The Last Battle
The Last Battle closes out the world of Narnia - or at least appears to; there is a surprise in that. Its richness comes across most deeply in the closing sections that show a beautiful envisioning of eternity and passing into it. First comes the battle, and the real fascinating element of this is Lewis' description of how opening yourself up to a deception, a mockery of the real thing, is a trap that most cannot get out of. Just to give you a little background to help explain that, the premise is that an ape has the notion of dressing up his sidekick, a donkey, in lion's clothing. It seems a bit silly at first, more childish than evil, but the real vileness of that starts to become evident as the ape proceeds in carrying out the hoax. What is shocking about this - and perhaps the key arguing point you would have with the author - is that the animals of Narnia, so aware of Aslan's character and past acts of creation and deliverance, are completely taken in by this seemingly obvious ruse. That is one where you find yourself remonstrating, "Oh come on."
The story takes on a early apostles confronting the lies of the false teachers mode, like you see in the New Testament with the defenders of the truth exposing the deceptions of the opponents but those opponents continuing to hold onto their lies and fight. This dynamic turns on the use and meaning of a "slogan". The slogan is "not a tame lion", referring to Aslan. The evildoers use that phrase to mean that, like a man, he does what he wants without any obligations to anything or anyone. So when the "Aslan" they are portraying sanctions the evil things they are doing, they explain that he is "not a tame lion" to persuade the confused animals. On the other side, King Rilian (I think that's right - there are a number of -ian kings in the stories!) has to at times explain that he cannot conjure up Aslan or make circumstances work out effortlessly because Aslan is "not a tame lion", his meaning being that Aslan operates of His own will and is not led around by humans. He is not a slave of our expectations. This hearkens back to 1 John, where John had to reargue the real meaning of "walking in the light", "born again", those types of things. There was a distortion of those realities that had become hallmarks of the Christian theology. Christians systemized statements as a way to convey truths, teach them, and have everyone remember them. Evildoers had taken those words and contorted them to fit their own fancies. Take "walking in the light", for example. The Gnostics of John's time basically used that to mean "I'm morally superior to you, and you need to know that." But that's all references that you're probably not interested in!
So you have an unsatisfying, dark and ugly kind of fight and then an entrance into heaven itself - that's how the story goes. The kids begin to explore eternity in that ever revealing way. I find that we are often too busy-minded to really take in eternity. We're fighting like heck to get it and not letting it come to us. We're nervous about it because of the way we are living here, trying to outrun our foes, so we are unsure about how we will respond or how we will be responded to. Facing "the lion" makes our stomach feel a little bit weak. I felt a lot of those things as I stepped into Lewis' world about heaven. A couple of the magical images were of heaven being a run to the source and culmination of life - an exhilirating race in which you don't get tired or lose out, and the funny image of the kids, coming to understanding, saying, "You can't be afraid! Try to. You're right, I can't." There is a lot more in there, lot of beauty in those words. And it all is a reminder that the business of our lives is to be more and more heavenly. We're growing out of these old suits and putting on new ones. A reminder to go "further in, further up", as the last book shows. I feel this book will be an important one in helping keep that perspective. Not a tool to obtain something but things to hearken back to and say, "Oh yeah. That's sort of how to understand this." C.S. Lewis, now that I have read him, is more of a drawn-out person now in my mind. He's enchanted you, he's led you on a journey, he's disappointed your expectations, he has become what all people become as you get to know them - and now you've got a decision to make about what to do with the words.
My closing thoughts on Chronicles of Narnia would be: 1) I am in awe of the images and understanding of Lewis and the realities they contain 2) I fancy being a bit like some of the chaps in the stories! 3) I feel the gospel even more as a holy call, one to be taken with all the seriousness in the world and all the lightheartedness of a child. If I could be enthused by the experience in that way and find the grace and aid of the Creator, then I would be doing well.
Well, it feels like a big journey has ended. I think the blog will change and continue to be more of something on the mind of God rather than something on the mind of man. I take a collective sigh and say, "Wow, it has been an interesting road." My head feels a little bit squeezed. The thinking wheels have come off. So it's on to other things for now, and I anxiously await the next wave of stirring thoughts that come my way and send me off on another adventure. Peace.
The story takes on a early apostles confronting the lies of the false teachers mode, like you see in the New Testament with the defenders of the truth exposing the deceptions of the opponents but those opponents continuing to hold onto their lies and fight. This dynamic turns on the use and meaning of a "slogan". The slogan is "not a tame lion", referring to Aslan. The evildoers use that phrase to mean that, like a man, he does what he wants without any obligations to anything or anyone. So when the "Aslan" they are portraying sanctions the evil things they are doing, they explain that he is "not a tame lion" to persuade the confused animals. On the other side, King Rilian (I think that's right - there are a number of -ian kings in the stories!) has to at times explain that he cannot conjure up Aslan or make circumstances work out effortlessly because Aslan is "not a tame lion", his meaning being that Aslan operates of His own will and is not led around by humans. He is not a slave of our expectations. This hearkens back to 1 John, where John had to reargue the real meaning of "walking in the light", "born again", those types of things. There was a distortion of those realities that had become hallmarks of the Christian theology. Christians systemized statements as a way to convey truths, teach them, and have everyone remember them. Evildoers had taken those words and contorted them to fit their own fancies. Take "walking in the light", for example. The Gnostics of John's time basically used that to mean "I'm morally superior to you, and you need to know that." But that's all references that you're probably not interested in!
So you have an unsatisfying, dark and ugly kind of fight and then an entrance into heaven itself - that's how the story goes. The kids begin to explore eternity in that ever revealing way. I find that we are often too busy-minded to really take in eternity. We're fighting like heck to get it and not letting it come to us. We're nervous about it because of the way we are living here, trying to outrun our foes, so we are unsure about how we will respond or how we will be responded to. Facing "the lion" makes our stomach feel a little bit weak. I felt a lot of those things as I stepped into Lewis' world about heaven. A couple of the magical images were of heaven being a run to the source and culmination of life - an exhilirating race in which you don't get tired or lose out, and the funny image of the kids, coming to understanding, saying, "You can't be afraid! Try to. You're right, I can't." There is a lot more in there, lot of beauty in those words. And it all is a reminder that the business of our lives is to be more and more heavenly. We're growing out of these old suits and putting on new ones. A reminder to go "further in, further up", as the last book shows. I feel this book will be an important one in helping keep that perspective. Not a tool to obtain something but things to hearken back to and say, "Oh yeah. That's sort of how to understand this." C.S. Lewis, now that I have read him, is more of a drawn-out person now in my mind. He's enchanted you, he's led you on a journey, he's disappointed your expectations, he has become what all people become as you get to know them - and now you've got a decision to make about what to do with the words.
My closing thoughts on Chronicles of Narnia would be: 1) I am in awe of the images and understanding of Lewis and the realities they contain 2) I fancy being a bit like some of the chaps in the stories! 3) I feel the gospel even more as a holy call, one to be taken with all the seriousness in the world and all the lightheartedness of a child. If I could be enthused by the experience in that way and find the grace and aid of the Creator, then I would be doing well.
Well, it feels like a big journey has ended. I think the blog will change and continue to be more of something on the mind of God rather than something on the mind of man. I take a collective sigh and say, "Wow, it has been an interesting road." My head feels a little bit squeezed. The thinking wheels have come off. So it's on to other things for now, and I anxiously await the next wave of stirring thoughts that come my way and send me off on another adventure. Peace.
Labels: Books
posted by David at 9:50 AM
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