C.S. Lewis' Book, “Mere Christianity”
C.S. Lewis begins his book, “Mere Christianity”, by introducing the Law of Right and Wrong or the Laws of Nature. This, however, arises a question. What is the Law of Nature? The Law of Nature is the known difference between right and wrong. That is, mans distinction between what is right and what is wrong. “This law was called the Law of Nature because people thought that everyone knew it and did not need to be taught it”(18). Lewis relates the law to how we treat others. We treat others the way we want to be treated and if they treat us poorly in return we become agitated and annoyed with them. He states that we become a society of excuses when something goes wrong. He goes on to say that we want to
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The passion of love compels two people to unite and create life of their own. Lewis also believes that the man is the head and should deal with his families’ policy because he is strong and wise. Forgiveness in Lewis’ eye is the love of a mans enemy. One of mans most terrible duties is the forgiveness of his enemy. Two things we can do to make loving our enemies easier are to forgive and to learn how to love our self. Loving yourself does not mean that you have to punish yourself; it means you have to have courage in the face evil. The love of our self can lead to us committing the great sin. Lewis describes the great sin as one in which no man in the world is free, which every one in the world loathe when he sees it in another, and which no Christian will admit to; Pride. The virtue opposite to Pride is Humility. Lewis suggests that in order to find how proud you are you ask yourself this question. “How much do I dislike it when other people snub me, or refuse to take any notice to me, or shove their oar in, or patronize me, or show off”(110)? There are four misunderstandings Lewis discusses about pride. They are: pleasure in being praised, being “proud of,” pride in wrong doings, and being humble. To gain
In his thought-provoking book, “The Pursuit of Holiness,” Jerry Bridges offers a personal look on what it means to be holy like Christ. The book is scripture backed and covers all areas of holiness as a Christian. In the book, Bridges starts off with assessing just what holiness is. To be holy is to be morally blameless and to have no sin (p. 15). Holiness is being separated from the ways of the world and becoming more like Christ. To be holy does not mean that you obey a set of rules, but is instead string to do always do what is pleasing in the eyes of the Lord. In Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2, Paul challenges the people to give up their bodies as a holy sacrifice for kingdom work. He continues on saying that this is truly
Most can agree that in, most circumstances, these actions are evil, so it can be concluded that there are certain things that a person simply ought not to do. This is the foundation of C.S. Lewis’ Moral Law argument for the existence of God. Lewis argues that every person has a sense of right and wrong moral behavior, and this sense presses upon us. This is what he calls the Law of Human nature, or Moral Law. However, unlike other laws like gravity, this law can be disobeyed. In fact, despite the fact that all people are aware of this law, they constantly disobey
The message of political alignment is a vast and varying concept, one that will be debated for as a long as party divisions exist. This divide however exists in not just the Christian community. We begin with the metaphor of a shepherds flock, blindly following what an individual says over ones own thinking. Boyd furthers this concept of alignment and how “many who left sincerely believe there is little ambiguity in how true Christian faith translates into politics. Since God is against abortion, Christians should vote for the pro-life candidate, they believe- and the preacher should say so” (Boyd 2). This blind adherence to one topic, one issue is unfortunately a failure on an intellectual level of all people, whether Christian or not. The
In “Macbeth” written by William Shakespeare the main character Macbeth is a general in the Scottish army. After Macbeth and Banquo another general return from battle they encounter three witches the witches give Macbeth and Banquo three Prophesies. The witches prophesy that Macbeth will be made thane (a rank of Scottish nobility) of Cawdor and eventually King of Scotland. They also prophesy that Banquo will produce a line of Scottish kings although Banquo will never become king himself. King Duncan’s men come to thank the two generals for their victories in battle and to tell Macbeth that he has been named thane of Cawdor. The previous thane betrayed Scotland by fighting for the Norwegians and Duncan has condemned him to death. Macbeth’s wife Lady Macbeth hears about king Duncan coming to their castle and try’s to persuade Macbeth to murder king Duncan. He and Lady Macbeth plan to get Duncan’s two chamberlains drunk so they will black out; the next morning they will blame the murder on the chamberlains, who will be defenseless, as they will remember nothing. While Duncan is asleep, Macbeth stabs him, despite his doubts and a number of supernatural visions, including a vision of a bloody dagger. Macbeth now becomes king and Fearful of the witches’ prophecy that Banquo’s heirs will seize the throne, Macbeth hires a group of murderers to kill Banquo and his son Fleance. They ambush Banquo on his way to a royal feast, but they fail to kill Fleance, who escapes but kills Banquo. Lady Macbeth later kills herself while sleepwalking and Macbeth becomes depressed. Later Macduff comes with his army and beheads Macbeth. And Malcolm becomes king.
With reason being an aspect of human nature that makes humans particularly unique and valuable, it is not surprising why Immanuel Kant chose to also consider the value of humans as rational beings when developing his ethical system. In fact, he describes that with this very rational nature, human beings may be able to discover unconditional and universal moral laws. One’s will must simply be influenced by their moral duties, rather than motivations from one’s emotions or inclinations to comply. Nonetheless, to uncover the strength of this ethical position, Kant’s perspective on human nature as the basis for these moral theories requires analysis. With this being done, in light of observations intended to analyze human moral behavior, there
The book consists of three parts. The first part has five chapters of which focuses on explaining what the key questions are and why we find them difficult to answer. The second part has nine chapters explaining in detail what N.T. Wright considers Jesus’ public career and the approach he had in first century Palestine. The third part of the book, the last chapter, challenges readers to wrestle with the questions of Jesus’ life and ministry.
Following this murder, Macbeth sees Banquo's ghost at the banquet. He is filled with feelings of regret and, as a result of his troubled mind, sees Banquo's ghost.
Macbeth's desire to become king is strongly supported by his wife, Lady Macbeth. Lady Macbeth is a highly ambitious woman who, like her husband, is willing to do anything to obtain power. Shakespeare uses a series of imagery to vividly portray the desire for power in Lady Macbeth's soliloquy: “Come, you spirits/That tend on mortal thoughts, unsex me here,/And fill me from the crown to the toe top-full/Of direst cruelty!” To achieve her ambition, Lady Macbeth urges Macbeth “to catch the nearest way.” This means she wants him to kill Duncan so that he can become king. However, she fears that Macbeth is “too full o' th' milk of human kindness” to “catch the nearest way.” When Macbeth is reluctant to kill Duncan, Lady Macbeth starts attacking his masculinity. “Then you were a man,” she said. Lady Macbeth also uses the power of emotional blackmail to manipulate Macbeth into killing Duncan.
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis is a book of thirty –one letters in which a retired, senior demon named Screwtape coaches his newly educated nephew, Wormwood. Wormwood is quite troubled when it comes to tempting his “patient.” Nevertheless, he need not fear because faithful uncle Screwtape has offered his services. A unique character featured in the letters is, “The Enemy.” This character refers to God, the natural enemy of Satan. Of course Satan is referred to as “Our Lord.” In the letters, and Wormwood and Screwtape try their very best to please Satan and bring him glory. Although the book is written from the demons’ perspective, Lewis naturally uses it to highlight important truths of the Christian faith.
I believe Wirzba’s claim to be very accurate. If we cannot learn from our actions and how they affect ourselves, others, and the places we inhabit, then we cannot entitle ourselves to be moral beings. We must strive to learn to appreciate everything around us and treat it respectfully. When we experience fruitful outcomes, we then gain knowledge of how to act as moral beings and perform actions that are ethical.
One of the first supernatural occurrences in Macbeth involved witches giving a prophecy to Macbeth and Banquo. The witches tell Macbeth, “All hail Macbeth, that shalt be King hereafter!” (Shakespeare, 30). After this prophecy, the witches give another prophecy to Banquo: “FIRST WITCH. Lesser than Macbeth, and greater. SECOND WITCH. Not so happy, yet so much happier. THIRD WITCH. Thou shalt get kings, though thou be none” (Shakespeare, 31). These prophecies signify that while Macbeth will become king, only Banquo’s heirs will obtain the crown.
Firstly, he defeats his enemies. Next he is praised by the other soldiers and King Duncan appoints him as the Thane. For example, if a person desires for a manager title, the person will work hard to earn it, and it is possible that other workers will see this and boost the chief individual’s desire. It is from here that the person might think they deserve the title and look for more power. Similarly, Macbeth must have thought somewhere in his mind to be king. In the book Witches’ Caldron: a study of motive in Shakespeare’s Macbeth Dr. K.C. Mathur says that although the witches did prophesy he would be king and even boosted his desire “They did not create the thought of murder of King Duncan. It was Macbeth’s own latent ambition embodying his power drive and seeking affirmation that invites the witches.” (Witches Caldron, 6) Dr. Mathur also says “Macbeth had acquired this status and it is not surprising that he thinks of achieving higher status by being aggressive and domineering. It is this psychological impulse that is projected in his ambition for the crown and not any criminal instinct or latent evil.” (6) There was a negative environment of witches and the association of Lady Macbeth around Macbeth which influenced him to murder. The environment creates a huge part in the play and if he had a good environment it is possible that he would have remained loyal to King
Every human being carries with them a moral code of some kind. For some people it is a way of life, and they consult with their code before making any moral decision. However, for many their personal moral code is either undefined or unclear. Perhaps these people have a code of their own that they abide to, yet fail to recognize that it exists. What I hope to uncover with this paper is my moral theory, and how I apply it in my everyday life. What one does and what one wants to do are often not compatible. Doing what one wants to do would usually bring immediate happiness, but it may not benefit one in the long run. On the other hand, doing what one should do may cause immediate unhappiness, even if it is good for oneself. The whole purpose of morality is to do the right thing just for the sake of it. On my first paper, I did not know what moral theories where; now that I know I can say that these moral theories go in accordance with my moral code. These theories are utilitarianism, natural law theory, and kantianism.
The Story of Christianity is a book written by Justo Gonzalez; a native of Cuba. Gonzalez serves on the faculty of the Interdenominational Theological Center which is located in Atlanta Georgia. He attended Yale University, where he received his M.A. and Ph.D. in historical theology; in fact Dr. Gonzalez is the youngest person at Yale to be awarded a Ph.D. He is also one of the first generation Latino theologians and instead of growing up Catholic, comes from a protestant background. In addition to writing many other books, Gonzalez is also Cokesbury’s publishing chief narrator of the Christian Believer study video lessons course and the recipient of the Ecumenism Award from the Theological Consortium in Washington, which he received as a result of his ecumenical work of bringing together churches of different denominations
Once the “deed” is done, Lady Macbeth’s desire for power lessens while Macbeth’s grows. Now that he has possession of the crown, he wants to protect it. Going back to the witches’ prophecy, he recalls that the descendants of Banquo will succeed him. Macbeth wants his own children to take his place when he passes on the position of king. If they don’t, he has put himself through emotional torture and guilt, and will have killed the king he was loyal to for nothing. To prevent Banquo’s youth from inhabiting the throne, Macbeth decides he must eliminate his friend because he is the only one who threatens his throne. “There is none but he whose being I fear… he chided the sisters when first they put the name of king upon me and bade them speak to him. Then, prophet-like, they hailed him father to a line of kings.” (3.1.60-65) His fear of losing the throne drives him to plot Banquo’s death. Not wanting to do the dirty work, Macbeth hires two men to kill Banquo and his son Fleance when they return from their horse ride. Once again it is seen that the witches’ prophecy has influenced the thoughts and actions of Macbeth. He has set off on a killing spree, murdering everyone who could be a potential threat to his crown. The more he kills, the more insensitive he becomes to death. The prophecies have started to consume Macbeth. Since Fleance escapes, Macbeth chooses to meet with the witches a second