Reddit reviews Mere Christianity (C.S. Lewis Signature Classics)

Your family will still be in heaven together. It's love that keeps a family together, not some ritual. Christians most certainly believe that families will be in heaven together. It's the plain and simple message of Christ, without all the technical difficulties that come with the temple and three heaven teaching. Mormons hijacked and took advantage of the "until death do us part" infusing it with their own meaning that was never intended. When Christians would and do utter the phrase it is not a theological teaching on the state of relationships after we die. It is meant to simply promise faithfulness to one another all the days of our lives. Billy Graham mentioned just how much he is looking forward to seeing his wife again, Ruth.

I have included some links below that will help you think through faith and religious issues outside of Mormonism and most importantly within a logical and reasonable framework. Philosophy of religion and philosophical theology are two academic disciplines that utilize the philosophical method for examining the evidence for God and examining the truth chains of religion. Top universities throughout the world have departments that specialize in it. After years of study, I have come down on the side for the existence of God. Our family is now a part of Protestant Christianity, although not tied to one denomination.

Here are some good sources. Reasonable Faith is a great website with lots of information, I would take some time looking through it. It also has a podcast titled "Defenders" under "Media" that will really begin to ground you in a mature faith. "On Guard" is an excellent book to get you started as well.

https://www.reasonablefaith.org

https://www.amazon.com/Guard-Students-Thinkers-Guide-Christian-ebook/dp/B00U894IGA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1520306101&sr=8-3&keywords=on+guard+william+lane+craig

https://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-Lewis-Signature-Classics-ebook/dp/B002BD2UR0/ref=pd_ybh_a_13?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ET4M1H0BNR1J0S4RA6ZW

https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Religion-Basics-Jargon-Free-Beginners-ebook/dp/B0088DXG2A/ref=pd_ybh_a_19?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=ET4M1H0BNR1J0S4RA6ZW

https://www.amazon.com/Philosophy-Religion-Anthology-Louis-Pojman/dp/1111305447/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&qid=1520385625&sr=8-22&keywords=Philosophy+of+religion

Best of everything to you. If you have any further questions just let me know. I'm happy to help.

Could it be you disagree with the particular strain of Christianity in which you were raised? There's nothing that says we must forsake science or reason to be Christian. Some of our greatest thinkers were, in fact, believers.

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Take it for what it's worth, but maybe you could start with some reading about Christianity; its history, its teachings, etc. There are a couple of things I'd suggest (full disclaimer: I was raised Baptist but converted to Eastern Orthodoxy):

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Lost to the West, not a Christian history book per se, but more an overview of how Christianity, among other things, helped shape the West.

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Mere Christianity, which maybe you've already read. It helped pull me away from the ledge of my youthful agnosticism.

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Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy, a podcast, admittedly from the Orthodox point of view, providing an overview of all the varied flavors of Christianity.

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I hope this is in some way helpful.

Your recognition and disdain of their hypocrisy is commendable. However, even if there is hypocrisy in the church, it doesn’t mean that Christianity as a whole is false. Hypocrisy does not affect whether or not the Bible is true. Hypocrisy does not affect whether or not Jesus Christ is God and rose from the dead. There is probably some level of hypocrisy in every church, but your ability to distinguish what is true from what isn’t is the key. Therefore, similar to what Sandrock…is saying, I recommend taking a step back and building yourself a strong foundation of biblical Christianity, or what C.S. Lewis refers to as Mere Christianity. Strive to find a church group that adheres to biblical teaching. Without a Doubt: Answering the 20 Toughest Faith Questions may also be helpful here with respect to hypocrisy and other issues.

I also recommend getting some training in hermeneutics, so you can properly arrive at the objective meaning of the biblical texts. It’s important to take into consideration literary genre, linguistic context, historical context, authorial intent, etc. And Never Read a Bible Verse, always read a paragraph or more to get the context and flow of thought.

I also recommend researching the truth of Christianity. Ask yourself “Does truth exist?” “How can I know what is true?” Christianity either stands or falls on the Resurrection, so you can start there. A lot of scholars such as Gary Habermas, Michael Licona, and William Lane Craig have provided extensive work in this area.

You should also learn about How We Got The Bible, the nature of evidence and how the Gospels meet modern standards. Here, http://coldcasechristianity.com/ is helpful.

$5 for kindle or kindle apps.

Did someone say reading list?

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005TA7PSG/ - Read

http://www.amazon.com/Revelation-Four-Views-Parallel-Commentary/dp/0840721285/ - Read, which help me also to get…

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003YCQ8W0/ - Read parts of it

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004H1UOPE/ - Read

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002BD2UR0/ - Read

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003TXTC22/ - A pastor I follow online recommend this. I haven’t got to it yet.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0079QQ0RK/ - No way am I going to finish this!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003CYLD5C/ - Haven’t started yet.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0030CVQ5I/ - Started, but read some of the low star reviews.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007J71S62/ - I recently got this book, but haven’t started it yet.

http://www.amazon.com/Petrus-Romanus-Final-Pope-Here/dp/0984825614/ - Uh… yeah. I read it.

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All of that said, I know of a few Messianic Jews on YouTube but don’t know if there is any such congregation in my area. Alas I am at work and can’t dig out the names here. I also like to pick apart how they view the “rest of us” since, IMO, Christmas and Easter is so paganized.

http://www.reddit.com/r/INTP/comments/1dy1ws/intp_christians/c9v2tia?context=3

http://www.reddit.com/r/Christianity/comments/1c3qyk/jewishness_and_the_trinity_confirmations_and/

Anyway, when I got more time and less interruptions (i.e. AT HOME), I’ll check out the rest. I know of Paul Washer already.

As /u/Kdjsins points out, this deviates a bit from the original question. If you are genuinely interested, I would recommend Lee Strobel's 'Case For Faith' or C.S. Lewis' "Mere Christianity" for a more philosophical perspective.

There is empirical evidence for many faith systems. For example, there is excellent evidence that Buddhism is very beneficial in Palliative Care, because of their understanding of suffering. Likewise, there was a universal belief that Hittites were not a people group and this comprised evidence for the lack of historicity of the Old Testament, until the last century when other documents were found and archeological digs discovered an entire Hittite city. Finding like this (and there are many) are a great point of evidence for the Bible being a historically reliable document.

I am not saying that faith cannot be unfounded, I am saying it is not necessarily unfounded, and in the case of Christianity specifically, it is definitely not unfounded. You can dispute the evidence and any reasoning person should, but you can't deny its existence.

There’s nothing wrong with being stubborn, skeptical or having strong opinions. It’s never to late and I assure you that you don’t have to tie half your brain behind your back to be a Christian. One of my favorite quotes is, “The god an atheist does not believe in is usually not the God of the Bible.” (Gerald Schroeder, The Science of God) I would ask your friend if she could recommend a Pastor to meet with and perhaps discuss some of the major issues you have with Christianity.


It is true that Christianity comes with a built in support system and religion focuses on concerns outside of the self, such as helping others and serving. Potentially self-sacrificing virtues such as forgiveness, love, and gratitude are also highly valued within religious communities. Throughout human history the role of Christianity has been instrumental in who we are today. The Christian church has been a major source of social services, education, literacy, education, theology, philosophy and arts & culture.



Just remember that faith is not opposed by reason; faith is opposed by fanaticism – which is an abuse of reason.


Edit: Oh, and if you want to prepare a little (and you seem like the type) before you talk to someone, I recommend reading some introductory things. Of course it'd be great to read through the New Testament or in the least read the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) but I also I recommend something like C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity.

People have different theories of heaven. Some believe hell is separation from God. Along these lines, some also believe you can be in hell in the present, while alive. Maybe you are, maybe you don’t notice, maybe that’s okay for you right now. For many people of a spiritual/religious tradition, talking to an atheist - no offense - is like a flying bird talking to a flightless bird about being airborne and the associated benefits. If you don’t buy into the idea of flight, why are you even concerned about it? Why should we talk about the clouds in any depth when you only see them from the ground and even then as an obstruction to enlightenment?

Christ says salvation is available to all who believe in and follow him. No Christians are perfect and that’s implicit in the understanding of corruption. You aren’t expected to be perfect. But if your heart is open to God and you see the world for what it is and desire to hear and be closer to God, the book of John is a great starting point, I think. Or the book Mere Christianity by CS Lewis.

If you're looking for literary resources, first off I recommend a good study Bible. With scripture alone you can discover some incredible things, but we are fortunate that plenty of people smarter than we have gone through some of that effort for us. (I should mention that while I don't agree with all of John MacArthur's theology, I use this Bible and find many of his notes fascinating.)

Mere Christianity is a short and rich read by a great (albeit sometimes difficult to understand) author and you already have it, so certainly, you should read it. It boils many things down into easily digestible points.

Another resource I recommend is Lee Strobel's The Case for Christ. Think of it as Apologetics 101. It covers some basic Who, What, Where, When, and Whys of scripture and historical accuracies. Strobel has a franchise of books that similarly covers several topics for those looking for insight into Christianity (Creator, Faith, Resurrection, etc).

There are plenty more resources that I haven't personally read that you might want to look into. Here are some authors I would sugest learning more about: Francis Chan, Chuck Smith, Ray Comfort,

Additionally, you may find some interesting (and free0 resources online. Just like book authors, you should use discernment when pursuing authors as plenty of people take some crazy liberties with scripture, but I would recommend Blue Letter Bible and Reasons To Believe. The first has a wealth of knowledge at your fingertips. It can even replace a study Bible if you wanted. As I use it, I read scripture and then expand the tools to 1) understand the original Hebrew or Greek words at a glance, and listen to or read commentaries by a number of people. The second link (Reasons) has been an interesting place to investigate more modern questions I have regarding science and faith. It's mostly a resource for specific questions, but I've read some really thought provoking things there. Again, please use care not to take anyone's opinion whole (my own included!) and pursue truth and what is right and good.

Lastly, I recommend you pray. If you're seeking God, then talk to Him. Ask Him to help. Keep an open mind and expect to be challenged and surprised along the way! I pray something mentioned above helps someone, somewhere in some way.

EDIT: I also wanted to mention Gary Habermas whom I've seen speak and whose work I've read some of. His expertise is apologetics and he identifies some great points. :)

Here are some books I recommend. Some are free on kindle. Check out a library. They will have these books.

Read the 4 Gospels and Acts of the Apostles. Just read them.

http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-St-Augustine-Saint-ebook/dp/B00AQM75SC/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1408113491&sr=8-2&keywords=st+augustine+confessions

http://www.amazon.com/Aquinass-Shorter-Summa-Thomass-Theologica/dp/1928832431/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408113525&sr=8-1&keywords=st+thomas+aquinas

http://www.amazon.com/When-Church-Was-Young-Fathers-ebook/dp/B00LWIU1EE/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=undefined&sr=8-2&keywords=early+church

http://www.amazon.com/Orthodoxy-Moody-Classics-Gilbert-Chesterton-ebook/dp/B00DEUQ9GW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1408113746&sr=8-1&keywords=gk+chesterton

http://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-Lewis-Signature-Classics-ebook/dp/B002BD2UR0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1408113766&sr=8-3&keywords=cs+lewis

http://www.amazon.com/The-Screwtape-Letters-C-Lewis/dp/0060652934/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1408113766&sr=8-4&keywords=cs+lewis