Portrayal of Identity in Mere Christianity and Its Parallels to the Concept of Identity in Apostle Paul's Letters

Table of Contents

Abstract

Theoretical Framework
The Concept of Culture
The Concept of Identity

Analysis

Discussion

References

Abstract

This paper explores the concept of identity in Book Three and Book Four of Mere Christianity as well as its parallels to the concept of identity in Apostle Paul´s Letters . Therefore, parts of the second half of Lewis´s work are compared to selected verses of the Pauline Letters. For the analysis of Mere Christianity, the theoretical concept of identity is described and applied to the cultural artefact. It has been found that Lewis presents a concept of identity that has clear parallels to the concept of identity in the Pauline Letters as both writings expound on the identity in Christ.

Keywords: identity, difference, Mere Christianity, Apostle Paul´s Letters

Portrayal of Identity in Mere Christianity and Its Parallels to the Concept of Identity in Apostle Paul´s Letters

C. S. Lewis´s Mere Christianity, being considered to be a classic of Christian apologetics, addresses the concept of identity from a Christian perspective. As it serves the purpose of navigating a faithful expression of the Christian Faith in today´s cultures, Mere Christianity is still of considerable relevance to society.

The paper pursues the following research question: How is identity presented in “ Book Three” and “Book Four” of C.S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity and which parallels to the concept of identity espoused by Apostle Paul are there to be found? For this purpose, the theoretical concept of identity is applied to the theological work.

The first chapter of this paper provides an insight into the theoretical concept which will serve as tools for the discussion of the book´s portrayal of identity. The first section of this chapter gives a brief overview of the concept of culture, as the topic of the paper is embedded in the field of Cultural Studies. What follows is an explanation of the concept of identity. The second chapter provides an analysis of Book Three and Book Four of Mere Christianity, uncovering some of the parallels to the concept of identity in the Pauline Epistles. The following chapter is concerned with elements of the concept which are relevant in the context of Mere Christianity. As the last step, the results will be summarized in the conclusion.

Theoretical Framework

The Concept of Culture

According to Stuart Hall (1997), culture, being one of the most complex concepts in the social and human sciences and therefore having various definitions, can be used to describe the shared values of a group or society. Primarily, “culture is concerned with the production and the exchange of meanings - ¢the giving and taking of meaning¢- between the members of a society or group” (Hall, 1997, p. 2); thus, it requires and implies interactions between people, groups of people and institutions. The cultural forms and practices evolved in any society are shaped both by the structures of that society and by the subjectivities of individual people as social actors. A woman is, for instance, part of a social grouping whose interests her version of culture expresses, and at the same time, she is an individual who experiences herself in daily life as a unique human being with the ability to act independently, regardless of the social structures within which she was placed. Similarly, individuals adopt “identities” that are created from the cultural and social contexts they find themselves in, leading them to certain assumptions about “individuality”, “human nature” and “the self” (Giles & Middelton, 2008).

The Concept of Identity

Giles and Middelton (2008) hold the position that the concept of identity is central to the study of culture. In general, identity is about belonging, about what an individual shares with some people and what differentiates the individual from others. Kidd and Teagle (2012) state that “´identity´ means being able to ´fix´ or ´figure out´ who we are as people” (p. 7). Aspects of identity are, inter alia, the following:

- social (sex, age, ethnicity, occupation, sexual orientation);
- physical appearance (hair colour, skin colour, body shape, etc.);
- personality (quiet, morose, a loner, etc.);
- nationality (American, German, etc.);
- religion (Catholic, Muslim, etc.);
- family relationships (mother, father, son, niece, etc.);
- cultural (interested in sports, politically committed, etc.) (Giles & Middelton, 2008).

However, these categories are not conclusive as physical disability, for example, might not only be a matter of appearance but might have consequences for all other aspects of identity. Giles and Middelton (2008) further argue that one may define oneself according to a specific religious faith, which can be related to nationality, to ethnicity, to personality as well as to cultural markers or that one might see oneself as an individual detached from society and faith, as a unique self that cannot be assigned definitely to these external categories.

According to Giles and Middelton (2008), we incline to think that at the heart of each person there is a “real self” with some essence of authentic personhood, pre-existent and independent of the aspects of identity listed before. This “real self” is sometimes said to be “hidden or suppressed by the demands of social roles or cultural conventions that require a public façade (Giles & Middelton, 2008, p. 33).

Nonetheless, historical moment, nationality, ethnicity, sex and social circumstances determine not only the way individuals see themselves but also the way they think and act. Identity can be understood as “the interface between a private sense of self that includes conscious and unconscious feelings, rational and irrational motivations, personal beliefs and values, and those factors that constitute the social contexts in which we experience those feelings and motivations” (Giles & Middelton, 2008, p. 34). While a person´s individual consciousness is an internalized combination of beliefs and emotions, identity might be both assigned by others and chosen.

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