Lewis’ Mere Christianity presents a great case in support of the existence of a universal moral law. I enjoyed Lewis’ essay as it presents arguments that do not require someone to adhere to the Christian faith to follow with his logic and agree with his arguments. Not many have taken it upon themselves to defend morality and Christianity with an intellectual approach, as does Lewis in Mere Christianity.
Lewis’ arguments are compelling and logical. I thought Lewis’ comparison between morality and mathematics was very applicable and interesting to the concept of morality. Just as there are absolute truths in mathematics, there are absolute truths of morality. This then means there is such a thing as absolute right and absolute wrong. In a world of increasing relativism, the existence of right and wrong is constantly contested, yet is foundational to Christian beliefs.
The story of the Gospel rests upon the existence of the moral law. When God created the universe, he said it was good. But sin entered the world when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, thus committing the first wrong action. Christ, the good and perfect sacrifice, took the penalty for our sin. In Christ, we may experience forgiveness for our wrong actions and are being transformed into the good creation God originally intended. Each step of this story includes the concept of right and wrong. Why would we need to be saved if we have nothing to repent of?
One of the points that struck me as we discussed morality in class was the idea that the moral law is applicable across all time and place. However morality may be applied differently in different cultures. I believe the reason for this is that morality is tied to the meaning and significance of the action. This is where relativity comes into play. An action in one culture may represent one meaning and motivation, while in another culture it has a fully different meaning. However the moral principles are the same in every situation and they all sum up to one word: love.
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Amy you have shocked me here. I got caught up all in the logic of Lewis and I feel bad that I forgot the ultimate point of the moral law...Love. Thank your for making that point and boiling it down to is essence.
ReplyDeleteI just want to say this, though you probably know it already, but it seemed confused in your post: Moral law as Lewis has defined it in Mere Christianity thus far is not Gospel Law. Moral Law doesn't come from the Bible, though the Bible records it in various forms to express it to the people. Moral Law comes directly from God to us and can be felt over all humanity. In a sense it is larger than the Bible and the story of Christ so that it touches more than just Christians, but all of humanity. In this way, the beauty of Moral Law is bigger than just our little group of Christian brothers and sisters. That is what Lewis is saying, at least this far.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure latter in the book he links the law to God, but even then it still transcends the Bible as even people who don't subscribe to the Bible still believe in God.
I too appreciated that his thinking does not require any religiosity because there is not much someone can do too argue against him. I also agree with Nolan that you "hit the nail on the head" by summing it up with one word, that being love.
ReplyDeleteAmy,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. I also liked how Lewis argued while looking at Christianity. I think it is very difficult to argue biblical ideas without using biblical principles in the argument, yet Lewis did if very effectively. I agree that, because of the ridiculous amount of relativism today, it is crucial to maintain the fact that there is indeed a Moral Law.
Maggie,
Nothing transcends God's Word. The Law God gives us in the Bible is the highest Law (with the exception, of course, of grace). I think it is similar to when Plantinga talks about "sensus divinitatus"; everyone knows there is a Moral Law, but only some know that it is in its entirety in God's Word.