Mere Christianity

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Has anyone read this?

It looks pretty good. Only thing is that Lewis was an Anglican, so it may not be 100% Catholic teaching
 
It is a fantastic book. You can trust C.S. Lewis’ theology. He only stayed an Anglican for patriotic reasons. Enjoy reading it…it’s one of the classics of Christian literature.
 
Yes I have read it too and enjoyed Lewis’ perspectives and reasoning.
 
It’s the book that God used for my salvation.
Lewis wasn’t a Catholic, but he was extremely close. And his book deals with what all Christians have in common; I don’t recall anything un-Catholic about it.
 
Great book! It contains the ‘mere’ beliefs that are accepted by all Christians, with the exception of cults such as the JW and LDS. Anybody who reads it will obtain a sound knowledge of Christianity.
 
Tremendous book, and you will be enriched by reading it. Lewis has a gift of searing clarity and an ability to distill difficult and abstract concepts into real lightbulb moments.
 
One thing that I’ll add from memory is that the tone is quite respectful and thoughtful and in addition to stating his own thoughts he is quite good at respectfully anticipating objections and reasoning people from those honest objections to his perspective.
 
I will also put in a good word for this book. It was instrumental in bringing me to faith. One thing I admire about it: it was based on radio talks Lewis gave during the war, so the writing style is very intimate and clear, just as if he is talking directly to you. Makes for an easy read.
 
Go ahead and read it. It’s unlikely to endanger your faith.
In fact, the reverse is way more likely—that it will strengthen it
 
C.S. Lewis also wrote The Screwtape Letters, which Fulton Sheen mentioned on one of his shows: “Read it, it’s a marvelous book.”
 
It is an excellent book. I recommend all of Lewis’ writings. He saw the challenges to Christianity much earlier than most others, and he was invaluable. If I could recommend a pair of his books, it would be “That Hideous Strength” and “The Abolition of Man”. The first fiction, the second non fiction, describe the crisis in the modern world better than almost anything - long before others saw it.

Remember “Mere Christianity” is only designed to lead a reader into Christianity, or help the defense of Christianity in general. Lewis was definitely NOT a non denominational Christian, his book describes how the Christian life is fully lived out only in a particular communion. His book is fully compatible with Catholicism.

The only “flaw” in the book is that it is designed for people who want to use Reason. Our current culture is even more hostile to logic and reason than it is to Faith, especially on campus and in the media.
 
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Zynxensar said:
Has anyone read this?

It looks pretty good. Only thing is that Lewis was an Anglican, so it may not be 100% Catholic teaching
Click to expand...
It’s a wonderful book, and Lewis was a wonderful writer.
He was also an outstanding Christian apologist.
 
As much as the Roman Catholics want to claim CS Lewis, as do the Mormons, he was happily Anglican until the day he died. Through and through. We are very happy though that those in other branches of Christianity love his works and find them both inspiring and nurturing in the faith. He is an Anglican treasure.
 
It is a great book…also if you want to keep with Lewis but have a change of pace I highly recommend The Screwtape Letters…

M
 
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Many of Lewis’s books are absolutely worth the read, but one in particular has touched many hearts: ‘A Grief Observed.’ He wrote it after the death of his wife, when his grief was most raw. I highly recommend it.

There is also a movie made of his later years, how he met his wife Joy, and their brief marriage. It’s called ‘Shadowlands’ and it’s beautiful. The more recent film was with Anthony Hopkins and Debra Winger (1993). There was an earlier English version with Joss Ackland and Claire Bloom that I found more satisfying. Either way, the story is heart-warming, and you do get a sense of who Jack Lewis was and his deep faith. A bit of Oxford life in there too!

 
Which is Funny because he was Irish and was very much proud of his Irish culture and literature
 
I think his Anglicanism was deeper than just patriotism. He seems to have loved the balance between scripture and tradition. He didn’t see the need for what RCs call the third leg of the stool, the magisterium.

But in his writings there’s a growing concern over what some call " broad church", extreme attachment to current secular culture. I think he hoped that the natural buoyancy of Bible and tradition, bishops, scholars, and faithful, would keep Anglicanism orthodox, and individuals in deep church would either change their position, or leave.

He never saw that they might stay, and mostly take over in the UK, and some other parts of Anglicanism. If he were alive today he likely would be in the Continuum, or perhaps RCC.
 
He has brought many to convert to the One True Faith and if he is in Heaven he is indeed Catholic!
 
commenter said:
think his Anglicanism was deeper than just patriotism.
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Very specifically, he was a close friend of Tolkein, as noted above. Tolkein’s mother was disowned by her family and condemned to poverty for her conversion to Catholicism. Tolkein’s writing is heavily Catholic. One of his revision passes as he wrote was to check/verify/fix the theology. When asked about the scene made famous by the movies, where Gandalf tells the balrog, “You shall not pass fr I am a servant of the Secret Flame,” he explained, bluntly, that that meant the Holy Spirit . . .

Anyway, getting back to Lewis, he neither rejected Catholicism nor stayed Anglican for “patriotic reasons.”

Rather, he was one of the great minds of the “Oxford Movement”–not just High Anglican, but Very High Anglican. Some converted, and those who didn’t stayed where they were in expectation of Union, not as a choice of church. Sadly, that union did not happen, and the Anglican church, well . . .

And his Narnia stories are some the best Catholic teaching to be found. I’m currently about a quarter way into the Horse and His Boy (again).

hawk
 
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