“The Rival Conceptions of God” Mere Christianity, II, 1-3 C. S. Lewis

1 – Rival Conceptions of God Atheism There is no god. A distinct minority. Theism, Christianity There is a god. Agrees with human cultures down through the ages.

Rival Conceptions of God Pantheism God is beyond good & evil. God animates the universe. The universe is almost God – everything in the universe is part of God. Jewish, Christian, Muslim God is good – righteous. God made the universe. God is separate from the universe – some things in it are contrary to his will. Many things have gone wrong with the world.

If a good God made the world, why has it gone wrong? –Atheism argues against God on the basis that the Universe is cruel, unjust, and contains evil. –But how does one get the ideas of cruel & unjust? –Lewis came to realize that Atheism is too simple. “If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning.”

Ch. 2 – The Invasion Some views of Christianity are too simple as well. –“Christianity-and-water” “There is a good God in Heaven and everything is all right.” –“It is no good asking for a simple religion.” The Problem –“A universe that contains much that is obviously bad and apparently meaningless, but containing creatures like ourselves who know it is bad and meaningless.”

Only two views face all the facts Christianity A good world gone wrong God created all powers – one went wrong. Dualism Two equal, independent powers, one good, one badTwo equal, independent powers, one good, one bad But—if one is good, one bad, there must be a third thing, a standard of good to decide. This standard is above the other two & must be the real God. Only two views face all the facts Christianity A good world gone wrong God created all powers – one went wrong. Only two views face all the facts Christianity A good world gone wrong.

Goodness is, so to speak, itself. Badness is only spoiled goodness. There must be something good before it can be spoiled. Evil is a parasite, not an original thing. Christianity talks about a Dark Power which was created by God, but went bad. We are living in the part of the universe occupied by the rebel.

Ch. 3 – The Shocking Alternative God created us with free will. Free will made evil possible. Why give us freewill? –Though it makes evil possible, it is the only thing that makes possible any love or joy worth having. The risk of giving mankind free will The Dark Power went wrong. –“The moment you have a self at all, there is a possibility of putting yourself first – wanting to be the centre – wanting to be God, in fact.”

Lies of the Evil One You can be the center of the universe – you can be in control (like God). We can make ourselves happy – apart from God. Results of humans seeking their own happiness (isolated from God’s purposes) –Money, power, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery

Lies of the Evil One You can be the center of the universe – you can be in control (like God). We can make ourselves happy – apart from God. Results of humans seeking their own happiness (isolated from God’s purposes) –Money, power, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery –There is no happiness, no fulfillment, apart from God.

What Has God Done? Gave us conscience – sense of right and wrong. Sent us “good dreams” – stories throughout the human race about a god who dies and comes to life again to give humans a new life. Selected one people through whom to work – (at least temporarily)

The Real Shock One came talking as if he were God. He forgave sin (sounds crazy to everyone else). He says he will judge the world, and has always existed. The shock is that he was serious, not crazy.

His life reflected the love such a one would have, not the anger and aggression we would have. The meekness and humility he claimed for himself was supported by how he lived and treated others. Lewis says either he was and is the Son of God or a lunatic. The choice is ours.