The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe

I am so excited that we are moving into the Chronicles of Narnia.  I never had the experience reading them as a kid, and so in many ways I agree even more so with C.S. Lewis when he says that good children's books should be enjoyable for an adult audience.

We started our class discussion on The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.  Like Perelandra, this is a "supposal," not an allegory.  C.S. Lewis is not trying to say that this is the nature of how things are, but "suppose" God was acting in the form of a lion in an imaginary land, etc.  That is an important distinction to make.

This supposal was dedicated to Lucy Barfield, his goddaughter.  We talked briefly about the changes Lewis made through different publications and the orders, etc., but I'd like to take some time to talk about the symbols I find most pertinent to the story:

Peter- the head of the church after Christ leaves.  This one was pointed out in our class discussion.
Aslan- the Christ figure in the story
The White Witch- adversary, evil
Professor Kirke- I think that this name is not chosen by chance.  There was a Professor Kirk in Lewis' life who helped him become a Christian by teaching him to question things.  He is known in Lewis' autobiography, Surprised by Joy, as "The Great Knock."
Lucy- represents the threefold argument from Mere Christianity.  She is not a liar or crazy, so she must be telling the truth.
Statues- They come to life after the resurrection.  It could also be like the Tin Soldiers in Mere Christianity.
Witch's Castle- Like the realm of the dead/spirit prison.  Aslan leaps over the wall, showing that the gates of hell do not prevail against him
Turkish Delight- a spoiled good thing, as he discussed in The Screwtape Letters
 The Stone Table-like the Law of Moses
Father Christmas- Brings hope and cheer, talking about Aslan coming.  Could be compared to John the Baptist.
Gifts- spiritual gifts.  The cordial, for an Anglican, might be the sacraments
Edmund- could represent Adam, all of us, pride, insecurity, or perhaps Judas
Deep Magic vs Deeper Magic- Deep magic is the lower law while Deeper is the higher law, the kind that the White Witch does not understand.  Kind of like the new law after Christ came.

And then the obvious:  Death and resurrection through Aslan's sacrifice. 

Perelandra Symbolism

Reading Lewis' fiction for an older audience was a really interesting experience.  Perelandra is something of a sci-fi, the second book in a trilogy.  It is a re-telling of the fall of man, similar to Dante's journey.  While it was difficult to get into at first (mostly to orient myself with this new style), I really liked it.  Until I enrolled in this C.S. Lewis class I had no idea that he published adult fiction, yet, Perelandra has many of the same things that I've seen in his other works, like The Chronicals of Narnia.

There are countless symbols that Lewis uses in Perelandra, but I thought I would note a few of my own thoughts and some that we mentioned in our class discussion:

Ransom- A Christ figure, his name being significant of that.  He is someone we can relate to as well, helping us see what we need to do to be Christ-like in our own ways.  In class we also learned that Ransom was based on J.R.R. Tolkien.

Perelandra- Or Venus, is basically the Garden of Eden in an unfallen world.

Maledil- God in this story.  At times he lets the characters grow and develop on their own by staying behind the scenes.

Then Green Lady- An Eve figure, has never heard of evil, and is the victim of potential temptation

"The Bent One"- Satan, the fallen angel who has influence over Weston.

Weston- Not Satan, but a form of evil who falls under Satan's influence.  In a way he is like the snake who tempts Eve in Eden.  He is not like the Satan in Milton's Paradise Lost, and is generally kind of stupid until he enters into debate.  He never appears to sleep, much like sin.  Weston is overcome by pride in the end.

Fixed Land- represents temptation, the forbidden fruit.  It is more about obedience than anything, and the geography is significant.  The waves surrounding it represent God's own plan and intentions.

Cave- While there can be many things to draw from the cave, to me it seemed like the fact that this was a struggle away from the surface showed this ongoing fight between good and evil, that is always there, but not always visible on the surface.  The good won in the end though.  The entire scene is a descent and assent, symbolizing the resurrection and baptism. 

Red Lilies- Easter lilies near the tomb/spaceship, representing the resurrection.  The flowers are red because of the atonement and sacrifice that Ransom performed.

The Mountain- As in the case in many instances in scripture, the mountain here represents a temple, or a sacred space.

Eldila- Literally are angels, while other characters in the story are just representations.

The Sea Voyage- baptism, and renewal.

Ransom's Wounds- Ransom has a wound that will not heal while he is on Perelandra, representing the wounds of Christ that help Him and us to always remember that sacrifice.  It is a scriptural reference in Geneses as well, that Ransom's heal is bruised and the serpents head is crushed.  Lewis definitely used this intentionally.

There are many more symbols, but these were the ones I found that were the most powerful.  I look forward to another class discussion to make sense of a few more.  There are so many! I feel like the symbolism in Perelandra is more "in your face" than any of the Narnia books.

Midterm Time

This week was our midterm examination in my C.S. Lewis class.  It was  nice to review some of the books that I read at the beginning of the semester and link them all to each other, and so for that I was grateful for the opportunity, though testing always freaks me out.  The test consisted of free response answers to a few different prompt options, but there was one question that we all had to respond to.  I thought it would be the question at the bottom of the extensive study guide:

"the single insight of Lewis that has had the greatest impact on you; how Lewis' presentation was effective in reaching you; the results (present and potential) of this insight."

But it wasn't.  Still, I think it would be beneficial for me to write here what that response was for me:

It is hard to pick just one teaching of Lewis that has impacted me the most, but I would have to say a lucky bet would be that it would come out of Mere Christianity.  It actually leaked into a few other works as well.  What struck me the most from Lewis this semester was that those times when I don't feel like I quite fit in this world are feelings that are not only normal, but natural, because we are not meant for this world.  Lewis says that we are never given desires that were never meant to satisfy, and if they are not satisfied in this life, then they are in the next.  God would not instill in us that kind of momentum for no reason.

A main quote that supports this idea is found in Mere Christianity in the section called "Hope."  Lewis says that "most people...know that they do want, and want acutely, something that cannot be hand in this world.  There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise...some subjects that excite us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning, can really satisfy" (135).  Many people, and myself included, have spent their lives doing some of the things he suggests, "trotting from woman to woman, continent to continent, from hobby to hobby, always thinking that the latest is 'the Real Thing' at last," but find it did not quite quench that fire, leaving us "always disappointed" (136).

How many times have I looked at world travel and relationships as the answer to this inner longing I feel, finding that I am disappointed?  I have lost count.  I have always likened my life to the poem "The Name" by Don Marquis.  He describes this feeling well- "my heart has followed all of my days something I cannot name." I have always felt this inner void, this craving for something more, something bigger than me and life and words, wondering if there was just something wrong with me.

Lewis goes on to say that if we find in ourselves"a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probably explanation" is that we were "made for another world" (136-137).  This is the best answer I have ever had on the subject.  I feel like "following something that has no name" has been a lifelong question for me, and even a sense of frustration, but here Lewis has offered me an answer.

(Photo credit goes to Gurumustuk Singh)

Surprised by Joy by C.S. Lewis

Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After reading so many books by C.S. Lewis, it was really nice to hear in his own words what life experiences he had that made him that unique individual. I am not the biggest fan of autobiographies in general, so I appreciated the companion biographical story told in The Essential C.S. Lewis, but I think Lewis does a pretty good job at honestly representing himself, particularly his childhood and educational career.

Things I did not know before (including bits from class discussion):

Lewis went by the nickname Jack. His mother died of cancer when he was a kid; he had little to no relationship with his father, and was an atheist the majority of his young life. It was “The Great Knock,” a mentor and teacher, who taught him to really question things, and though an atheist himself, it was these principles that taught Lewis to rethink atheism, which lead to his conversion to theism, and later Christianity.

Another insight from this that I appreciated was that Lewis did not trust emotions from a very early age. He seemed to be afraid of raw emotion, and I think that explains why he takes such a logical, rational approach to many of his arguments. Lewis also had a wild imagination. I loved reading about his childhood and the description of his house full of books. Without TV and video games, he was left to entertain himself with his own thoughts and rich imagination. I really like that, and that is something I hope to cultivate in my own children someday.

Something else I did not know: Lewis was also wounded in WWI and told his friend, Patty, that if he died he would take care of his mother. Apparently when Lewis moved in with her that lead to a rather interesting relationship—though Surprised by Joy does not mention that. Lewis does claim that he had a past before converting though, and that would only make sense.

I like this idea of joy that Lewis describes and the complexity of it. At first Lewis thought that was what he would have to give up when he became a Christian, only to discover that this was the opposite case. Joy tried to find him his whole life, but it came when he did not expect it. Joy comes in moments—in a sense of something beyond ourselves, something heavenly. Lewis also describes joy as an unsatisfied desire and kind of painful. The want of it is kind of like Heaven, in his opinion. We try to find joy fulfilled by false substitutes and through desire, but real joy is greater than pleasure or happiness. It also makes it the most valuable.

The book ended a bit abruptly to my liking. It seemed to focus mostly on his conversion to theism and not necessarily Christianity, and then it cut off from there. Again, one of the aspects I dislike about autobiography (and how blasted modest they try to be when I would rather just hear about their great accomplishments as unique individuals). I’m grateful for outside texts to give me more context for his life from a more objective point of view, and to hear more about the other aspects apart from his conversion (though that was, of course, important).

Until reading more on his life in The Essential C.S. Lewis, I also had no idea that his wife’s name was Joy. I think that is kind of ironic given the impetus of Joy that Lewis tries to answer in this autobiography.


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Miracles by C.S. Lewis

Miracles by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I hate to say that this was not my favorite C.S. Lewis book so far. Without a class discussion, I’m not sure I could have waded through half of the arguments Lewis brings up. It was intended for those who are skeptical of miracles, and that subject was definitely one that I have wondered about.

I am a Latter-day Saint, and I believe in miracles. But I have always been under the impression that God would use natural laws to govern those miracles, and they are miraculous because we do not understand them. In that sense, I never thought that God could break laws that he was bound to (but then again, he is God), but that leads me to one of Lewis’ main points:

He begins with the argument against the naturalist. He believes that in order to really be Christian we have to be supernaturalists, believing that there is more to nature, or our current reality—that there is a God in charge of it all.

Lewis argues that miracles do not discredit the law of nature because nature still works after the miracle occurs. We assume laws are all known, but there could be something higher that interferes. Just because there is interference though does not mean that the laws are not true. It just adds data, as Lewis said. The Virgin Mary was a good example he gives. The miracle was Mary getting pregnant, but after that nature took over. Her body acted just how it would have otherwise, and she gave birth in the way of nature. God and nature work together.

Along with that point, Lewis makes another stab at those who believe that modern day thinkers are somehow smarter than people from “the olden days.” Miracles are just as believable today as they were a thousand years ago, the difference is most people simply disregard them. Joseph might not have had a professorship at Oxford, but he knew that in order to have a kid you had to have intercourse beforehand. The miracle was no more believable then than it is today, so what is different?

Now there are certainly some differences of opinion between LDS doctrine and Lewis, but I thought his general argument for why miracles are more than magical, absurdities was beneficial. He argues that miracles are not just fathomable, but they are essential. I love how he can logically argue for the supernatural. It is not a supplement to faith, but it does make a nice companion.


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Mere Christianity Continued

My favorite section in this book is “Christian Marriage.” It goes hand in hand with his argument for morality (which is really solid and refreshing in our world today), and says that the reason why this is so important to observe is that “those who indulge in it are trying to isolate one kind of union (the sexual) from all the other kinds of union which are intended to go along with it and make up the total union” (105). This reminds me of Jeffry R. Holland’s talk “Of Souls, Symbols, and Sacraments.” It is not that God is just having a great time making rules for us and spoiling our fun, he is trying to show us that we are soiling something sacred that is meant only for the kind of commitment you have in marriage.

I have a lot more thoughts on “Christian Marriage,” but the most powerful part of it was establishing the difference between being in love and the kind of love that follows as a result of it. We have plenty of media propaganda telling us what love is—most of it the glorification of fornication, etc. but this seems to be a bit closer to the line. “Being in love is a good thing, but it is not the best thing” (108). Really though, if we stayed “in love” for too long we would never get anything done. “Knowledge can last, principles can last, habits can last; but feelings come and go.” Lewis continues to say that “ceasing to be ‘in love’ need not mean ceasing to love. Love is this second sense—love as distinct from ‘being in love’—is not merely a feeling. It is a deep unity, maintained by the will and deliberately strengthened by habit; reinforced by (in Christian marriages) the grace which both partners ask, and receive, from God” (109). I have a good friend who once asked me what was more important to me, love or loyalty. When I responded two years ago I said love. My answer is much different now. Marriage is not just about being in love. It is about commitment—something I think society has seriously underplayed when the lovey-dovey wanes.

Moving on, I liked what Lewis said about Pride being the greatest sin, and how it comes “direct from Hell” since it is purely spiritual (125). “As long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you” (124).

In the section “Hope” I also found a few passages that really spoke to me. I’ve often related to the poem “The Name” by Don Marquis, particularly the line that says, “My heart has followed all my days something I cannot name.” This section seems to address that impetus. Lewis says that people know that they “want acutely, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise…some subjects that excites us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning, can really satisfy” (135). Many people grow disappointed that they cannot satisfy that something in this life while others deal with it better. I think the take home message Lewis gives us is that “if I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probably explanation is that I was made for another world” (137).

Faith and works has been a common argument amongst Christian denominations. I think Lewis says it quite clearly when he says that asking which is more important is “like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most necessary” (148).

There are many, many more lessons to take from this book, but I am going to end by summing up my thoughts on the section “Let’s Pretend.” Lewis says that when we are “not feeling particularly friendly” but realize that we should, the best thing to be done is just do it. Pretend for a little while, and sure enough, you might end up being a little friendly in the end. Such is the way we should try to be more Christian. Fake it until we make it. We won’t get to perfection in this life, but God does expect us to become perfect. It is easy, but it is also difficult. In a way we are like the house that George MacDonald mentions, thinking we are undergoing remodeling when really “He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of…a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself” (205).

As a final thought, Lewis’ last line. “Look at yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in” (227).


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Mere Christianity

Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Mere Christianity is one of my favorite books of all time. I was excited to have the opportunity to revisit it for this C.S. Lewis class. This review is going to go through a bunch of my favorite quotes and feelings, but to start off let me just say that it is so nice to have someone present a logical argument for Christianity. Nothing frustrates me more than this “modern” notion that having a belief in God means that you are an archaic-thinking, ridiculous moron. It seems so condescending too. Are we really that much brighter than all of civilization up to this point? Do we honestly think that no one gave a good look at religion back in the day and had to come to terms with it? Lewis helps bridge this gap. Not only is it the right thing to do, being a Christian is the sensible thing as well.

One of the initial arguments in this book after establishing that there is a Moral Law is that accepting Christ as a merely a moral teacher is seriously problematic. To accept Him as a moral teacher but not His claims does not even make sense. “Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse…Let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher” (52). Would you honestly want to follow someone’s advice (knowing that there has been plenty of good advice offered throughout the centuries) who was a lunatic and thought he was God? I wouldn’t. Either he is God or he is not. We don’t get half.

And to the perfectionist side of me? A Christian needs to realize that God doesn’t love us when we are good, “but that God will make us good because He loves us” (63). No matter who we are, God has an innate love for all of His children. Obviously works are still important, but he does not love us any more or less if we miss a few points on a midterm or think a selfish thought once in awhile.

Along with my initial thought, Christianity is supportive of using logic and reasoning. Faith and logic can coexist, and it should! We should be thinking about these things and studying our own religions. I like what he says about how we should have a “child’s heart, but a grown-up’s head” (77). Humility, submission, and obedience are all the positive characteristics we associate with children, but Lewis is right, acting like a two-year-old and not exercising the minds God blessed us with is not going to get us there. Lewis went so far as to say that “anyone who is honestly trying to be a Christian will soon find his intelligence being sharpened” (78). I have seen this in my own life as I have studied. Obtaining more education, doing more traveling, and learning more about other religions has only strengthened my faith. That was mentioned earlier as well—“if you are a Christian, you are free to think that all those religions contain at least some hint of the truth” (35). This has certainly been my experience, even Eastern religions that seem to be so opposite at times to my own religious paradigm (Latter-day Saint).