"A vague religion - all about feeling God in nature, and so on - is so attractive. It is all thrills and no work; like watching the waves from the beach. But you will not get to Newfoundland by studying the Altantic, and you will not get eternal life by simply feeling the presence of God in flowers or music." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
2 comments:
explain this quote further for me...
I'll break it down like this:
"A vague religion - all about feeling God in nature, and so on - is so attractive. It is all thrills and no work; like watching the waves from the beach" It's easy to believe a religion based solely on feelings, or as Lewis put it, "feeling God in nature and so on". A religion like this is attractive because as people, we long for beauty. A religion like this is also attractive, because it requires nothing from us. We can just pull it out when we need reassurance, or want to feel warm.
"But you will not get to Newfoundland by studying the Altantic, and you will not get eternal life by simply feeling the presence of God in flowers or music." You cannot get to God, or get to know God, based on feelings and speculation alone. You have to search Him out. I think Lewis is addressing people who have simple answers for who they think God is. Lewis became a Christian as a result of an honest search for answers, in spite of his feelings, the evil in the world, and his intelectually elite friends at Oxford. So, I guess he is writing against quick answers on God based on emotion and feel good religion.
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