Bella Rivas - Mere Christianity

In C.S. Lewis's, "Mere Christianity," Lewis writes of God as the perfect image of goodness and as human, our innate knowledge of right and wrong points to this Holy and Perfect God. He writes, "We know that if there does exist an absolute goodness it must hate most of what we do. That is the terrible fix we are in. If the universe is not governed by an absolute goodness, then all of our efforts are in the long run hopeless. But if it is, then we are making ourselves enemies to that goodness everyday, and are not in the least likely to do any better tomorrow, and so our case is hopeless again. We cannot do without it, and we cannot do with it. God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror -- the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from. He is our only possible ally, and we have made ourselves His enemies. Some people talk as if meeting the gaze of an absolute goodness would be fun. They need to think again. They are still only playing with religion. Goodness is either the great safety or the great danger-- according to the way you react to it. And we have reacted the wrong way."

In this text, Lewis is applying Otto's description of the mysterium and the tremendum. He is stating that there is a Being so perfect, that as sinful human beings, we are misguided if we do not fear this Holy and Powerful God. God is mysterium because of his perfectly just nature, but also his perfectly loving nature. As humans, we are not able to execute either of these concepts perfectly, or even come close. This causes a reaction in humans - a reaction to the unfamiliar, to the incomprehensible, to the mysterium.

God is tremendum because of his greatness and awefulness. If Perfect Goodness exists, then we clearly do not measure up as humans. If God is the only Perfect Goodness- if He is the only Perfect Judge, then as lowly humans, we are to fear him. The Bible discusses the fear of the Lord. It leads to reverence and humility. We see this reverence portrayed perfectly in Jesus, who acknowledges the power, might, and goodness of the Father in all things.

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