Mere Christianity
First broadcast as informal radio "talks" and later published as three separate books, The Case for Christianity, Christian Behaviour, and Beyond Personality are presented together in Mere Christianity. In his remarkably direct and accessible style, the renowned Christian apologist shows how the power of Christianity manifests itself -- not in any single denomination but as "mere" Christianity, a total force. For Lewis sets out to prove only that "in the center of each there is something, or a Someone, who against all divergencies of belief, all differences of temperament, all memories of mutual persecution, speaks with the same voice." - Back cover.
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- Yes, you might be right there. It's rare to encounter mind-expanding books like Mere Christianity and the Prodigal God anywhere though, not just in Christian literature.
- Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
- A good description of this is in Mere Christianity by CS Lewis. It's worth reading. His thesis is roughly:
1) We have a moral sense which goes against what we want to do.
2) That sense is how the Spirit speaks to us.
I might want to have an affair. I might know I won't get caught. I will have a sense that it's /wrong/ and not do it as a result. Where does that sense come from?
To be clear: (1) I'm not doing it justice (2) I know the trite atheist answers. However, it's worth reading and understanding (as well as similar texts from other religions) for at least two reasons:
- As with any polarization, it's worth listening to all sides to understand them and be able to empathize with thenm.
- It gives a sense of why and how religion is logical. It's as strong as any case against God which I've read.
Footnote: The latter is a plurality-style and not a majority-style argument. There are many good arguments in many (incompatible) belief systems. They're all worth studying.
- It’s a little hard to answer a question so loaded with presupposition. It seems like you’re initially trying to frame your objection in terms of logic and reason, but your criticism is of the moral implications. My observation is that logical reasoning has little bearing on the divide between Christian and secular. There is no shortage of logical and illogical people in both camps. The objection, as seems to be the case here, is rarely on a rational level but rather a moral level. The idea of a moral authority that transcends humanity, by which humanity is to be judged is highly offensive. We naturally want to be our own moral authority. But if we are our own authority, who are you to determine what I should hold as “contradictions, inconsistencies, stretched truths, thinly veiled metaphor, lies...”? You’re objection appeals to the notion of an absolute objective authority on truth, while at the same time rejecting it.
If logical reason is truly what you’re interested in understanding the Christian world-view, there is no shortage of resources in the arena of apologetics. For easy reading you can start with something like Tim Keller’s two books, “The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism” and “Making Sense of God: Finding God in the Modern World” or perhaps C.S. Lewis’s “Mere Christianity”. If you want something of a more academic grade: - “Christian Apologetics (2nd edition)” by Douglas Groothuis - “Reasonable Faith, Christian Truth and Apologetics (3rd edition)” by William Craig - “Philosophical Foundations for a Christian Worldview (2nd edition)” by William Craig and JP Moreland
- May I suggest Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis or The Everlasting Man by G. K. Chesterton?
- I'd be surprised if you hadn't already read it, but just in case, this audio version of Mere Christianity is my absolute favorite: https://www.audible.com/pd/Mere-Christianity-Audiobook/B00JP...
I also really enjoyed One Year Bible with Bill Creasy. It doesn't get too academic, which may be a downside if that's what you're looking for, but I found him to be very engaging: https://www.audible.com/pd/One-Year-Bible-Audiobook/B00G5OEH...
And, although our theologies diverge quite a bit, I found that the Bible Binge podcast is pretty entertaining. It "translates" Bible stories into modern pop culture references: https://faithadjacent.com/show/theclassics/
