CHRISTIAN BEHAVIOR As we continue this exploration of Mere Christianity, we now move to the third book which is a discussion on Christian Behavior. In this book, the author expounds on Christian conduct in nearly every aspect of their lives. This book opens with a discussion on the three parts of morality. 3.1 The Three Parts of Morality Here, the author tells us that morality, which generally refers to decent human behavior, refers to three things: (1) relations between man and man — fair play and harmony between individuals, (2) the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs inside each man — tidying up or harmonizing the things inside each individual, and (3) the power that made him — the general purpose of human life. Man, he says, for the most …show more content…
Three of them are theological virtues and four of them are cardinal virtues. At this time, however, he speaks specifically of the cardinal virtues as he will attend to the theological virtues at a later time. Here, he informs us that the four cardinal virtues are: (1) prudence, which has to do with what we refer to as practical common sense, (2) temperance, which originally meant being moderate —going to the right length and no further in whatever you do — now has come to mean teetotalism, which he says is a mistake, (3) justice, which is what we now call fairness; it includes honesty, “give-and-take,” truthfulness and keeping promises, and (4) fortitude, which involves the courage to face danger as well as endure …show more content…
Lewis, it is important for men to understand that when Christ talked about the golden rule of the New Testament, He was not teaching anything new. Jesus, like all excellent moral teachers, realized that in helping people, teachers remind people more than they instruct them. Furthermore, the author explains that in Christianity, there is no detailed political program to tell us how to apply the golden rule to every circumstance in our lives. Neither is the preacher or pastor of the church prepared to or is responsible to go out and do the work of applying this rule to society. Therefore, every individual who is a Christian is responsible for making that happen. Christians with the training to be educators, statesmen, economists, etc., are responsible for applying the golden rule as they go about their daily