Mere Christianity
by C.S. Lewis
The Perfect Penitent
We are faced, then, with a frightening alternative.
This man we are talking about either was (and is)
just what He said
or else a lunatic, or something worse.
Now it seems to me obvious
that He was
neither a lunatic nor a fiend:
and consequently, however strange
or terrifying or unlikely it may seem,
I have to accept the view that He was and is God.
God has landed on this enemy-occupied world in human form.
And now, what was the purpose of it all?
What did He come to do?
Well, to teach, of course;
but as soon as you look into the New Testament or any other Christian writing
you will find they are constantly talking about something different—
—about His death and His coming to life again.
It is obvious that Christians think the chief point of the story lies here.
They think the main thing He came
to earth to do was to suffer and be killed...
