Lewis’s book Mere Christianity is a work of apologetics. In it he defends Christianity, not on a denominational level, but just the basics of Christianity itself. He states in his preface “The reader should be warned that I offer no help to anyone who is hesitating between two Christian ‘denominations’.” He does not deal with matters of “high theology,” which should only be discussed by “real experts.” After we discussed this in class, I thought that Yemi had a very good point about denominations. He said that denominations indicate the fact that we cannot truly understand God completely. No one will ever perfectly understand God, and therefore on this earth there will never be a total agreement between denominations. However, we present a much more united front to the world when we can overcome our denominational differences and love each other still. I thought that was a very interesting and valid argument.
I also wanted to comment on the third chapter, which my group discussed in class. There is a quote in the middle of the chapter that made me think of a verse in the Bible. The quote was, “…the Law of Human Nature tells you what human beings ought to do and do not.” This portion made me think of Romans 7:19, in which the apostle Paul says, “For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do.” Also, in this chapter, Lewis shows the separation of the Natural Law and the Laws of Science. The Laws of Science deal with fact only; the laws are observed and only that which is observable is real. The Law of Morals however has two components. One is fact—what men actually do on this earth, and the other is something else—how we know men ought to behave. This is something that I never really thought about, and I really appreciate the distinction that Lewis makes here between the two.
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I also liked that point that Yemi brought up in class. It was something I never really thought about before, but I agree with what he said. It's impossible to know everything about God because He is so great and powerful, and we are powerless fallen creatures. By coming together as one united body, we show how great our God is because even though we have slightly different views on who He is, we all love Him and everything that He has done for us. Yemi's statement really struck me in class so thank you for putting it in your post.
ReplyDeleteI appreciated that Lewis was touching on the basics of Christianity. I think the basics are truly the most important, because the Christian world will never fully agree. Mere Christianity is the opportunity to clearly present and defend the basic foundational beliefs of the Church.
ReplyDeleteI was also struck with the thought on denominational differences and the difficulties they produce in gaining unity. It is understandably hard to see the unified love of Christ in a body so divided and quarrelsome. Are denominations good? I don't think they are inherently good, but they aren't inherently bad either; they are just different, and trouble only arises when they become contentious or stray from core beliefs.
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