Tag Archives: Mere Christianity

Literature

5 Star Books from 2019

Leave a comment

Friends, Romans, countrymen!!

Welcome to 2020.

I cannot believe it is time for another 5-star-books post! 2019 went so fast.

I read 26 books this year, which is a little shabby compared to the 44 I read in 2018, but not bad considering my year. I blame the decline partly on college, and partly on Moby-Dick which I have been reading for an age and a half of the world outside and still haven’t finished.

All that aside, here’s the books that got 5 stars from me from this year:

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien
This was a re-read, and somehow even better than I had remembered. (I didn’t think that was possible!) The characters are so raw and deep, and the world-building is truly gorgeous.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
I cannot recommend this enough! A logical and down-to-earth book about the basics of Christianity. It is so deep, and yet also written so simply it’s easy to read and remember. If you want more of my thoughts, see the essay I wrote for school.

Falling Free by Shannan Martin
Okay, so listen: I don’t do much nonfiction (you may have noticed). This is mostly because I don’t particularly enjoy it. However, I have an issue with nonfiction books about God, because something about that way of thinking makes me feel like He is far away and that scares me. (I could be overthinking it, but here we are.) (I am definitely overthinking it. 🙂 ) Falling Free is the first nonfiction book I read–other than the Bible, which I hope is obvious–that made me feel closer to God, which is why I gave this re-read 5 stars, even though I don’t agree with 100% of what the author says. Shannan Martin has a beautiful story about experiencing God’s love and being God’s love as a wife and mother. She is so down-to-earth and compassionate, and her writing is beautiful.

Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
This might be the find of the year for me. I picked it up on a recommendation, without knowing very much about it, and then it was so lovely. Fun and hilarious and touching and incredibly creative. There is some witchcraft/spells-casting (by the good guys), which is not my favorite when it comes to magic, but it was so sweet that I gave it 5 stars anyway. I will never forget this cast of characters for as long as I live. Also, Sophie is a more outspoken version of me, which was somehow really affirming to see!

The Black Star of Kingston by S.D. Smith
Get your Middle Grade labels out of my face, this story is inspiring! Action-packed and thrilling and scary, but still so sweet. I love this novella so much.

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis
Yes, I read it twice last year. It was that good!

One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Try saying that five times fast! Ivan Denisovich is a prisoner in a Soviet work camp. Its an intense story, but really touching and also beautiful in its own way. The novel actually covers a single day of his life in camp, which is a super creative idea for a storyline! Disclaimer here: there is a lot of language. And by “a lot,” I mean a lot. However, I thought it was worth it for the book, and would definitely recommend it to anyone old enough to handle it.

The Green Ember by S.D. Smith
Such an awesome book. Action, adventure, sibling relationships, freaking character development. 5 stars always.

Ember Falls by S.D. Smith
Because one does not simply re-read Book 1 without re-reading the whole series! And because I had to get ready for. . .

Ember Rising by S.D. Smith
Okay, full disclosure: I didn’t have this one written down as read in 2019. But I am positive I read it in 2019, so. . . here it is. I was worried that S.D. Smith wouldn’t be able to keep the magic alive into a third book, but he did. And I already pre-ordered Ember’s End.

The Girl Who Could See by Kara Swanson
Another one that might be the “find of the year” for me. 🙂 This novella is about a girl with an “imaginary” friend from another dimension! It was on my to-read list for a while, and I finally read it because I knew the author would be at Realm Makers. It was not what I expected, but oh so good. The Girl Who Could See is a very intense read that’s also incredibly beautiful. I’m scared to say much more, because I don’t want to give anything away. (Side note, I did meet Kara at RM, and she is such a lovely person!)

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens
A Christmas tradition for me! Underneath all the absurdity and creepy stuff, this book has so much depth. If you’ve never read it, please give it a try–it’s short!

Happy New Year, friends. All the best from me.

Literature

Without Excuse: Thoughts on C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity”

3 Comments

One of my Great Books this year was Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis. And, dear hobbits, what a book!! I wanted my entire paper to be:

“Do yourself a favor and go read this book right now.”

But for some reason my English teacher (love you, Mom!) decided we needed two pages (font size 12) about this book? I don’t get it–what was I supposed to say?? But anyway, I did my best, and I’m posting it just in case my one-sentence summary didn’t convince all of you to read Mere Christianity.

~*~

I expected Mere Christianity to be some kind of guidebook, but it is not really that at all.  C.S. Lewis just lays out facts. It is a defense of Christianity, but he was not really arguing with anyone so much as explaining his beliefs.  Mere Christianity is a very honest book; Mr. Lewis trusted the facts to speak for themselves.  He clearly believed mankind to be, as Paul says in Romans 1:20, “without excuse” when it comes to belief in God.

“For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20, NIV)

I always thought that when Paul said “what has been made,” he was referring to nature—meaning that if people truly pay attention to the natural world, they will have to admit it was created by an intelligent designer.  It made sense to me—someone had to create the universe, didn’t they?

But Mr. Lewis argued a different point: when human beings look at what they know about themselves, about humanity, they have to admit there is an objective Right and Wrong.  A Right and Wrong that all of mankind recognizes, but that mankind did not invent.  A moral law that is completely above and beyond humanity. When we argue with someone, he pointed out, we are not simply “fighting like animals,” but we are trying to convince the other person that they have not been right or fair.  Even those who deny the existence of Right and Wrong know when someone wrongs them.

Continue reading Without Excuse: Thoughts on C.S. Lewis’ “Mere Christianity” →
Adoption, Faith

“Abba, Father.”

1 Comment

I’ve been reading Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.

In this book, Lewis explains how Christ is the Son of God and also is God; and how man was created by God, but is not God. Being a Christian means that a human is becoming a son of God; slowly becoming more and more like Jesus.

For the last year I have been writing God letters in a special journal. I usually begin them “Father, . . .” Today, I wondered if this was appropriate. I’m so, so far from truly being God’s child–from being a “little Christ” as C.S. Lewis put it.

But the Holy Spirit is inside me, and by Him I cry “Abba, Father.” (See Romans 8:15, 16.)

I fall utterly short of Jesus’ perfection, but God, somehow, made a way for me to become perfect. Someday, I believe I will be.

“Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
-1 John 3:2

In the mean time, I call God “Father” anyway.

~*~

I met my little sister Lucy for the first time four years ago, in a civil affairs building in China. She shook my hand and greeted me as jie jie, the Mandarin word for “big sister.”

The two of us had never before been in the same room. We were strangers calling ourselves sisters, but it wasn’t a charade. It was a declaration. We called each other family as we, miraculously, became more and more like sisters.

And I call God “Father” while I slowly learn to truly be His daughter.

“This, then, is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.'”
-Matthew 6:9, 10