Tuesday, December 15, 2009

Mere Christianity - C.S. Lewis

I wanted to mention this book in passing. This was actually the first time I have read the book, which is not odd in itself except that I've read almost all of Lewis' other books including the more obscure ones. I tried to read Mere Christianity several years ago, but only made it about 50 pages in. I still find the book a bit on the dry side, but I suppose my tolerance for dry books has gone up, or on the other hand, I suppose my appreciation of solid rationale and powerful rhetoric has also increased.

Even as I express my admiration for Lewis' thoughts, opinions, and arguments, I do want to note one interesting habit that is especially prevalent in this book. Lewis tends to spend about 80% of his time in Mere Christianity describing allegories to explain his argument. This normally wouldn't be a problem--most great teachers use allegories--but about halfway through the book I have to admit I got a little tired of them. Overall, however, it was a great read and full of powerful and thought-provoking explanations of Christianity.

1 comment:

Michelle said...

Yeah...same for me. I started reading it about 2 years ago and never finished it. I think I got some sticky stuff on the cover of it and then never picked it up again. I guess I'll give it a try, but I'm glad I'm not the only one to think it's a little dull.