The Son Of God In C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity

1301 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The importance of the crucifixion to Christianity

Over 2000 years ago, there purportedly was a man born of a virgin, who made outrageous claims. This man was Jesus of Nazareth and He professed to be the Son of God. Without question, Jesus is one of the most influential people that ever walked the earth, but was he the Son of God? Many suggest that he was not Lord, just a great moral teacher, which is a legitimate answer if one does not consider the bold statements that he proclaimed to the world. Lewis suggests that if Jesus was not God, but claimed to be God, then these opponents have lost their argument because he was clearly not a moral teacher but an outright liar or a crazy lunatic. On the other hand, scholars argue Jesus never professed to be God and followers of Christ distort the …show more content…

He knew what rattled them and what persuaded them. He spoke not to their logical minds, but to their aching hearts. How could he know these things if he was not God? If we take the perspective he was God, then we see he already knew these people’s thoughts, weaknesses, and hearts. Consequently, he already knew many would not believe him or follow him, yet he still died a horrific death knowing that only a few would accept him.
In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis addresses the question if Jesus was just a great moral teacher:
A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic-on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg-or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon; or you can fall at his feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to. (Lewis …show more content…

So could Jesus be the Son of God? Again, Jesus lived a life so noble, amazing, and loving that it has been remembered by billions of people and has been the center of a religion for thousands of years! If it were all a lie, why would a man die a horrific death for something he knew was not true? If he was crazy, why was there never any indication in any secular writing that would affirm this truth? He lived a life worthy of what he preached and he predicted his death and resurrection.
Josh McDowell, in More than a Carpenter, presents the notion that Jesus and his story are all a fallacy. He proposes that Jesus never existed and the story was only created to start an epidemic of religion. Apparently, this view is very common among people who have not studied the Bible or Jesus very thoroughly. He answers that same question supposing that it would take more than a Jesus to invent a Jesus. What person can create a story so perfect, whole, and appealing? This story is about love and redemption and someone more intelligent than Aristotle would have had trouble creating a story so lasting and infinite as

Show More
Related

  • The Obstinate Toy Soldier in Mere Christianity

    667 Words  | 2 Pages

    In C.S. Lewis' book Mere Christianity, The Obstinate Toy Soldier is a chapter with good points. Lewis takes his reader step by step through this chapter. In paragraph one he talks about how humans are consumed with the here and now, so people do not really think about what would have happened if humans never fell. Paragraph two is about how natural life and spiritual life are not just separate, but opposing sides. Lewis says this because people are born one way and God wants them another way. If these two sides, natural and spiritual life, combined then the way people normally do things would be destroyed in the process. It is like the analogy about the people who were brought up dirty and are afraid to take a bath. Lewis states in paragraph three that if we were to try and make a toy soldier human, that the toy would not see it as helping it, but as trying to destroy it. In some ways people see God this way even though he is trying to save our souls. Paragraphs four and five shed some light on who Jesus was. According to C.S. Lewis he was a real man of particular attributes and ever...

    Read More

  • Cs Lewis Essay

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Courage is not simply one of the virtues but the form of every virtue at the testing point, which means at the point of highest reality.” Clive Staples Lewis, known as C.S. Lewis, was a popular Irish author, famous for his Christian works, especially “The Chronicles of Narnia.” Throughout his novels, Lewis enlightened his readers with his views about faith. Although his novels were revolved around Christianity, Lewis was not always a believer. There were many things that influenced Lewis as a writer, but the most significant were his love of fantasy, his fascination with mythology, and his Christian beliefs.

    Read More

  • Did Jesus Claim to Be God?

    782 Words  | 2 Pages

    b) Biblical Foundation Many question if Jesus ever claimed to be God. First, Jesus claimed to be the unique Son of God, resulting in the Jewish leaders stoning Him ‘because you,’ the leaders said, ‘a mere man, claim to be God’ (John 10:33). On another occasion, a High Priest asked him: ‘Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’ to which Jesus replied ‘I am, and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven’ (Mark 14:61-62). Jesus also claimed to possess the same attributes of God. In the Bible, Jesus has never been recorded saying the exact words, “I am God.” However, Jesus’ original spectators seemed to think He said “I am the Father.” They were even ready to kill Him right there. The controversy is: Jesus didn’t have to say the specific words “I am God,” to claim this. Jesus did, however,...

    Read More

  • C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity

    288 Words  | 1 Pages

    Mere Christianity is a book written by C. S. Lewis. It was originally written and published between 1942 and 1944 in three separate parts as a series of wartime broadcasts on Christian faith. This series was to be aired for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Later, these speeches were gathered into a book that is known today as Mere Christianity and was published in 1952 by HarperCollins Publishers, New York, NY, 10007.

    Read More

  • Christian Scriptures Essay

    492 Words  | 1 Pages

    There are several ways in which we can be assured that what we are taught about Jesus is true and not just made up. These are called our faith sources. These sources, like the Bible and other sources of information about Jesus have accounts of Jesus’ life. The most important part of these faith sources is the Christian Scriptures. Although the Christian Scriptures are one of the most valuable tools we have to learn about Jesus there are also the Gospels, and also other non-biblical, and non-Christian accounts of Jesus’ life that we can consider when trying to answer the question How can we be sure that what we are taught about Jesus is true and not just made up?

    Read More

  • God and Devil

    1458 Words  | 3 Pages

    The really crazy thing though, is that Jesus always wanted to be a servant to the human race, he was the son of man, and in the biblical sense, son is a lower status than father.

    Read More

  • The Case For Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation Of The Evidence For Jesus

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Being a Christian and a student of Communications, I felt compelled to reading The Case for Christ. I decided to use this book for this review especially due to the large amount of criticisms and backlash it had received. Lee Strobel is known for being a hard-nosed skeptical journalist and ex-investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune. He also described himself as a "former spiritual skeptic" before his personal mission for the proof of God. Skeptics around the world claim that Jesus either never said He was God or He never exemplified the activities and mindset of God. Either way they rather triumphantly proclaim that Jesus was just a man. Some will go so far as to suggest that He was a very moral and special man, but a man nonetheless. For Strobel, there was far too much evidence against the idea of God, let alone the possibility that God became a man. God was just mythology, superstition, or wishful thinking.

    Read More

  • The Apologetics of Christianity

    2766 Words  | 6 Pages

    Jesus, a name known by billions throughout the world. To each, this name means something different; savior, friend, philosopher, prophet, teacher, fraud, fake, liar. Some even believe that He is just an imaginary character from the minds of those who wrote about Him. The Westminster Dictionary of Theology describes apologetics as, "Defense, by argument, of Christian belief against external criticism or against other worldly views" (Apologetics 31-32). Though there are still many mysteries that surround the ongoing debate about Christianity, evidence can now prove some of what Christians took by faith before. Now, more than ever, there is information to prove the existence of this man that walked the earth more than two thousand years ago. Little remains of His life and works except for that which is contained within the pages of the Holy Bible. Throughout the past century alone, there have been numerous discoveries, both scientific and archeological; to further prove the existence of a man called Jesus and reinforce the Bible as a legitimate historical document. The validity of Christianity and Jesus Christ himself has been the center of religious controversy for centuries. Though His identity has not and probably never will be proven, He did exist. This paper will use apologetics to prove this so. Sufficient evidence proves the existence of Jesus and forms a firm basis for Christianity.

    Read More

  • Mere Christianity and The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    C.S Lewis was like a rebellious teenager of the modern time period. He lived only during the modern era and very beginning of the postmodern era, but in his later years Lewis liked to describe himself as "old-fashioned", writing using ideas contrary to the time periods in which he lived. The modern and postmodern time periods began to view religion as a myth, and used reason to perceive the world instead. During his younger years Lewis embraced the ideas of the modern era, but his world-view changed upon his conversion to Christianity. Since he had dabbled in aspects of both modern and pre-modern eras, his later works intertwined the ideas of both literary periods.

    Read More

  • Christian Truths in the Screwtape Lettters by C.S. Lewis

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • The Law Of Nature In C. S. Lewis Mere Christianity

    5811 Words  | 12 Pages

    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 behave in a certain way when in reality we do the opposite of what is right or what is wrong. We are humans and humans have primal instincts. We are all capable of using our instincts to do right or wrong. Lewis uses an example of a drowning man to prove this point. When one sees a man in trouble two desires or instincts kick into play, to save the man or ignore him because the situation at hand could endanger you. However, there in another impulse that says help the man. With this comes a conflict of instincts. Do you run and forget about it or do you jump in and help. Most people will help even if the situation is going to endanger their life. This is just one way of seeing moral law. The right in a situation will mostly always prevail over the wrong. “Men ought to be unselfish, ought to be fair. Not that men are selfish, nor that they like being unselfish, but they ought to be”(30). We are creatures of habit and logic. Lewis believes that the moral law is not taught to us rather known by us instinctively. He also believes that the law is real. The law is our behaviors in life via good or bad. Lewis states, “there is something above and beyond the ordinary facts of men’s behavior”(30). This opens Lewis to believe that the natural law is both alive and active in mans life today. Lewis goes on to say that the law must be something above mans behavior. He begins to relate this to the creation of the world.

    Read More

  • Crucifixion Of Jesus

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...as a man out of this world. He had healed many. He had fed so many people. He had taught these people and they could feel God’s undying love for them. The theory of the Just War theory would justify these people to fight and die for this one person. However, Jesus stops any further justification on the same by the fact that he healed Malchus’s ear and he told Pilate his kingdom was not of this world.

    Read More

  • Compare And Contrast Aristotle And Jesus

    850 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jesus however, has much different beliefs. He believes there is a certain way to live in order to achieve the greater things in the after life. For doing the right thing for god is the way we all need to live. At times in the story “Sermon on the mount,” it can sound very radical. Saying things such as "Whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery," and "If you say, 'You fool, ' you will be liable to the hell of

    Read More

  • The Leadership Lessons of Jesus Christ

    4547 Words  | 10 Pages

    When we talk about Jesus as a leader, we may imply two different forms: Jesus as the only Son of God, God of the universe, or the risen Christ as being one with God; or Jesus as the 1 st century flesh and blood human being, the historical figure. Since the purpose of studying leadership is to improve one's own leadership skills, it makes sense to analyze Jesus' applicable traits, actions, and accomplishments as a good leader—in his historical role—so his leadership skills can be feasibly related to ourselves as human beings. I will attempt to analyze, using modern leadership criteria, how Jesus of Nazareth, the Jew and carpenter's son, was an effective spiritual leader of his time.

    Read More

  • Religion Essay

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    This passage reflects what Christianity care teachings “taught by Jesus” are to good by everyone, which can be observed i...

    Read More

More about The Son Of God In C. S. Lewis's Mere Christianity

Open Document