Rating: 
Summary: A thought provoking guide for those seeking understanding
Review: Who is God? How do I come to know Him? Are we God's descendants?
These questions are but a few of the questions that C.S. Lewis addresses in "Mere Christianity". This book contains short chapters that can be read in under 10 minutes. However, Lewis has managed to zero in on the question and explore it in such detail that no one can walk away without fully understanding the issues and his position on them.
Lewis relies not on quoting scripture to illustrate the core principles of his beliefs, but rather on logic and the observation of humanity.
"Mere Christianity" is highly recommended for both the Christian searching to answer questions about his faith and the non-Christian who is wondering what all the fuss is about.
Rating:
Summary: To know, is to love.
Review: C.S. Lewis is perhaps the twentieth century's finest Christian writer. This book is no doubt one of Professor Lewis' most wonderful works. He offers a simple, clear view of Christianity. Beware! To truly understand and appreciate this book, one must come with an open and humble heart. What I mean by open is to truly see it from Lewis' shoes. And what I mean
by humble is that, well, "no one can truly know Christ without humility." You must want, desire, crave, yearn in order to seek. And to seek is to know, and to know is to love.
--spaceboy
Rating: 
Summary: Well written
Review: Lewis was a master of language. This book is written in a style that is both easy to read and beautifully constructed. He was Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge, and his works are widely recognised as masterpieces of literature.In the book, his description and characterisation of mainstream Christianity is thorough. He covers the faith at a basic level, but it is more comprehensive and comprehensible than most non-Christians and even many Christians have ever heard before. This book taught me a lot about mainstream Christianity, not in a dogmatic sense, but in a spiritual sense. Too many authors rely on discussion of theology and dogma; Lewis covers the spiritual, and this is what sets his book apart. His coverage of the faith is non-denominational, and he deals with the subject in a frank, conversational manner. It is an extremely easy read, but at the same time both interesting and involving. With that said, many of his arguments lack force. While his apologetics make use of many good analogies, his logic will be unconvincing to most non-believers. On a side note, Lewis died on the same day as Aldous Huxley and JFK. Funny how life works!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent for its time-Very good now
Review: First of all, an excellent book to basic Christian theology. C.S.Lewis makes a good introduction to what Christians believe. The famours 'Lord, Liar or Lunatic' quote is in this book and it is wourth buying just to own that famous quote.
The book is dived into four sections. The first one is about human morality and its evidence for God. The second section is entitled 'What Christians believe'. Lewis makes it very clear that he is giving the basics of universal Christianity and does not favour one denomination over another. If you are seeking a book that will help you to decide what denomination is correct, this book is not for you. The third section is about Christian behaviour and the last section is about the doctrine of the Trinity.
The only problem is that the book was originally broadcast on the radio during WWII. The English is therefore very formal and old-fashioned. This does make the book slightly tedious but not so much that it ruins the enjoyment and interest of the book.
Rating:
Summary: Fascinating perspectives, but strays from its premise
Review: This was one of those books that I've had in the back of my mind for some time, as being a work that I should get around to reading someday. As the featured Editorial Review points out, there is much "shouting, stomping, sweating, spitting televangelist" fare written in defense of Christian theology... but this C.S. Lewis book has the rare reputation of being a mainstream religious book that attempts to build a logical and reasoned case. A case for the core of Christianity, across the various denominations and schools of thought. It was a book worth reading, but unfortunately I don't feel it lives up to that stated premise.
Lewis builds the foundation of his case by taking things we know about human nature, and putting together deductions toward higher conclusions. Sure, a skilled trial lawyer may be able to poke holes here and there through some of the assumptions and logical leaps that Lewis makes... but he is attempting to build a logical case regardless. So far, so good.
With a foundation established, Lewis drills deeper... building a case for evangelical theism over other theological views on God such as pantheism or dualism. It is at this point where my disappointment begins. I have read other books about these these different beliefs... and it always seems to be a case of the author stating the belief in passionate and emotion-driven language, and leaving it as self-evident that the reader must agree with that feeling. I was dying to hear for the first time someone approach this issue with logical arguments in the name of reasoned discussion.
Unfortunately, I'm still waiting. Apparently Lewis didn't have better luck than any of those other authors in coming up with a reasoned explanation for his beliefs, so that inconvenient literary device goes out the window temporarily. He simply labels pantheism as "wishful thinking", then says its believers are "talking nonsense" and are "damned to eternal death". After one paragraph of the kind of thing that the Editorial Review mentioned above claimed we wouldn't see, Lewis considers the case closed and moves on to the next topic.
This was a disappointment to me on two fronts. Number one, this and other examples hurt the credibility of the book's original premise. If you're going to build a reasoned case for something, you must do so consistently or not bother at all. If one makes the argument that reason is not always sufficient and that we must on occasion revert to emotion and intuition, then acknowledge that up-front and don't masquerade as a case built by logic and reason.
Secondly, I felt the book strayed from its original premise on another front. The book spends its opening pages declaring a mission statement around "mere Christianity"... speaking of the core principles across all major denominations and school of thought, while staying away from "high Theology... which ought never to be treated except by real experts" (the author's own words). Why then does he even see fit do delve into discussion over theism vs. pantheism, when the latter theological view has a wide following in progressive and even moderate-mainline Protestant denominations (such as the author's own Anglican church!)? Maybe much has changed between the book's original time of publication and today, and I'm being unfair by viewing the book in light of today's situation... but it does seem to me that "mere" is another word for "evangelical" in Lewis' mind.
Okay, so now that I've bashed the book and surely earned the anger of many readers, I supposed I should explain what I DID like about it enough to rate it 4-of-5 stars. Despite my concerns that Lewis didn't stick to the premise as much as I would have liked, the plain fact remains that any believer would benefit from reading this book. Lewis does have a gift for metaphor and analogy, and I do not have enough room here to point out all the places in the book where this gift is used to shed fresh new light on a subject. His thoughts on the nature of the Atonement (what DOES it mean to say Jesus was crucified "for us"?) were perhaps the most interesting perspective I've ever heard, and helped me gain better understanding of a question that has been elusive to me.
All in all, I do not see Mere Christianity living up to its reputation as being a book you could hand to atheists or followers of other religion and have it magically convert them through force of reasoning. However, for existing believers it's a wealth of insights and intelligent perspectives on a wide variety of fronts... and will almost certainly give you some fresh new ways of looking at some aspect of your faith. That's certainly good enough reason to warrant a recommendation.
Rating:
Summary: Simplicity applied sublimely.....
Review: Bowen Simmons has deposited here possibly the best review of Mere Christianity I've read. But as my task is to review the book, not one of it's many reviewers, I'll state only that Mere Christianity works for those capable of appreciating simplicity. Those sternly demanding difficult philosophical pretzels may huffily dismiss Lewis as a simpleton. If they also require a "contemporary" defense of ancient tenets they might easily assign the appellation to themselves.
Faith, regardless of chronology, is faith. Natural theology, in which reason alone is employed to understand God, was vigorously challenged as late (or as early) as the 13th century (see William of Ockham). I think C.S. Lewis well aware of this. But, he is evidently also aware that the promotion of faith to the ambivalent is only a partial strategy. Thus, Lewis provides a sublime distillation open to anyone willing to open the tiniest aperture unto themselves.
Though he ostensibly has, his goal is not to convert atheists (for they have a faith of their own). He merely presents Christianity for those who wish a clear, concise understanding. Yet, as in everything, we find only what we wish to find. Some will find here 5 stars.
Rating: 
Summary: Primitive concepts outdated by todays understanding
Review: I have no doubt that C.S. Lewis was a fine man and he certainly set out to achieve a noble goal here. Making the spiritual more understandable through the application of logic has an undeniable appeal. Unfortunately, his assumptions about some of the basic concepts of human nature look positively naive by modern standards. He comes off sounding like, as one of my psych professors was fond of saying, a "park-bench philosopher". Behavioral science just had not developed to the point it has today, so he had no way of knowing that his basic assumptions about some things he viewed as givens were, in fact, not given at all. In the end, trying to make the subject of religion something that one can put to the test of "logic" is an exercise in futility. That's why it's called faith.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Tool for Intellectual Evangelism!
Review: I read this book twenty years ago, and after reading it once again it still speaks volumes about why new life in Jesus Christ is so vital. It is ideal for the intellectual non-Christian who is struggling with the claims of Christ, mentally wrestling with the truth of His message and the need of salvation and new birth. It is also helpful for the new believer to understand better his faith and his relationship with his Lord.
Lewis here is profound, yet practical. His words are holy, yet extremely human. This book is actually a compilation of three separate titles by Lewis, the first of which was copyrighted in 1943. Over the decades that have followed, his words have proven timelessly inspiring.
For the non-Christian with intellectual questions, and for the Christian who dares to think about his faith, this classic work is a must-read.
Rating:
Summary: Intriguing and will challenge the non-believer and Christian
Review: In Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis examines faith and Christianity without biasing any particular denomination. This book is divided into four sections. In the first two sections, Lewis writes as an apologetic. He takes a philisophical approach to describe that humans have a moral standard and this standard originates from God. Lewis also defends Jesus Christ's claim to be God and how we are redeemed through His death on the cross. I found this section to be very well written and intriguing.
In the third section, Lewis examines Christian behavior. He discusses various topics including the four Cardinal virtues, the three theological virtues, sexual morality and the Christian marriage, and my favorite chapter - "The Great Sin" (pride). I would be surprised to find a reader that would be disappointed in this section. It is very intriguing and is an excellent reference looking at sin and appropriate behaviors for Christians.
The last section discusses the trinity and Lewis's view of the life as a Christian. This is probably the most challenging section of the book. Lewis even warns readers that they may want to skip a chapter or two if they don't think it will help them. Nonetheless, I found this section to be interesting and it really gives the reader a glimpse into the mind of one of the great apologetics of the twentieth century.
I recommend this book to both the non-believer and the strong Christian. It is an excellent reference and is guaranteed to challenge you.
Rating:
Summary: Merely the best
Review: The life of C.S. Lewis is truly inspiring. He is an amazing man of God. With the gifts bestowed unto him, Lewis writes Mere Christianity- the best introduction to the Christian faith for anyone from the simpleton to the learned businessperson. Mere Christianity is a group of war-time BBC talks gathered together. In them, Lewis is persuasive and serious, humourous and easy-to-read.
I recommend all of C.S. Lewis' works.
You have not truly read a good book until you have read Lewis.
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