Mere Christianity, a seminal work in Christian literature, can trace its history back to 75 years ago today. On February 7, 1941, BBC Religious Broadcasting Director James Welch wrote to Oxford Professor C. S. Lewis, asking him to host several 15-minute broadcasts aimed at average British listeners. Lewis agreed, and ultimately gave 30 talks from August 1941 to April 1944 that winsomely presented the heart of Christianity. Lewis later turned his broadcast scripts into Mere Christianity, which he published in 1952.
The late Dr. Bruce L. Edwards, an English professor and Lewis scholar from Bowling State University, described just how impactful these broadcasts were in his book, C.S. Lewis: Apologist, Philosopher, and Theologian.
“Rather than simply broadcasting worship services and church music, the BBC wanted to provide the listening audience with relevant, Christian programming,” Edwards wrote. “Lewis was one of those who could speak in his rich baritone voice with power, clarity, and relevance, becoming the second most well-known radio voice in England after Winston Churchill.”
Mere Christianity achieved no less popularity in print than the earlier broadcasts. Although a relatively slender book (the first edition was just 190 pages long), Mere Christianity packed an outsized punch. Christianity Today surveyed more than 100 contributors and church leaders, and in April 2000, the publication came up with a list of the 100 most influential Christian books of the 20th century.
“By far, C. S. Lewis was the most popular author and Mere Christianity the book nominated most often,” Christianity Today reported.
Mere Christianity affected the lives of some influential people. Prominent Evangelical leader Charles Colson cited Mere Christianity as what “changed his life” and brought him to faith in Christ, according to Time Magazine. Presbyterian pastor Bryan Chapell – also a prolific author and former chancellor of Covenant Theological Seminary – told The Gospel Coalition that he regularly rereads Mere Christianity. He said the book “touched me in my teens, and reminds me how ‘searchers’ think (at least searchers like me).”
Pastor and author R. Kent Hughes asked numerous top Christian leaders about what books had most influenced them. He included their responses in his bestselling Disciplines of a Godly Man. Ten leaders listed Mere Christianity as one of the most influential book they’d read, more than any other book. These ten leaders included the late Dallas Theological Seminary Professor Howard Hendricks, former Wheaton College President Duane Litfin, and former Denver Seminary President Haddon Robinson.
Of course, Mere Christianity isn’t perfect or inerrant. Author and speaker Kevin DeYoung commented that Lewis demonstrated a questionable “understanding of the atonement” and a problematic redemptive “inclusivism” in the book.
“All that to say, yes, I have some cautions when it comes to Mere Christianity,” DeYoung summarized. “Good book. But some serious deficiencies.”
Regardless of these perceived deficiencies, Mere Christianity and its earlier iterations have prompted many readers (and listeners!) to think more carefully about their faith over nearly 75 years. Moreover, the book is still relevant to contemporary Christians and unbelievers alike.
So stay tuned! I’ll be writing more about Mere Christianity and how we can learn from what Lewis had to say. I plan to post additional analysis later this year as we approach the anniversaries of Lewis’s initial broadcasts on the BBC.