Mere Christianity

Here, Lewis clarifies two points. In response to a critic who asked why God did not simply “beget” many sons to begin with, Lewis first notes that that the process of becoming sons of God as we know it is a result of humanity’s fall.

What is more difficult is explaining why there was only one “original” Son of God. Lewis begins by suggesting that the very idea of “what could have been” is nonsensical when applied to God, who simply is. Nevertheless, Lewis pursues the idea of the Father begetting many sons and questions what this would actually mean, since they would have to somehow differ from one another to be many. This, however, seems to presuppose that space of some sort already exists, so that the sons can occupy different places (the same problem, Lewis argues, does not arise in the relationship between Father and Son, who are distinguished from one another relationally). Lewis consequently ponders whether time, space, and matter were created precisely to make a multiplicity of eternal spirits possible.

The second point concerns Lewis’s prior comparison of the human race to an organism. This, he clarifies, does not mean that individuality does not exist; there are parts of an organism that differ from one another (e.g. different organs) and in fact serve fundamentally different purposes. Nevertheless, it’s important to keep the reality of the whole in mind, and not dismiss other people and their problems. In summary, neither totalitarianism nor individualism is the Christian way, and we should be on our guard against the instinct to say that one is worse than the other.

Lewis begins with two stories: one in which a person wears an attractive mask and discovers after taking it off that they themselves have become more attractive, and the fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast,” in which a woman “kissed [a monster] as if it were a man” and the monster in fact turned into a man (187). Lewis suggests approaching prayer in a similar manner; by addressing God as “Our Father,” we position ourselves as sons of God in a way similar to make-believe: we are not really akin to the Son of God but humans with flaws.

Lewis points out that pretending is not always a bad thing; when children pretend to be grown-up, this prepares them for life as an adult Similarly, “dressing up” as Christ may prompt us to consider how to make this pretense more of a reality (188). Lewis distinguishes this process from the voice of conscience, because there are things that a conscience might not regard as wrong that a person will realize they cannot do if they are really trying to be like Christ; the difference is analogous to obeying a set of rules versus painting a portrait. In the latter instance, Lewis argues that what we are experiencing is actually Christ working in us and helping us.

To those who find it hard to see Christ’s influence in their lives, Lewis notes that, without help from Christ, there would be no help from other human beings, as He works on us through one another. It is natural at first to recognize the actual human being who helps us, but we must learn to recognize the real source and not place all our trust in our fellow, fallible human beings.

In this way, Lewis explains, Christianity is not about following the teachings of a man who died thousands of years ago: rather, Christ is still with us, “killing” aspects of our old self and replacing them with His kind of self on an ongoing basis. Lewis sees two discoveries as emerging from this process. First, we will likely find that it isn’t just our actions but our motives and character that are problematic. This is an important realization; since it is much harder (if not impossible) to change our temperament than our actions, we are forced to seek God’s help. Second, we begin to discover that it isn’t so much that we are pretending, but rather that God is. Faced with a flawed human being, He pretends that this being is like Christ and helps him to become so, in much the same way that a parent teaches a baby to talk by talking to it as though it understands.

The idea that pretending (or “putting on Christ”) can remake reality is pivotal to Christianity, and distinguishes it from ordinary ideas about morality. Generally speaking, we think of morality as something that makes demands of our natural inclinations, but otherwise leaves those inclinations intact. The problem, however, is that truly meeting all of those demands would leave very little of the natural self, and when we realize this, we tend to respond in one of two ways: either giving up entirely or continuing to obey the dictates of our conscience, but in a bitter and resentful way.

The Christian life is both harder and easier, as Christ does not make demands of our natural selves, but rather seeks to change us entirely: “Christ says, ‘Give me All. I don’t want so much of your time and so much of your money and so much of your work: I want You. I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it.’” (196). Although this may seem impossible, it is ultimately easier than the alternative balancing act. Our task each day is to try to push back against our various competing hopes and concerns so that a different kind of self can grow. Over time, we will find that that this spiritual life within us grows stronger and stronger. Ultimately, this is the entire point of what we call the Christian religion, if not of the universe itself: to make us (and perhaps everything else) more like Christ. 

Lewis begins with a clarification: God does not refuse to help people if they are imperfect; rather, he will help them become perfect. Lewis likens this to his own childhood, recalling that, when he had a toothache, he wanted aspirin from his mother but knew that she would force him to go to the dentist, who would take care of all his teeth.

Lewis warns that people should not enter into Christianity lightly, as God will endeavor to make them perfect. They have the free will to push Him away, but He possesses utter conviction. Even so, He knows that people will make mistakes along the way, and, in the same way that a parent is pleased by a child’s first steps, He will be delighted by our first efforts. However, we should never become complacent. We may not be concerned with being perfect, but God has a plan for us and is determined to carry it out. We will not achieve the end goal in this life, but we should get as close to it as possible. We might not always understand God’s workings (especially when troubles come along), but that is because we do not comprehend “the tremendous thing He means to make of us” and how He is going about it (205). 

Lewis poses a question: “If Christianity is true why are not all Christians obviously nicer than all non-Christians?” (207). One response is that religious insight is not much good unless it manifests itself in our behavior, and it’s possible for a person to accept theoretically accept the doctrines of Christianity without putting it into practice. However, this does not explain why Christians collectively are not clearly better than non–Christians.

In this second sense, Lewis sees the question as misguided. Firstly, the world is more complex in that individuals are not always 100% Christian or 100% non-Christian. Some people may be in an interim state or confused, while even non-believers or those from other religions may be, unbeknownst to themselves, being led by God to be more Christian in practice, if not in name. For this reason, it’s impossible to compare people except as unique individuals. Even then, we still have to ask the right questions—for instance, whether a given person is “nicer” than they would have been if they weren’t Christian, rather than whether they’re nicer than someone else. People have different upbringings and temperaments, so it may take more time to bring one person up to another’s natural “level” (211). Furthermore, that “level” is itself best understood as a gift from God, and in no way implies that the innately nicer person doesn’t need saving as well. What God is concerned with is whether individuals of any disposition will “turn to Him and thus fulfil the only purpose for which they were created” (212).

Expanding on this idea, Lewis observes that people who possess goodness might not think that they need to give themselves to God. What they fail to understand is that this goodness is not their own until they recognize that it’s God’s doing and offer it back to God. In this way, having a “nice” disposition—like having material blessings such as wealth—can actually impede our ability to recognize our need for God. As for those who are miserable and desperate, Lewis encourages them to persevere and assures them that one day (maybe in the next world, but perhaps even sooner) they will find respite from their suffering.

In conclusion, Lewis states that it is easy to use an unsatisfactory Christian as an argument against Christianity, but this is just evasion. Ultimately, we can never truly know other people’s souls, only our own.

Lewis recaps that God’s purpose is not to improve human beings but to change them into a different kind of being. We might liken this to evolution, but where people often imagine humans will eventually evolve into some kind of “Superman,” Lewis asks, “Supposing the next step was to be something even more different from the earlier steps than they ever dreamed of?” (219).

The Christian view is that this “next step” involves a transformation of God’s creatures into sons of God. This is not an evolutionary change, as it arises from something entering nature from the outside. Lewis argues that it is also notable in several other ways:

1) It does not involve sexual reproduction. 2) It is voluntary. 3) It originates from the first new man, Christ, who transmits it to those who come into contact with him. 4) It has occurred at a relatively rapid speed and, despite frequent predictions to the contrary, has never died out. 5) The stakes are higher—in fact, infinite.

Lewis states that “the new men” are already spread across the earth and are recognizable if we know what to look for, though they’re unlikely to resemble our stereotyped idea of “religious people”; they may instead seem “stronger, quieter, happier, [and] more radiant” (223). These people are not, however, all alike in the ordinary sense; rather, their differences are illuminated by the spiritual life that is within all of them.

Lewis argues that much of what we regard as our own personality—our, beliefs, preferences, and ideals—are simply byproducts of our psychological makeup, external circumstance, propaganda, etc. It is when we turn to Christ that we truly become ourselves. However, we should not go to Him with this motive; the first thing to do is to try forget about the self. As is often the case in life, it will not happen until we stop trying to make it happen.