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| Mere Christianity | 
 enlarge | Author: C. S. Lewis
Publisher: HarperOne
Category: Book
List Price: $12.95
Buy New: $3.94
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Avg. Customer Rating:  (439 reviews)
Sales Rank: 353
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown), English (Published)
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 227
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 8 x 5.3 x 0.7
ISBN: 0060652926
Dewey Decimal Number: 230
EAN: 9780060652920
ASIN: 0060652926
Publication Date: February 2001
Release Date: February 6, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Buy It!! May 29, 2008
This is one of my favorite C.S. Lewis books, which is saying a lot.If you enjoy Lewis' apologetic books and his piercing intellect, this book is a must have.Many of the arguments he makes in this book I have used in talking to people, because they are so compelling.It is a classic for a reason.Buy it!!
Timeless and Profound May 24, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
C.S. Lewis provides a non-denominational view that penetrates the heart of the issues which make Christianity what it is. A must for anyone interested in understanding the tenets of Christianity.
 Enduring Evangelism Tool for Skeptics May 20, 2008
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Along with some of his other works, and despite a few flaws, C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" remains one of the more effective apologetics and evangelism tools available to use with those of a Western mindset grounded in science and logic.
Besides one of his more famous quotes about what everyone must make of Jesus Christ--Son of God, fool, demon, or a great human teacher, there is another quote in the chapter on "What Christians Believe" that stands out as well. It has been well noted that the extreme doctrines held by some evangelicals actually encourage atheism--Lewis sets both the skeptics and extremists straight.
"God created things which had free well. That means creatures which can go either wrong or right. Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong; I cannot. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, through it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata--of creatures that worked like machines--would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free."
"Of course God knew what would happen if they used their freedom the wrong way: apparently He thought it worth the risk. Perhaps we feel inclined to disagree with Him. But there is a difficulty about disagreeing with God...If God thinks this state of war in the universe a price worth paying for fee will--that is, for making a live world in which creatures can do real good or harm and something of real importance can happen, instead of a toy world which only moves when He pulls the strings--then we may take it it is worth paying."
Some areas where I disagree with Lewis are:
1) That there may be life in other "worlds"
2) His position as a theistic evolutionist
3) "There are people in other religions who are being led by God's secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it."
Besides these criticisms, Lewis' writings have been used quite successfully as a bridge to help bring many to a skeptic to a saving knowledge of Christ. Lewis remains a timeless and unique legacy to our Christian heritage. Go beyond Narnia and try Lewis' "The Screwtape Letters" as well!
Mere Christianity May 4, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
An excellent book on apologetics. Very deep but it deals with the complex subjects of Christianity.
I love his views on the potential of individuals April 23, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I first read CS Lewis as a child by reading his imaginative letters on how to tempt man, `The Screwtape Letters', and then later by reading his wonderful `Chronicles of Narnia' and then the account of his conversion to Christianity, `Surprised by Joy'. I loved his writing style and was impressed with his intellect and decided to read `Mere Christianity' based on the recommendations of several friends from various Christian religions. I found it to be a very wonderful and thought provoking book.
I was most impressed with CS Lewis' views on what man/woman may become. In the last paragraph of Chapter 9 he says, "The command Be ye perfect is not idealistic gas. Nor is it a command to do the impossible. He is going to make us into creatures that can obey that command. He said (in the Bible) that we were `gods' and He is going to make good His words. If we let Him--for we can prevent Him, if we choose--He will make the feeblest and filthiest of us into a god or goddess, dazzling, radiant, immortal creature, pulsating all through with such energy and joy and wisdom and love as we cannot now imagine, a bright stainless mirror which reflects back to God perfectly (though, of course, on a smaller scale) His own boundless power and delight and goodness. The process will be long and in parts very painful; but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said."
I also liked the way he put the personal attention and healing Christ gives to us by saying, "[God] has infinite attention to spare for each one of us. He does not have to deal with us in the mass. You are as much alone with Him as if you were the only being He had ever created. When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only man in the world".
I do not agree with everything CS Lewis says, but what he says, he states very well, in clear, powerful language. I highly recommend this book for anyone wanting to understand this beautiful vision of Christianity.
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