Mere Christianity (CBL)

MERE CHRISTIANITY INSTRUCTOR:To be assigned Mere Christianity, by C.S. Lewis, provides an overview of Christian theology in a concise yet thorough manner. It was originally a series of radio lectures delivered over the BBC that was later edited and published as a four book volume. Students will explore the concepts covered in this book over the next ten weeks. The course has been divided into four units that correspond to each book within Mere Christianity and each unit is approximately two to three weeks.

You must have access to a copy of this text to be able to complete this course. Physical copies are usually either inexpensive at your local used bookstore or freely available at a public library. You are responsible for reading the Preface (pg. v-vii) prior to beginning this course.

Each week there will be a specific reading from Mere Christianity that directly relates to the week's lesson. After reading the assigned verses, students are expected to expand upon the topic in a well developed composition and answer a set of short answer questions based off that week's reading.

Assessments shall consist of short free response quizzes during the last week of each unit. The prompts for these quizzes shall be similar to the weekly short answer questions and the scope will be anything covered in the relevant unit. This course does not have any formal tests or exams. The final will be a literary response essay on a theme of the student's choice. Final essays are due on the last day of this class and no credit can be given for late submissions.

Grades will be based off of weekly question sets, unit quizzes, and the final essay. Each question set will be worth 10 points, quizzes will be worth 25 points, and the essay will be worth 100 points, for a total of 300 points. This means a third of your grade is based on weekly work, a third is based on unit quizzes, and a third is based on the final. A grade of 75% or better is considered passing, but there is no reason why most students should not get an A.

Anyone is welcome to follow along and read all the course material. Students are expected to be independent and willing to learn and listen with an open mind. You will also need to be proficient in the English language to succeed in this class, as all of the work is primarily written.

Course Schedule/Information/Materials
The course is expected to last ten weeks and has been divided into the following units. Materials and information for each week can be found on the page linked next to the corresponding week.

Right and Wrong as a Clue to the Meaning of the Universe

 * Week 1: The Law of Human Nature
 * Week 2: The Reality of the Law

What Christians Believe

 * Week 3: The Rival Conceptions of God
 * Week 4: The Shocking Alternative

Christian Behaviour

 * Week 5: The Three Parts of Morality
 * Week 6: Christian Marriage, Forgiveness, and the Great Sin
 * Week 7: Charity, Hope, and Faith

Beyond Personality

 * Week 8: Making and Begetting, the Three Personal God, Time, and Good Infection
 * Week 9: The Obstinate Toy Soldier
 * Week 10: The Cost: Hard or Easy?

Resources

 * Mere Christianity Study Guide. The United Methodist Publishing House.
 * Swope, Jamie. Literary Response Essay San Dieguito Union High School District.
 * Wu, Brian. How to Write a Literary Response Essay. Associated content. 23 October 2008.