Mere Christianity...that is rather a hard topic to pin down and when it becomes solidly defined down to the essentials of Christianity, it can be extremely powerful. The question is how would one go about explaining and defining the essentials of the Christian faith? C.S. Lewis approaches it from a logical perspective of the universal law of Right and Wrong, a.k.a. morals.
Lewis says that Morals are unlike almost everything else in the world in that they apply solely to humans. However, this the odd thing is that, despite almost all humans having an internal sense of Morals given to them by their parents and society, humans all have very similar Morals, but they all fail to follow the Moral law and then try to explain how they didn't break the law or how the moral law didn't apply in their situation. Lewis also differentiates between Morals and instincts that instincts give us the options we can pick, but Morals are a separate measuring mechanism that is used to judge which the instincts should be followed and the moral law is not an instinct because it doesn't steadily select the same type of instincts to follow every time a choice emerges where as an instinct selects the same type of decision every time. Thus, in order for Morals to be separate from humanity and only apply to humanity then it must be implemented by an outside force. This force, according to Lewis, is much like a mind and at this point Lewis begins to allude the realness of God.
We as Christians should take note of Lewis's mere Christianity because it hits on universal points shared between all Christian denominations. As such these things should be used when introducing someone to the Christian faith instead of the denominational rhetoric that man churches employ to win new converts to Christianity. This makes the fissures in the Christian church very apparent to the secular world which can give them a sense of falseness to our beliefs. The reasoning behind this is that if this group of believers cannot agree with other believers of the same faith it makes it appear as though Christians do not share a common bond which is perceived in the secular world as fragility and discord that point to flaws within the Christian faith itself. This is a problem.
Mere Christianity is very useful to the common believer as well. This is because it can help one see through all the entanglements and dross that get attached to faith over time. This helpsd us see where the Devil is beginning to undermine our faith. From the Screwtape Letters, Lewis warns us that the Devil is constantly trying to undermine our faith as Christians and we should use the essentials in Mere Christianity to affirm that we are still solid in our foundation in Christ.
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Christ does not call us to be argumentative. We should not seek out the opportunity to insult another's theological beliefs. However, we also should never be quiet when we know the truth and are being moved by the Spirit to share that truth. Doctrine is important, too. And some doctrine might change one's view of the gospel. For example, Luther was obsessed and consumed with confessing his sins before he rightly understood Romans and the true message of God's grace.
ReplyDeletein a sense this is correct about Luther, but I would not say, as a Lutheran, he was obsessed though very insistent. However this is beside the point that Doctrine is important, but as for changing ones view, this almost exclusively happens only after one has a good understanding and often times faith in the Bible as well. I was referring more to the first exploratory steps to knowing Christianity.
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, thanks for the suggestion you gave me in my posting about "Mere Christianity." I have edited it and added more of my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteAbout your post, I agree that many outsiders view Christianity more as fans fighting for their own teams instead of finding and sharing joy in the fact that all enjoy the sport. This is a problem indeed because it gives the wrong impression about Christianity and drives non believers away from salvation. I think a Christian's first duty is to rejoice in the same faith all Christians believe in: faith in Jesus Christ.