The question that C.S. Lewis is trying to answer in this article is whether or not you can live a good life without believing in Christianity. One of the parts that really caught my attention in this essay is the part where Lewis describes the part that the Christians and the world hold different views of what is good and what is bad. If there is ever a right or wrong answer to what is good, then one of the two views will be wrong. Yet, both of them will think that they are right and try to convince other people to believe what they believe. "Consequently,with the best will in the world, he will be helping his fellow creatures to their destruction." Then Lewis goes on explaining that God will not punish those who with their best will had made an honest mistake. However, those who ask the question 'Can't I lead a good life without believing in Christianity?' are those who had already deeply thought about the question and are a little convinced about the existence of God. "The man who asks this question has heard of Christianity and is by no means certain that it may not be true... To such a man it might be enough to reply that he is really asking to be allowed to get on with being 'good' before he has done his best to discover what good means." So what is it to be good? Can we even be good? The answer is no. C.S. Lewis says that we can't be good on our own moral efforts. And even if we could be good, we will later realize that being good is not what we really want to achieve through our life. "Morality is indispensable: but the Divine Life, which gives itself to us and which calls us to be gods, intends for us something in which morality will be swallowed up. We are to be re-made. All the rabbit in us is to disappear - the worried, conscientious, ethical rabbit as well as the cowardly and sensual rabbit. We shall bleed and squeal as the handfuls of fur come out; and then, surprisingly, we shall find underneath it all a thing we have never yet imagined; a real Man, an ageless god, a son of God, strong, radiant, wise, beautiful, and drenched in joy."
It is really hard to define what good and bad is. Yet, one thing I know is that I cannot be good by myself because I am a sinful creature. The bad side of me was already born with me. All I can do is to rely on God, because God is good.
It's so important that we do our best to not waste time and make the right decisions. Finding out whether or not we want to commit our lives to God is one of those decisions which we should not avoid making. Hopefully, from reading this we can all learn and encourage not only ourselves but others to begin making their decisions to follow Christ.
ReplyDeleteGod is indeed good. But it is really difficult for me to say that people who do not follow a religion are not doing good. I can't imagine that God neglects those people, nor do they seem it to me. I would say that there are people who follow no religion that God indeed does good things through.
ReplyDelete