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. Continue >>
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Im sure noone hear tells their kids about Santa Claus because they are truly worshipping Christ, right? In fact I'm sure your so stedfast about your faith that when you think of everyone elses kid laughing at or deriding yours because they dont believe in Santa Claus it makes your stomachs cringe. Not because of fear but because of the utter lack of truth that few bare in their hearts. You should celebrate the birth, death and resurrection of our Lord daily not once a year and to give your children over to a lie for the sake of what? Because it makes you feel all fuzzy inside? Teach your children about the incomparable gifts of the Holy Spirit and the holiness expected to partake in those gifts. Our children deserve much better than they are getting.
In response to Jeremiah 10:1-5, this is clearly not talking about Christmas trees. If taken out of context, it could vaguely be viewed as possibly applying to Christmas trees, but again, you must take it completely out of context for that to work. If you read this passage through, you see that it is talking about wooden idols. For instance, verse 3 says that the tree is cut down and worked with an axe by the hands of a craftsman. no craftsman I know works on a Christmas tree with and axe or any other tool. The tree is simply cut down and decorated, and not for worship either. The place where Paul rebukes those who say, "do not touch, do not handle, do not taste" could apply here. Also, "let not the man who eats (has a Christmas tree) view with contempt him who does not eat (has a Christmas tree), and let not him who does not eat judge him who does eat, for to the Lord he stands and to the Lord he falls, and God is able to make him stand." The word of God is a single unit, and it cannot and should not be broken into pieces to fit a pet cause or issue. This practice of reading out of context is clearly the underlying cause and beginning of so many cults and biblical sects. In Love, jdwesley.
Hate to be the one to tell you but wiccans and pagans today still celebrate the winter and spring solstice, so the Catholic church didn't put anybody out of business. Nowhere in scripture do we see or are we told to celebrate the birth or death of our Lord an Savior by taking over a pagan holidays and trying to repackage them as Christian. If people have to celebrate these days lets at least do them when or at least around the correct time of year. How is it that somebody that doesn't know Jesus celebrate His birth and death the same way people that know Him do? Read Jeremiah 10:1-5 and see what God says about the Christmas tree.
Yes, anyone who has read CS Lewis knows that the longing for something deep and ancient is a strong theme in his writing. We love the old pagan stories because they stir in us a sense of the ancient, which in turn, Lewis argues, is coming from our deep longing for God. God is not mere philosophy but _story_.
By the way, I have not seen commented anywhere what seems to me obvious-- that Caspian is about the Reformation, the renewal of the old ways when Christ and the Apostles walked the earth, after the corruption of the church. It is followed by the Dawn Treader, the great expansion into the rest of the world which could only come after the house was in order, in the great missionary and economic expansion after the Reformation. And as Lewis includes in Dawn Treader, was not always done well-- he includes a chapter of fighting slavery.
Yes, Christmas was the celebration for the Sun god. But Catholics wisely used that holiday to recruit Pagans to become Christian by renaming it for the worship of the Son of God and for the Mass of Christ. This holiday and Easter did a lot to celebrate these great days in Christianity and put Pagans out of business. It is simply called....Good Marketing.
"faith without reason leads to all forms of extremism which should be rejected."
As Christians we need to pick our battles wisely. If people want to get into a big uproar about the paganism in a CS Lewis film then we need to have that same fever in riding our reiligion of paganism. All of our holidays are pagan in origin, Christmas is the pagan celebration of the winter solstice and Easter is the celebartation of the spring solstice. All of the symbols have been taken from pagan origins and we try to justify it by saying "What the Devil meant for bad God meant for good". That's a bunch of mularkie! If we are going to take a stand let's take a stand on everything and not compromise for out of fear of being different, oh wait a minute we are different I believe that's what Jesus said.
CS Lewis(Protestant) was an amazing writer and so was JR Tolkien(Catholic) in the Lord of the Rings. CS Lewis whose mentor was GK Chesterton(Catholic) had a significant influence on CS' writings. Wouldn't it be great if Protestants and Catholics combine forces like in the Passion Directed by Mel Gibson where we show Christianity through film. The Gospel was be promoted!