Theres much to be found in a good book, even if it's considered children's fiction. I just finished reading C.S. Lewis' final installment of the Chronicles of Narnia titled The Last Battle and I've realized a few things.
I have to wonder if Lewis believed that Muslims will have a role in the end of the world. His use of the Calormenes as the enemies who steal into Narnia to make use of an ape's deception about Aslan's return is fairly substantial. They are monotheistic, but serve Tash, a cruel, angry god who allows men to be sacrificed in his name. Further, Calormenes and the ape repeatedly use the claim that Tash and Aslan are one god in order to doom Narnians to slavery and death. Those who disagree are put to death. Finally, the Calormenes use turbans and scimitars, two enduring symbols or militant Arab peoples. Lewis also extended hope to the Islamics by Aslan allowing a pure-hearted servant of Tash to enter into the paradise he had made. I am still processing on what this really signifies, but perhaps Lewis included it to drive home the point that God is the sovereign judge of hearts.
Additionally, I realize that mingling enough truth with a lie makes the lie much stronger, just like adding molybdenum strengthens steel. By lying about Aslan using facts already known to Narnians, Shift the ape was able to deceive nearly everyone.
Cynicism is the result of enduring deception and perhaps is a worse fate than being deceived. The dwarves who rebelled against both Tash and Aslan found themselves bound, refusing to be taken in and in the end they refused to be taken into Aslan's new kingdom. They could not see the new country, instead believing they were locked in the darkness of a fetid stable. Their senses were masked, deceived by their own cynicism. Oh, the irony!
Lewis also believed that it is people's beliefs about themselves that shapes their lives. Puzzle, the donkey used by the ape to deceive others by thinking he was Aslan, believed he was stupid and allowed the ape to do all the thinking, despite knowing his heart didn't agree with the apes actions. Additionally, Lewis understood a great deal of the nature of the human heart because he knew that great passion drives men to act, but that acting rashly and without contemplation can bring great evil, despite the best intentions.
Lewis had a belief that heaven is the pattern for earth and that all the goodness seen here on earth will be even more potent and beautiful there. Imagine the goodness of running so fast it seems like flying. Imagine senses being fully alive and experiencing everything in such a way that the best earthly copy seems dull and dry. Imagine being in heaven and knowing beyond doubt that this place is what you were truly made for. Imagine saying as Jewel the Unicorn, companion of King Tirian said, "I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now." It is something my own spirit greatly desires.
Finally, I believe that Lewis believed that to be in between the paws of Aslan was without a doubt the best place to be. To be in the hands of God, no matter how unsafe and untame He may be, is the best place because although He isn't safe, He's good.
In short, Clive Staples Lewis had an excellent grasp of both humanity and God's intentions for it.
I just found your blog by browsing the main page today. I remember first reading The Last Battle as a kid ... I hated it! It was awful, depressing, miserable ... there weren't words to describe how I felt about the destruction of Narnia.
As I've grown older, that has become one of my favorite books. It took me a long time to see how well Lewis described the hope and the promise, even in the darkest days. There's a lot of food for thought in that little novel. Thanks for bringing it to mind today.
Thanks for your comments. I remember much the same reaction as a child. I have another friend who had a similar experience. Her comments are here:
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Yes, I understand your comments, Steve! At the age of nine, I discovered The Silver Chair at the library. Unfortunately, I didnt know that it was a part of a series. I wasnt yet a true believer (even though I had a heart for God); but the book grabbed my heart in such a way that I grieved when I finished it. When I was 19 (and had been a believer for four years), I went to my college best friends home in Houston for Thanksgiving. In the guest room, there was The Silver Chairalong with six other books in a boxed set! I literally stayed up all night long, reading the books in order. At 5 a.m., I was reading The Last Battle, completely in tears. It was quite an experience. Later, in seminary, I took a semester-long class on Lewis writings, which was a real treat.
BTW, in reference to Lewis also extended hope to the Islamics by Aslan allowing a pure-hearted servant of Tash to enter into the paradise he had made. I am still processing on what this really signifies, but perhaps Lewis included it to drive home the point that God is the sovereign judge of hearts, that is one of the most controversial things Lewis ever wrote. No one apparently ever specifically asked him to elaborate on what he was saying (before he died), but most scholars agree that he was allowing for God to let someone into His kingdom if they served a god they called Allah (or whatever) but who to whom, in actuality, they attributed the attributes of YHWHnot Allah.
Lewis was a complex character, to say the least. I love his writings and wish I could have taken a class or two from him (had I been born 15 years earlier and gone to college at Oxford!), but it amuses me to see how very different a standard is applied to him compared to the lifestyles required of other Christian writers (for us to promote them, that is). Lewis thoroughly enjoyed all the sensual aspects of life (smoking, drinking, feasting), and would be considered quite self-indulgent by todays standards. He also had a rather interesting--shall we say--relationship with his long-time housekeeper (who was old enough to be his mother), until she died a few years before Joy came on the scene. (And Joy herself would probably scandalize most [church] people: She was a very unconventional convert to Christianity.)
Edited by SteveWalden on September 9, 2005 at 2:48 PM
I had noticed the similarities but never really pondered them. I guess I assumed that Lewis just started off with an offhand reference to the "Calormenes" in Prince Caspian and then had to expand on their culture as the series continued. Whether he started with a conscious agenda or not, however, the finished series certainly does provoke deep thoughts.
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