My apologies for the long break from posting. Thank God all is well, and it was simply other things that other things got in the way. Chief amongst them is an article I'm attempting to write on the relationships used in Jewish liturgy to describe the relationship between God and Israel. But, let's return to Narnia...
I wanted to return to our long series of posts detailing Narnian Ba'alei Teshuva. For those who need a refresher, a Ba'al Teshuva is a returnee. One who was never loyal to his or her faith and God (or at some point had given it up) and has now decided to return. Narnia features a number of such returnees, most famously Edmund, Eustace, and Caspian. Each is unique, as are well all, thus each can teach us something in growing our own relationship with our faith and with God.
An interesting case is that of Dr. Cornelius. We know little of Dr. Cornelius before his appointment as tutor for Prince Caspian. Yet, it is he who cements in the young prince's mind that the legends of Old Narnia are factual history. He then joins Caspian's rebellion against King Miraz and is appointed Caspian's Lord Chancellor.
Who is Dr. Cornelius and why does he see fit to inspire the future king with the past glories of Narnia so long forgotten?
The answer is not a mystery, in fact, Dr. Cornelius explains it himself. He is in fact, a half-dwarf who has spent his life researching and searching for Old Narnia. He knows the truths of Narnia and, as he says to Caspian, "But never in all these years have we forgotten our own people and all the other happy creatures of Narnia, and the long-lost days of freedom."
Except for one problem. If Cornelius is half-dwarf, he is also half-Telmarine. Why does he put so much stock into his half-dwarf part? He himself knows that true Old Narnians may not even accept him! "If any of my kindred, the true Dwarfs, are still alive anywhere in the world, doubtless they would despise me and call me a traitor." Why not just let bygones be bygones and follow his Telmarine half, why attempt to join a people who may no longer exist and are certainly not bound by history to ever reappear?
Of course, we don't know - what was the attitude of Cornelius' parents? Did they encourage his pursuit into Old Narnia or try to persuade him otherwise? Was he inspired by the majestic history of Narnia which was known to so few, and he wanted to be part of it? Did he recognize that there must be a true King Who told the story of history, and that Narnia was the main character?
What we do know is that not only does join Old Narnia and he becomes the inspiration of its savior. But perhaps he did not need the dwarf's blood to get him there...
