Mere Christianity, book 2, chapter 1: "The Rival Conceptions of God"

Let's work on this book in bite-sized chunks. I will raise one item for discussion and see how many of you respond. This is a short chapter:) Here's my thought for your response: You have to bless God because you are one of a handful out of 7 billion people on the planet who can comprehend what Lewis is talking about in this chapter. We know what injustice is because we know what justice is. We know what crooked is because we know what straight is. We know what wet is because we know what dry is. We know all this because we claim to know this personal God of absolutes, who rules absolutely. Here is where I have to squirm. I've been complaining this week about all the meaningless tasks I have to do. Counsel me. Why is my attitude inconsistent with the contents of this chapter?

Old study; new venue

Welcome back! Since it is very difficult to get all of you together in a brick-and-mortar establishment, our MC discussions will primarily be electronic discussions this year. Facebook (search "Phrisbee Phellowship" and ask to join the group) will be our primary venue, although I hope to share content between this blog and that one.

To make things easy, our first set of discussion questions will cover all of Book 1 in Mere Christianity. This will be review for some of you, but will allow others to catch up. Participate as you are able. You'll get as much out of it as you put in.

Some atheists and agnostics get very uncomfortable around people who talk about morality in absolute terms. You don't even have to mention the name of Jesus to be accused of shoving "religion" down people's throats. That is where Lewis is taking us as we approach Book 2. He wants to make us uncomfortable. He has not yet gotten to an introduction of Jesus Christ as a remedy for man's problems and already, as a former atheist, he anticipates the impatience of his detractors.

It is that very impatience which serves to prove a point Lewis has been trying to make. Our discomfort with the thought of having a judge watching us shows that we are "haunted" by the idea of a sort of behavior we ought to practice. There must be some explanation for this universal uneasiness and an explanation for why we continue to do what makes us feel uneasy. The anger some people express when they perceive they are being judged is evidence that their conscience is already judging them.

Here we go:

1. We have all known people who are "doctrinally pure" but have no passion for Christ. The Emerging Church movement is urging people to seek a more experience-based Christianity as a reaction. In reading the preface to Mere Christianity, do you think Lewis would agree that doctrine is a substitute for a real relationship with God? Why or why not?


2. How do people reveal that they believe in moral absolutes even when they say they do not? How does this demonstrate the claim of Romans 2:14-16?


3. Why is discomfort a good thing when you are searching out ideas that are new to you?
   
4. "Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness." Describe how Christians offer an explanation for how we got into our present state of hating goodness and loving it?