Sign in with Facebook
Miranda Reads's Reviews > Mere Christianity
Mere Christianity
by
A religious book, written by an ex-atheist? I was alight with curiosity.
What caused the switch? By studying the faith (as an effort to become better at atheism) he found religion. A strange, roundabout way to go by things but nonetheless thoroughly interesting.
Lewis slowly, but surely explains the hows and whys he found himself converted. He starts with a long (and slightly difficult to follow) discussion regarding the reasoning behind there being a God (opposed to many or none).
From there he narrows slightly, circling closer and closer until he reaches Christian doctrine (i.e. the holy trinity). However, he never pinpoints on the differences between Catholics or Lutherans (etc). He does not preach only one denomination rather he expounds on core truths and beliefs of Christianity as a whole.
His explanations put to rest several questions I had and answered ones that I hadn't known to ask.
As admirable as this novel is, he does preach a few beliefs and interpretations were common back then but are not shared with as many nowadays.
For example, there are a few anti-gay statements and a few about women belonging in their places. A clear example of that, is when he touches on the subject of men being the heads of households:
YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads
by
"Everyone thinks forgiveness is a lovely idea until he has something to forgive."C. S. Lewis wove doctrines and lessons regarding the Christian faith throughout his other works, notably the Chronicles of Narnia. Ergo, I was surprised when reading this novel that to learn that he used to be an atheist.
A religious book, written by an ex-atheist? I was alight with curiosity.
What caused the switch? By studying the faith (as an effort to become better at atheism) he found religion. A strange, roundabout way to go by things but nonetheless thoroughly interesting.
Lewis slowly, but surely explains the hows and whys he found himself converted. He starts with a long (and slightly difficult to follow) discussion regarding the reasoning behind there being a God (opposed to many or none).
From there he narrows slightly, circling closer and closer until he reaches Christian doctrine (i.e. the holy trinity). However, he never pinpoints on the differences between Catholics or Lutherans (etc). He does not preach only one denomination rather he expounds on core truths and beliefs of Christianity as a whole.
His explanations put to rest several questions I had and answered ones that I hadn't known to ask.
As admirable as this novel is, he does preach a few beliefs and interpretations were common back then but are not shared with as many nowadays.
For example, there are a few anti-gay statements and a few about women belonging in their places. A clear example of that, is when he touches on the subject of men being the heads of households:
And this:
"...why the man? Well, firstly, is there any very serious wish that it should be the woman?"
So, taken with a grain of salt - this book does provide an fascinating look into the core beliefs of the Christian religion.
"There must be something unnatural about the rule of wives over husbands, because the wives themselves are half ashamed of it and despise the husbands whom they rule."
YouTube | Blog | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Snapchat @miranda_reads
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read
Mere Christianity.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Started Reading
December 29, 2017
– Shelved
December 29, 2017
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-9 of 9 (9 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Jaline
(new)
Dec 29, 2017 09:30PM
This is a great review, Miranda! I read this book many years ago and was very impressed with how he set out to fortify his athiest belief system and ended up a Christian. I also agree with the assessment that some of the parts he wrote about are very outdated. :)
reply
|
flag
There must be something unnatural about the rule of wives over husbands, because the wives themselves are half ashamed of it and despise the husbands whom they rule.You see this disposition a lot in folk tales, in fact it's at times the subject of it!
Wow, I'm surprised you read C.S. Lewis. Did you know he was an Oxford literature professor and was regarded the most widely-read man of his time?Have you read his 'An Experiment in Criticism' or his space trilogy for adults (#1 'Out of the Silent Planet)?
Leeya wrote: "Wow, I'm surprised you read C.S. Lewis. Did you know he was an Oxford literature professor and was regarded the most widely-read man of his time?Have you read his 'An Experiment in Criticism' or h..."
I haven't read that one. I've mostly read the Narnia series and a small handful of others
Miranda wrote: "I haven't read that one. I've mostly read the Narnia series and a small handful of others"You probably read more of his books than I did.
Perelandra is my personal favorite of the trilogy. But I also enjoyed "Till We Have Faces", a retelling of the myth of Cupid and Psyche.
Leeya wrote: "Miranda wrote: "I haven't read that one. I've mostly read the Narnia series and a small handful of others"You probably read more of his books than I did.
Perelandra is my personal favorite of th..."
Thanks for the suggestions!
Thank you for this review, now I can remove it from my TBR list
