Mere Christianity – Foreword

Notes & Quotes

Here are my notes from the Foreword of Mere Christianity which, in my edition is written by Kathleen Norris. Her words are in green and Lewis’ are in dark blue.

1. CS Lewis served in the trenches of World War I

2. During the Battle Of Britain, CS Lewis was an air raid warden and gave talks to the men of the Royal Air Force

3. These pilots had a life-expectancy of thirteen bombing missing and therefore these talks were not purely academic endeavours

“This book, then, does not consist of academic philosophical musings. Rather it is a work of oral literature, addressed to a people at war”

4. This therefore makes the content of his talks all the more surprising

“How strange it must have seemed to turn on the radio, which was every day bringing news of death and unspeakable destruction, and hear one man talking…about decent and humane behavior, faith play, and the importance of knowing right from wrong”

5. Lewis gets to the heart of the matter…

“All of our notions of modernity and progress and all our advances in technological expertise have not brought an end to war. Our declaring the notion of sin to be obsolete has not diminished human suffering”

6. …and tells us where the problem is

“The problem, C. S. Lewis insists is us“

7. Lewis told his friends that this generation had never in fact been told in basic terms what Christianity is all about.

“Lewis seeks…to help us see the religion with fresh eyes, as a radical faith whose adherents might be likened to an underground group gathering in a war zone, a place where evil seems to have the upper hand, to hear messages of hope from the other side”

8. Lewis explains his outlook on humanity

“Lewis once stated, that ‘there are no ordinary people’ and that ‘it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit’“

9. Lewis calls his readers/listeners to embrace the fullness of life by embracing Christianity

“The Christianity Lewis espouses is humane, but not easy…we must decide what sort of immortals we wish to be… As Lewis reminds us, with his customary humor and wit, ‘How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been: how gloriously different the saints’“

Discussion Questions

1. In what way do you think war influenced Jack in writing this book and in the way it was received?

2. Why did Jack decide to make this presentation of Christianity?

3. How would you describe his Christianity?