I just found your blog last week and have been enjoying your posts, as I have been actively seeking to further my financial knowledge. This post caught my eye only because I clicked on “Ten Books That Changed My Life”, and I had to comment. Mere Christianity changed my life, too! But, differently. :-) I was raised as a devout Christian, and spent a semester at seminary. This book actually deconverted me! It made me realize that, as Lewis says, either Jesus is who he said he is, or else he’s a lunatic or a liar. I’m not sure which he is, but I know which one he’s not. I’m now a very happy atheist. I enjoy your posts immensely, and I am learning a lot. Thank you.

Thanks for sharing this part of your life. It’s amazing to know that others have gotten as much out of Mere Christianity as I have.

And just an overall thank you for the site, in general. Your articles have been a huge help to me, in creating a budget that works, in new ideas for savings, and in helping others. I’ve been emailing others with links to various articles of yours here. So, thanks for all you do. It’s appreciated.

I, personally, have nothing against Christians or Christianity and indeed much of my favorite writing and art and thinking has been created by Christians.

I find the sort of militant atheism that seems to be the modern, public face of atheism kind of unpleasant. I’m sure many Christians feel the same way about some of the farther right Evangelicals. So it goes.

For instance, I purposely read the God Delusion by Dawkins to find out why he believed what he did, and to learn more about the atheist’s mindset. Although there were a few challenging points, the book, unlike Mere Christianity, relied mostly on persuasive arguments rooted in pathos and ethos, and not so much in logos (logic). But if I was afraid to think for myself and only believe what I’ve been told, I wouldn’t have dared read this book, but since I’m convinced of the truth of Christianity, I have no fear reading these books now, or any other challenging argument or belief system.

Kudos to John, the atheist posting above, for reading this book, and I hope you give Christians more credit for their beliefs, because as C.S. Lewis said in the chapter on faith, we wouldn’t believe what we did if it wasn’t rational.

As a man who has devoted his whole life to the most clear headed science, to the study of matter, I can tell you as a result of my research about atoms this much: There is no matter as such. All matter originates and exists only by virtue of a force which brings the particle of an atom to vibration and holds this most minute solar system of the atom together. We must assume behind this force the existence of a conscious and intelligent mind. This mind is the matrix of all matter. —pre-eminent scientist Max Planck

thanks for the review, will recommend this post to my friends.

In the quote you had taken from wikipedia, there is a statement that says “Lewis bases his case for Christian belief on the existence of a Moral Law, a “Rule about Right and Wrong” commonly known to all human beings.”
This is a Kantian way of thinking, a philosophical way of thinking where morals it’s a science, but, as Kant says, there is an a priori part.
So, it’s not science, but it’s absolute.
To deepen that way of thinking, i suggest you to read “Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals” in the translation of H.J. Paton, by Harper Torchbooks.
In the translator’s preface, there is a discussion about that point of view, with suggested reading of Schopenhauer.
That’s a good way to rethink about that topic ;)

BTW, it’s a lot of time that i read your blog, and i find that’s useful and pleasant to read. Good job, and sorry for my poor english!
Ciao! ;)

An interesting book on this topic is “The Scandal of the Evangelical Mind,” by Mark A. Noll. It’s tough reading, but he brings up some good points.

I go to Baylor University, the only school that is striving to be both a top tier university (we have some outstanding research going on) and a CHRISTIAN university (in more than just name). And that causes a lot of friction. A lot of people say it can’t be done. But then what does that mean? That thinking and Christianity are mutually exclusive, which I refuse to believe.

I am also a non-fundamentalist Christian (an Anglican, like C.S. Lewis).

Absolutely wrong. Atheists are elected all the time. Many of them hide behind the Bible and Christianity, but they are certainly NOT Christians. GWB is a Christian in name only. Hillary and Bill are Christians in name only. This list is very long. The first rule of politics is to attend church and profess Christian beliefs.

I’ve read Slacktivist’s quotations from (and critique of) Left Behind, and I’d say it’s not just predictable, it’s very badly written, error-ridden, and represents poor theology.

I see your point, but I’m not sure it’s unique to Christianity. The mass media tend to characterize all issues as a dispute between two extremes, and their typical selections for any viewpoint on religion is not likely to be the most eloquent spokesperson for a reasonable view.

People who can successfully communicate the most abstruse and complex intellectual ideas to mass audiences are quite rare.