Book II: Chapter 3 The Shocking Alternative Summary and Analysis

The opening of this chapter deals with free will—why it was given to human beings and higher beings, a rebellious angel for example. This line of thought then progresses into why Jesus Christ must be considered an equal to God. The shocking alternative is that God came to earth as Jesus Christ in order to help humankind regain divine love.

Lewis argues that all humankind has free will because God decided that free will is necessary in order for His creations to love Him in any meaningful manner. The risk is that evil might develop, as Lewis maintains it has, and so God allows the risk in the hope that love will also develop, or perhaps this was an expectation of an all-knowing deity rather than a hope. Lewis...