Mere Christianity

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Another book of Lewis’, one that I actually enjoy even more than Mere Christianity, is The Great Divorce. It is a very short fantasy novel for adults, almost a novella. It is based on a concept from Medieval philosophy called the Refrigerium, in which, once every thousand years or so, a day trip was made by the damned souls in Hell to Heaven. The idea was, now that they had learned the hard way what separation from God is like, they can now experience Heaven to see if they might want to mend their ways. If they like it in Heaven, they can stay, and if they don’t, they are welcome to return to Hell. Lewis shows us many little vignettes of various types: the Apostate Clergyman, the Clinging Mother, the Self-Absorbed Artist, the Petulant Husband; in short, a cross-section of lost souls who allowed a creature or a sin to obscure their vision of Christ. The setting is also quite imaginative, as befits the author of the Narnia Chronicles. Hell is the dirtiest industrial area of a large city, grey, dank and thoroughly hideous. It is always raining, and the buildings are so insubstantial that the rain comes right in through the roofs and windows. Everyone is irritable and quarrelsome(what else?). The trip to Heaven is made by a bus which levitates through the stratosphere until the Celestial Lands are gained. The amazing thing about the story is how many of the lost souls flee lickety-split back to Hell once they realise what staying in Heaven would entail: a complete ‘No’ to Sin, and surrender of self to Christ and His love. Not all of them flee, however, and there are scenes that are quite moving and emotional. As I said, the book is brief, and can be read cover to cover in an afternoon. I recommend it highly.
 
Yes I highly recommend it. Best Christian apologetic book out there, in my opinion. It is one of my top 10 books of all time, and I give it to people who are questioning the Christian faith.
In fact, I need to order it again as I keep giving it away.
 
It’s definitely worth a read.

I have read a lot of Lewis’ books, and I cannot recall coming across anything in any of them that would be objectionable to Catholics.
 
Joe_5859 said:
It’s definitely worth a read.

I have read a lot of Lewis’ books, and I cannot recall coming across anything in any of them that would be objectionable to Catholics.
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Not only that, but Lewis several times reveals his strong belief in Purgatory. I don’t know whether or not that is part of the Anglican faith, but Lewis certainly took its existence for granted.
 
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My favorite chapter is on the Trinity. It’s a wonderful read. I gave a copy to my RCIA instructor who had never read it. If I had a hundred copies, I’d pass them out to everyone I know.
 
I do too! Gave it to my Granddaughter need to order another one again!
I also want to say for the thread that his short chapter on Christian marriage in the book is worth the price of the book alone.
 
I think I read somewhere that he did believe in Purgatory, but he remained and Anglican for the rest of his life.
 
Vanny said:
I think I read somewhere that he did believe in Purgatory, but he remained and Anglican for the rest of his life.
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Indeed, he several times refers to Purgatory in his writings. Also, in a letter to a female religious friend, he requests that, after his death, she will pray for his soul in order to facilitiate his expedited release from Purgatory.
 
Vanny said:
I need to read this!
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If it is The Great Divorce to which you refer, you won’t regret it. Be warned, however: the vignettes involving the lost souls and their dialogue with the residents of Heaven is extremely powerful and revealing of human foibles. You may find yourself recognising their grievous faults and sins as some of the same you yourself struggle with, and this can be rather disturbing, as if a spiritual mirror is being held up to your soul, and you are for the first time realising the depth of your own wickedness. That is certainly the reaction I had upon reading the book for the first time. But this is a good thing! The more clearly we see our own iniquity, the stronger we will be in our fight against it. I hope you enjoy the book.
 
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Yes, The Great Divorce is one of my absolute all-time favorites, along with Narnia.
 
ShowersofRoses said:
Yes, The Great Divorce is one of my absolute all-time favorites, along with Narnia.
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Yes! I was given a boxed set of the Narnia books for my eleventh birthday, and they are second only to The Imitation of Christ in my heart as devotional reading that moves me to the depth of my soul. The final chapters of The Last Battle are so powerful and filled with joy, my tears flow ceaselessly until I have finished reading the book, and even for quite a time thereafter. It is the closest I think I have been allowed to approach to the ‘ecstasy’ of which St Teresa speaks. If our lives in Heaven contain even one-tenth of the bliss I feel when I read these books, we will be fortunate indeed!
 
If someone is not Catholic because they are ashamed of it, it does not justify it at all. No one who truly loves God and wishes to become Catholic will remain in a false religion, including “for patriotic reasons”.
 
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If I could recommend a pair of his books, it would be “That Hideous Strength” and “The Abolition of Man”.
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Excellent picks, but I suggest reading the other two books of that trilogy first: Out of the Silent Planet and Perelandra.

The Geeat Divorce is wonderful as well… in fact, everything I’ve ever read by him is top-shelf.

OH, OH! - Till We Have Faces!! Read that too!

Heck, just get everything he ever wrote.
 
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“till we have faces” is a great book, but definitely not the first Lewis book to read. I suspect he wrote it as a labor of love. It requires some familiarity with the mythology. Another excellent book is Pilgrim’s Regress, also needs some background to understand all the levels, as he admitted in a new preface a decade later.

His writings are truly a gift for Christendom.
 
And don’t forget The Screwtape Letters…equally good at pointing out our faults.
 
I’m sure he wasn’t ashamed of Catholicism. He is said to not have converted because he wasn’t convinced of papal infallibility and had trouble with the role of the Virgin Mary in the church.
After all, he didn’t have the benefit of Catholic Answers.
 
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