Getting Mr. Lewis's Six
I've recently read several times that Christians should opt out of the culture war. If there is a culture war, and my experiences (especially those in Europe) lead me to believe there is, I think it would be best if Christians did not dodge its draft. The reasons are obvious: as Christians we are the only ones suitably equipped for battle, and we make up the bulk of our army, with soldiers of all ranks and areas of training.
But perhaps the war metaphor should not be extended in this way, for our weapons are love, hope, truth and forgiveness -- and our casualties are not the loss of life but of despair and absurdity.
Nonetheless, when reading articles such as Polly Toynbee's rabid (not to mention ill-informed) attack on the Narnia Chronicles, its hard to avoid such imagery. Toynbee of course uses Philip Pullman to back up her claims.
An illustration of this man: if C.S. Lewis is our Churchill, Pullman is Hitler. He has made a career out of being the antithesis of Lewis. Whereas Lewis soundly defended Christianity with reason, Pullman seeks to tear it down with rhetoric. Like Lewis, Pullman promotes his worldview with children's literature. Unlike Lewis, though, who wrote in a dazzling variety of genres, Pullman can't leave children's books without embarassment, as even interviews will make clear. Nothing is more revealing than his utterly irrational and inordinate hatred of C.S. Lewis.
His attacks, and the attacks of those fighting with him, often claim that Lewis was racist, sexist, violent, life-denying and loveless. As anyone who knows anything about Lewis and/or his writings can attest, it is hard to say which of these accusations is more absurd. Yet they persist. How gratifying, then, to see Michael Nelson give a very good defense against them. The venue in which this defense is printed, The Chronicle of Higher Education, is especially encouraging to me, and I hope that the purveyors of these lies give it a good look. The only flaw that I can see in the article is its brevity. But then again, the examples available to refute Pullman and the rest are practically innumerable, and to list them all would take much more space than the Chronicle is willing to give. And anyhow, how much evidence does it really take to convince a reasonable person of Lewis' virtue?
But perhaps the war metaphor should not be extended in this way, for our weapons are love, hope, truth and forgiveness -- and our casualties are not the loss of life but of despair and absurdity.
Nonetheless, when reading articles such as Polly Toynbee's rabid (not to mention ill-informed) attack on the Narnia Chronicles, its hard to avoid such imagery. Toynbee of course uses Philip Pullman to back up her claims.
An illustration of this man: if C.S. Lewis is our Churchill, Pullman is Hitler. He has made a career out of being the antithesis of Lewis. Whereas Lewis soundly defended Christianity with reason, Pullman seeks to tear it down with rhetoric. Like Lewis, Pullman promotes his worldview with children's literature. Unlike Lewis, though, who wrote in a dazzling variety of genres, Pullman can't leave children's books without embarassment, as even interviews will make clear. Nothing is more revealing than his utterly irrational and inordinate hatred of C.S. Lewis.
His attacks, and the attacks of those fighting with him, often claim that Lewis was racist, sexist, violent, life-denying and loveless. As anyone who knows anything about Lewis and/or his writings can attest, it is hard to say which of these accusations is more absurd. Yet they persist. How gratifying, then, to see Michael Nelson give a very good defense against them. The venue in which this defense is printed, The Chronicle of Higher Education, is especially encouraging to me, and I hope that the purveyors of these lies give it a good look. The only flaw that I can see in the article is its brevity. But then again, the examples available to refute Pullman and the rest are practically innumerable, and to list them all would take much more space than the Chronicle is willing to give. And anyhow, how much evidence does it really take to convince a reasonable person of Lewis' virtue?
posted by Matthew at 5:51 PM
1 Comments:
Hey Matthew,
This is Troy (if you remember me from elementary school?).
I just wanted to let you know that I enjoy your blog and will probably be reading from time to time.
I also wanted to mention that I also agree with you that the article you linked to is horribly one-sided. I mean-- take a look at the title. "Narnia represents everything that is most hateful about religion?" Please. Aslan may have been a metaphor for Christ, but anyone who knows anything about C.S. Lewis should know that he had a very specific view of Christianity and its role in literature. Turning Narnia into a smoking gun for an assumed Christian Right element in today's society is frightful.
I'm agnostic, and I grew up with the Narnia books. I reread them recently with a better knowledge of Christianity. The thing is-- even though I expected some Christian metaphor, it didn't make the experience of reading these books any less powerful or entertaining. After all, it wasn't his religious views that made Lewis such a great author, but his sheer ability to, well, write.
Actually-- you should read some interviews with Madeleine L'Engle (A Wrinkle in Time, etc). She is a devout Christian as well, and has noted in several interviews that she reads the bible pretty much every day. It's just interesting how the products of her labor compare to Lewis', especially in terms of writing for children.
Oh- and finally. I never read the Pullman books as a kid, but I read them this summer. I think they're absolutely fantastic, and that the combination of Christian lore with other types of mythology works remarkably well. Calling the books as that author does "marvelously secular" oversimplifies the types of questions the series raises. Pullman isn't an apologist, but he does use Christian themes in incredibly interesting ways. I really enjoyed how the series ended because of the syncretism.
Anyways. I'm blathering at 2 AM in a tiny comment field. Just wanted to let you know that I liked your blog. You've definitely got a new reader out of me (a guy who may or may not have created a river out of dirt and sticks with you in the 4th grade).
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