Having a firm faith

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Last Sunday the Orthodox churches celebrated our Lord’s Resurrection. The following is a translation of a meditation on that subject from “Day by Day”, the Russian book of daily scriptural meditations, followed by some thoughts by Lewis:

Scripture: “To know Him and the power of His Resurrection” (Phil: 3, 10)

Meditation:

"Christ died on the Cross. What was it like for the apostles, His friends and all the disciples to survive such an event? They had hope until the last minute – such an outcome seemed impossible, unthinkable. They were expecting something unexplainable which should have prevented this calamity. But no, the inexorable death destroyed all their hopes and turned all their dreams into dust.

"Has it happened that some of us have also experienced something like this? Have we also encountered on our life’s journey unexplainable events, trials which tore our souls apart, mysterious inconsistencies and enigmatic tasks which made it seem that the sun no longer shone and the moon no longer gave its light?

"The same thing that the first Christians experienced then, looking at the fresh grave which robbed them of That which was most dear and holy, is repeated with us. The heaviest blows of fate unexpectedly fall on us; in our midst, in the midst of an abundantly overflowing life, comes death, and takes from us that which is most precious, and we are numb with grief. The most difficult thing for the Savior’s disciples was that, because of their limited understanding, they could see in this death the supposed contradiction of their expectations. From His words they understood that He was the Life and the Truth, and that, believing in Him, they would not see death, and that the Father is in Him; how then could they explain this sudden disappearance?

"Oh, my brothers, do you really want now to understand the ways and intentions of the Lord? Where then is your faith? It is only from total darkness and complete blindness that a living and true faith arises. Complete trust in Him only appears when we can not feel nor see anything before us. How often does our rebirth take place in the midst of grief, tempests, disappointment and shattered hopes?

"It is through the mortification of our flesh and the shattering and elimination of our pride that we achieve unquestioning submission to the Law of love.

"The Resurrection of Christ appeared as suddenly as an earthquake. It was expected least of all – it seemed impossible. But the ‘power of His resurrection’ will free you as well. Remain firm amid the darkness, and light, power and love will illuminate you; do not give up hope! He seems dead to you, but He lives forever and has loved you with unending love. Your victory will be a victory for others as well. The Lord will show His power in you; people will see your faith, your submission in trials, your long-suffering, your spiritual joy in the midst of grief, your imperturbable peace in the midst of the storms of life, and they will say: 'This is the fruit, this is ‘the power of His Resurrection!’

“Through this power of Christ, manifested in your weakness, it will be given to you to fulfill even the unfulfillable and achieve the unattainable.”

The primary idea of the above meditation is that we should have a strong faith. For me, it brings to mind Lewis’s essay, “On Obstinacy in Belief”. His main thought is that once we have come to believe certain things, based on proper reasoning and other factors, we should not abandon that belief. As Lewis says:
“[If we have come to believe that] human life is in fact ordered by a beneficent being whose knowledge of our real needs and of the way in which they can be satisfied infinitely exceeds our own, we must expect a priori that His operations will often appear to us far from beneficent and far from wise, and that it will be our highest prudence to give Him our confidence in spite of this.”

Of course, Lewis himself temporarily lost this confidence in a loving God after Joy’s death. When one is suffering it is not easy to always maintain it.

Dimitry
“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever.” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8)

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…and if we want an example from Lewis of “Obstinacy in Belief”, we need look no further than the noble marsh-wiggle Puddleglum.

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Didn’t Puddleglum advocate believing something even if it wasn’t true? Is this something that should be encouraged? While his actions and attitude may appear heroic, they are, in fact downright dangerous.

The difference between Puddleglum and Christians, is that Heaven is real, and our belief is not in spite of reality, but because of it.

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I don’t think so, not exactly. Here’s what he says (starting on page 181 of my 1994 HarperCollins edition):

One word, Ma’am, one word. All you’ve been saying is quite right, I shouldn’t wonder. I’m a chap who always liked to know the worst and then put the best face I can on it. So I won’t deny any of what you said. But there’s one more thing to be said, even so. 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 playing 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. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we’re leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that’s small loss if the world’s as dull a place as you say.

In one sense, I’d say Puddleglum wasn’t advocating anything, as such–he was stating his own position, rather than advocating anyone else should take it. But, of course, Lewis was intending to advocate for something here. Was it, as you say, “believing something even if it wasn’t true”? I don’t think it was, and that certainly wouldn’t be consistent with Lewis’ other writings.

So, while Puddleglum’s defense could be interpreted as you say, I believe it could also be interpreted in the sense of, “I don’t presently have the ability to argue against what you’ve said (owing to the magic spell and all), but ‘I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I’ve commited unto him against that day.’” Obviously Puddleglum quoting scripture is anachronistic, but the principle holds–he know who and what he has come to believe, and will not allow the witch to dissuade him.

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Great post!
Ann

Didn’t Puddleglum advocate believing something even if it wasn’t true?

I don’t think so, not exactly. Here’s what he says (starting on page 181 of my 1994 HarperCollins edition):

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While you’re right in saying Lewis would never advocate believing something that is not true, I think you’re reading more into Puddleglum’s speech than is actually there. Yes, if you take this exception and that exception, you can come to the conclusion you desire. When Puddleglum says, “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.”, he is explicitly saying “I’m going to believe even if it is not real”. I think there is a very thin line between stating one’s position and advocating for it.

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What the witch is doing is not debate, it is enchantment. What is needed is action. Puddleglum has the wisdom (more like instinct) to see this, and the courage to act. Stomping on the fire ends the enchantment, because, as Lewis wryly understates, “The smell of burnt marshwiggle is not at all enchanting.” Puddleglum’s heroism and self-sacrifice remains a powerful image hung on the walls of my mind. (From memory, no time to look it up.)

It recalls for me George MacDonald’s: “It helps not to presume. Thy doors are deeds.” From Lewis’s Anthology of excerpts from the writings of MacDonald.
Belief that one acts upon is a “deed” in my understanding of what MacDonald is saying.

Ah! May we follow brave Puddleglum’s example!

Lois

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Indeed! Thank you Lois!
Ann

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Russell your point taken. However if we are honest, isn’t the Puddleglum speech about the place where all who have faith reside?
Ann

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Ann, I’m not sure I can agree with that. To a certain extent, Puddleglum’s speech would seem to say that belief is more important than veracity. And that troubles me greatly in a time when truth is a personal thing; each having their own truth. If I recall, the apostle Paul said that if our faith is not true, then we are to be most pitied. From where I sit, Puddleglum and Paul are not in agreement.

Puddleglum is a great character, but a poor apologist.

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But surely, Russel, you wouldn’t say that Lewis is a poor apologist. Or an unclear communicator. And yet I’m quite certain Lewis speaks his own mind through Puddleglum. Lewis is not presenting Puddleglum as providing some kind of apologetical argument. This is pure emotion in a moment of desperation, in a moment of even doubt perhaps, and in the desperation dear Puddleglum is trying to shake the “spell” of the witch’s arguments against trust in the reality of Aslan and his kingdom by crying out, “I don’t care what you say. Your words are intolerable. Who can live in or love such a terrible world. I’m going to keep on believing, because I believe in beauty and I believe in love not darkness and despair.”

We all have faced such moments. At such times forcing oneself to use cold logic to get through to a settled “answer” to the doubt or conflict is not going to be helpful. A little “going with the gut” goes along way until the crises passes and allows for clearer evaluation.

Cheers,
Michael
Waldport, Oregon

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Ah, Michael, I am not saying that Lewis is a poor apologist. Nor that Puddleglum is not sincere in his beliefs. What I am saying is that using Puddleglum as an example of strong faith is problematic. I do believe it is a bit irresponsible to encourage Christians to believe even when they know it is not true. From where I sit, using Puddleglum as an example of faith is just that.

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Thank you Michael. Love this! “ We all have faced such moments. At such times forcing oneself to use cold logic to get through to a settled “answer” to the doubt or conflict is not going to be helpful. A little “going with the gut” goes along way until the crises passes and allows for clearer evaluation.”
Ann

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Yes, indeed. Burnt Marshwiggle. But how does that apply to our lives here?

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Deliver us from evil.
Ann

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Puddleglum doesn’t say that he actually knows Aslan is untrue. He believes in Aslan and the principles and paradigm that that belief gives him. When he throws out the “Suppose” premise, it’s hypothetical: he is framing within the current context what he would do even in the worst case scenario: step forward in that belief even in the darkness and perilous uncertainty because of previous knowledge, experience, and even a frame of reference he wouldn’t have been able to invent ex nihilo.

The “I shouldn’t wonder” and “won’t deny” are setting the stage for the premise and working out the essence of his belief in a different context… as he goes on to shift the conversation to truths that go deeper than the current physical, current experience where the witch is operating her deception. As noted, burnt marsh wiggle is the immediate, most effective answer to the deception in the paradigm she’s operating in.

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I still contend that you’re reading into the text rather than out of it. The biggest problem is when Puddleglum says, “I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan”. It is a clear statement of willingness to believe something that is not true. You can massage the speech till the cows come home, but this statement is problematic.

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Russel, I had the same troubling reaction as you when I read these words of Puddleglum. It seems as if these are Lewis’s thoughts as well. But, of course, as far as I know, Lewis never said anything like that in either his non-fiction or other works of fiction. So maybe the best approach is to take this as only Puddleglum’s emotions in that particular situation, just on the verge of recovering from the witch’s enchantment.

Dimitry

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last forever.” (1 Corinthians 13: 4-8)

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No more so than you–you’re wanting to interpret Puddleglum as advocating a course of action in this passage, which he simply isn’t doing. Yes, the line between explanation and advocacy can be fine, but it need not be, and I don’t believe it is here. He’s saying what he’s going to do–believe, despite everything the Witch is saying.

Now, while P isn’t advocating anything at all, Lewis is through him. So what is it that Lewis is advocating? You say that Lewis would never advocate believing something that is not true, and I agree–he explicitly repudiates such a position in much of his other writing, and while I am not as constrained to assume consistency in Lewis’ writings as I am with scripture[1], that seems more reasonable than not, at least if it’s possible. So what’s going on?

  • Is P doing something Lewis thinks is wrong?
  • Do P’s words poorly express what Lewis is trying to portray?
  • Or does P clearly and accurately express exactly what Lewis intends him to say, and thereby express and take a position that Lewis would encourage people to take?

Your interpretation would require at least one of the first two bullets to be true, but I don’t think that’s a tenable position. As to the first, neither the narrator nor any of the other “good” characters express any problem with his statement; to the contrary, they praise him. And I think Lewis was too good a writer for us to seriously entertain the second bullet, if we can come up with a consistent interpretation here.

So if Lewis is commending P to us as a good example, of what is he a good example? We both agree that Lewis can’t be commending belief in something we know isn’t true. So what does P illustrate? I suggest he illustrates nothing more than obstinate belief of the sort Dimitriy mentioned when starting this topic.

I further suggest that your focus on the one sentence of "I’m on Aslan’s side even if there isn’t any Aslan” ignores important context, both immediate and remote, some of which has already been brought up here:

  • P’s speech takes place at the end of a fairly lengthy enchantment. They’ve all tried answering the Witch based on their own experience, based on the facts they know, which the Witch tells them are not trustworthy (very post-modern). He knows that reciting more facts won’t change anything.
  • P’s primary goal is to break the enchantment. Putting out the fire, substituting (or adding) the smell of burnt Marsh-wiggle, and his speech, are all intended to snap him, the children, and the prince out of it–and they succeed.
  • P knows perfectly well that there is an Overworld, a Narnia. He was born there and has lived his whole life there. I don’t recall whether he’d had any personal encounters with Aslan (I guess I need to re-read The Silver Chair), but he certainly knows Narnia is real. He knows the Witch is wrong, but is at a loss as to how to refute her (on account of the aforementioned enchantment).
  • P is a Marsh-wiggle, apparently the most mock-pessimistic species in Narnia: ‘“Has the King been ship-wrecked? Any forest fires? No wars on the Calormen border? Or a few dragons, I shouldn’t wonder?” And all the creatures laughed aloud and said, “isn’t that just like a Marsh-wiggle?”’ But as is clear throughout the book, he doesn’t truly believe his dour words.
  • P is speaking (as Angela notes above) in a hypothetical sense. He isn’t admitting the Witch to be right; he’s simply (and temporarily) assuming so for the sake of discussion–and by so doing, showing her to be wrong.

Now, I’d be quite willing to believe that Lewis didn’t choose his words very carefully, but it looks like almost all of us understand this in the same way, which suggests the problem may not lie with him.

But I see this topic has come up a bit in the past, even back to the old Merelewis days (with you taking the same position 23 years ago):
https://talk.spare-oom.com/t/merelewis-puddleglum-and-integrity/21992
https://talk.spare-oom.com/t/puddleglum/18261
https://talk.spare-oom.com/t/merelewis-puddleglum-and-all-that/21993
https://talk.spare-oom.com/t/puddleglum/21835

  1. If all scripture is θεόπνευστος, the word of God, it must be consistent. God does not change, nor does he lie, so his word must be true, and it cannot contradict itself–I must therefore interpret it in a way that’s internally consistent. Lewis was a man, fully capable of erring, changing, or even outright lying, so I’m not compelled to interpret his work consistently–but that does seem the more sensible approach, if possible. ↩︎

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Please remember that this is a work of fiction! This is not theology, though it may be informed by such in a fictional way.
Thank you for all the discussions.
Ann