Shanna reminded me of something I have been thinking for a long time now.

Nearly everyone, devoutly Christian or quasi-Christian, lists Mere Christianity in their list of favorite books. The casual observer might not think this odd, but as someone who is reasonably intelligent and has actually delved into the pages of this master piece, I’m very skeptical.

Mere Christianity, henceforth refered to as MC, is a collection of transcripts in book form. It is not light reading and cannot be consumed casually.  C.S. Lewis has a way of packing meaning, direct and indirect, into each sentence such that each page must nearly be read twice to keep up with his reasoning.

I fully admit that I have yet to finish MC.  I intend to someday, but it is not a trivial task. It requires reflection and a healthy amount of critical thinking.

Bearing all of this in mind, my hypothesis is this: 9 out of 10 people who say Mere Christianity is their favorite book have not read it, or at the very least have not finished it.