More Theological Lessons from the Childrens' Reading Section

C.S. Lewis writes the following in his Chronicles of Narnia: The Silver Chair:

"Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things -- trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that's a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play-world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia."

These lines were spoken by the Marshwiggle character Puddleglum upon meeting the Queen of Underland. She tried to enchant the four main characters of the novel into forgetting all about the trees, sun, moon, stars, grass, and even Aslan himself. Prior to this event, three of the main characters (including Puddleglum) had fallen through a hole in a cave to enter Underland. This is where they met the fourth important character, the Prince Rillian, who had been enchanted. They freed him from the enchantment, and then they tried to escape back to the "Overworld," or above ground, when they were caught by the witch. She played music from an instrument and used an inhalant drug coming from the fireplace to carry out her sorcerous intentions, but the brave Puddleglum had resisted her trickery and fought back.

This is basically a primer to Pascal's Wager. Atheists and materialists claim there is no meaning to life, there is no God, there is no heaven, and there is nothing to live for besides the indulgence of selfish pleasures. This is represented by the witch trying to keep the travelers locked into the "Underworld," or that sect of worldly thinking that is naturalistic. In fact, the witch can even be viewed as Satan himself. When the witch tries to enchant our protagonists, Lewis writes that often the person being enchanted does not realize he or she is being enchanted. This is such a clear picture of what happens in everyday life. Those who reject God are totally unaware that they are being lulled to sleep by the forces of evil in this world. They think they are perfectly in the right and that Christians are the ones who have it wrong.

Ultimately, Puddleglum comes to state that it is better to believe in Narnia even if it does not exist than to believe soley in the dark, dreary, and hollow world of Underland. After all, if the witch was right, then Puddleglum and his companions would not have wasted their lives on anything because their is no meaning to life. If Puddleglum was right, however, then there would be severe consequences for the witch. This is Pascal's Wager in a nutshell. Pascal said that we put faith into one line of thought whether we realize it or not. Pascal argued that it was more beneficial to believe in God for the same reasons Puddleglum believes in Aslan and Narnia. Pascal says that if the atheists are wrong, they will go to hell and be eternally damned. If Christians are wrong, who cares? Life would be meaningless anyway, so what was wrong with wasting it on religion if that is what a person wanted? It is therefore beneficial for an individual to believe in God, because the greatest rewards come if you are right, and the worst results come if you are an atheist and you are wrong. C.S. Lewis truly was a literary genius. All of his works, even his novels, are deeply interwoven with the faith that drove him on. Another good job by Christianity's greatest apologist.

~Tribal~