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Mere Christianity Chapter 1 Summary

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Book three of Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis, commences by discussing moral rules, which are directions for the good human life. Moral ideals may be preferences but are not moral obedience or aiming for high morals. Morality is concerned about three things; first, fair play and harmony between individuals; second, cleaning up and improving or harmonizing the things inside each individual and third, the general purpose of human life, what we are made for, what the inventor/creator wants. Modern people think in the first way and lose the other two. Lewis next discusses cardinal or pivotal virtues which include Prudence, Temperance, Justice and Fortitude. Prudence means practical common sense and wisdom, Temperance is not abstaining, but moderation, restraint, going far enough but not too far, Justice means …show more content…

Christian morality is a technique for putting the human machine right. Psychoanalysis, on one hand, is about medical theories and techniques of therapists which are not necessarily incompatible with Christianity. On the other hand, as a general philosophic view of the world, as pronounced by Sigmund Freud, it directly contradicts Christianity. The next topic is sexual morality. Chastity is the least popular virtue and people think Christianity is wrong or our sexual instinct has gone wrong. Sexual perversion is from sexual corruption, not sexual starvation. The problem is that the cure for warped natures is difficult, because the desires we resist are natural or healthy, living virtuously is impossible and we misunderstand repression of the appetites. The next topic is a logical choice as it talks about Christian marriage. The sexual impulse in man works correctly in marriage; Christ taught that marriage makes a man and woman a single organism, one flesh. Christianity teaches that marriage is for life and the church regards divorce as something like cutting up a living

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