Back to the Basics?

Reading: Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis

Although Lewis uses his usual logic in discussing the topic of Christianity, the part found most agreeable in the first book was in the preface. He stated his intentions very clearly and deliberately, which allowed for the correct mindset to be cultivated before beginning the actual reading.

The rest of it is also clear; Lewis sought to bring us back to the logical basics of Christianity. Admittedly, I found this essay less clear than many of his other essays. Perhaps that was because I'd heard such mixed reviews on it, and was trying to see what brought such glowing reports, and, in turn, such scathing ones.

That, however, is unimportant. There were things that connected, things that made sense. I would view it more as an affirmation of many of the things I'd already begun to think about. It tied in so very closely to the things I'd been so carefully wording while speaking to a friend of mine. He cared nothing for my denominational beliefs, and I attempted to respect that. Later, however, I came to realize that it wasn't merely my Reformed background he detested so much, but rather my Christian beliefs altogether. I came to a point in which I had to disregard the denominational structure I had given to my faith and go back to the very essence of Christianity, "mere Christianity," if you will.

How, though, does one explain the logic behind Christianity? There is the Law of Human Nature, which Lewis describes as a sort of math applied to humans, allowing for variables and variety. This math states that all humans desire for others to behave in a conduct of decency and respect, a sort of "golden rule" which humans seem to expect of one another. Lewis does not quite approach the logic that applies such an expectation to a specific reference point (which, I assume, is God), and the reference is a Something or Someone which (or whom) is directing the universe. This Someone (which later in Mere Christianity, I assume, Lewis reveals to be God) "appeals in me as a law urging me to do right and making me feel responsible and uncomfortable when I do wrong."

(My apologies for the scattered thoughts. Perhaps some editing will occur later.)