Re: Favorite Christian message from Narnia?
Posted: Jul 31, 2014 9:59 pm
Wonderful thoughts, coracle, Rya and wagga!
While I've seen that this can be somewhat controversial among Narnia fans, one of my favorite "Christian messages" in the Chronicles of Narnia is embodied in the character and journey of Emeth. Aside from the fact that his Calormene-style storytelling is lovely to read when he relates to the reader his encounter with Aslan, it's full of meaning and hope as well.
I don't think that Lewis was saying that you can get into Aslan's Country even if you don't believe in Aslan, but rather you can get into Aslan's Country if you are ready and willing to believe in Aslan when you see his face and sit between his paws. After all, the Dwarfs were "in" Aslan's Country; they just didn't know it. Emeth knew it because he allowed himself to see it; unlike the Dwarfs, he wasn't so self-absorbed that he was blind to the truth. In fact, he was so unconscious of his own personal safety and comfort that he was willing to walk through the stable door in his quest for truth and God.
In some ways, I think everyone has a little bit of Emeth in them. We're all barking up the wrong tree in some way or another. It may be a little thing or a big thing, but we fallen humans certainly haven't got everything right. The important thing through it all is that we continue to seek truth and holiness and be ready to embrace it when we meet it. That seems to be the fundamental difference between the Calormene who had worshiped Tash all his life and the Narnian Dwarfs who refused to be taken in: Emeth sought the light, while the Dwarfs shut their eyes.
Lewis writes that all will find what they seek. It seems that if you earnestly seek truth and goodness, then you will eventually find it.
While I've seen that this can be somewhat controversial among Narnia fans, one of my favorite "Christian messages" in the Chronicles of Narnia is embodied in the character and journey of Emeth. Aside from the fact that his Calormene-style storytelling is lovely to read when he relates to the reader his encounter with Aslan, it's full of meaning and hope as well.
I don't think that Lewis was saying that you can get into Aslan's Country even if you don't believe in Aslan, but rather you can get into Aslan's Country if you are ready and willing to believe in Aslan when you see his face and sit between his paws. After all, the Dwarfs were "in" Aslan's Country; they just didn't know it. Emeth knew it because he allowed himself to see it; unlike the Dwarfs, he wasn't so self-absorbed that he was blind to the truth. In fact, he was so unconscious of his own personal safety and comfort that he was willing to walk through the stable door in his quest for truth and God.
In some ways, I think everyone has a little bit of Emeth in them. We're all barking up the wrong tree in some way or another. It may be a little thing or a big thing, but we fallen humans certainly haven't got everything right. The important thing through it all is that we continue to seek truth and holiness and be ready to embrace it when we meet it. That seems to be the fundamental difference between the Calormene who had worshiped Tash all his life and the Narnian Dwarfs who refused to be taken in: Emeth sought the light, while the Dwarfs shut their eyes.
Lewis writes that all will find what they seek. It seems that if you earnestly seek truth and goodness, then you will eventually find it.