Mere Christianity 1
Study Guide Questions for Book 1, Ch. 1 “The Law of Human Nature”
If you are looking for the beginning of the study for C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!
Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)
Justice
Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)
According to Lewis, when people say things like “How’d you like it if anyone did the same to you?” what are they appealing to?
When confronted about their misbehavior, what do men typically do?
According to Lewis, what does human quarreling assume?
What is the primary difference between natural laws (like the Law of Gravity) and the “Law of Human Nature?”
According to Lewis, why was the Law of Human Nature originally called “the Law of Nature?”
What kinds of things would be “nonsense” to talk about unless we all hold to the Law of Human Nature?
What do “some people say” in an attempt to contradict the reality of the Law of Human Nature?
What did Lewis say about the “moral teaching” of “the ancient Egyptians, Babylonians, Hindus, Chinese, Greeks, and Romans?”
After establishing the reality of the Law of Human Nature, what second point did Lewis make?
What is our natural tendency whenever someone points out to us that we are not obeying the Law of Nature?
Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)
Why did Lewis make it a point to note that “educated people as well as uneducated, and children as well as grown-ups” all say the same kinds of things while quarreling?
Why is Lewis’ analogy about “the rules of football” helpful to his argument?
What did Lewis mean by saying that without the Law of Human Nature “we could no more have blamed” the Nazis for what they did “than for the colour of their hair?”
In what way can various cultures have differences in their systems of morality, while still not having “a totally different morality?”
Why did Lewis say that the Law of Human Nature is less comparable to “a matter of mere taste” and more akin to “the multiplication table?”
Why would we as people simultaneously affirm the Law of Human Nature while also failing to “practise ourselves the kind of behaviour we expect from other people?”
How are our excises for our bad behavior “one more proof of how deeply…we believe in the Law of Nature?”
What did Lewis mean when he said “These two facts are the foundation of all clear thinking about ourselves and the universe we live in?”
Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)
In this reading we have a discussion about the laws of nature (like gravitation force) and the laws of human nature (concerning morality). What does it mean to call something a “law?” Why are some laws seemingly inviolable (unable to be broken) while others can be disregarded? Are there always repercussions for attempting to violate a law? Explain your thoughts carefully.
Offer a definition for the term “hypocrisy.” How is hypocrisy a central idea in this present reading? Write about a time when you have acted hypocritically. Why did you do that which you knew you ought not to do? Did you make an excuse for your behavior? What excuse did you give? What would you say about this situation as you look back on it today?
Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)
Read Romans 2:12-16. How does this passage of Scripture address the issues Lewis raised in this chapter?