Remembering “Mere Christianity”
Between 1942 and 1944, C. S. Lewis gave a series of broadcasts on Christianity on BBC Radio. By 1952, this series had been adapted to a book, entitled Mere Christianity. And this year, 2012, standing as one of Lewis’s most important works, we celebrate its 60th anniversary.
Its impact upon modern Christianity is undeniable. For example, in 2000 Christianity Today rated it as the number one book of the twentieth century. In its own words: “The best case for the essentials of orthodox Christianity in print” [1]. Again, in 2006 Christianity Today rated it as the third most influential book having shaped evangelicals since the mid-1950s [2].
Significantly, Mere Christianity played an instrumental role in the conversion of Chuck Colson, who would go on to do much for the faith. Touchstone Magazine: A Journal of Mere Christianity plainly bears its influence. And it remains a staple in Christian classrooms and study groups across the world.
In recognizing this important work, we at the Helwys Society hope that you’ll make a point to read it if you’ve not, and to re-read it if you have. It is well worth your time, either way.
Stay tuned for our post on Monday, October 19, 2012: “C. S. Lewis’s Journey of Faith: From Atheism to Christianity”. In the meantime, here’s a memorable passage from Mere Christianity (the “rats in the cellar” passage) that exemplifies the power of Lewis’s vivid, provocative language:
[S]urely what a man does when he is taken off his guard is the best evidence for what sort of a man he is? Surely what pops out before the man has time to put on a disguise is the truth? If there are rats in a cellar you are most likely to see them if you go in very suddenly. But the suddenness does not create the rats: it only prevents them from hiding. In the same way the suddenness of the provocation does not make me an ill-tempered man it only shows me what an ill-tempered man I am [3].
Happy reading!
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[1] “Books of the Century,” http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2000/april24/5.92.html. Accessed on 8 October 2012.
[2] “The Top 50 Books That Have Shaped Evangelicals,” http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2006/october/23.51.html. Accessed on 8 October 2012.
[3] C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity (New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001), 192.
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