I read this a couple years ago and am rereading it now. I quite enjoy it, and I find it fascinating. I am not a Christian, but Lewis presents a very different face of Christianity than what's commonly seen today.
Has anyone else read this? What are your thoughts on it?
And, for those who have read it, can you recommend some more of the old theologians like this to me? Next on my book pile are G.K. Chesterton's Orthodoxy and St. Augustine's City of God.
2006-12-15 20:05:37 · 10 answers · asked by angk 6 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I'm not talking about his fiction; Mere Christianity is a nonfiction work.
2006-12-15 20:22:09 · update #1
CS Lewis wrote a plethora of works on Christianity, I would also suggest to you the "Screw tape Letters," and the "Four Loves."
If you want older theologians, I'd suggest Charles Spurgeon (though his work can be difficult to digest at times, it's very meaty stuff).
One of my favorite of Lewis's works is the "Great Divorce," which I highly recommend.
Right now I'm reading "A History of the Middle Ages," by Joseph Dahmus. It's a secular work that discusses the Middle Ages (duh) but it also had significant references to the early church fathers and their writings. I bet you could get a lot of references from it.
2006-12-15 20:18:34 · answer #1 · answered by Last Ent Wife (RCIA) 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Yes! I highly recommend John Bunyan's "The Pilgrim's Progress." It's an allegorical story of a family's spiritual, well, progress toward their goal.
I loved "Mere Christianity!" That book was the one that made me a lifetime Lewis fan. So many of the questions I had about Christianity he answered very plainly and understandably. I just love his dry wit. Some other Lewis books I could suggest: "The Screwtape Letters," "The Problem of Pain," "Surprised by Joy," and "Out of the Silent Planet / Perelandra / That Hideous Strength." The last three comprise a trilogy of allegorical fiction.
Enjoy!
2006-12-15 20:25:48 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
I remember reading Mere Christianity when I was only a young teenager. It was the first book I ever read in which someone approached Christian faith in an intelligent manner. It's set me on a path that I still follow today. I think he overreaches with his moral proof for the existence of God, but it is still one of the most accessible but accurate summaries of Protestant belief ever offered.
Wow. My hat is off to you if you can get through The City of God. That's rough going.
I suggest Bonhoeffer's The Cost of Discipleship for further reading. He didn't pull punches.
2006-12-16 06:38:20 · answer #3 · answered by wozzeck33 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
C.S.Lewis. One of the most prominent Christians of the 20th centrury. G.K. Chesterton should also be very interesting.
I Cr 13;8a
12-16-6
2006-12-15 20:34:00 · answer #4 · answered by ? 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
His trilogy beginning with , "Out of the Silent Planet" was great and was written just before we explored Mars, so his takes on the planet are virginal and imaginative.
His work was, on the surface, very Christian (and interpreted heavily in respect to that), but he also induced philosophical warnings and questions underneath the religious pretense.
2006-12-15 20:15:10 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
I think you've answered your question for yourself. You don't really want to know what other's thoughts on the books are. You're just pointing out for those Christians who have been duped by these writers that if they want to continue to believe that these writers are Christian then you're happy not to let on that you know that they're not. The only other thing to be cleared up in this whole thing is: since you know these writers aren't Christian then are you up to reading what those who are have to say? If you have the courage may I suggest this link?
2006-12-15 20:56:37 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 2⤋
make sure that you know the context in which the books are written. much of st augustines work was written just after his city had been destroyed by marauding barbarians. naturally he was somewhat depressed at the time and his work reflects this. he has been described as the most unaugustinian of the augustinians.
2006-12-15 20:11:15 · answer #7 · answered by Nemesis 7 · 2⤊ 2⤋
If you want to learn about Christianity, C.S. Lewis won't get you there.
2006-12-15 20:46:58 · answer #8 · answered by sneakers 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
If you like detail and logic, than you must try this:
http://www.newadvent.org/summa/
2006-12-15 21:01:41 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
WHen i was a christian i thought it was interesting, i took a real good look at christian history and i am disgusted that people still endorse such filth.
2006-12-15 20:11:07 · answer #10 · answered by badferret 3 · 1⤊ 5⤋