XPost: alt.books.cs-lewis   
   From: hayesmstw@hotmail.com   
      
   On 2 Oct 2005 14:20:06 GMT, Siwel Naph  wrote:   
      
   >I was wondering... If there were TWO magic wardrobes, one leading to a   
   >land where everyone practised Mere Christianity, the other leading to a   
   >land where everyone practised Mere Buddhism, WHICH wardrobe would be   
   >better/safer to go thru, and WHICH land would Aslan be likelier to be   
   >better pleased by?   
      
   I return to the original postulate in the original post, because in subsequent   
   discussion it appears that the original poster has a hidden agenda, which   
   makes it difficult to discuss the question as put.   
      
   Note that the original postulate is that in this imaginary world everyone   
   PRACTISES "mere Christianity" which in the context of where it is posted,   
   presumably means the "mere Christianity" postulated by Lewis.   
      
   In subsequent discussions, however, the original poster has moved the goal   
   posts, and the "practising" has somehow got changed into "sincerely   
   believing", which is not the same thing.   
      
   But given the original postulate, of a world in ehich EVERYONE PRACTISED mere   
   Christianity, then we would have to assume that everyone would   
      
   * love their neighbours   
   * love their enemies   
   * visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction   
   * treat thers as they would like others to treat them   
      
   Now we all KNOW that in this world Christians don't do all those things. Was   
   it C.S. Lewis who said that the problem with Christianity is not that it has   
   been tried and found wanting, but that it hasn't been tried?   
      
   We all know that in THIS world men (including those who sincerely believe that   
   they are Christians), prey on their neighbours, torture their enemies, and   
   when they see the fatherless and widows fleeing from a hurricane or a war or a   
   famine squeal "not in my backyard".   
      
   But this imaginary world is not supposed to be like that. It is a world in   
   which everyone PRACTISES mere Christianity. But the original poster doesn't   
   stick to the imaginary world, but keeps describing Christianity in THIS world,   
   thus ignoring his/her own postulates.   
      
   This makes the whole discussion unreal, even when we are talking about   
   imaginary worlds. As G.K. Chesterton said, even imaginary worlds need to have   
   a certain amount of consistency. Laws of nature can be overthrown -- in our   
   world the law of gravity determines that when an apple falls out of a tree and   
   Newton is underneath the tree, then the apple will it Newton's nose. But we   
   can imagine a world in which apples might fly off to hit noses for which they   
   had conveived a stronger dislike, or that apples might not grow on the tree at   
   all, but it might be filled with tigers swinging by the tail. But there still   
   needs to be a consistency in world of the imagination. If the apple hits   
   Newton's nose, then Newton's nose hits the apple, for we can't conceive of one   
   thing happening without the other.   
      
   And similarly you can't postuilate a world in which everyone practises mere   
   Christianity, and then castigate its inhabitants for not practising mere   
   Christianity.   
      
      
      
      
      
   --   
   Steve Hayes   
   Web: http://www.geocities.com/hayesstw/stevesig.htm   
        http://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/Methodius   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)