Narnians Without Narnia: Exile

I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia. 

Thinking further, Puddleglum’s resolve to “live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia,” may not be a theological statement but a socio-historical one. Such a view, I believe, speaks more to Judaism than to Christianity. Let me try to explain…

For all that the Chronicles of Narnia are Christian works, Narnia is not a religion, but a state. A citizen of a state may experience a phenomenon that is inapplicable for a religion, exile. People in exile are separated from their homeland, but does this mean they are separated from their religion? Well, perhaps they are geographically kept from the performance of certain rituals, but with respect to the core belief system, the answer is no. Religion is portable. While a religion may designate holy places, theological truths are not bound by geography.

Puddleglum, trapped in a pit which is the witch’s lands, is very much in exile. He is separated from his wigwam, his reeds and rushes, and even from the blessed places of Cair Paravel and Aslan’s How. Nonetheless, Puddleglum rightly declares, “I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan to lead it.” Indeed, even though there appears to be no Aslan in the lands ruled by the witch, the theological truth of Aslan is universal and eternal.

Not as obvious is living as a Narnian. Must a Narnian separated from Narnia observe its rituals, adhere to its moral teachings and follow its customs and mores? Perhaps here, in exile, it is sufficient to hold on to the theological truth, without all of the trappings and formality? Puddleglum addresses this as well, “live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia.” It may be hard to follow the morals and rituals of Narnia while in exile, but he will nonetheless.

Judaism is a nation-based religion. It has a homeland, Israel. When suggestions were offered to form a Jewish homeland elsewhere, be it Uganda or Ararat, these were rejected, because Judaism is not just a religion but a nation. When Jews were exiled from their homeland, they questioned their role in the Diaspora. Assuming there is a God, does He still desire our service once he has divorced us from our homeland? No less an authority than Nachmanides suggests that adherence to commandments in the Diaspora is simply to ensure continued fidelity to them until such time the exile is over.

Nevertheless, while in exile, Jews did continue to hold on not only to the theological truths of Judaism, but also to the commandments and moral teachings. Adhering to the same declaration of Puddleglum, Jews declared that they will be on God’s side even when the surrounding culture shunned them for doing so and lived like Jews even when there was no Israel.

Narnia is not a model of the Vatican and certainly not of other Christian countries such as England or Spain. Narnia is modeled on Israel, and in that role the exile from Narnia has what to say to the Jew still living in the Diaspora.