The Harvest Thanksgiving Hymn

He struck up at once a harvest thanksgiving hymn, all about crops being "safely gathered in". It was not very suitable to a place which felt as if nothing had ever grown there since the beginning of time, but it was the one he could remember best. (The Magician's Nephew)

After bringing the witch from Charn into our own world, Digory is finally able to maneuver her first to the Woods between the Worlds and finally into a random pool to Nothingness. Unfortunately, in doing so, he brings along his Uncle Andrew, and a London cabby with his horse. Not being aware of magic and other worlds, the cabby assumes that they have either fallen into some underground diggings or are dead. Either way, he feels that singing a hymn seems like a positive thing to do and starts one as described above. 

As Lewis notes, the cabby's choice of hymn is questionable. After all they are in complete Nothingness and though the Nothingness will soon become Narnia, it is not as of yet. Furthermore, no doubt a hymn of salvation would be far more appropriate for the situation they find themselves.

However, perhaps we are not giving Frank, the cabby and soon to be first King of Narnia, enough credit. King Frank, as the first human inhabitant of Narnia, is an Adam-like figure in the Chronicles. Indeed, when Tirian is brought before King Frank and Queen Helen at the end of "The Last Battle" he, "felt as if you were brought before Adam and Eve in all their glory." And the harvest hymn, far from being inappropriate, is necessary for the creation of Narnia.

One of the primary apparent differences between the Creation stories of Genesis 1 and Genesis 2 is the role of Adam. In Genesis 1 Adam appears at the end of Creation and is given rulership over, "the fish of the sea and the birds of the sky..." In Genesis 2 Adam is mentioned right at the beginning. The bible explains that, though there is land, there is not yet any vegetation, "for God has not caused it to rain on the ground and there is no man to work the land." Rashi, based on the Talmud, explains that without man there is no one to recognize the goodness brought by rain. It is necessary for man to be created and then pray for rain in order for things to grow. In fact, Frank's ability to grow food is one of Aslan's first criteria needed to be a proper king of Narnia. 

It is true that the cabby (soon to be turned king) remembered the harvest hymn best and sung it for that reason. But prayers, even Thanksgiving prayers, are more than just thanks for the past. They can point to a new future in which there will be even more to be thankful for.  

The harvest hymn sung by the cabby, Digory, and Polly, is the prayer that sparks the creation of Narnia. 

The Purpose of Man (in Narnia)

My kids pointed out to me that I went the entire holiday of Shavuos (Pentacost) without speaking about Narnia. Apparently, I’ve been concentrating on other areas. But let me write a quick addendum to our latest post on the Tree of Life.

In our last post we questioned the presence of the Tree of Life in the Narnian world. While the tree is surrounded by a gate, it is hardly unsurpassable as the cherubim and fiery sword guarding the tree in our world. Why?

Truthfully, there is a more fundamental question about Narnia. Why is there no Original Sin in the first place?

We’ve already discussed the contrast between Perelandra and Earth. On Earth Adam and Eve sinned while on Perelandra, thanks to Ransom, their parallels did not. But in Narnia there is not even any attempt at an original sin. There is no Tree of Knowledge, and evil does not enter the Narnian world from within, but from without.

Perhaps partly in answer to this question we can ask another. Why is Narnia meant to be ruled by a Son of Adam? What would be wrong with the animals ruling themselves? In fact, even the Christ figure is an animal so to what purpose does man serve?

Forbidden and Permitted Apples

At the center of the garden of Eden there were two trees (unless you think there was only one tree): the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. The Torah relates to us that the serpent seduced Eve to eat from the Tree of Knowledge and she eventually fed the same fruit to Adam. As punishment (amongst others) the pair were exiled from the Garden lest they eat from the Tree of Life.

The two trees of the Garden make their appearance in two of Lewis’ fiction works: the Tree of Knowledge in Perelandra and the Tree of Life in The Magician's Nephew. As the Tree of Knowledge was at the root (pun intended) of the Original Sin, Perelandra recreates that scenario. The sin of eating from the Tree of Knowledge is replaced by the prohibition of sleeping overnight on Fixed Land. The Devil (the serpent), played by Weston, attempts to seduce Tinidril (Eve) to sin. The main thrust of the Devil’s argument is that in fact God wants Tinidril to disobey His command and act godly by demonstrating independence from Him. We discussed this here. 

The Tree of Life makes its appearance in The Magician's Nephew. There we find an actual garden surrounded by a gate with the Tree of Life at its center. The gate no doubt parallels the biblical cherubim and fiery sword used to guard the pathway to the Garden of Eden. However, unlike the biblical Tree of Life which appears to be impossible to get to, the Narnian Tree of Life is easily reachable. Actually, it seems anybody can come in and take from the fruit and, if one takes from the fruit for others, is even permitted to do so.

Why? 

Why does Lewis not adhere to the biblical story and essentially make the Tree of Life unreachable?

(To be continued when I figure out an answer. Feel free to make suggestions) 

Grape Juice for Jewish Rituals

Though it has nothing to do with Narnia, I just wanted to let everyone know that my discussion with R' Drew of the Jewish Drinking Podcast is now live. Many thanks to R' Drew for giving me the opportunity to discuss this interesting topic which so neatly lies at the intersection Jewish Law and American History. 

Ba'alei Teshuva in The Horse and His Boy

We have already spoken of the Chronicles’ two great ba’alei teshuva, “returnees” to the true religion, Edmund and Eustace. Edmund had rebelled against his siblings and, for his own personal gain, joined the forces of evil. Eustace suffered from the lack of a spiritual upbringing and refused to see the truth when clearly presented to him. The first two returnees we will discuss in The Horse and His Boy seek the truth for another reason, they have learned the evils of their former worldview and are seeking an alternative.

Shasta is raised by his adoptive father the fisherman Arsheesh and is motivated to look elsewhere when he is sold as a slave. Aravis is raised in the home of a powerful Calormen Tarkhan and is sold as a wife to one she does not love. Both are looking for a better life elsewhere and are drawn to Narnia by talking horses they meet.

However, there is a sharp contrast between them Shasta and Aravis. Shasta is a natural Northerner and has long had an impulse to travel in that direction. When alerted that this impulse arises from his natural propensity as a Northerner, he immediately claims to identify himself with this new culture (though he does not yet know it). Aravis is a Calormene and in every way a stranger to Northern ethics and culture. If anything, she has been taught to hate this culture. Yet, she follows a guide who promises her a better life as the biblical Ruth followed her mother-in-law to the Land of Israel.

The Horse and His Boy feature other returnees as well. The two horses themselves, Bree and Hwin, return to their native land after being captured by Calormen. Unlike Shasta, however, both knew of their Narnian origin though not much of the culture or religion of Narnia. The horses, however, are very different characters. The proud Bree expects to be welcome with open arms by his fellow Narnians while Hwin would be glad just to get home.

The Calomene prince Rabadash was a potential convert in the same way as Aravis. He too was sold by his father, the Tisroc, for the price of Narnia and Archenland. Unlike Aravis, Rabadash requested the sale, but, as with Aravis, the sale was never consummated. This should have opened his eyes to the truth of Aslan, but instead he settles for fear of Aslan as a demon rather than belief in Aslan as a god.

Finally, there is the Lapsed Bear of Stormness. We know practically nothing of his regression to wild bear behavior, but he too becomes a reformed character.

Perhaps this wide array of characters with their background stories is meant to teach us that there is no one road to travel to come to the service of the one God. 

We’ll discuss all of them over the next series of posts.

The Wood between the Worlds

As I was reading "The Magician's Nephew" this weekend I started thinking about the Wood between the Worlds and its connection to Aslan's country. Let me explain: 

Aslan has created numerous worlds (we would now say numerous universes) which have no a priori connection between them. As described in The Magician's Nephew, the Wood between the Worlds is like a long attic that spans the top of several townhouses. Every townhouse can access the attic though there are no other connections between the townhouses. The attic itself is not part of any one townhouse so not much goes on there. Presumably it may be necessary for a worker to go in there sometimes, but really, it's just there. 

In the attic that is the Wood between the Worlds there are pools of water which lead into each world, and there are trees who appear to be soaking up the water setting the timeline for each world. That's it. Nothing happens unless for some reason someone manages to find their way into it.

(I should note that the Chronicles of Narnia reveal to us that there are other connections between our world and that of Narnia, the Wardrobe for one, but also the connection used by the ancestors on the Telmarines and perhaps others. Why this should be the case we'll try to figure out some other time.)

At the end of The Last Battle, Peter, Edmund, and Lucy see their parents in England and would like to join them. How to do so is explained to them by Tumnus:

That country and this country - all the real countries - are only spurs jutting out from the great mountains of Aslan. We have only to walk along the ridge, upward and inward, till it joins on.

England, of course, is not in the same world as Narnia, but one need not travel through the Wood between the Worlds. Both are spurs in Aslan's mountain range.

How do we reconcile these two pictures? 

The mountain range of Aslan is, of course, how things truly are. All of Creation, that which we know and that which we do not, is under his rule. If we ourselves cannot perceive or join some part of Creation, it is because we are not yet close enough to Aslan. We must go further up and further in. 

The Wood between the Worlds is much more facilitatory and therefore neutral. One with the proper means (rings in The Magician's Nephew) can use it to travel between worlds for good or evil. There is no foundational truth, no unmistakable signature of God, it is simply there. 

Nonetheless, Digory's curiosity is commendable. He wants to see other worlds, experience new ideas and concepts, see more of creation. True it does not always turn out well, but Digory's childlike fascination and curiosity, to see more than is there, is what allows one to come close to God. Indeed, it is this same argument he will eventually use to counter Peter and Susan so that they too will eventually see the true nature of the wardrobe. 

In this way I think there is a parallel to be made right within our own world. Thanks to modern science humanity can now explore previously unimagined aspects of the universe. One might view this as utilitarian. Perhaps these observations can give us further understanding of basic science that will eventually be used for improved technology. Maybe (adding some sprinkle of science fiction) there are planets there they will be fit for human habitation. But these observations can be used in another way. They reflect the glory of Creation and thus the greatness of the Creator. 

The truth, of course, is Aslan's country. All of Creation sings the praise of God and points us to Him. All of Creation is unified in a way that can be fully experienced only in the World to Come. Nonetheless, in the meantime we can use our curiosity and fascination sparked by modern inventions and ideas to see His wonder and glory.  

Noble Enemies at War?

I do not know that there need be any war between you and us.

To understand Peter’s above reply to Emeth let us examine Peter’s context and perspective. At this point in “The Last Battle,” Peter himself does not know whether he will be sent back to our world, or even where he is. His answer, then, cannot reflect what we might expect from the finality of history at which time all truths will be revealed, and all falsehood will be buried.

Perhaps due to this uncertainty, Peter does not answer Emeth’s implied question. He does not know as of yet, whether Emeth is a friend or enemy. He does not know whether Emeth has met Aslan and has been converted to his side. Peter suggests “there need not be war between you and us.” Why?

The ambiguity in Peter’s response could arise for one of two reasons:

First, it could be that, unsure of Emeth’s status, he is unsure whether war is necessary. If, however, it is later revealed that Emeth is not a friend but an enemy, war becomes necessary.

Second, perhaps Peter is suggesting that, because Emeth is a noble enemy, war is not necessary. This idea would counter Emeth’s worldview. Emeth (later) states, “Now when I first heard that we should march upon Narnia I rejoiced; for I had heard many things of your Land and desired greatly to meet you in battle.” Of course as a noble enemy Emeth feels shame in how he comes to Narnia, “... when I found that we were to go in disguised as merchants (which is a shameful dress for a warrior and the son of a Tarkaan) and to work by lies and trickery…” But the desire for battle with a noble enemy is there.

Perhaps Peter is hinting that noble enemies need not engage in war. Rather they must engage in partnership to find the truth.