Man or Rabbit

I thought this was an intersting little essay that Lewis wrote because he starts off acting like he is going to answer the question that asks if it's possible to lead a good life without believing in Christianity. He doesn't just answer the question though, he goes into reasons why he thinks the question is a bad question and who would ask it. Lewis doesn't answer the question right away though, he goes about it indirectly and he answers a series of other questions along the way. He says that Christianity must either be fake or true, and a person should decide which of these two choices they believe is true after thinking about the question for a while. They shouldn't decide that Christianity is, in fact, true just because they can benefit from being a Christian, it's something that an individual must struggle with. When Lewis talks about this I am reminded of Pascal's Wager. Pascal came up with a simple suggestion, based on probability, which shows the possible outcomes for a Christian and non-Christian related to whether God exists or not. If God exists and someone lives as a Christian then when they die they can look forward to eternity in heaven and they gain everything. If a person lives as a Christian and God doesn't exist then they lose nothing. If a person lives as a non-Christian and God doesn't exist then they lose nothing, but if someone lives as a non-Christian and God does exist, they they lose everything.

I first heard of Pascal's Wager in high school and I thout it was interesting because it simplifies a choice we have here on earth of whether to believe that God exists or not, and what "happens" to us if God does or does not actually exist. I thought that what Lewis argues in this essay related to this Wager because Lewis talks about not becoming a Christian just for the benefits of Christianity. I too agree that someone should not become a Christian just so that in the end if God does exist then they have eternity with Him and enjoy the benefits of Christianity, but I think that is a bonus that comes with Christianity. I think someone needs to struggle with their faith and talk to God to see how He can speak to them in their lives.

Getting back to Lewis's essay, he talks about people that weren't Christians but have lived as good people. He says, "We all know there have been good men who are not Christians; men like Socrates and Confucius who had never heard of it..." Lewis says these men were in a state of honest error and he hopes that they have a chance to get into heaven. I have often wondered that too. Why are there so many people that have never even heard of Jesus Christ and what happens to them when they die? Do they have a chance to go to heaven as well? This is a tough question and we won't know the answer until we get to heaven ourselves. Until then I think we should continue to be missionaries for Christ and try to spread God's Word to as many people as possible.