In Defense of the CS Lewis's Pagan Prince Caspian

When they appeared in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, it was easy to look the other way in the face of the undeniable Christian imagery of Aslan dying and rising and conquering the White Witch. Bacchus and Silenus, ancient pagan gods, dance with nymphs and dryads. With Jesus so clearly figured, it was easy to ignore such things, but what to do when Bacchus and Silenus appear not once, but twice, in Prince Caspian, where such Christological imagery is not so obvious?

Prince Caspian is the next book of Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia to be released as a movie. It is due out May 16. Some Christians may raise the same concerns with CS Lewis as they did with the Harry Potter series. With pagan gods prancing about in Prince Caspian, their warnings will generate attention.

Are we talking about the same CS Lewis whose writings were instrumental in the conversion of men such as Chuck Colson and Francis Collins and so many others? If in fact Lewis is a closet Pagan, we are confronted with the prospect that Paganism, witchcraft, Gnosticism, and more, likely infect every area of Christendom, as nearly all of Christendom claims Lewis as trustworthy.

Is it possible that the writings of the “apostle to the atheists” actually smuggles in pantheism and Paganism? There are some who believe exactly that.

I submit that there is an answer to this and that the answer has important implications for the Church.

It is common today to hear skeptics argue that Christianity is just a “borrowed” religion, drawing its doctrines and miracles from other religions. In fact, Lewis was persuaded to Christianity just because of such similarities. Though most similarities are strained to make the skeptic’s argument, no one denies that there are at least some similarities. Do such similarities prove that there was “borrowing?” Lewis has a different take.

He writes in his famous essay “Myth Became Fact”:

“The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact. The old myth of the Dying God, without ceasing to be myth, comes down from the heaven of legend and imagination to the earth of history. It happens – at a particular date, in a particular place, followed by definable historical consequences. We pass from a Balder or an Osiris, dying nobody knows when or where, to a historical Person crucified (it is all in order) under Pontius Pilate. By becoming fact it does not cease to be myth: that is the miracle… To be truly Christian we must both assent to the historical fact and also receive the myth (fact though it has become) and with the same imaginative embrace we accord to all myths. … God is more than a god, not less; Christ is more than Balder, not less. We must not be ashamed of the mythical radiance resting on our theology. We must not be nervous about ‘parallels’ and ‘Pagan Christs’: they ought to be there – it would be a stumbling block if they weren’t. We must not, in false spirituality, withhold our imaginative welcome.” [Bold his]

Many quotes from Lewis could be produced on the subject that would help truly flesh out his position, but this quote contains the general outline of the answer. The power of Myth, that is, the power of Story to communicate realities to the human psyche that are not easily grasped by the abstract reasoning is profound. God created us this way. We are poets, musicians, lovers, writers, painters, fighters. Mystery thrills us and adventure calls us. Our stories abound with daring rescues and the slaying of dragons. Myth moves us, all the more when it is true, as young Caspian declares upon learning from his tutor that the ancient tales he had been taught were actually true.

In Lewis’s Prince Caspian, Bacchus and Silenus emerge at Aslan’s call at a time when Narnia had essentially fallen to sleep and the old days like forgotten dreams. Bacchus and Silenus go on a “romp,” singing, dancing, and delighting in Aslan’s arrival which drove all creation into feasting and festivity. This is what the arrival of Bacchus and Silenus signify, not secret pagan sympathies. That there was glory in a feast was the insight of the pagans; that the glory was best administered under the twinkling eye of the Master of the Feast is the transcendent insight of Christianity. Paganism is not more than Christianity, but Christianity is not less than Paganism.

Having settled the question of whether or not Lewis is a closet Pagan let us turn our attention to one of several lessons Lewis wanted to convey by referencing Bacchus and Silenus and their joyful antics. To be honest, when most people think of Christianity they don’t think of words like “adventure,” “thrill,” “feasting,” and the like. This is a stumbling block for many people, including Christians themselves. Christianity may be true but does it satisfy?

To many, words like “sterile” or “sanitized” or “legalistic” or “moralistic” would be the words that actually come to mind. Who wants to become a Christian if it means giving up drinking, smoking, and sex? What is so appealing about heaven if it just means sitting in a pew for eternity? Many people in church are bored out of their minds right now. Who wants that experience forever? “No thanks,” many say.

While these are clearly distorted views of what Christianity is all about, the Christian Church itself has played a large part in producing just such views by engaging in a “false spirituality” that claims to be above the petty desires of the human soul. Lewis calls us to a more robust understanding of what Jesus meant when he said that he came to bring life… and life to the fullest. For Lewis, what is true certainly matters. In Prince Caspian, he suggests that truth is not found only in cold propositions but also in The Romp. The Church would do well to consider what that might mean.
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Anthony Horvath is the Executive Director of Athanatos Christian Ministries and Sntjohnny.com and the author the Birth Pangs series, which was reviewed on Worldnetdaily.com.