C.S. Lewis begins Book II of Mere Christianity by saying that Christians
shouldn’t just simply assume that every aspect of religions other than Christianity is
completely wrong. He points out that that majority of humanity believes in a higher
being, but not all of them believe in the right one. He also points out that the some people
argue against God by wondering how a loving God could make an evil world. He points
out that the fact that people could even recognize that evil was proof of God. He
discussed his own personal experience in trying to use that argument as a way to disprove
God, saying that every excuse for he could recognize evil would cause his argument to
fall apart. He ends Chapter 1 by saying that atheism is “too simple.” In Chapter 2 of Book
II, Lewis discusses why he believes what he calls “Christianity-and-water” is too simple.
Lewis describes Christianity-and-water as “the view that there is a good God in heaven
and everything is all right.” Lewis says that we cannot be satisfied with such a simple
religion because the world that we live in is not simple. He also discusses Dualism,
saying that people do not realize that it has a catch. He says that one cannot choose to
follow both the good power and the bad power. He says that one would have to choose to
follow one, assuming that the other one is wrong, which contradicts the argument for
Dualism. He also says that there would have to be a third being that made the standards
that the “right power” is following. He also points the similarities of Christianity and
Dualism, which he points out is the work of Satan trying to lead people away from God.
In Chapter 3 of Book II, Lewis discusses free will. He addresses why people wonder why
God gave us free will since free will is what allows for evil. Lewis says that free will,
while it is what allows for evil, is what also allows for love and joy. He also points out
that the ability man has to argue against the existence of God was given to them by God.
He also points out that the reason man sins against God is because they try to find
happiness in things other than God. In Chapter 4 of Book II, Lewis discusses how
Christ’s intentions for coming to Earth and dying for us can sometimes get misconstrued.
He says that the central Christian belief is “ that Christ’s death has somehow put us right
with God and given us a fresh start.” He says that any theories of Christ’s death are not
Christianity, but explanations about how it works. He also says that in order for a man to
truly accept Christ, he has to understand how God’s actions work. He says that man
needs repentance and submission in order to truly understand why Jesus died for us. In
Chapter 5 of Book II, Lewis discusses baptism, belief, and communion. He says that
these three things spread the Christ life to us. He also says that while we should believe in
authority, we should not only rely on it. We cannot simply believe something because
someone older and smarter told us so. He also says that the Christ life is what gives
Christian the ability to repent when we realize that we have sinned. He also discusses
how he used to have the belief that it was not fair for only people who had heard about
Christ to get to be saved. He explains that we do not know God’s plans for any other
person except for ourselves when he reveals that plan to us. He also discusses that he
used to doubt God because of Satan’s existence. He said he doubted God’s strength when
he thought of Satan. He also explains this by saying that since God is the author of the
universe, He ultimately controls Satan. He ends Book II by saying that there is an
opportunity for individuals to accept Christ, and they need to take advantage of those
opportunities.