Faith for Flourishing

“I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”― C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis was one of the most influential Christian authors and apologists of the 20th century. As an atheist-turned-Christian, he understood the power of perspective when it comes to belief. This quote comes from his classic book Mere Christianity, where he aimed to logically explain the tenets of the faith.

Lewis asserted that he did not just accept Christianity as true because it appealed to him or “felt right.” Rather, he believed because he found that its lens made sense of the world in a unique and sublime way. Christianity provided an intellectual framework that illuminated all of reality with fresh significance.

He used the metaphor of the sunrise because just as daylight reveals the physical world, Christianity exposed truths about the human condition, morality, meaning, and our place in the cosmos. This rationalized existence for Lewis in a way that nothing else in his life ever could. Just as the sunrise validates itself by enabling sight, the Christian story rang true because of how thoroughly it accounted for the complexities of life. Said differently, Christianity validates itself through its explanatory power. It accounts for all our experiences both good and evil and provides a coherent framework for understanding the world. Thus, its truth becomes self-evident, just like the rising of the sun.

Lewis was not being simple. He appreciated that from the outside, faith can seem irrational. But once inside an larger understanding of created existence, moral purpose, good and evil, spiritual giftings, and more, looking at the world through spiritual perspective reinforces its authenticity. It answers the questions that humanism, cynicism, and even philosophy cannot answer. The coherence, insight, and meaning that this brings led Lewis to see Christianity as the essential sunrise welcoming in understanding. Just as we don’t merely believe in but see wholly by the sun, Lewis saw all of life through the vision of his faith.

Christianity uniquely helps us to live a life that makes sense – emotionally, rationally, and existentially. Lewis found he could trust this vision because of how thoroughly it illuminated the landscape of truth and provided direction. Christianity proved itself by enabling him to see. It can do that for all of us.

Nathan Elms 9/15/23