PHILOSOPHICAL WRITINGS
MERE CHRISTIANITY
CHAPTER 11: Faith
Before starting, number your paragraphs 1-9
Paragraph 1:
What is meant by this word?
What used to puzzle Lewis about this first sense of the word faith?
What did Lewis used to say about sane men?
According to Lewis if a man was mistaken about the goodness or badness of the evidence, would this make that man a bad man? What would it make him?
What would be true about the man who knew the evidence was bad but was determined to believe it in spite of it?
Paragraph 2:
He assumed that the human mind is ruled completely by what?
How does the example of anaesthesia and surgery prove this assumption was indeed false?
Faith is based on reason. What can imagination and emotions do to reason?
The battle is between what 2 sides?
The apostle John says this very thing in John 3:19: "And this is the reason the evil are condemned--that the light is come into the world and men loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil."
Paragraph 3:
How does the example of the boy who wants to swim illustrate this as well?
Paragraph 4:
Lewis puts before us a man who has seen the evidence for Christianity and based on reason accepts Christianity as true. Lewis says that in the next few weeks one of several things will happen: there will be bad news, he is in trouble, or he is living among a lot of people who reject Christianity. What will his emotions then carry out on his belief?
Or suppose he does accept Christianity and yet something happens which would make it very convenient for Christianity not to be true: he wants a woman, wants to tell a lie, feels very pleased with himself, or sees a chance of making some money in an unethical manner. What will his wishes and desires do?
"I am talking about moments when a mere ______________ rises up against faith."
Paragraph 5:
According to Lewis moods will change whatever view your reason takes. What happens to his moods now that he believes Christianity is true?
What kind of moods did he have when he was actually an atheist?
What must you teach your moods when you are a Christian or even an atheist?
What must one do to the habit of Faith?
Paragraph 6:
What should be the second step we should take?
What are some practical ways to implement this second step?
Lewis says that we must constantly be reminded of the truth. (This is the reason we engage in small group studies.) According to Lewis if you examined 100 people who had turned away from the faith, you would discover what?
Paragraph 7:
After you have tried to be virtuous for 6 weeks or so, what have you discovered about yourself?
What silly idea is current about good people?
What sort of people actually know how strong temptation is?
How does the picture of the man walking into the strong wind illustrate this?
It's like a body-builder and a weakling. Does the weakling who can lift only 45 pounds know that lifting 400 pounds is really much harder than lifting 200 pounds? On the other hand, the man who can bench 300 pounds, does he know better than lifting 400 pounds is harder than lifting 200 pounds?
Why do bad people in one sense know very little about badness?
What made Jesus the complete realist?
What is the main thing we learn when we seriously attempt to practice the Christian virtues?
What must we do to the idea that God has set us a sort of exam, and that we might get good marks by deserving them?
What about the idea that we can bargain with God because we performed our part of the contract and that God is indebted to us?
Paragraph 8:
When this is blown to pieces, some people think what?
These people believe Christianity to be very simple-minded. Yet what was Christianity designed to do?
What moment has God been waiting for?
Paragraph 9:
"If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense ________ ___________ already."
How does Lewis compare us giving things to God with the way a child gives a birthday present to his dad?
"It is all very nice and proper, but only an ________ would think that the father is sixpence to the good on the transaction."
What happens whenever a man makes these 2 discoveries?
"It is after this that real life begins. The man is awake now."
Book Three
Chapter 11
According to Lewis Christians use the word “faith” in one of 2 senses. In the first sense faith simply means what?
Although Lewis still holds to that view, what was one thing Lewis assumed was true about the human mind but has since seen that was not true?
Lewis presents several examples of emotion overriding faith and reason. How does the example of the lying pretty girl and a man illustrate this?
When does Lewis NOT want a person to accept Christianity?
What does he mean by faith in this sense?
What is the first step we should take?
Lewis now turns to faith in the second sense. Lewis claimed that the first step towards humility was recognizing that you are proud. What is the second step towards becoming humble?
What is the first real result of Christianity?
After you have discovered that God has blown away this idea, what is the next thing you discover about yourself?