with me. All in all, I say this is a wonderful book.
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