An Outline of C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity

 

I.                     Law of Human Nature

A.      Human beings appeal to a certain behavioral standard.

1.        Quarreling is one person trying to show that the other is wrong.

2.        People can choose whether or not to obey the Law of Human Nature.

B.       Law of Nature thought to be known by all.

1.        If right behavior is so obvious then it does not need to be taught.

2.        Law of Nature exists because everyone knows what is fair and unfair.

C.       No one constantly practices the Law of Nature.

1.        We do not do what we expect others to do.

a.        Instead we make excuses.

b.       We cannot bear to face the truth of our hypocrisy.

2.        People know the Law of Nature and Break it anyways.

II.                   Some Objections

A.      Instinct vs. Moral Law.

1.        Instincts are strong wants and desires.

a.        Each impulse is right at one time or another.

2.        Moral Law is the impulse that ells you which instincts to follow and which ones to ignore.

B.       Different moral ideas

1.        Although different, the same law in morality exists in the different moral systems of different times and countries.

2.        Some people prefer certain moral systems.

a.        By choosing a preferred moral system, people acknowledge that there is a “Real Morality” to compare their system to.

3.        The only differences lay in the matter of facts.

III.                 The Reality of the Law

A.      Human Race

1.        Humans are haunted by the idea of practicing a certain behavior.

2.        They in fact did not practice this behavior.

B.       Laws

1.        Some laws are actually only laws in a manner of speaking.

a.        One cannot distinguish what should happen from what does happen.

2.        The Law of Human Nature tells what humans should do and what they should not do.

C.       Decent or Fair Behavior

1.        Decent behavior is not just what is convenient for someone.

2.        Happiness comes from everyone being fair, honest, and kind.

3.        There is a Real Law, which no one made by that pressures everyone.

IV.                 What Lies Behind the Law

A.      Views of the Universe

1.        Materialist

a.        Believe that matter and space happen to exist and always have existed

2.        Religious

a.        There is a conscious mind behind the workings of the universe

B.       Science

1.        Science cannot be used to prove moral law because

a.        science is based on observations of what we do, not what we ought to do.

2.        The only way to see the controlling force or law is to let it manifest itself inside us by us listening to it tell us to do right.