-by Kimberly Dawn Rempel
In his book, Mere Christianity, CS Lewis endeavored to point out the core truths of the Christian faith that it may assist readers in their consideration of God as truth and that the common ground here presented would also cultivate peace between believers whose peripheral doctrines differ on some points.
How Lewis Addressed the Search for Meaning
In a time swirling with competing philosophies of truth, many searching for meaning outside of religion, Lewis addressed such often debated topics as “the Meaning of the Universe”, answered common objections to Christian doctrine, and also explored “Rival Concepts of God”, each time aiding the reader in understanding how Christianity excels, even compared to the new philosophies of the time. As he did this, Lewis accomplished two critical things: first, he addressed core beliefs of the global church, not denomination-specific beliefs and not the institution of church, both of which are societal sore spots in his day. Thus he enabled these truths to transcend arguments between the groups and invited even readers who were resistant to the church to consider his message. Secondly, Lewis demonstrated Christianity to be a well anchored, time-tested truth, whether measured through reason or experience, and the reader was, from this anchored place, thrown a life-raft in the middle of a choppy sea of diverging views.
How Lewis Addressed the Search for Meaning
In a time swirling with competing philosophies of truth, many searching for meaning outside of religion, Lewis addressed such often debated topics as “the Meaning of the Universe”, answered common objections to Christian doctrine, and also explored “Rival Concepts of God”, each time aiding the reader in understanding how Christianity excels, even compared to the new philosophies of the time. As he did this, Lewis accomplished two critical things: first, he addressed core beliefs of the global church, not denomination-specific beliefs and not the institution of church, both of which are societal sore spots in his day. Thus he enabled these truths to transcend arguments between the groups and invited even readers who were resistant to the church to consider his message. Secondly, Lewis demonstrated Christianity to be a well anchored, time-tested truth, whether measured through reason or experience, and the reader was, from this anchored place, thrown a life-raft in the middle of a choppy sea of diverging views.
The Origins of C.S. Lewis: A Brief Background
Lewis, an eager learner in Great Britain in the early 1900s, was “raised [by his father] on the dry husks of religion offered by semi-political church-going”, but thrived under the instruction of an atheist tutor who challenged Lewis’ intellect even to the point of making Lewis prove the logic for his every idle word. Around him, society was bursting with the promise and problems of industrialization, church and state were growing ever separate, and adherence to religion was waning. It was in this setting Lewis searched for truth.
The atheism of his youth, while more appealing than the empty traditions of his father’s religion, did not ultimately satisfy his intellect. Atheism turned out to be too simple an explanation for life's complexities. Even as he taught philosophy in Oxford, he sought a satisfactory truth, finally, reluctantly, finding Christianity to be the most reasonable of all religious beliefs.
As a result of these converging influences and experiences, Lewis not only came to believe in the God of Christianity, but developed the skill to articulate and defend such belief in an increasingly secular culture. Having tread the difficult path of personal discovery, Lewis was also equipped with grace and compassion for those struggling to know truth, and was zealous to impart to them the most sound and reasonable truth of all.
The Truths Lewis Offers Readers Then and Now
The first life raft of reason Lewis tossed to his readers was an immediate effort to clarify language, setting the foundation for clear communication. In times like his, when new ideas popped up like weeds, and new terminology with them, it was imperative to set this straight before forging on.
The first term he saw fit to set right was the word “Christian” understanding it to indicate simply “those who accept Christian doctrines”. The second term he worked to clarify was “Mere Christianity”, which he insisted was not to be seen “as an alternative to Congregationalism, Greek Orthodoxy, or anything else”, rather as a core set of doctrines held by all Christians in all generations. This set the tone for the entire work as one designed for a specific purpose and people: the purpose to unify, and the people this book was meant to describe (and secondly, to instruct), those who accept core Christian doctrines. In his time and now, these are important distinctions as they lend both clarity and compassion.
Addressing Opposing Philosophies
In book three, titled, “Some Objections”, Lewis addresses the objection that Moral Law is simply herd instinct driving one to act - that it is a gift of natural evolution, not of a divine creator. Here Lewis is confronted by the influence of Nietzsche’s dismissal of a universal morality and his accusation that the herd (the masses), blindly obeys “whatever is shouted into its ears”, specifically as it relates to religious tyrants commanding “thou shalt”. Lewis’ answer to this objection is simple and, again, illustrated through observable, everyday life examples. “Supposing you hear a cry for help from a man in danger. You will probably feel two desires - one a desire to give help (due to your herd instinct), the other a desire to keep out of danger (due to instincts of self preservation).” A third thing, Lewis adds, will prompt you to decide which impulse to act on. That third thing, not an instinct itself, is Moral Law. “Moral Law tells us the tune we have to play: our instincts are merely the keys.”
Throughout Lewis’ book, the reader encounters rebuttals to Nietzschean philosophy. The contrast is most stark in the last lines of his book. Where Nietzsche advocates for “the emergence of the great individual who dedicates their life to growth and self overcoming”, Lewis ends with an opposite message for his readers. “Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in.”
Addressing Objections from Christian Academics
While Lewis set out to “explain and defend the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times”, there were those who fervently believed such explanations should be left to the professionals. The most common and vocal objections to Lewis’ Mere Christianity came from academics concerned about two things: first, his non-academic delivery to the common man which academics found “vulgar”, and secondly, Lewis’ not being a professional philosopher or theologian who yet presumed to outline core Christian doctrines. Christian apologist, W. Norman Pittinger “... chastised [Lewis] for frequently invoking the plain sense of biblical passages rather than “the accepted findings of the careful study of the Scriptures” by academic theologians.” Pittinger found Lewis to be “a dangerous apologist, and an inept theologian.”
The point is worth considering. Lewis did not employ scripture through direct, cited quotes. He did not attempt to analyze or interpret scripture, nor had he been trained to do so. Perhaps critics were right to be concerned. Certainly, scripture itself advises that believers not believe everything they are told, but “test the spirits to see whether they are from God” (1John 4:1 NIV)
However, Lewis soundly answered these objections first, by stating clearly in his book that he was “a very ordinary layman of the Church of England”. He never claimed to be a theologian, so critiques of his being a sound one were fair.
Lewis did, however, firmly defend his so-called ‘primitive’ approach to the common man, explaining that his “unbelieving fellow-countrymen” were offered doctrine “either in the highly emotional form offered by revivalists or in … unintelligible language of highly cultured clergymen. Most men were reached by neither.” His task then, Lewis said, was to translate the Christian doctrine into language that common folk could understand.
Lewis’ mission in writing Mere Christianity was to point out the core truths of the Christian faith that it may assist readers in their consideration of God as truth and that the common ground here presented would also cultivate peace between believers whose peripheral doctrines differ on some points. His work had positive and negative effects both in his time and even now, seventy years later.
In the early to mid 1900s when Lewis published his works, his commonsense words fed a famished people caught between the church and state who busily grappled for control and the secular and religious thinkers who grappled for a hold on truth. Lewis offered a life raft - a dependable truth anchored to an intelligent God whose doctrines are understandable.
Positive and Negative Effects of Lewis' Message
A negative effect of Lewis’ work was the precedent his scripture-less apologetics set. In lowering the barrier to entry for the common man into faith, he also unintentionally lowered the bar for entry into theological discussion. If a non-theologian could essentially canonize core doctrines, then who couldn’t?
In the present day, Lewis’ works continue to positively influence culture, maybe even more powerfully than in his own time. Philosophies of truth continue to emerge, and bickering among denominations continues now just as then. However, what has changed drastically is the public regard for scripture as authoritative. Lewis was at the tail end of biblical authority being commonly accepted, but there was still the widespread familiarity with scripture at the time. That seems different now, which makes Lewis’ everyman approach a boon even to modern readers. Had Lewis inserted scripture to prove his points, modern readers might close the book right there. However, now just as then, his argument appeals to man’s reason in the search for truth, inviting exploration to begin even in one’s own personal experiences. Ironically, what was in the early 1900s a risk to avoid scripture in his writings, may now be just the thing that hooks the curious and pulls them closer to Truth.
Conclusion
The lowered barrier of entry into theological discussion and the lessened requirement of scripture in such discussions may have been a negative outcome of Lewis’ work, but the positive effect of his reaching the common man with an introduction and overview of the Christian faith is so deeply necessary - perhaps more so in our time than his - that the book’s benefit far outweighs its shortfalls.
Modern western citizens are still pummeled on all sides by new ideas of truth. The choppy waves slap against us still. And while Lewis’ message is not itself Truth, it is a life raft tethered to Truth, which may be the very thing that helps uninformed or bewildered readers to eventually discover the Truth they seek.
Bibliography
Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity. Great Britain, Fount Paperbacks, 1977
Phillips,Paul T. Contesting the Moral High Ground McGill-Queen University Press; 2013 Accessed October 12, 2020, EBSCOhost
Lindskoog, Kathryn Ann. C.S.Lewis: Mere Christian, California, Regal Books Division,1973
Murphy, Mark. “The Natural Law Tradition in Ethics”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2019, accessed Oct 12, 2020, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/natural-law-ethics/
Nietzsche, Friedrich, Beyond Good and Evil, Random House, Ontario, 1966 “Introduction to Nietzsche”, Academy of Ideas, 2013, accessed Oct 10, 2020, https://academyofideas.com/2013/06/introduction-to-nietzsche
Nelson, Micheal. “C.S. Lewis and His Critics”, VQR, 2003, accessed Oct 12, 2020, https://www.vqronline.org/essay/cs-lewis-and-his-critics
Dickieson, Brenton. “C.S. Lewis in the Christian Century”, A Pilgrim in Narnia, 2016, accessed Oct 12, 2020, https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2016/01/13/cc/
Lewis, C.S. Mere Christianity. Great Britain, Fount Paperbacks, 1977
Phillips,Paul T. Contesting the Moral High Ground McGill-Queen University Press; 2013 Accessed October 12, 2020, EBSCOhost
Lindskoog, Kathryn Ann. C.S.Lewis: Mere Christian, California, Regal Books Division,1973
Murphy, Mark. “The Natural Law Tradition in Ethics”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2019, accessed Oct 12, 2020, https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/natural-law-ethics/
Nietzsche, Friedrich, Beyond Good and Evil, Random House, Ontario, 1966 “Introduction to Nietzsche”, Academy of Ideas, 2013, accessed Oct 10, 2020, https://academyofideas.com/2013/06/introduction-to-nietzsche
Nelson, Micheal. “C.S. Lewis and His Critics”, VQR, 2003, accessed Oct 12, 2020, https://www.vqronline.org/essay/cs-lewis-and-his-critics
Dickieson, Brenton. “C.S. Lewis in the Christian Century”, A Pilgrim in Narnia, 2016, accessed Oct 12, 2020, https://apilgriminnarnia.com/2016/01/13/cc/