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The Joyful Christian
These are 127 devotional readings, selected from Lewis's many works on faith and spirituality. Christians everywhere can share in the joy of this master theologian as he discusses topics ranging from the nature of prayer and good works to psychoanalysis and facism.
239 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
137 people are currently reading
4424 people want to read
About the author
C.S. Lewis
1,014 books47.6k followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
Clive Staples Lewis was one of the intellectual giants of the twentieth century and arguably one of the most influential writers of his day. He was a Fellow and Tutor in English Literature at Oxford University until 1954. He was unanimously elected to the Chair of Medieval and Renaissance Literature at Cambridge University, a position he held until his retirement. He wrote more than thirty books, allowing him to reach a vast audience, and his works continue to attract thousands of new readers every year. His most distinguished and popular accomplishments include Mere Christianity, Out of the Silent Planet, The Great Divorce, The Screwtape Letters, and the universally acknowledged classics The Chronicles of Narnia. To date, the Narnia books have sold over 100 million copies and been transformed into three major motion pictures.
Lewis was married to poet Joy Davidman.
W.H. Lewis was his elder brother]
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 106 reviews
June 6, 2021
This was a GOODIE. Lots of short excerpts from C.S Lewis’ work throughout his years. Good topical commentary on everything from Heaven, to suffering, to doubts, to anxiety, to friendship. There were lots of moments where I found myself taking pictures of these pages and that’s my marker of a good book.
QOTB: “It seems to me that we often, almost sulkily, reject the good that God offers us because, at that moment, we expected some other good. Do you know what I mean? On every level of our life - in our religious experience, in our gastronomic, erotic, aesthetic, and social experience - we are always harking back to some occasion which seemed to us to reach perfection, setting that up as a norm, and depreciating all other occasions by comparison. But these other occasions, I now suspect, are often full of their own new blessing, if only we would lay ourselves open to it. God shows us a new facet of the glory, and we refuse to look at it because we're still looking for the old one.”
QOTB: “It seems to me that we often, almost sulkily, reject the good that God offers us because, at that moment, we expected some other good. Do you know what I mean? On every level of our life - in our religious experience, in our gastronomic, erotic, aesthetic, and social experience - we are always harking back to some occasion which seemed to us to reach perfection, setting that up as a norm, and depreciating all other occasions by comparison. But these other occasions, I now suspect, are often full of their own new blessing, if only we would lay ourselves open to it. God shows us a new facet of the glory, and we refuse to look at it because we're still looking for the old one.”
December 21, 2011
Reading sections again. Usually after scripture readings. I've been re-reading this book for a decade. Highly recommend it; after all it's Lewis.
May 16, 2019
A nice cherry picking of C.S. Lewis’ thoughts on many topics of interest: Heaven, Hell, death, apologetics, love... the list is extensive.
Dubbed as a devotional, it certainly reads as one. Could easily be nursed through many a short morning readings or whenever you want to find time to read his thoughts.
I’d recommend this to those who don’t feel compelled to read his extensive list of works (30+) and would rather get an idea of his writing. You’ll find that not all of his works are featured here, but primarily his very popular ones such as, but not limited to, MERE CHRISTIANITY and THE FOUR LOVES.
Dubbed as a devotional, it certainly reads as one. Could easily be nursed through many a short morning readings or whenever you want to find time to read his thoughts.
I’d recommend this to those who don’t feel compelled to read his extensive list of works (30+) and would rather get an idea of his writing. You’ll find that not all of his works are featured here, but primarily his very popular ones such as, but not limited to, MERE CHRISTIANITY and THE FOUR LOVES.
March 20, 2023
Let’s say you’ve never read any of C.S. Lewis’ nonfiction, but you’ve heard his name constantly and are curious. Published fourteen years after Lewis’ death, The Joyful Christian collects excerpts from his more popular works into one volume. Although the drawn-from works vary (they include his biography Surprised by Joy, his Christian nonfiction like Miracles and The Problem of Pain, Letters to Malcolm, and even The Screwtape Letters), the collection is tightly focused on the Christian life. The title is somewhat misleading in that it’s not a book about mirth and merriment, but rather uses Lewis’ original use of ‘joy’ – those fleeting moments of feeling something transcendental, happening spontaneously and unpredictably, hints of something beyond than what is dreamt of in Victorian man’s philosophy. The volume proved an solid start to my Lenten reading, given that it begins with Lewis’ writing on the truthfulness of Christianity before shifting to faith practices. These were intended to be read devotionally, I think, since the multitude of short pieces (each is 2-4 paragraphs), but I’ve read most of the source material so I just enjoyed the refresher. Personally, as a Lewis devotional reader, I prefer A Year with C.S. Lewis, but this would be a good primer for someone who’s never read Lewis and is interested in the range of his Christian writing.
September 10, 2022
I enjoyed the wide variety of topics addressed in the short readings found in The Joyful Christian. I also appreciate the index at the back of this book, identifying the book in which each of the readings in this book can be found. It really helped me prioritize which Lewis books I’d like to read next.
October 1, 2024
Although the title implies this is a topical book on joy, it's actually a compilation of various CSL writings. Only a few go at joy directly. I thoroughly enjoyed soaking in these the last month or so, and, bonus, finding new books I want to read. It was especially fun to read this alongside Surprised by Joy and then Becoming Mrs. Lewis for a full saturation in CSL for a while.
August 13, 2011
The bibliography to the edition I read includes a book about C. S. Lewis that calls him "The Apostle to the Skeptics". It is this aspect of the author that spoke to me most. I fancy myself a fan of science and reason. I am glad the Enlightenment happened. And I consider the "all your mind" portion of Matthew 22:37 a scriptural basis for this way of thinking. Therefore, I am certainly a skeptic.
This book was a turning point in my Christian walk. The scholarly rigor with which Mr. Lewis treats such topics as Heaven, Hell, Money and Flippancy is very appealing to me.
Here are some scribbled notes for my own reference.
Page 4: Life on other planets is a defense of a tolerant and liberal view. Does Pastor Gib agree with it?
Page 92: Mechanics of meditation
Page 128: Belief
Page 157: Flippancy. So much on TV is flippant.
Page 178: Christianity Hard or Easy
Page 185: Money
This book was a turning point in my Christian walk. The scholarly rigor with which Mr. Lewis treats such topics as Heaven, Hell, Money and Flippancy is very appealing to me.
Here are some scribbled notes for my own reference.
Page 4: Life on other planets is a defense of a tolerant and liberal view. Does Pastor Gib agree with it?
Page 92: Mechanics of meditation
Page 128: Belief
Page 157: Flippancy. So much on TV is flippant.
Page 178: Christianity Hard or Easy
Page 185: Money
October 23, 2018
At the end of the day, I just prefer thel entirety, rather than excerpts. However, it's Lewis...
March 2, 2020
Lewis is always fantastic, but I like reading full books and essays better than reading little snippets. One thing that was really good though, there was a lit of books/authors he suggested in his writing that I had not seen in the other books of his I've read, so that part was something I hadn't seen yet.
September 22, 2021
A great selection of the writings of C.S. Lewis. I was reminded why I like Lewis so much.
May 15, 2015
“If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”
-C.S. Lewis
The Joyful Christian is a collection of Lewis’ best work divided by topic. The Joyful Christian is academically challenging while being spiritually inspiring.
-C.S. Lewis
The Joyful Christian is a collection of Lewis’ best work divided by topic. The Joyful Christian is academically challenging while being spiritually inspiring.
September 10, 2022
This book does not lend itself to being a quick read or one that requires only minimum engagement. To be sure, it can be read in a manner that is shallow and fast, but I can’t imagine a reader coming away with anything of value from the experience. C.C. Lewis was a brilliant writer and a deep thinker about all that it means to live in the world we see around us while attempting to live as fully as possible in the kingdom of God that believers are assured is being built even now. I have had this book on my shelves for years and managed to read just bits and pieces. Wanting to consider all that it offers, I decided to add this book to my morning devotional time and read only one essay a day, re-reading it as many times as it took to grasp the meaning and purpose the author was attempting to convey. I found this to be the best method and well worth the extra effort to comprehend, consider, and reflect upon the truths and wisdom contained within its pages.
November 12, 2018
First sentence: If sales are signs, then C.S. Lewis is one of the most popular Christian theologians being published in the United States today.
The Joyful Christian is a collection of 127 readings taken from C.S. Lewis' nonfiction works. Some readings are longer than others--a few pages in length. Other readings are much shorter--less than a single page. Some readings seem to flow together in a particular sequence. Others not as much. Either is fine as far as I'm concerned when it comes to devotional readings.
I think there is a definite place for devotional books that are not 365 days! It can be a little overwhelming to "commit" to reading a particular devotional book for an entire year. There's also something about a book being dated--literally. The dates can mock you if you fail.
To some, God is discoverable everywhere; to others, nowhere. Those who do not find Him on earth are unlikely to find Him in space. But send a saint up in a spaceship and he'll find God in space as he found God on earth. Much depends on the seeing eye. (6)
If God is Love, He is by definition, more than mere kindness. And it appears, from all records, that though He has often rebuked us and condemned us, He has never regarded us with contempt. He has paid us the intolerable compliment of loving us, in the deepest, most tragic, most inexorable sense. (39)
The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God. (50)
The doctrine of the Second Coming teaches us that we do not and cannot know when the world drama will end. The curtain may be rung down at any moment...We do not know the play. We do not even know whether we are in Act I or Act V. We do not know who are the major and the minor characters. The Author knows. The audience, if there is an audience (if angels and archangels and all the company of Heaven fill the pit ant the stalls), may have an inkling. But we, never seeing the play from outside, never meeting any characters except the tiny minority who are "on" in the same scenes as ourselves, wholly ignorant of the future and very imperfectly informed about the past, cannot tell at what moment the end ought to come. That it will come when it ought, we may be sure; but we waste our time in guessing when that will be. That it has meaning we may be sure, but we cannot see it. When it is over, we may be told. We are led to expect that the Author will have something to say to each of us on the part that each of us has played. The playing it well is what matters infinitely. (71)
There is really some excuse for the man who said, "I wish they'd remember that the charge to Peter was Feed my sheep; not Try experiments on my rats, or even Teach my performing dogs new tricks." (81)
For me words are...secondary. They are only an anchor. Or, shall I say, they are the movements of a conductor's baton: not the music. (85)
We are always, completely and therefore equally, known to God. That is our destiny whether we like it or not. But though this knowledge never varies, the quality of our being known can. (90)
It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones. (103)
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. (119)
In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him. (120)
And finally--though it may seem a sour paradox--we must sometimes get away from the Authorized Version if for no other reason, simply because it is so beautiful and so solemn. Beauty exalts; but beauty also lulls. (123)
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed. (141)
I remember Christian teachers telling me long ago that I must hate a bad man's actions, but not hate the bad man: or, as they would say, hate the sin but not the sinner. For a long time I used think this a silly, straw-splitting distinction: how could you hate what a man did and not hate the man? But years later it occurred to me that there was one man to whom I had been doing this all my life--namely myself. However much I might dislike my own cowardice or conceit or greed, I went on loving myself. There had never been the slightest difficulty about it. In fact, the very reason why I hated the things was that I loved the man. Just because I loved myself, I was sorry to find that I was the sort of man who did those things. Consequently Christianity does not want us to reduce by one atom the hatred we feel for cruelty and treachery. We ought to hate them. Not one word of what we have said about them needs to be unsaid. But it does want us to hate them in the same way in which we hate things in ourselves: being sorry that the man should have done such things, and hoping, if it is anyway possible, that somehow, sometime, somewhere, he can be cured and made human again. (143)
Christ takes it for granted that men are bad. Until we really feel this assumption of His to be true, though we are part of the world He came to save, we are not part of the audience to whom His words are addressed. (167)
The Joyful Christian is a collection of 127 readings taken from C.S. Lewis' nonfiction works. Some readings are longer than others--a few pages in length. Other readings are much shorter--less than a single page. Some readings seem to flow together in a particular sequence. Others not as much. Either is fine as far as I'm concerned when it comes to devotional readings.
I think there is a definite place for devotional books that are not 365 days! It can be a little overwhelming to "commit" to reading a particular devotional book for an entire year. There's also something about a book being dated--literally. The dates can mock you if you fail.
To some, God is discoverable everywhere; to others, nowhere. Those who do not find Him on earth are unlikely to find Him in space. But send a saint up in a spaceship and he'll find God in space as he found God on earth. Much depends on the seeing eye. (6)
If God is Love, He is by definition, more than mere kindness. And it appears, from all records, that though He has often rebuked us and condemned us, He has never regarded us with contempt. He has paid us the intolerable compliment of loving us, in the deepest, most tragic, most inexorable sense. (39)
The Son of God became a man to enable men to become sons of God. (50)
The doctrine of the Second Coming teaches us that we do not and cannot know when the world drama will end. The curtain may be rung down at any moment...We do not know the play. We do not even know whether we are in Act I or Act V. We do not know who are the major and the minor characters. The Author knows. The audience, if there is an audience (if angels and archangels and all the company of Heaven fill the pit ant the stalls), may have an inkling. But we, never seeing the play from outside, never meeting any characters except the tiny minority who are "on" in the same scenes as ourselves, wholly ignorant of the future and very imperfectly informed about the past, cannot tell at what moment the end ought to come. That it will come when it ought, we may be sure; but we waste our time in guessing when that will be. That it has meaning we may be sure, but we cannot see it. When it is over, we may be told. We are led to expect that the Author will have something to say to each of us on the part that each of us has played. The playing it well is what matters infinitely. (71)
There is really some excuse for the man who said, "I wish they'd remember that the charge to Peter was Feed my sheep; not Try experiments on my rats, or even Teach my performing dogs new tricks." (81)
For me words are...secondary. They are only an anchor. Or, shall I say, they are the movements of a conductor's baton: not the music. (85)
We are always, completely and therefore equally, known to God. That is our destiny whether we like it or not. But though this knowledge never varies, the quality of our being known can. (90)
It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones. (103)
I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment; it is its appointed consummation. (119)
In commanding us to glorify Him, God is inviting us to enjoy Him. (120)
And finally--though it may seem a sour paradox--we must sometimes get away from the Authorized Version if for no other reason, simply because it is so beautiful and so solemn. Beauty exalts; but beauty also lulls. (123)
If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed. (141)
I remember Christian teachers telling me long ago that I must hate a bad man's actions, but not hate the bad man: or, as they would say, hate the sin but not the sinner. For a long time I used think this a silly, straw-splitting distinction: how could you hate what a man did and not hate the man? But years later it occurred to me that there was one man to whom I had been doing this all my life--namely myself. However much I might dislike my own cowardice or conceit or greed, I went on loving myself. There had never been the slightest difficulty about it. In fact, the very reason why I hated the things was that I loved the man. Just because I loved myself, I was sorry to find that I was the sort of man who did those things. Consequently Christianity does not want us to reduce by one atom the hatred we feel for cruelty and treachery. We ought to hate them. Not one word of what we have said about them needs to be unsaid. But it does want us to hate them in the same way in which we hate things in ourselves: being sorry that the man should have done such things, and hoping, if it is anyway possible, that somehow, sometime, somewhere, he can be cured and made human again. (143)
Christ takes it for granted that men are bad. Until we really feel this assumption of His to be true, though we are part of the world He came to save, we are not part of the audience to whom His words are addressed. (167)
March 26, 2020
This book is to be read as a devotional, as it is comprised of excerpts from Lewis' other works.
I found I missed the development that Lewis is faithful to give when he presents a subject.
Some may find this book very beneficial to devotional readings; I personally prefer Lewis' format in his other books.
I found I missed the development that Lewis is faithful to give when he presents a subject.
Some may find this book very beneficial to devotional readings; I personally prefer Lewis' format in his other books.
March 9, 2021
One of my favorite collection of excerpts I’ve ever picked up. This reader samples so many of Lewis’ crucial works and gives insight into his positions on many issues.
July 6, 2022
This book contains excerpts from various books of Lewis. It was great because most excerpts were short which means you were able to think through the material and not be overwhelmed.
August 6, 2025
A great introduction!
September 11, 2025
Good overview of many of Lewis's best books and essays.
February 2, 2019
I could read C.S. Lewis all day. And I wish I could write as clearly and persuasively as he does.
June 9, 2017
Well that took a long time to read. It is an excellent book, but needs to be taken in small chunks.
December 5, 2017
Good stuff, but I prefer to read whole texts rather than excerpts.
November 11, 2008
What do you get when you take sections from C.S. Lewis' greatest theological works and put them together? THE JOYFUL CHRISTIAN. This book takes portions from C.S. Lewis' books MERE CHRISTIANITY, THE SCREWTAPE LETTERS, THE FOUR LOVES, and more and put them in order of topic to give you great insight into the mind of a great theologian. Three things that make THE JOYFUL CHRISTIAN such a wonderful thing to read is Lewis' examples of Biblical concepts, frank beliefs, and understanding of the thought and feeling of humanity.
One thing that makes THE JOYFUL CHRISTIAN a great book is C.S. Lewis' examples of Biblical concepts. To explain the trinity, he used a cube. A cube, he said, was six squares but still one cube. Just the same is the trinity--three persons but still one God.
Throughout this book, C.S. Lewis explains his frank beliefs. Not to say that he says "I'm right and anyone who disagrees is wrong." In fact, it is quite opposite. He often tells his reader that this is what he believes, but if he could be shown that it was wrong through the Bible, he would change his beliefs. In a sense, Lewis hypothesizes many ideas about Christianity. His hypotheses, however, are very helpful and bring to light many difficult-to-understand concepts from the Bible.
While reading THE JOYFUL CHRISTIAN, I often found myself being in awe of how well C.S. Lewis understood his readers. Frequently, I would think "That's exactly how I feel!" or I would notice something I needed to improve on in my Spiritual life.
Overall, in this book, Lewis is an excellent author. He shows that he believes in the Bible as ultimate truth through his explanations of Biblical concepts, unashamed beliefs, and understanding of the human mind.
One thing that makes THE JOYFUL CHRISTIAN a great book is C.S. Lewis' examples of Biblical concepts. To explain the trinity, he used a cube. A cube, he said, was six squares but still one cube. Just the same is the trinity--three persons but still one God.
Throughout this book, C.S. Lewis explains his frank beliefs. Not to say that he says "I'm right and anyone who disagrees is wrong." In fact, it is quite opposite. He often tells his reader that this is what he believes, but if he could be shown that it was wrong through the Bible, he would change his beliefs. In a sense, Lewis hypothesizes many ideas about Christianity. His hypotheses, however, are very helpful and bring to light many difficult-to-understand concepts from the Bible.
While reading THE JOYFUL CHRISTIAN, I often found myself being in awe of how well C.S. Lewis understood his readers. Frequently, I would think "That's exactly how I feel!" or I would notice something I needed to improve on in my Spiritual life.
Overall, in this book, Lewis is an excellent author. He shows that he believes in the Bible as ultimate truth through his explanations of Biblical concepts, unashamed beliefs, and understanding of the human mind.
August 31, 2011
People need more joy...I find that joy can turn our perspectives completely upside down. I would much rather be joyful and happy, than to mope about and have bad attitudes. People that are unhappy, rude, and make a big deal about everything are so difficult to be around. I dislike dealing with the drama and people's puffed up opinions about themselves. I was a counselor at a Christian camp a couple weeks ago and some of the kids just weren't happy, respectful, or nice. It really saddened me. We were suppose to be there to learn about God and glorify Him and they were more about themselves and what they wanted to do than anything else.
October 21, 2008
This book was not exactly what I expected, though it was very good for what it was: An Introduction to C.S. Lewis' writings. There were lots of excerpts from various of his papers, books, and speeches. Really a broad look at the theology of C.S. Lewis. There is also an excellent reference section, for further reading. I'm sure this will be a starting point for me to read more of his work.
July 1, 2012
It has been a while since I was reading this book, but as I recall it contains a collection of excerpts from Lewis' other works. I do not recall being super impressed with how the editors decided to cut the excerpts they did cut. Could be useful to give you a general idea of what you'll encounter in Lewis' books, as a collection of excerpts though I felt it was lacking.
January 12, 2014
This book has some good points, but it gets lost in the muddle of his apologetics. Quite frankly I expected a bit more from an author of his stature and fame. To be fair, this book is a collection of snippets from his larger body of work, so maybe I need to read one of these complete works.
June 4, 2019
Okay, so after reading this book, I just have to say that the writings of C.S. Lewis are not conducive to excerption. It took me the first seventy-five pages or so to stop forcing myself to sit down and read this, because Lewis's thoughts tend to build on one another in a logical manner in a way that leaves much to be desired when one starts reading in the middle of one of those thoughts. I did not at all care to jump into the middle of a thought and be completely lost because I didn't know where he was coming from or where he was going.
After the first hundred or so pages, I did really start enjoying it. I don't know if I got used to the abbreviated style, or perhaps the editor became more adept at including full thoughts. In any case, I did get so much out of this, as is nearly always the case when I read Lewis.
I don't recommend this book. If you want to read Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia are excellent stories that are chock full of theology, and I find "The Screwtape Letters" to be excellent. "Mere Christianity" is thought-provoking, and both that and "The Screwtape Letters" are quite slim volumes. Lewis is approachable enough without having his work hacked to bits in a way that sometimes renders it nearly unintelligible. Unless you're reading "Till We Have Faces." I don't recommend that as an introduction to Lewis.
After the first hundred or so pages, I did really start enjoying it. I don't know if I got used to the abbreviated style, or perhaps the editor became more adept at including full thoughts. In any case, I did get so much out of this, as is nearly always the case when I read Lewis.
I don't recommend this book. If you want to read Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia are excellent stories that are chock full of theology, and I find "The Screwtape Letters" to be excellent. "Mere Christianity" is thought-provoking, and both that and "The Screwtape Letters" are quite slim volumes. Lewis is approachable enough without having his work hacked to bits in a way that sometimes renders it nearly unintelligible. Unless you're reading "Till We Have Faces." I don't recommend that as an introduction to Lewis.
September 23, 2023
This is another compilation of readings from the majority of Lewis’ other religious works. I have read most of the source material, so it was nice to revisit (even in snippets) some of his most popular spiritual insights. The only drawback is that some of the readings felt diluted by their brevity, and perhaps would’ve been better served if more of their preceding or succeeding source text was included. Nevertheless, even in their truncated form, it’s more than evident that C.S. Lewis spent a great deal of thought on the matters he was writing about. He’s not a man that came lightly to any topic. There is an obvious and heavy weight of reason behind all of his writing, and I hope a composite work like this leads people to the original sources for a fuller treatment.
May 12, 2024
The Joyful Christian is an anthology of selected writings by CS Lewis on topics related to Christianity. Wiliam Griffin from Macmillan Publishing selected brief essays from a total of fifteen of Lewis’s published books. The Editor focused attention on subjects that illustrated Lewis’s most important contributions to Christian thinking. He chose essays from the following six books that I have read: A Grief Observed, Mere Christianity, Miracles: A Preliminary Study, The Problem of Pain, The Screwtape Letters, and The Four Loves; and nine additional texts that I have not read.
I will limit this review to Lewis’s discussion of Tao or karma, as additional examples of his proposed Law of Human Nature, and his characterization that this Law is ‘universal’ (worldwide and throughout recorded history). What about the specific examples of this Law?
• “The Chinese… speak of a great thing (the greatest thing) called the Tao. It is the reality beyond all predicates, the abyss that was before the Creator Himself. It is nature, it is the way, it is the Road. It is the way in which the universe goes on, the way in which things everlasting emerge, stilly and tranquilly into space and time…”
• “This thing which I have called for convenience the Tao, and which others might call Natural Law, or Traditional Morality, or the First Principles of practical reason, or the First Platitudes, is not one among a series of possible systems of value. It is the source of all value judgments. If it is rejected, all value is rejected. The efforts to refute it and raise a new system of value in its place is self-contradictory. There never has been and never will be, a radically new judgment of value in the history of the world. What purports to be new systems or ideologies, all consist of fragments from the Tao itself…”
• “The following illustrations of the Natural Law are collected from sources such as come to the mind of one who is not a professional historian… The list makes no presumption of completeness… But I am not trying to prove its validity by the argument from common consent. For those who do not perceive its rationality, even universal consent would not prove it.”
Illustrations of the Tao: Lewis provides specific examples drawn from his knowledge of world history and literature. He tells us that it is meant to be illustrative.
1. The Law of General Beneficence – the moral obligation towards charity, kindness, and mercy towards others involving mankind, in general
I think that the restatement of the Golden Rule (what Nasim Nicholas Taleb calls the Silver Rule, or Rabbi Hillel famously said summarized Torah) “Do not do to others that which you would not want done to you”, is among the most concise single statements of general beneficence. If not universal, it is very common among human cultures.
2. The Law of Special Beneficence – involving specific relationships such as family and country
It seems to me that marital relationships and parent-children relationships are areas where cultural differences and non-universality are more obvious.
3. Duties to Parents, Elders, Ancestors
4. Duties to Children and Posterity - Is the only acceptable role of sex to produce more believers? Does any society approach this goal in practice?
5. The Laws of Justice
• Sexual justice – the sanctity of marriage across traditions – woman’s role? And specifically, a woman’s equality with her husband?
• Honesty including theft and false witness
• Thou shalt not kill versus Thou shalt not murder – what constitutes self-defense?
6. The Law of Good Faith and Veracity -Further variations on honesty and fraud
7. The Law of Mercy - How one treats the poor, the weak, the infirm, and women
8. The Law of Magnanimity - Courage in applying the Law of Mercy
9. When is it Right to Choose Death? When is Honor or some other concept like Faith, more important than continued living?
10. The Place of Wisdom - If Wisdom comes with age, what is the proper role of the elderly?
If I read him correctly, it is Lewis’s thesis that the obvious and universal nature of this (these) Law (s) of Human Nature is precisely what makes him posit a Creating Mind or God. This incomplete rendition is teeming with examples that I think are neither obvious nor universal. They testify to the variety of man and his/ her cultures. Conversely, finding common themes among very different cultural codes buttresses the counter-argument that humans could come to these principles from many directions. Perhaps, no single creating mind is required?
Among the positives I take away from this book is the notion of transforming one’s life for the better through the practice of religion, what Lewis calls ‘nice people versus new men?’ And the notion that psychotherapy and religion are not necessarily in conflict. One can use both to learn to make better choices. Grieving is still painful even when you say you believe in the immortality of a soul or spirit or Zoe. Even after reading The Joyful Christian, I would recommend reading or rereading A Grief Observed for people who want to believe in Christianity after a loved one dies… and are having difficulty believing in immortality or forgiveness. Reading CS Lewis’s books is like being invited into the lecture hall of a brilliant mind where one is privileged to watch a believer wrestling with his faith, and wrestling with his God.
After studying these books for years, I am not saying that I agree with each of Lewis’s assertions or that I expect any other critical thinker to find universal agreement within his writing. I am saying that studying his work is likely to be worth the effort, particularly if you have struggled with religious dogma and faith. I wish you Godspeed.
I will limit this review to Lewis’s discussion of Tao or karma, as additional examples of his proposed Law of Human Nature, and his characterization that this Law is ‘universal’ (worldwide and throughout recorded history). What about the specific examples of this Law?
• “The Chinese… speak of a great thing (the greatest thing) called the Tao. It is the reality beyond all predicates, the abyss that was before the Creator Himself. It is nature, it is the way, it is the Road. It is the way in which the universe goes on, the way in which things everlasting emerge, stilly and tranquilly into space and time…”
• “This thing which I have called for convenience the Tao, and which others might call Natural Law, or Traditional Morality, or the First Principles of practical reason, or the First Platitudes, is not one among a series of possible systems of value. It is the source of all value judgments. If it is rejected, all value is rejected. The efforts to refute it and raise a new system of value in its place is self-contradictory. There never has been and never will be, a radically new judgment of value in the history of the world. What purports to be new systems or ideologies, all consist of fragments from the Tao itself…”
• “The following illustrations of the Natural Law are collected from sources such as come to the mind of one who is not a professional historian… The list makes no presumption of completeness… But I am not trying to prove its validity by the argument from common consent. For those who do not perceive its rationality, even universal consent would not prove it.”
Illustrations of the Tao: Lewis provides specific examples drawn from his knowledge of world history and literature. He tells us that it is meant to be illustrative.
1. The Law of General Beneficence – the moral obligation towards charity, kindness, and mercy towards others involving mankind, in general
I think that the restatement of the Golden Rule (what Nasim Nicholas Taleb calls the Silver Rule, or Rabbi Hillel famously said summarized Torah) “Do not do to others that which you would not want done to you”, is among the most concise single statements of general beneficence. If not universal, it is very common among human cultures.
2. The Law of Special Beneficence – involving specific relationships such as family and country
It seems to me that marital relationships and parent-children relationships are areas where cultural differences and non-universality are more obvious.
3. Duties to Parents, Elders, Ancestors
4. Duties to Children and Posterity - Is the only acceptable role of sex to produce more believers? Does any society approach this goal in practice?
5. The Laws of Justice
• Sexual justice – the sanctity of marriage across traditions – woman’s role? And specifically, a woman’s equality with her husband?
• Honesty including theft and false witness
• Thou shalt not kill versus Thou shalt not murder – what constitutes self-defense?
6. The Law of Good Faith and Veracity -Further variations on honesty and fraud
7. The Law of Mercy - How one treats the poor, the weak, the infirm, and women
8. The Law of Magnanimity - Courage in applying the Law of Mercy
9. When is it Right to Choose Death? When is Honor or some other concept like Faith, more important than continued living?
10. The Place of Wisdom - If Wisdom comes with age, what is the proper role of the elderly?
If I read him correctly, it is Lewis’s thesis that the obvious and universal nature of this (these) Law (s) of Human Nature is precisely what makes him posit a Creating Mind or God. This incomplete rendition is teeming with examples that I think are neither obvious nor universal. They testify to the variety of man and his/ her cultures. Conversely, finding common themes among very different cultural codes buttresses the counter-argument that humans could come to these principles from many directions. Perhaps, no single creating mind is required?
Among the positives I take away from this book is the notion of transforming one’s life for the better through the practice of religion, what Lewis calls ‘nice people versus new men?’ And the notion that psychotherapy and religion are not necessarily in conflict. One can use both to learn to make better choices. Grieving is still painful even when you say you believe in the immortality of a soul or spirit or Zoe. Even after reading The Joyful Christian, I would recommend reading or rereading A Grief Observed for people who want to believe in Christianity after a loved one dies… and are having difficulty believing in immortality or forgiveness. Reading CS Lewis’s books is like being invited into the lecture hall of a brilliant mind where one is privileged to watch a believer wrestling with his faith, and wrestling with his God.
After studying these books for years, I am not saying that I agree with each of Lewis’s assertions or that I expect any other critical thinker to find universal agreement within his writing. I am saying that studying his work is likely to be worth the effort, particularly if you have struggled with religious dogma and faith. I wish you Godspeed.
December 5, 2023
This collection, dated in 1977, is like most collections; as you read the book, you recognize favorite passages. Because this book updates spellings, it does send you back to the original books to see how it appears as Lewis originally wrote it. I don't have a problem with this, except in quoting Lewis. I feel if you're going to take the time to quote an author, the quote should be verbatim: spelling and punctuation as well as the idea brought forth. As Veronica Roth has said, "words have meaning," and sometimes the way they're spelled, italicized, and punctuated, have meaning as well. But some passages I discovered a new appreciation for, some I discovered for the first time.
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