It is more than just that it uses lisp. I do like that, and I think it is the correct choice. But it is more that even something as basic "move cursor down" is not tied directly to a specific key. And the help system will literally take you to the source for any command, if you ask it to. (Takes some setup for this to work down to the c source, but it is there.)

Is a bit like having a problem with "ls" and wondering if you could fix it by scanning the source real quick. In emacs, that is often just a keystroke away. In most systems, good luck.