Mere Christianity

Complete Overview and Summary

Book 1, Chapter 1 - The Law of Human Nature

Key Points:

• Good and Evil are real, objective categories.
• People everywhere believe in the Law of Human Nature yet also fail to keep it.

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Key Terms:

• Morality
• Right and Wrong
• The Law of Human Nature

Overview: Lewis spends this chapter discussing the reality of right and wrong, or “The Law of Human Nature.” He argues that this law, while different from physical or chemical laws, is every bit as real as they are.

Book 1, Chapter 3 - The Reality of the Law

Key Points:

• Likes and dislikes do not always (or even often) correspond to good and evil.
• The definition of good cannot be “what benefits the human race.”

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Key Terms:

• Decent Conduct
• “Behavior that pays”
• “Beyond the ordinary facts”

Overview: The moral law cannot be easily explained away. It will not do to define morality as “what I happen to like,” or even as “what the human race as a whole happens to like.” A more realistic definition is needed.

Book 2, Chapter 3 - The Shocking Alternative

Key Points:

• Free will is a wonderful thing, but it comes with the potential for evil.
• The incarnation of Christ is God’s plan for restoring fallen humanity.

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Key Terms:

• Free Will
• Automata
• “The claim to forgive sins”

Overview: What could God do to save a world of free creatures without destroying that freedom? In answer to this question, Lewis introduces the idea of the incarnation and explains its significance for humanity.