What Christians Believe
Summary of Book Two in Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Many believe that there is absolute good and bad, and yet reject the notion of a good God because the world has so much darkness. But to hold such a position is to accept a global standard judging good from bad.
Christians don’t believe that good and evil are equal forces. The world started as good before degrading to evil; evil is a rebel of good, and therefore can’t exist by itself. We can do good for goodness sake, but not bad for badness sake. We do bad for something pleasant, useful, or good. Without good, a bad man can’t be bad.
Christians believe our sense of right and wrong (our conscience) is from God, not from the world. Good and bad are constantly at war within us. Humans throughout history try and fail to follow their conscience.
Christians believe God created free will, letting humans choose their own paths. Consequently, the world can go wrong. Though God created us to live through Him, we can choose to make ourselves first, center, and God. That’s Satan’s mistake. Satan wants humans to find something outside of God for happiness and Satan has succeeded.
Humans have rebelled against God and need to repent.
God selected the Jews and taught them about Him. Then God sent to us Christ who claimed to be God. Christ said He could forgive sins, even the sins that hurt others. This makes sense only if we have broken His laws. Either He is the Son of God, a lunatic, or something worse.
Christians believe Christ is the Son of God, who voluntarily took our punishment for sin. Only a good man can repent perfectly, but only a bad man needs to repent. Christ achieved perfect repentance, surrendering and suffering humiliation on our behalf, because He is God. But He could only do so because He was a man.
Christians believe confession and surrender to Christ enable Christ-life in them. Then they can share Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection.
Christians will continue to sin. But Christians believe the Christ-life inside will help them begin again. God doesn’t love us because we are good, but God can make us good because He loves us. Anything good done by us is from the Christ-life that dwells within us. Christians become Christ’s body, through which Christ works.
Summary of Book Two in Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.
Christians don’t believe that good and evil are equal forces. The world started as good before degrading to evil; evil is a rebel of good, and therefore can’t exist by itself. We can do good for goodness sake, but not bad for badness sake. We do bad for something pleasant, useful, or good. Without good, a bad man can’t be bad.
Christians believe our sense of right and wrong (our conscience) is from God, not from the world. Good and bad are constantly at war within us. Humans throughout history try and fail to follow their conscience.
Christians believe God created free will, letting humans choose their own paths. Consequently, the world can go wrong. Though God created us to live through Him, we can choose to make ourselves first, center, and God. That’s Satan’s mistake. Satan wants humans to find something outside of God for happiness and Satan has succeeded.
Humans have rebelled against God and need to repent.
God selected the Jews and taught them about Him. Then God sent to us Christ who claimed to be God. Christ said He could forgive sins, even the sins that hurt others. This makes sense only if we have broken His laws. Either He is the Son of God, a lunatic, or something worse.
Christians believe Christ is the Son of God, who voluntarily took our punishment for sin. Only a good man can repent perfectly, but only a bad man needs to repent. Christ achieved perfect repentance, surrendering and suffering humiliation on our behalf, because He is God. But He could only do so because He was a man.
Christians believe confession and surrender to Christ enable Christ-life in them. Then they can share Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection.
Christians will continue to sin. But Christians believe the Christ-life inside will help them begin again. God doesn’t love us because we are good, but God can make us good because He loves us. Anything good done by us is from the Christ-life that dwells within us. Christians become Christ’s body, through which Christ works.
Summary of Book Two in Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.