Welcome to the Macat Multimedia Series.
A Macat Analysis of C.S.
Lewis’s Mere Christianity.
“The Moral Law tells us the tune we have
to play: our instincts are merely the [piano]
keys.”
C.S. Lewis is best known for his children’s
fiction, but in World War ΙΙ he wrote on
different Christian topics, for a BBC radio
series.
These writings were later published as a book
called Mere Christianity.
Lewis’ main aim was to explain the Christian
faith, and provide a framework in which it
could be both accepted and applied.
Lewis argues that there is a universal Moral
Law governing human nature, telling us what
humans ought to do.
Although the concept of morality varies from
culture to culture, Lewis believes that basic
moral principles are universal; for example,
principles that tell us killing, stealing
and lying is bad.
He believes that this Moral Law cannot be
subject to scientific enquiry as it is ultimately
a sign of something beyond the material world
that brought all things into existence – God.
C.S. Lewis said, “God made us: invented
us as a man invents an engine”.
To explain Lewis’ thinking better, let’s
expand on this comparison and imagine a car
park full of vehicles.
There are all sorts of vehicles, from scooters
and motorcycles to cars and trucks.
Although they are superficially similar in
shape and colour, they all have similarities.
They all have wheels, an engine and some sort
of steering.
A person discovering motorised vehicles for
the first time could easily come to the conclusion
that someone had invented the idea of a vehicle,
because of the similarities they all have.
In the same way, the existence of universal
moral principles gave Lewis the belief that
these principles must have been created by
God.
Vehicles also have something else in common:
maintenance determines how well they will
function.
Each vehicle needs the correct fuel, a charged
battery and air in its tyres.
Lewis believed the same could be said for
humans – they needed to obey God’s Moral
Laws to function properly – if they did
not obey, society and relationships with God
would break down.
For the car to thrive, it must also be filled
with the right fuel – just as, Lewis believed,
humans can only thrive, if they are filled
with both neighbourly love and the love of
God.
All the rules and guidelines for keeping the
car in tip-top condition are written in the
manual.
C.S. Lewis saw the Bible as a sort of manual,
for humans, showing Christians how they should
live their life according to God.
Mere Christianity became one of the classic
Christian texts of the 20th century.
A more detailed examination of C.S. Lewis’
ideas can be found in the Macat Analysis.
