Mere Christianity

1.Lewis begins with the observation that when people quarrel, they appeal to a standard they both assume the other person knows — 'That's not fair,' 'You promised.' What is he trying to show with this simple, everyday observation?

1.The first objection Lewis takes up is that the Moral Law is just herd instinct. How does he distinguish between a moral impulse and a moral law? What is the analogy he uses about two different impulses (such as helping someone in danger vs. self-preservation)?

1.Lewis argues that the Moral Law is not simply a description of how humans behave but a *prescription* of how they ought to. What is the difference, and why does it matter for his argument about God?

1.Lewis presents two broad views of the universe: the Materialist view (matter and energy, nothing more) and the Religious view (something behind the facts). In your own words, what is the essential difference between these two positions?

1.Lewis says he has been 'putting the boot in' — deliberately making the reader feel the weight of the Moral Law's condemnation before offering any relief. Why does he think this sequence matters? What is wrong with offering comfort too soon?

1.Lewis opens Book II by distinguishing between Pantheism (God is everything, or the sum of reality) and Theism (God made the world and is distinct from it). What are the practical differences between these two views for how we think about good and evil?

1.Lewis describes the Christian story as 'enemy-occupied territory.' What does this metaphor capture about the human condition and about God's response to it? What might be lost with a gentler metaphor?

1.Lewis presents the famous 'Liar, Lunatic, or Lord' trilemma. What is the argument, and what is it designed to rule out? In your own words, why does Lewis think the 'just a great moral teacher' option is not available?

1.Lewis frames the problem this way: a man who is in debt cannot pay what he doesn't have; a man who has wronged God cannot give back what he's taken. He needs help from outside. How does this frame the need for the Atonement differently from simply 'needing forgiveness'?

1.Lewis describes three ways Christ's 'good infection' (as he calls it) is passed on: through baptism, belief, and the Lord's Supper. He doesn't ask us to fully understand *how* these work, but to use them. What is the analogy he draws to eating food without understanding nutrition? Do you find this analogical approach helpful?

1.Lewis uses the fleet-of-ships analogy to describe the three departments of morality: relations between ships, the internal workings of each ship, and the purpose of the whole fleet. What are the three corresponding dimensions of human morality?

1.The four Cardinal Virtues are Prudence, Temperance, Justice, and Fortitude. Lewis says they are 'cardinal' because everything else hinges on them ('cardo' means hinge). Before reading further in the chapter, can you define each one? How do your definitions compare to Lewis's?

1.Lewis states that the New Testament gives almost no direct political program, and he is deliberately reticent about translating Christianity into specific policy. Why does he take this position? Do you agree with his restraint, or do you think Christianity has more specific social implications than he allows?

1.Lewis argues that psychoanalysis and Christianity are not rivals but operate on different levels. Psychoanalysis deals with the material of our instincts and complexes; Christianity deals with what we *do* with that material. What is the distinction he is drawing, and why is it important?

1.Lewis uses the analogy of an audience that goes wild watching a strip-tease act with food to introduce his argument about the state of sexual appetite in modern culture. What is he suggesting about the relationship between the appetite and the culture that feeds it?

1.Lewis distinguishes between 'being in love' (a feeling that comes and goes) and the commitment of marriage. What does he say about the relationship between the two, and why is this important for understanding the Christian view of marriage?

1.Lewis begins by saying forgiveness sounds fine in the abstract until you actually have someone to forgive — a neighbor who has wrecked your life, a nation that has done monstrous things. How does his opening move the discussion out of the theoretical and into the real?

1.Lewis identifies Pride as the great sin — the root of every other vice. He says it is essentially competitive: we are not proud of having something so much as proud of having *more* of it than the next person. Do you find this competitive dimension in your own experience of pride?

1.Lewis insists that 'charity' in the Christian sense means love — not just generosity with money. He says Love (in the sense of willing the good of another) is a virtue, not a feeling, and therefore it can be commanded. Why does it matter whether love is primarily a feeling or a choice?

1.Lewis says that hope — longing for the eternal world — is not a form of escapism but one of the things a Christian is meant to do. He argues that people who have contributed most to the world have been precisely those who were most focused on the next. Who are the examples he has in mind, and do you find this claim persuasive?

1.Lewis defines Faith (in a first sense) as the art of holding on to things your reason has once accepted, in spite of your changing moods. Why does he say this takes courage, and what does it suggest about the relationship between faith and emotion?

1.Lewis distinguishes between faith as intellectual assent and faith as the total self-surrender he describes here. Why does he say that the virtuous pagan (someone who works very hard at being good) may actually be further from salvation than someone who knows they cannot manage it at all?

1.Lewis distinguishes between 'making' and 'begetting.' A man makes a statue; he begets a child. The statue is made of different stuff; the child is of the same kind as the father. How does this distinction apply to the relationship between God and human beings — and to the relationship between God the Father and God the Son?

1.Lewis argues that prayer is the place where we discover the Trinity in practice — we speak to the Father, through the Son, with the Spirit. How does his description of prayer as being caught up into a divine exchange between Father, Son, and Spirit make prayer feel different from one-way communication?

1.Lewis argues that God does not experience time the way we do — he does not live in a 'succession of moments' but sees all moments simultaneously, as we see a landscape spread out before us. How does this resolve the apparent problem of God 'foreknowing' our free choices?

1.Lewis revisits the idea of the Son of God as the source of Zoe — the divine life — and argues that through Christ this life is 'catching.' What does the infection metaphor capture that a more formal theological explanation might miss?

1.In 'The Obstinate Toy Soldiers,' Lewis describes the Incarnation as God becoming a wooden soldier in order to turn wooden soldiers into real people. What does this earthy image capture that more technical atonement language might obscure?

1.At the beginning of the guide you were asked to write down your biggest question or area of doubt about Christianity. Pull that out now. Has it been answered, deepened, or replaced by a different question? What has the journey through this book done with it?