Mere Christianity – Book I – Chapter 4 (“What lies behind the Law”)

Book 1

Notes & Quotes

These are my notes from the penultimate chapter of Book 1 of “Mere Christianity”:

1. What is this universe and how did it come to be here? There are two (or three) main views on the subject (neither of which are new):

(a) The Materialist view

“…matter and space just happen to exist…[which] by some sort of fluke produced creates like ourselves who are able to think”

(b) The Religious View

“…which is behind the universe is more like a mind…conscious, and has purposes, and prefers one thing to another…”

2. Science can’t tell you which view is correct

“…why anything comes to be…and whether there is anything behind the things science observes – something of a different kind – this is not a scientific question”

3. We know more about mankind than the universe because we don’t simply observe mankind

“We do not merely observe men, we are men…we have, so to speak, inside information”

4. Since we are man, we know that we are under a moral law

“…men find themselves under a moral law, which they did not make, and cannot quite forget even when they try, and which they know they ought to obey”

5. If there a controlling power outside the universe it could not be inside the universe

“…no more than the architect of a house could actually be a wall… The only way in which we could expect it to show itself would be inside ourselves as an influence or a command trying to get us to behave in a certain way”

6. This doesn’t take us all the way to the Christian God

“All I have got to is a Something which is directly the universe, and which appears in me as a law urging me to do right… I think we have to assume it is more like a mind than it is like anything else we know – because…the only other thing we know is matter and you can hardly imagine a bit of matter giving instructions”

7. There was actually a third possible worldview regarding the universe, Life-Force philosophy

“…the small variations by which life on this planet ‘evolved’…were not due to chance but to the ‘striving’ or ‘purposiveness’ of a Life-Force”

(a) When we hear someone say this, we should ask whether this “life-force” has a mind:

(i) If yes, then it is really a god

(ii) If no, then how can something without a mind ‘strive’ and have ‘purposes’?

(b) This worldview is attractive

“…it gives one much of the emotional comfort of believing in God and none of the less pleasant consequences…[the life-force] will never interfere with you like that troublesome God we learned about when we were children. The Life-Force is a sort of tame God… All the thrills of religion and none of the cost.”

Discussion Questions

1. Lewis offers two fundamental views of the universe. What are they and how do they differ from each other?

2. Why can’t science help us decide which view is correct? Would this discount proofs for God such as the Kalaam Argument?

3. What extra information does Lewis say we have which can help us to point us to an answer?

C.S. Lewis Doodle

One comment

  • I just love these Podcasts. We have a CSL Study Group and we use Mere Christ. And the Pints with Jack podcasts for homework.
    BTW, I am a math professor who writes math textbooks for college students I also wrote an apologetic book: The Faith Equation: Mathematical Evidence for Christianity. It has a Chapter which considers statistical studies on the power of prayer. I would send you copies if you send me an address. Thanks for your great job. If you are ever in Phoenix, be sure to try Kiltlifter Amber Beer. It is excellent!

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