Mere Christianity
I thought this was a brilliant book. Lewis’ analogies and metaphors are strikingly clear and easy to understand, and the path of logic he follows to start from nihilism and progress towards Christianity is well thought out and concise. I wasn’t as crazy about his other argumentative work “The Four Loves” – at the time of writing this, its his only other argumentative book I’ve read – but I thought this one was clear, easy to read, and super helpful in really spelling out what it means to be a Christian in terms of what beliefs are integral.
The Four Loves
My mom got me this book for Christmas the year before I was married. Of C.S. Lewis’ works thus far, this one was my least favourite. It wasn’t bad, but for me I think I had a hard time wrapping my head around some of his concepts, and it seemed to drag on a bit. I love his other works and I’m glad I read this one, but I don’t remember much from the book – as a result, I can’t say it did much for me.
The Screwtape Letters
At the time of writing this, I haven’t actually read this book – instead, I listened to a dramatized audio version several years ago starring Andy Serkis (Gollum from Lord of the Rings among other major roles he’s played) as Screwtape. I was really impressed by this book through that performance. Each chapter is sort of like a “reverse sermon” – you hear about tactics the enemy uses to pull you away from God, and are thus inspired to watch out for and guard yourself against those tactics. My siblings, mother and I listened to this on the way to Disneyworld for Christmas in 2014, and I was consistently blown away by the insight that Lewis provided. His perspective on how spiritual warfare takes place was surprisingly simple – and yet still mind-boggling. I’d highly recommend this book. It’s argumentative in the sense that you learn a lot from reading it, but it’s also entertainment in the sense that learning a lesson “from the other side” is so uncommon, it ends up funny, exciting, and eye-opening all at once.