Okay, so maybe I'm not in love with C.S. Lewis but you know when you're first in love and you think about that person all the time and you wish to be with them every moment...? Or let me put it another way. You know when you're randomly put on the spot to answer: "If you could have dinner with anyone who's ever existed, who would it be?" and you draw a blank? (Or is that just me...) Well now I know I'd say Lewis. Who wouldn't want to meet the creator of Chronicles of Narnia?! I've been thinking about his writing all the time. I simply can't get over how brilliant it is.
I read Screwtape Letters years ago and recently had the opportunity to see a live performance of it with friends from church. I have to be honest, my brain hurt after the first ten minutes because I had to actually think and process the sophisticated vocabulary-and at an alarming speed as it was shooting off the stage. (And it took me a while to find contentment in the one room and two characters (of which only one speaks) which are the entirety of the production.) But after admitting to myself that I'd lost the majority of my brain cells to mothering children and (probably more likely) too much t.v. watching, I eased into my seat a bit more and tried to keep up with the script. The lead actor was absolutely phenomenal and the show was definitely worth going to. Probably my favorite part though was the director talking about Lewis afterwards and answering questions for those who wished to stay.
What I'd previously known about Lewis was that he was good friends with J.R.R Tolkien (Lord of the Rings) and some other authors who had a little budding writing group called The Inklings. I had heard that he and Tolkien spent hours talking together about many things, specifically about Christianity and whether or not the Bible was in fact non-fiction (and the Word of God as Christians believe it to be) or rather a spectacularly written book of myths and fantasy. Could you imagine being a fly on the wall during one of those conversations!!!
From the director of Screwtape I also learned that one of the reasons Lewis was able to identify with so many of his readers was because of his journey before totally surrendering his life to Christ. He went from atheism to being an agnostic, then to Judaism, and lastly to Christianity. When one reads his writing, it's clear that Lewis didn't consider himself a theologian or an 'expert'; rather he was a layman who used his gift of articulation to express the powerful rational behind the Christian faith.
What made it so good you ask? Well, on a shallow note, I found no typos, which seems to be unheard of in this day and age. (Sorry, I'm a grammar/spelling snob. Don't get me started on your/you're and loose/lose.) On a slightly less shallow note, Lewis is skillful in painting analogies and metaphors to help readers tangibly understand challenging concepts. (Not to say I didn't have certain paragraphs I had to read multiple times.) Mere Christianity is a challenging read, but only because it challenges people to face the facts of our human nature. Why do we care about the evil and injustice in the world? Why can't we create our own God? Why did God give us free will if He knew we'd fail? Do we really even have free will? And why on earth do I have to 'lose my life to save it'...now that's just crazy talk, right?
Well, if you're not a follower of Christ, you should be asking these questions. And if you are a follower of Christ, you should be answering these questions! How else can you lead others to Christ if you aren't equipped with some answers. I'm not saying you have to have all the answers. But, really, Christianity isn't as ludicrous or old school as it's made out to be. I love how Lewis calls Christianity a 'fighting religion'. I'm not talking holy war here. But recently our pastor pointed out that verse in Luke 12, "Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more." He was referring though to how much information we have access to, how easily we can communicate with one another-especially in the United States where we have freedom to tell others of our faith. Do we not have more ability (and therefore responsibility) to share the gospel than any other generation before us?!
In a time when 'coexist' stickers are applauded and Jesus is simply seen as a good moral teacher, I challenge you to investigate for yourself what truth is. Investigate not by what makes you comfortable or whatever the latest fad is-look for evidence and think about the facts. (Hey, reading Luke 12 wouldn't be a bad place to start, especially if you're someone who is waiting for world peace when from the looks of the news there is no peace. (At least not in this life.)-Ezekiel 13, Jeremiah 6)
Here are a few bites from Mere Christianity that I'll leave you with...
"God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror: the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from (31)."
" If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning:just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be a word without meaning (39)."
"If we did all that Plato or Aristotle or Confucius told us, we should get on a great deal better than we do. And so what? We never have followed the advice of the great teachers (156)."
