Mere Christianity: A Book Review

The only instance I had heard about C.S. Lewis before was about a year or two ago when the first movie of The Chronicles of Narnia came out. I haven't read any book from the series, but I did read in a review that this novel series had a lot of Christian imagery. Little did I know at that time that the author of this series was also one of the top Christian apologists of all time.

But now by God's grace, having a new heart that perseveres to love Christ and hate sin, I was looking forward to reading Mere Christianity, a classic apologetic by C.S. Lewis. Last month, I was able to get my own copy, and in less than 3 weeks (which is pretty fast, given I didn't have a lot of free time with AP tests and finals during that period), I read the book.

The book is amazing. As I read it, I couldn't help but understand why this book is now a modern classic. Though I do have a personal bias towards British literature, it goes without saying that Lewis is a literary and theological mastermind. Throughout the chapters, he carries the reader through his journey of conversion, with his line of thought. Along the way, he marks every milestone question and revelation that brought him closer to becoming a Christian. This is significantly impressive, given that he was an ardent atheist before he was a believer, and that this conversion occurred only when he was twenty-eight.

There is a lot to learn from every single chapter of the book. Starting with "The Law of Human Nature", in which he discusses the necessity to see something beyond existentialism [i.e. God] due to the evidence of morality, to defending the authenticity of the God of Christian theism in "The Rival Conceptions of God", to concluding by talking about genuine conversion of a soul in "The New Men", he gives a thorough case for Christianity.

The book is a compilation of 4 works of his:

• Right And Wrong As A Clue To The Meaning Of The Universe
• What Christians Believe
• Christian Behavior
• Beyond Personality: Or First Steps In The Doctrine Of The Trinity

Finally, the title says a lot about what C.S. Lewis wishes to share through this book - Mere Christianity. He explains that he is not looking to propagate anything but core beliefs that are not of debate between various denominations: biblical Christianity. The most popular factor of this book, I believe, is Lewis insisting he writes as no expert, but as a layman.

To all skeptics that are pursuers of truth, I recommend this book as a great read to learn more about Christianity. Anthony Burgess writes in the New York Times Book Review about this book, "C.S. Lewis is the ideal persuader for the half-convinced, for the good man who would like to be a Christian but finds his intellect getting in the way."

To my fellow Christians, take this book and read it so that you may be more aware of why you believe what you believe. I'm not a blind faith believer (and we're not called to be), and it's great books like these that keep my faith afresh.