Analytic Response to “What Christians Believe”:
The essay written by C.S. Lewis, titled “What Christians Believe”, is a persuasive argument. The essay is trying to persuade to you become a Christian because it makes more sense than not being a Christian. The essay describes what Christians believe and why. Many world views and assumptions are made in this essay. The assumption that the reader believes that there is opposition in all things. On page 176 Lewis describes how this belief is assumed in the world today. Reality is also addressed in this persuasive argument as a type of world view. It is assumed that all people view reality as complicated and usually odd. The same is thought of simplicity. Atheism and Christianity-and-water are considered to be too simple. Many tools are used in this essay to help Lewis persuade the reader to believe as he does. He mentions in the essay how he was once an atheist, and now, as a Christian, more things make sense. I see this as a direct appeal to experience and authority. He is showing his audience that he has had the necessary experience to know what is best. He also uses a lot of specific and manipulative words, diction, to pull you to his side. On page 180, C.S. Lewis uses an appeal to logic as he discusses agency and the ability to choose for oneself.
Personal Response:
This was a really interesting essay to read. It was really hard for me at first, because I’m not used to reading essays like this one. However, after time I got through it and was able to pull out some of the main themes. I actually agree with him quite a bit. There are certainly aspects of his argument that seemed to me a little sketchy, but overall I thought it was a pretty decent argument.
Lewis is one of my all time favorite authors and it is mainly because of his christian beliefs tied into his writing. The fact that he use to not believe in christ at all then come so strong into is not surprising. Example of this in our church happen all the time both ways. You will see a member fall away from the church and be one of its greatest enemies (in the BOM all the really really bad guys are all former Nephites) But those that have never had the gospel before receive it they can become some of the strongest members.
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