Taking his wrath lightly

Whilst not necessarily a bad Christian per say, it seems CS Lewis sometimes took God’s wrath lightly even if he never meant it. Though I suppose his own idea of a self-imposed hell might just be his opinion. To be honest, most non-practising Christians never intend to go to hell. But why even pastors end up there even if they’re technically saved might have more to do with God having little patience for those who become worldly and the like or something.

Lewis was onto something but couldn’t articulate it well if because he secretly found God’s temper much too overwhelming to deal with. It also doesn’t help that to some, Lewis is a very worldly man every comfortable with pagan folklore as he is with Christianity proper. That’s not to say he’s a bad Christian. But that CS Lewis seemed to be very hedonistic.

Albeit a hedonist in the philosophical sense of the word in the sense of seeing the pursuit of pleasure as the main goal in life and upon gaining set pleasure, the sentiment becomes stationary. Not necessarily a bad thought but it does explain why his view of hell differs from the frightening punitive testimonies other Christians have. Not necessarily any less pious but he’s very much a hedonist.

A crack in heaven

CS Lewis sometimes regarded hell as a crack in heaven but it may be that he found hell much to frightening to admit even if he came close to it. Like I said, when it comes to sending people to hell God’s very much judge, jury and executioner and especially livid at people who never bother to improve or in John Lennon’s case, seriously offended. (I actually think he got Mark Chapman to assassinate him.)

It’s not that Lewis is a bad Christian but he did struggle harder at it. I don’t think it’s merely to do with his obsession with pagan folklore. Not even his atheist upbringing. But that he found Christianity and especially its view of hell to be much too frightening to admit or contemplate on for his own improvement. He certainly tried. The real problem might be that he struggled much harder at being a Christian than others realised.

He’s a very worldly man but not necessarily any less pious (though he may’ve been much more tolerant of non-Christian religions and even other vices at times).

A self-imposed hell

I don’t think CS Lewis ever articulated the real reason why people go to hell, especially in light of God’s ever fiery wrath. Whilst he thinks of hell as self-imposed, most people who do go hell never intend to but unwittingly do things that anger him. Something like John Lennon saying that the Beatles is bigger than Jesus. Then his band breaks up and he himself gets shot (the gunman might possibly be Jesus’s hitman).

To make matters worse, even most (at least non-practising) Christians go to hell. They never did anything legally wrong but they never bother to improve themselves either. (Tina’s own maternal grandfather might be in hell too despite him being a law-abiding citizen.) I actually think The Divine Comedy has a better vision of why people go to hell despite being law-abiding citizens themselves. You still have kindly popes in hell.

That’s in-line with other testimonies of Christians selling fellow (however non-practising) Christians and even missionaries and pastors in hell too. I guess even if CS Lewis has an idea of what hell’s like, he found it much too frightening to dwell upon it and why people go to hell anyways even if they’re not doing anything illegal. It could be his own opinion or take that it would be their own fault.

But at other times, he himself’s very much intimidated by God’s wrath that might explain why he doesn’t take the idea of hell that seriously at times. Hell’s not merely self-imposed, it’s very much God’s wrath in action. God is judge, hunter and executioner whom he spares little mercy for people who never bother to improve at all.

Or those who seriously offended him like John Lennon. The idea of an angry God may’ve intimidated Lewis a lot to the point where he stops short of knowing what it’s actually like at times. He struggled with it but not to the point of proper introspection that I think he missed a mark even if he got it half right at times. (Perhaps Lewis struggled a lot in in his faith so.)

Self-imposed suffering

CS Lewis stated that hell is something where people deliberately put themselves in. He does have an idea of how frightening it is but at other times he could either be projecting his fears onto others (same with me and other Christians in general) or that he found it much too frightening to admit and reflect on. He does have faith in God but it seemed in his case, he’s too afraid to fully explain the nature of hell and evil (the very things other Christians are willing to do in full detail.)

He’s not any less of a Christian but one who has a lot more difficulty admitting the full nature of hell and evil. It’s not necessarily always related to his interest in pagan folklore. But also a matter of him being at other times much too disturbed to admit what he saw and reflect on it at times. He possibly knows how scary it is but he also doesn’t want to admit how damning it can be at times. He’s not really a traitor.

But he does seem very timid to the idea of suffering and sin sometimes.

CS Lewis and Hell

I don’t think CS Lewis’s necessarily into the occult but that he does have great difficulty in remaining a faithful Christian. I mean it’s not necessarily wrong to be into mythology as to gain insight into Christianity in some way or another. The real problem might have less to do with paganism in general and more to do with that he couldn’t commit to getting into any further details about hell.

Maybe he did but he may’ve implied somewhat more if because he may’ve found it much too frightening to admit. He certainly does have an idea of how unpleasant it is but so far only one example’s shown to be graphic. The testimonies of other Christians tend to be much more explicit to the point of not only going into graphic details about their fates (something that terrified Lewis so much to the point of substituting demonic violence for shrinking).

But also including celebrities there too (The Divine Comedy’s quite close). It’s not so much that Lewis is a bad Christian or anybody else are. I somehow get the impression of CS Lewis having an idea of bad sin and hell are but the fact that it frightened him so much that he doesn’t feel comfortable getting into any further detail. Let alone more graphic detail at that.

His idea of Hell

It’s not necessarily that Lewis isn’t saved but it seems since he’s got a big soft spot for pagan lore I suspect that’s partly why he couldn’t describe hell in detail let alone admit the big name celebrities of his day there. Not that it makes him any less (or more) of a Christian but it seemed he does have greater difficulty being faithful to Christianity than others realised. Something a few other Christian sources have noted.

Perhaps hell’s just too uncomfortable for him to admit and reflect on. Not that others are any better but that they seem better equipped or perhaps more willing to get involved in understanding this more. The fact that Angelica Zambrano and others wrote down explicit depictions of people in hell gives me the impression of them being willing to face their faults head-on and those of others.

Same with Dante Alighieri with his Divine Comedy. CS Lewis could’ve attempted to and certainly did but I suspect it may’ve been too scary for him to admit. (I guess the other problem’s that Lewis wasn’t that introspective enough to realise the full nature of evil and hell which might partly explain why his Christianity’s so suspicious.)

The Great Divorce and Hell

It’s not necessarily whether if CS Lewis is a good Christian or not but that his idea and portrayal of hell seems rather mild compared to other Christian testimonies of the same. I sometimes get the impression that CS Lewis either struggled in his faith or perhaps found hell much to frightening to describe, let alone in the same details that characterises the other Christian testimonies (The Divine Comedy’s closer to those other testimonies).

The hell depicted seems simply more of a sad, rainy and foggy place where he and his chum are on a bus. Nothing too graphic if because he may’ve found it much too frightening to describe. (I’m beginning to think he was probably a lot more lax at times too.) It seems since hell’s much too frightening for him to admit or realise, that’s partly why he doesn’t seem to take the belief in hell more seriously.

Whether if he’s a good Christian or not’s up to anybody’s guess but I get the impression that whilst CS Lewis did a lot to articulate Christianity, he forgot to articulate the full nature of sin and hell in here. If because it’s just too scary for him to realise. (Though that doesn’t make him any less of a Christian.)

CS Lewis and Christianity

I admit being suspicious of him and he did struggle. I actually think his real appeal lies in a version of Christianity that’s somewhat gentler. Maybe that’s not the right word for it though I do think, to put it kindly, his vision of hell as simply a sad, grey place seems very different from the many testimonies other Christians have of seeing it. The latter being rather graphic in details and often including familiar faces (the Divine Comedy’s really like an early version of those, even including the celebrities of its day).

Now I’m not sure why CS Lewis wasn’t so graphic about depicting people in hell (though it could be that it’s much too frightening for him to comprehend) or it’s simply a different version made with his own wording. Not that it makes him any less or more of a Christian. But that I get the impression of him being apparently either worldlier or more open-minded than most Christians are. In the sense of being much more accepting of pagan influences or very into them (as to gain some insight).

Well I guess the other appeal to CS Lewis might have more to do with wanting something that’s not too frightening and damning the way the many Christian testimonies of popstars in hell are. Narnia’s close to the frightening, damning thing I said but it seems the Great Divorce seems like a heavy artistic licence on the nature of hell. (The Divine Comedy by contrast seems very, very close to those testimonies.)

It’s not necessarily a matter of whether if CS Lewis saved or not but that his ideas are very, very different.

In search of the Jewish Narnia

There’s been some debate over why there’s nary the Jewish Narnia. Being non-Jewish, if I were to give a guess I suspect that it can give off a patronising vibe (same reason most Jews distrust Evangelicals). Not to mention that the Narnia characters tend to be withdrawn from the world they live in. That’s different from something where many more Jews are likelier to be drawn to: superheroes.

I mean, even if it’s not always the case, I get the impression that Jews are likelier to be drawn to superheroes than they are to Narnia because the former’s much more relatable. Jews for most of the part, aren’t readily physically identifiable and yet are very insular and lead double lives. It’s not hard to assume that superheroes also lead double lives would be relatable to Jews (and queers).

There’s no dearth of Jewish talent in the superhero genre and it’s that easy to do Jewish characters without being preachy. If between Superman and Narnia, I think more Jews would rather pick the Big Blue Cheese over the furry. Superman even has Jewish writers attached to him. It’s not that there should be a Jewish Narnia but rather Narnia’s not made for Jews. Superman’s made by Jews but is appealing to anybody else.

That’s the difference.

Magic…and the gathering of critics

That’s not to say writing about magic in stories is bad (although there ought to be morally grey characters or at least those who make mistakes and/or have good sides despite dabbling in something dubious). I haven’t read Harry Potter yet but I suspect the biggest real issue in creating fantasy works involving magic at all, especially if/when written by Christians, is having to compromise pagan innocence with Christian cynicism.

The former being young and dumb with what it’s doing. The latter being made wary of people’s intentions to the point of being bigoted (I’d say Evangelicals and Pentecostals can seem like massive hotheaded killjoys). Narnia seems like a decent enough compromise between the two conflicting sentiments. Maybe not entirely perfect but still possible.

Harry Potter’s another matter where although the author’s nominally Christian, it seems to indulge in heathen occultism enough to allow polarising responses to it. The magic in Harry Potter might not be real. Though the only other way to reconcile Christianity with paganism/magic is to study demonology and incorporate it into the story even with sympathetic magic characters.

Not to mention being influenced by Narnia and the Divine Comedy helps in allowing a bit of a loophole should anybody want a sympathetic magic character at all. But alas sometimes pagan innocence and Christian cynicism can never be reconciled neatly.