C.S. Lewis’ piece “What Christians Believe” was rather confusing to me, but I think I may have figured it out. In my opinion, this piece falls into the category of a persuasive essay. For instance, Lewis is trying to persuade us that Christianity makes total sense, and that everything within it can be proven. She is kind to other religions stating that they are not completely untrue, and is smart in providing both sides of each argument. Lewis’ purpose is to persuade us that there is, in fact, a God, and that Christianity makes sense. The central message is that Christian’s beliefs are logical and true. Lewis assumes that everyone already has a basic knowledge of Christianity. Lewis’ world views include that Atheist are egotistical and that everyone believes that Christians think that every other religion is wrong, which is not true. She views the world as a place where everything can be explained and has a purpose. The tool that Lewis uses is logos, which is also known as an appeal to logic. She attempts to provide a logical solution to every argument presented. For example, Lewis calls out the Atheist who say that the world has no meaning, arguing that saying the world has no meaning also entails that we do not know what is dark and what is light. Furthermore, there must be opposition in all things. The evidence provided is her own experiences, knowledge of her religion and other religion, and her beliefs. My testimony was strengthened by this piece.
I am pretty sure my testimony was also strengthened by reading this piece! I loved it. I enjoyed the read after I got past how it was extremely boring in places haha but I really liked how he reviewed through many religions and stated that there was some truth in them but not the total truth. I like how he is a dependable writer because he converted from atheist to a Christian. He really liked the logic behind the religion and did a great job of explaining how it is the most logical one so therefore it must be true. My favorite paragraph was on page 181 paragraph 2 (or three) when he talks about how we were built as engines were but instead of running on fuel, we run of God and we will only find true happiness in Him.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed how C.S. Lewis used an academic approach to discussing religion. Usually religion stays away from academic discussion because academics are usually critical of religion. I am glad that such an acclaimed writer like C.S. Lewis would take the charge of defending Christianity. I hope that I can be a defender of my beliefs like Lewis was. Lewis openness about his former beliefs helped his argument. Knowing that he once was atheist showed that he knew the arguments on both sides. I think that Lewis’s writings on Christianity could be compared to Hugh Nibley’s writings on the Book of Mormon and our church. Both defended their beliefs through academic writing. The main difference though is that Nibley was not the successful writer outside of academic writing that Lewis was.
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