In his book, Mere Christianity Lewis Clive Staples presents his personal understanding of Christianity. Written in four parts, Lewis uses the virtue of morality, the personality/character of Jesus and Christian beliefs, teachings and practices to give his arguments. By applying the law of morality as per the human nature, he argues that God exists. Secondly, he gives pernicious discernment about Jesus identification but argues that his positive character associates him with morality thus he is God. Besides his overall argument that Christianity lies in human nature Lewis enlightens the society on the major landmarks in Christianity as his main idea.
Lewis main argument is that it is the human mind, which controls his or her behavior regardless of the faith. Furthermore, the law of morality or human nature is uniform regardless of the times. To prove his point he compares the teachings of the ancient society with the contemporary society and concludes they are similar. For example he says when a person compares the teachings of “the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Hindus, Chinese, Greeks and Romans, what will really strike him will be how very like they are to each other and to our own” (Lewis 5). It is the role of a Christian to remind the conscience that faith is an important virtue in her religion. Therefore, “We have to be continually reminded of what we believe. Neither this belief nor any other will automatically remain alive in the mind. It must be fed” (Lewis 141). However, a critical understanding of the bible and Jesus Christ gives a pernicious definition of Christianity and according to the human mind a person can be Christian or a non-Christian either knowingly or unknowingly. He says, “The world does not consist of 100 percent Christians and 100 percent non-Christians” (Lewis 208). Therefore, according to Lewis people should set their minds and conform to moral/bible teachings to qualify as Christians.
Similarly, his main message is morality as the major foundation of Christianity. He enlightens the society about Jesus referring to him as the teacher of morality. If people would differentiate a right thing from the wrong one then the world would be peaceful (Lewis 5). Lewis lists the moral virtues and he says, “Niceness'--wholesome, integrated personality--is as excellent thing” (215). Through his book, he calls upon the society to learn about Jesus Christ and God relating their ideas to Christianity. According to him, a moral person is not necessarily a Christian and the human race originates from God. Therefore, people should not strive to become sons of God, already we are but they should set their minds to promote faith, humility and morality as their personalities. Finally, Lewis asserts that the ball is in the hands of Christians giving them the chance to decide, which way to follow. He says, “Until we rise and follow Christ we are still parts of Nature, still in the womb of our great mother (Lewis, 222), which means God has provided everything a Christian needs but they still lag behind in their faith.
In brief, Lewis book elucidate the mind as the main element in either promoting or demoting Christianity. It highlights the steps a religious person (Christians) can take to keep up his faith. His overall argument is that the human mind is the epicenter of Christianity. Whether a person decides to believe in God, to do the right thing or to follow the bible the answer, lies deeply in his/her mind.
Works cited
Lewis, Clive, Staples. Mere Christianity. UK: Macmillan publishers, 1952.
