Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Week 6: Book I, Chapter 5 — We Have Cause to Be Uneasy
Read Book I, Chapter 5 of Mere Christianity ('We Have Cause to Be Uneasy')
Previewing Week 6 of Mere Christianity
Read 3 of 6 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 29-week guide when you’re ready.
Lewis closes Book I with a deliberately uncomfortable conclusion — and refuses to let us escape into easy comfort before we've faced the truth.
Discussion Questions
6 questions1.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?
2.He uses the analogy of a man in trouble with the police: Christianity doesn't make sense as 'good news' until you first understand the bad news. How has your own experience of the gospel been shaped — helped or hindered — by how clearly you've understood the 'bad news'?
3.Lewis summarizes what he's established in Book I: there is a Moral Law, we know it, and we break it. He says this puts humanity in a 'desperate position.' Do you feel the weight of that? Why or why not?
a.Is there a tendency in your own spirituality to rush past the bad news? What drives that tendency?
b.How does Lewis's approach compare to how Christianity is often presented in popular culture?