Reddit mentions of Mere Christianity

A great way to find out more about it: C.S. Lewis - Mere Christianity

Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism - Tim Keller

Gunning for God: Why the New Atheists are Missing the Target - John Lennox

The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God - John Frame

Van Til's Apologetic: Readings and Analysis - Greg Bahnsen

The last two are more in-depth philosophy-wise than the first three.

An introduction to Christian doctrine and what Christians believe is completely different than an introduction to the Bible.

For a free, online, scholarly introduction to the Bible I suggest OpenYale's courses on the New Testament and Hebrew Scriptures available here. Both Christine Hayes and Dale B. Martin are excellent. Biblical Literacy by Timothy Beal is an excellent accessible and mostly moderate[1] introduction to the the Bible for someone who's never read it before.

As far as both doctrine and the basis for doctrine go, that'll differ drastically from denomination to denomination. Most Protestant denominations claim that they believe in "sola scriptura" or "scripture alone", but perhaps the biggest blow to this statement may be the fact that you can't read the Bible and instantly divine everything there is to know about Protestants. Understanding the history of Protestantism is necessary. Even within the realm of Protestantism you'll find a diverse spectrum of beliefs. I personally have more in common theologically with some Muslims than I do with fundamentalist Protestant Christians.

Catholic and Orthodox traditions both explicitly state the importance of the church and church tradition, and so simply "understanding the Bible" won't get you very far there.

I'm tempted to offer Simply Christian: Why Christianity Makes Sense by N.T. Wright or the famous Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, but I cannot overstate the fact that even given their wide acceptance among the vast spectrum of Christian traditions, they are speaking out of a very particular perspective (they're both Anglican). A fair question, asked by Lamin Sanneh, is, "Whose religion is Christianity?" There are completely separate articulations of Christianity that have nothing to do with the Western culture it is so much associated with today. In his book he explores Christianity beyond the west. C.S. Song's book Jesus, the Crucified People: The Cross in the Lotus World covers specifically ways in which Christianity has risen across Asia.

I've got to run, but last I want to suggest Houston Smith's The World's Religions. He does a great job of highlighting the best of each of the world's major religious traditions.

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[1] When people say "moderate" they don't mean "I believe in it moderately" but rather "In the spectrum from conservative to liberal interpretations of the Bible I fall somewhere in the middle".

I am another Christian who has read it. I know many others who have read it and have come to be more understanding of the atheistic viewpoint. I would also recommend it. :-)

I would also recommend for basic understanding of the Christian viewpoint:

• Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis
  
• The Language of God - Francis Collins
  
• Jesus Among Other Gods - Ravi Zacharias
  
• The Case for Christ - Lee Strobel
  

I'm not a Christian, but I recently read "Mere Christianity" by C. S. Lewis. I thought it was a nice argument. It didn't make me want to be Christian, but it helped me see things from their side. He writes very clearly, and has obviously put a bit of thought into it.

http://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1249962373&sr=8-1

I'm guessing most other redditors will recommend things from the atheist side - but you've got to consider her side too.

You asked why, not for a deductive argument proving the truth of our answers.


If you have intellectual worries about God, feel free to browse the various categories of responses to questions concerning His existence.


If you have doubts about Jesus, only you can answer those for yourself. We believe that He's divine and approaches us all relationally. Read a Gospel or two (John and Mark are my favorites). Get to know the story and seriously ask yourself if this Christ person, as character, speaks to you in any way.


NT Wright is a pretty well regarded orthodox Christian scholar by both Christians and Non-Christians, so you may want to read some of his work if you have questions to address about the truth of this character. Who Was Jesus? and Simply Jesus may help you.


If you find any of that compelling and wish to dig into some Christian theology of Jesus, a couple excellent books which portray my personal take fairly well are King Jesus Gospel and Start Here.

And, of course, if you wish merely to approach the idea of Christianity in general, C.S. Lewis famously asserted many fundamentals in his classic Mere Christianity.


If you want me to assert the truth Christianity by disproving all other religions, I will not. I believe that religion is, fundamentally, a search for the divine or God. If divine truth exists, I would expect it to be echoed throughout the mythic language of all attempts to know Him (religions). Conversely, I assert the goodness and truth of Jesus Christ, who I see as central, and anything else that matters falls naturally into place.

I am seriously surprised by this post. You are asking questions about something which is not Christianity, but a caricature of Christianity which doesn't resemble the real thing in the least. If you are serious about "trying to understand a little more about christianity", I recommend you not ask questions here on Reddit, but read a couple of decent books on the subject. May I recommend Mere Christianity and What Christians Believe for starters.

Sorry it has taken me a little while to respond. It seems that in many of my discussions with people over evidences for Christianity, we disagree strongly on what counts as evidence. I am curious, do you think that evidence is subjective? Can something be evidence for me and not for you?

Thanks for responding to my points. Let me give some responses to your pushback

1. You can disagree with me about the supposed accuracy of the gospels. I agree this subject has been extensively written on and discussed from both sides. Again if you are interested in a scholarly defense of the gospels, I would point you to The Historical Reliability of the Gospels.
   
   As to your statement,
   
   > accuracy is no measure of truth
   
   I am not really sure what you mean by this statement. If you mean that the gospels accuracy is representing the life and words of Jesus does not mean that what Jesus says and later interpretations of his acts and words were true, then I agree. However, if the gospels are accurate in representing Jesus life and death, then the empty tomb and reported resurrection must be accounted for.
   
   
2. Again we might not be using the term evidence in the same way.
   
   > Why does that rise to the standard of evidence? That would mean there is no other possible > explanation of events, other than his actual resurrection, right?
   
   I have yet to hear another explanation of the empty tomb, the reported sightings by the disciples and followers of Jesus and the uniform pronouncement of the early church as to the bodily resurrection of Jesus which is a alternate viable alternative. I would recommend The Resurrection of the Son of God by N.T. Wright if you are interested in further reading in this area.
   
   
3. Humans are capably of incredible good and selfless acts, but also capable of intense acts of evil. I believe that are natural bent is toward selfish behavior which is naturally evil. Look at a two or three year old and you will see the natural ego-centric and selfish behavior towards which human behavior is inclined. Christianity provides a viable explanation for why this is true of humans and accounts for the existence of evil.
   
   Beyond that point, the existence of a category which we call evil demands an external standard by which good and evil can be measured. A moral law demands a moral law giver. See Mere Christianity by CS Lewis.
   
   
4. By no means am I trying to use the argument, "I don't believe in evolution, therefore God exists." That would be a vast over simplification and a terrible argument. I would identify myself as a proponent of some form of Theistic Evolution. However, I don't think that evolutionary theory has provided a satisfactory answer to the origin of the universe. How did it start? Why is something here instead of nothing?
   
   
5. Again, I am not making the claim that "Something is happening, therefore God exists." I am simply saying that transformed lives are an evidence of something happening in that persons life which needs to be accounted for. You can appeal to drugs, social pressures, etc.. but it must be accounted for somehow.
   
   I hope this provides some clarifications. Also, I am listed many books as references. I would be happy to read (or at least skim) anything which you would recommend in this area.

[This] (http://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652888/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345270283&sr=8-1&keywords=mere+christianity) changed my life, upon reading in a doubtful time, it was as if everything I had ever felt in Christianity manifested into words.

First to your question about what I understand to be the evolution theory. From what I understand everything started from a single life form and grew from there. The growing was done based on an algorithm of small random changes where the 'good' changes meant more survivability which caused those ' 'good' mutations' to produce more offspring. Which then carried further into the future to what we see now.

Also to start it wouldn't be to 'change' my mind for my mind isn't made up yet. I am willing to accept the evolution theory as a well thought out solid theory for the type of life we see now. But as far as saying it is 100% true I have not seen any proof on that. The information I do find says it cannot be proved. Yet, I keep hearing on reddit about how it has been 'proven'. From what I can tell it seems like it is held as the most likely scenario.

Now about the God questions that is on a completely different topic but I would be happy to answer. Though as I have said I do not think that creation from God and the Evolution theory as being mutually exclusive as many think it is.

First I would say if you are really curious about christianity to read
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. It is an incredible logical look at christianity and how he worked his way through believing in God.

Have you read these?

http://www.amazon.com/How-Think-About-God-20th-Century/dp/0020160224/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1319816650&sr=8-1

http://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652888/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1319816710&sr=1-1

idk_and_idc did a great job answering your questions. I'm no theologian, but I had many of the same questions before I started coming to church. I know that I am by no means qualified to answer all of your questions, but I may have some great places to direct you. I'm not sure if you're looking for resource recommendations, but I thought I'd suggest a few that seem relevant to your post.

• Across the Spectrum: By far the best "intro to theology" book I've read. It covers the ideas of predestination & free will, evolution and creationism, hell, etc. It's not light reading by any means but if you're seriously interested on getting your mind around the various evangelical thoughts on a wide range of commonly discussed issues, it is the #1 place I suggest looking.
  
  "The authors carefully examine positions taken by evangelical scholars on seventeen seminal issues. They lay out the biblical, theological, and philosophical arguments for each position in point-counterpoint fashion and discuss possible objections. "
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Across-Spectrum-Understanding-Evangelical-Theology/dp/080103793X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344124761&sr=8-1&keywords=across+the+spectrum
  
  
• http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/2012/07/09/making-sense-of-scriptures-inconsistency/
  
  A blog post. The description is "Here's a short course on the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament."
  
  
• I haven't found C.S. Lewis to be an "easy" read by any means. I love the way one of my friends sums it up: "C.S. Lewis is wonderful to quote because he states things in a unique way. However, it is difficult to read large portions of his words because of the unique way in which he writes." That said, Mere Christianity is a book I recommend to any any person inquiring for more information about the faith.
  
  http://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652888/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1344124813&sr=1-1&keywords=mere+christianity
  
  I joined reddit specifically to respond to your inquiry, so I hope I did it right! :) I find your questions to be very insightful & if I can try to be of any further assistance please be sure to let me know.

It happens with wisdom, not age. (Assuming) you are questioning the assertions of your current church. This could be a good time to dig deeper. Mere Christianity is a good place to start if you haven't read it already. Half Price Books will usually have a copy for a few dollars.

I am a rabid atheist, but I understand that Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis is extremely highly regarded by thoughtful Christians.

Mere Christianity is an excellent read. C. S. Lewis starts with a few secular assumptions and winds up leading the reader down a train of thought that explains how Christianity makes sense. Lewis was Anglican, not Catholic, but it sounds like you're struggling with Christianity in general, not just the Catholic Church.

http://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652888/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313921416&sr=1-1

> You are making a huge assumption that the Bible is god's guide.

I am answering from within the parameters you gave me. You asked originally about JW's interpretation of Christianity. I think I am granted such assumption in the light of this fact.

> What about all those people who fervently believe the Koran or Old Testament (only) or the Upanishads or the Veda or any other holy book to be god's guide to man?

God will judge them, not me. My task is to spread His good news to them. If He deem them worthy of salvation, then they are worthy of salvation.

> Do you not pause and question what makes your holy book so special, what makes your holy book the true word of god? If other people believe in other holy books with as much you zeal as you do in yours, how can you tell your not falling into the same false belief as they are? How do you know you are following the true word of god and not some impostor?

I suggest Plantinga's book Warranted Christian Belief or C.S.Lewis' Mere Christianity.

My argument for it is fairly simple. The God worshipped by the Christians is the same God that was already being worshipped when Ur was the most important city in the world. The other gods came and went, but He remained.

> If you are truly following the word of god (bible) and Hindus aren't (in general), shouldn't you feel god more?

No, why should I?

> Shouldn't god give you some indication you are on the right path as oppose to how you would feel if you were Hindu?

O, but He does! Truth will set you free, and that is your signal.

> That is like giving your children a test and then rewarding everyone who answered the questions equally regardless if they got it right, and then punishing those who got it wrong (punishment depending on your belief on heaven/hell can simply be having it somehow worse off in the afterlife then another person).

The destiny of mankind is to stay on Earth. No one will be 'worse off' than anyone else.

> How are any of your children supposed to know what the right answers (any 'lifestyle/faith' that gets you the best possible afterlife) are if you give everyone equal encouragement throughout the learning process and test?

There is no best possible afterlife. There is a simple hope of eternal life here on Earth.

> If Hindus can/will obtain the same level of afterlife as members of your faith, then again I ask, why are you spreading your faith?

Why do you tell your friends when something good happens to you?