I thought C. Lewis made several interesting ponts in his piece "Man or Rabbit?" This article is addressing the man who wonders whether or not it is important for him to be a Christian as long as he leads a good life. Lewis points out that the person who asks such a question is admitting that they do not care what is truth and what is not. He suggests that they would choose beliefs, not based on conviction, but simply because they will be benificial or profitable in some way. Lewis says that a man who would choose a to believe something without searching to find out if it is true has become like an animal which does not search out knowledge for the sake of knowing.
Lewis then addresses those who would admit to not caring much about truth and who simply hope that good actions and good intentions will be good enough. Of this type of person, Lewis writes, "he is really asking to be allowed to get on with being 'good' before he has done his best to discover what good is." Lewis' aswer to this person is that, although he does not yet know whether he ought to be a Christian, he knows that he needs to be a man and search for the answer. He also writes that "Knowledge of the facts must make a difference to one's actons." He says that if Christianity is to be believed, then those who are Christians and know the truth are better equipped for a life of good works than those who are not Christian.
Finally, Lewis brings up some errors concerning the idea of leading a 'good life' without Christ. First of all, as all Christians realize, we are not able to lead that good life on our own. We depend on Christ for all the good works that we can do. They are imposible without him. Secondly, if our purpose in life is to be a 'good' person, we have missed the much broader point in life that the truths of Christianity explain to us. Good work are the fruit of a purpose that is much greater. As we cast aside the 'rabbit' inside us that wants to do the minimum requirement, we will see more and more the purpose that God has for us and it will be our desire to live for it.
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I really like that you brought up the issue that those who just want to be 'good' and get on with their lives have missed the entire purpose of life itself. It's not really about being good, or leading a decent life, or being kind, or at least not as important as we sometimes think. Instead, we are called to the Divine Life, to be gods and to be remade. Morality is only the first step on a long, tedious, awful, joyous journey.
ReplyDeleteI also really appreciated how you brought up the difference between "living the good life" and what Christianity is really about. I also liked this inclusion of the quote "knowledge of the facts must make a difference in ones actions" with great knowledge comes great responsibility!
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