Evil Disguised as Good

After many posts, we have finally identified the true enemy of Narnia, as seen in the Last Battle, and discerned how he operates. The true enemy is the devil, whose name in the world of Narnia is Tash. He operates through subtle trickery, posing as a force of good, taking control of innocent people (and talking beasts), and thus bringing them to evil. In Calormen we see a society that, to a great degree, has fallen to Tash. The society is strictly hierarchical. Children are sold as slaves and into unwanted marriages. Laws are created by the elite but apply only the peasants. Thus, the elite can act with no moral compunction as they are the law, and the peasant can likewise as they know that laws are simply instituted to control them.  

With the ascension of Shift, the process of evil posing as good began in Narnia. The first step was Shift convincing Puzzle that it would be good for society to pretend he was Aslan. This eventually gave Shift ultimate power to determine what was good for everyone. The next step was when the Calormenes (spurred by Tash) arrived on the scene. They provided Shift with the opportunity and excuse (to fill the coffers of “Aslan”) to sell slaves and murder trees all in the name of Aslan. Finally, Tash engineered the final step: conflating himself, evil, with Aslan. Given time to mature this would have eventually caused worship of Aslan to transform into worship of Tash. While the name on the lips of Narnians may have been Aslan (or some derivative), their worship would have been accepted by Tash (just as Emeth's was accepted by Aslan). As it is, Tash had other plans, and Narnia was conquered by those already loyal to him.       

As we saw in our previous post, the N.I.C.E. from That Hideous Strength follow the same pattern. It poses as a force of good for society while slowly taking over and deciding what is good for everyone. N.I.C.E. was also headed (literally) by the devil himself.

The theme of evil posing as good only to then gain the power to define what is good, is found in others of Lewis’ writings. An example is Mrs. Fidget, from the chapter on Affection in Lewis’ “The Four Loves.” Mrs. Fidget, we are told, lived for her family. In fact, she did so much for her family, that it was far beyond what any of them wanted or cared for. And what made it worse is, “They had to help. Indeed, they were always having to help. That is, they did things for her to help her to do things for them which they didn't want done.” One can only imagine Mrs. Fidget thinking what a wonderful mother and wife she was and feeling so superior due to the sacrifices she was making. When, actually, she was tricked into harming her family, performing evil deeds, and was completely governed by pride. 

Given Lewis’ idea of how evil operates, we would assume that true goodness should leave others to be and not do things “for their own good.” This appears explicitly in the aftermath of the first battle for Narnia. After the defeat of the White Witch, the two kings and two queens, “liberated young dwarfs and young satyrs from being sent to school, and generally stopped busybodies and interferers and encouraged ordinary people who wanted to live and let live.” This remarkable statement suggests that even the White Witch, unquestionably evil, was faulted - not only for making it always winter in Narnia and turning the innocent into stone - but also for not letting people do their own thing. 

We'll think a little more about this in our next post.

The Nightly Cry, the Song of Torah

Not related to Narnia, but for anyone interested, an article I wrote on learning Torah at night was published at Lehrhaus. 

Narnian Scripture

Thursday evening starts the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, commemorating the revelation at Sinai. That revelation is a singular moment in Jewish history. It was at Sinai that the Ten Commandments were given. It was at Sinai that the Jews heard from God directly. It was at Sinai that God made a covenant with the Children of Israel and they became a Kingdom of Priests and a Holy Nation.  

Many Jews have a custom to stay awake the entire first night of Shavuot studying Torah. While it is incorrect that the entire Torah was given at Sinai (some of it had not happened yet!), it is the Torah that binds together the Jewish nation, a nation that for centuries was divided into a myriad of subgroups due to geography, language, and culture. 

I find it striking then, that there is no scripture in Narnia. There is no written divine law. There is no record of the great Narnian heroes (the Narnians never read The Chronicles of Narnia). There is no central work that binds together all Narnians. Caspian may have rediscovered the “ancient” Narnian religion but there was no hidden scroll a la the Judean King Josiah. 

Now, perhaps I am incorrect. After all there are at least two epic Narnian poems: one about Fair Olvin and his battle with the Giant Pire, and the other is “the old tale of Prince Cor and Aravis and the horse Bree, which is called The Horse and his Boy.” We also know that Caspian’s nurse told him stories of Old Narnia. While such poems and stories do certainly teach (and one may argue teach better than students having to sit and study in school), it is difficult to say they are scripture. 

So, I do not have an answer as to why there is no scripture in Narnia - perhaps it reflects on the different outlooks between (my) Judaism and (Lewis’) Christianity. 

Either way, I hope all those celebrating Shavuot have a wonderful holiday and take the opportunity to learn some Torah!

Emeth and the Worship of Evil

In our last post we attempted to learn the true nature of the Calormene god Tash. We saw that Tash is not simply an imaginary chieftain god in the made-up mythology of Calormen. Rather, Tash is an actual being who is Aslan’s opposite, evil incarnate. Speaking from the perspective of other works of Lewis, we would say that Tash is the Chief devil, occupying the lowest rung of the Lowerarchy. He is the dark Oyarsa who rebelled against God, and transformed the world into a battleground between good and evil. Our question was, if so, how were the Calormenes to know that what they thought was a god, was really the devil? 

Let us begin our analysis with Emeth. We will have much to say about Emeth (whose name translated from Hebrew means Truth) in future posts, but for now we would like to understand how he finds his way into the Narnian post-world paradise. Emeth is a Calormene and a devoted servant of Tash. Yet, because his worship of Tash was not vile and because he strove to find truth, he is called a servant of Aslan and attains salvation. Understandably, this has caused much consternation especially amongst Evangelical Christians (see for example here and here) who believe that salvation is attainable only through faith in Christ and not through works. Nonetheless, the existence of someone like Emeth demonstrates that one can have been fooled into thinking that Tash, evil incarnate, is actually good. Evil can and will pose as good and develop arguments as to why he is good, while all the time subtly promoting evil. 

When evil poses as good it will ensnare and sometimes trap innocent lives. In the That Hideous Strength, N.I.C.E. poses as a source of law and order while at the same time torturing innocents, brutally enforcing police law, and murdering dissenters. What posed as good, was actually the worship of evil - and not just in these actions. But as we learn later in the story, the core of N.I.C.E. is the true worship of Satan. 

The worship of Tash presumably started in a similar way. By mixing in some good morals with the evils of human sacrifice and the like, Tash convinced common folk to worship him, while actually leading them towards the side of evil. Some, like Emeth, do not succumb to the temptation of evil and believe that they worship a kind and just god. Such people are eventually shown the truth (as Emeth's name suggest) and are accepted by Aslan. Others, like Aravis, see the evil and escape. Most, however, eventually fail. Arsheesh adopted the foundling Shasta, certainly a moral and righteous deed, but later sold him into slavery. 

Shift also attempts to pose evil as good. He convinces innocent Narnian citizens to kill the dryads. He argues that the selling of Narnians to Calormen as slaves is for their own good, He declares that, “True freedom means doing what I tell you.” All in the name of the good Aslan! However, he is actually serving Tash. It is no wonder Shift eventually declares Aslan and Tash are one. For Shift, the antichrist, is attempting to merge the two so that worship in the name of Aslan will actually be worship of Tash. 

Were evil obviously so, most people would simply reject it. It is when evil poses as good that it becomes such a danger. Unfortunately, and throughout Lewis' writings, we see that this strategy is successful and by the time evil is recognized as such, many have been completely corrupted. 

The Four Loves

My article entitled "Four Facets of the Love of God," was just published in Tradition (behind a pay wall for now). The article is based on C.S. Lewis' "The Four Loves" and attempts to demonstrate how the loves identified by Lewis should be applied to God. 

Any feedback would be most welcome!

Tash the Irresistible, the Inexorable

The Calormenes worship, bless, curse, and swear in the name of the “god” Tash. The first we hear of Tash is in The Horse and His Boy when Aravis introduces herself as a descendant of Tash. Whether this truly happened (in the history of the Narnian universe) or whether this was a ploy by which the Tisrocs ensured they could keep power is unclear. Either way, we see plenty of invocations in the name of Tash in The Horse and His Boy, but not much to tell us of the true nature of Tash. For all we know, Tash is simply the chief god in an imaginary construct of Calormene mythology, similar to Greek and Roman mythology. Of course, such theological heresy would be denied by all true Narnians who would regard Tash as simply imaginary. 

In fact, denial of Tash’s existence does appear to be the general belief of the Narnians. This is stated explicitly by the Lamb (perhaps not coincidentally) in The Last Battle, “I don't believe there's any such person as Tash. But if there was, how could Aslan be friends with him?” Interestingly, the Calormenes do not deny the existence of Aslan. When, at the end of The Horse and His Boy, Aslan appears in Archenland, Rabadash, the prince of Calormen does not even seem surprised. Rather, they consider Aslan a horrible phantasm who supports Narnia and thus an enemy of Tash. 

One of the major theological surprises in The Last Battle is that Tash is real. Upon seeing Tash, Tirian, Jewel, and even Eustace and Jill are shocked. This forces us to change our entire approach to the spiritual powers that are at play in the Narnian universe. Tash is not the imaginary leader of pretend gods, but an actual being upon whom the sun does not shine and who emits a foul odor strong enough to kill natural vegetation. The question, of course, is if Tash is real, who or what is he? How does he exist in a world ruled by Aslan’s father the Emperor over the Sea? 

Our answer comes from Aslan himself upon being questioned by the Calormene Emeth. As we will recall, Emeth enters the paradise of Aslan thinking it is the country to Tash. When he meets the great lion, Emeth assumes that his time is up, for he has been a faithful servant of Tash, not of Aslan. Yet, Aslan accepts all the service Emeth has done for Tash as having been done for him. Why? Aslan explains:

Then by reasons of my great desire for wisdom and understanding, I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore, if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted.

Tash, then, is the incarnate of evil parallel to Aslan who is the incarnate of good. The Narnian universe is inhabited by an evil being that promotes and rewards wickedness, cruelty, and falsehoods. This being, Tash, is not a god as imagined by the Calormens, but Aslan’s opposite. This is why Tash is the enemy of Narnia. For it is the country that worships Aslan.

This revelation, however, raises even more questions. Did the Calormenes realize they were worshipping evil? Is it their fault if they did not know? Could they simply have assumed Tash is a just and righteous god? The answer to this question I believe is key to understanding Lewis’ belief on the identity of the true enemy of a religious person and a religious nation. It is not another religion worshipping God in a different way, but a sect of people (religious or not) who worship evil.

Resetting the Stage for The Last Battle

In our series of posts on The Last Battle we have been trying to identify the true enemy to which Narnia eventually falls. The superficial answer is that Narnia fell due to internal strife caused by Shift’s false Aslan which was apprehended by Calormene as a way to gain power. The enemy is then the anti-Christ who in fact brings ruin and destruction at the hands of Narnia’s sworn enemy. 

This answer alone, however, raises significant questions especially, why did the Narnians follow the anti-Christ and transgress the sin of apostasy? How could they not see that Shift was out for his own physical desires and had no spiritual aims whatsoever? In our previous post we suggested that the situation, especially in northern Narnian, had, for many years, been one of upheaval and unrest. Bandits held sway, and a Narnian king lost his life in battle. While his young successor carried onward and eventually brought peace to the region, he revealed himself to be immature and unable to provide the people with the stability they craved. Shift realized that Aslan could provide such stability, even (or especially) an Aslan that behaves as a brutal dictator. 

It is now time to turn to the Calormenes. In a previous post we explained why the Calormene resemblance to the Ottoman Empire is a red-herring and is used to create a King Arthur-like atmosphere in which Narnia represents Jerusalem. In addition, we saw that the true war between Narnia and Calomene is on the relationship between the nobility and the common folk. We are thus left trying to characterize Tash. As we see in The Last Battle, Tash is not a false God constructed by the Calormenes, but is instead an actual being. 

In our next post we will attempt to determine the nature of Tash.

In Every Generation...

Those Northern Witches always mean the same thing, but in every age they have a different plan for getting it. (The Silver Chair) 

In every generation they rise up to destroy us, and the Holy One, Blessed be He, saves us from their hands. (Passover Haggadah)

I have no idea whether or not C.S. Lewis was at all familiar with the details of the Passover seder, the ritual meal Jews partake in on the first night of Passover. At this meal, Jews celebrate and relive the Exodus from Egypt. The seder (Hebrew for 'order') ritual is laid out in the haggadah (Hebrew for 'tale') which presents the order of what is done at the meal. This includes the when to read the various texts about the Exodus, when to drink the four cups of wine, when to eat matza (the unleavened bread of affliction) and marror (the bitter herbs), and so on. 

Whether or not C.S. Lewis was familiar with the details of the seder, his description of the Northern Witches’ endless quest to rule over Narnia exactly echoes the haggadah’s assertion that evil will always attempt ultimate destruction of the Jewish people. Let us take a moment to understand the statement made by the oldest dwarf to Rilian, soon to be the young King of Narnia, in light of the statement in the haggadah, and vice-versa. 

In the haggadah, the assertion that evil will arise in every generation parallels a similar statement, “In every generation one is required to see themselves as if they left Egypt.” What does this mean? On the seder night, the night dedicated towards enmeshing and weaving Jewish youth into the tapestry of the Jewish people, time is put on hold. The myriad of threats, enemies, and evil that endanger Jews today, and have endangered them over the millennia, all become one with Pharaoh and his minions. Pogroms, inquisitions, and concentration camps all meld into an ongoing story of evil seeking to destroy the Jewish people. But no matter what form or shape evil takes, God will never allow it to triumph. Just as God emerged victorious in His battle against the Egyptians, He will also emerge victorious in the war against the current evil. 

This same lesson is that given to Prince Rilian. The prince spent ten years living in darkness. As Puddleglum worries, “Constitution ruined with living underground, I shouldn't wonder,” and this concern is certainly valid. How can someone recover from that experience? How can such a person see light without wincing? 

The oldest dwarf understood this challenge and devised a solution. It is the oldest dwarf who fits the Lewis' previous description as one who, “could just remember how his father, King Caspian, had looked when he was a young man, and saw the likeness.” And in this observation found a way to fully redeem the prince. The assertion that all Northern Witches mean the same thing takes Rilian back in time and demonstrates that he is part of a chain. His experience is only the latest battle in an ongoing war against evil. And just like Caspian and even Peter, with the help of Aslan, could overcome tremendous odds to defeat evil, so too Rilian can escape the trauma of his experience and emerge to rule justly and righteously. Times have not changed, the story is still the same, only a few irrelevant details of the plot have been rewritten. 

The oldest dwarf also has something to teach the Jewish People. What is the common denominator of the Northern Witches (of which we only know two, the White Witch and the Lady of the Green Kirtle)? What characteristics do they share that they embody God's warning to Jeremiah, “From the North the evil will come forth” (Jeremiah 1:14)? Both witches deny the true God, and see themselves in His place. Any being that believes itself divine must conquer Narnia to demonstrate its power over Aslan. Any people or ideology, be it Communism, Nazism, or even humanism, that sees itself in place of God, must attack or erode the Jewish People to demonstrate they are not merely a cheap substitute. The war is ongoing. Each battle is the same, only the means of attack have changed. But, no matter the strategy, God will emerge victorious. 

Stay safe everyone! I’m back to blogging so come back soon!