Mere Christianity- reading

Shyan Edwards
April 13, 2018

One of my favorite quotes is by C.S. Lewis. It states, “You are never too old to set a new goal or to dream a new dream.” This has been a true guiding light for me particularly as a student. Thus, when it was announced that Mere Christianity would be one of the books that would be discussed I eagerly jumped at the opportunity to participate. I was not entirely versed about the nature or content of the book, but because it was written by C.S. Lewis, and having read The Chronicles of Narnia as an adolescent, I was confident that I would thoroughly enjoy this book.

Mere Christianity has a few peculiarities that really sets it apart from other traditional Christian books. One of the first things about it was that C.S. Lewis did not set out with the intention of writing a book. It was actually a radio show that was being broadcasted during the Second World War. During that time Britain was in crisis with repeated bombings by the axis powers. Lewis was tasked to use a radio broadcast as a means of restoring hope, boosting morale, and simply as a means of distracting the British from what was happening all around them.

The book so far has been extremely reader friendly. This stems largely from the fact that it was never initially designed to be a book. It was a transcription of the radio broadcast. The chapters are very concise and Lewis uses clear and simple language that resonates with everyone. Even more importantly is the applicability of many of the sentiments he expressed. What was apparent was that Lewis was writing way ahead of his time. Although he was writing some eighty years ago, there is so much that I could identify with on a personal level.

At the time of his radio broadcasts, Lewis had only recently accepted Christ, yet he was able to speak/write with such authority and clarity that you cannot help but be captivated by this book. The themes are wide and varied and include topics such as faith, marriage, and the cardinal virtues among others. There is something in it for everyone and personally, I strongly recommend this book to anyone who has a vested interested in learning about the Christian faith.