We need God

“For the trouble is that one part of you is on His (God’s) side and really agrees with his disapproval of human greed and trickery and exploitation. You may want Him to make an exception in your own case, to let you off this one time; but you know at bottom that unless the power behind the world really and unalterably detests that sort of behavior, then He cannot be good. On the other hand, we know that if there does exist an absolute goodness it must hate most of what we do. This is the terrible fix we are in. If the universe is not governed by an absolute goodness, then all our efforts are in the long run hopeless. But if it is, then we are making ourselves enemies to that goodness every day, and are not in the least likely to do any better tomorrow, and so our case is hopeless again”.

C. S. Lewis – Mere Christianity

Now if you have come to honestly believe that there must be a moral law Giver for a moral law to exist, what is the next thing to do?

How can you proceed?

As I said before, if you believe in relativism, there is a huge amount of religions to choose. You can make any of them your own and decide that that particular faith is your moral giver.

Or you can believe that Christianity is the real thing.

You can choose Christian God.

You can accept that Christians offer you an answer to why there is evil in the world and also how we can overcome the evil.

As C. S. Lewis says “When you have realized your position is nearly desperate you will begin to understand what the Christians are talking about. They offer an explanation of how we got into our present state of both hating goodness and loving it. They offer an explanation how God can be this impersonal mind at the back of the Moral Law and yet also a Person. They tell you how the demands of this law, which you and I cannot meet, have been met on our behalf, how God Himself becomes a man to save man from the disapproval of God”.

This means doing some radical thinking. Changing your worldview and accepting that you may not always be right.

It also means accepting that there is someone far greater and more magnificent you could ever imagine.

The problem is that, even though this is a very comforting idea of a great loving person behind everything. It is also a very dangerous and terrifying idea of a great perfect being behind everything.

Just like C. S. Lewis says “God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror: the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from”.

But what are you looking for?

The truth?

Or something to take away your fears and comfort you during the lonely nights?

Again a quote from C. S. Lewis: “If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort of truth – only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair”.

Or a thought from a great Russian literary masterpiece:

“It's God that's worrying me. That's the only thing that's worrying me. What if He doesn't exist? What if Rakitin's right -that it's an idea made up by men? Then, if He doesn't exist, man is the king of the earth, of the universe. Magnificent! Only how is he going to be good without God? That's the question. I always come back to that. Who is man going to love then? To whom will he be thankful? To whom will he sing the hymn? Rakitin laughs. Rakitin says that one can love humanity instead of God. Well, only an idiot can maintain that. I can't understand it. Life's easy for Rakitin. 'You'd better think about the extension of civic rights, or of keeping down the price of meat. You will show your love for humanity more simply and directly by that, than by philosophy.' I answered him: 'Well, but you, without a God, are more likely to raise the price of meat if it suits you, and make a rouble on every penny.' He lost his temper. But after all, what is goodness? Answer that, Alyosha. Goodness is one thing with me and another with a Chinaman, so it's relative. Or isn't it? Is it not relative? A treacherous question! You won't laugh if I tell you it's kept me awake for two nights. I only wonder now how people can live and think nothing about it. Vanity!”
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov


To begin, read Natural law. A post about the law we all have in our hearts.

If you would like to know what comes after read the post about Moral law.

Having read that, you'll need to know Which moral law to choose. 

If you agree that you need God, read to find out What is sin.

There are no accidents - C. S. Lewis

“'Don't you mind him,' said Puddleglum. 'There are no accidents. Our guide is Aslan.'“      C.S. Lewis in The Silver Chair

Yesterday marked 50 years since the death of Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963), commonly called C. S. Lewis, creator of Narnia-series among other titles.

Narnia was for me, as for countless number of other children, a huge discovery when I was a child. A fantasy world where children were taken seriously and could go adventuring and do important things that mattered.

It was another huge discovery when, as an adolescent, I found out that C. S. Lewis was actually a Christian, a beliver, just like me. And Aslan was Narnia's Jesus who died for them.

It was incredible to find an interesting Christian author, someone witty, who had his own voice and ideas.

As a youth I read the Screwtape Letters and Science Fiction series. But I always returned to Narnia and it's magical world.

For me Narnia and Lewis were a big part of the reason I wanted to write books, like to many other authors amongst who are very many great authors of our time.

I find in my heart a need to explore my own worlds, create my own fantasy, fight my own battles and live my own adventure.

As an adult I have grown to love the books even more. And I have found Lewis again as a Christian author, an acknowledged apologetic writer.

I have been watching the movies with my son (athough they really aren't as good as the books) and reading the books to my son.

“Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair 

But why would a children's author matter to me? Why would he keep intriguing me, even thought I'm an adult? In what way could he be relevant to my growth as an adult Christian?

Here again Lewis comes to my rescue, as he says: “'Don't you mind him,' said Puddleglum. 'There are no accidents. Our guide is Aslan.'“ C.S. Lewis in The Silver Chair. One of my most beloved characters from the books, an oddly positively pessimistic marswiggle Puddleglum.
When I was a child I didn't really like Silver Chair, I found it weird and disturbing. Puddleglum was just uncomprehensive for me, he said to be an optimist but he behaved like a pessimist but then he would be an optimist.

"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.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair

At an age when you wanted the things to be safe and one thing and not another, it was just too hard to comprehend. Now I have grown to love the book and especially Puddleglum. I think he is right. I shouldn't mind what my reasoning says or the world or other people. Since Jesus is my guide, there are no accidents. There is a reason for me to keep dwelling in these children's books.

I think there are bigger thruths hidden here than what meets the eye at the beginning. C. S. Lewis writes in 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.”― C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair.

And I have found this the perfect explanation for my yearning for Heaven. Suppose we just made God up, suppose we invented Heaven. Then this made-up world really seems more important to me than the one we live in. This world just doesn't fill my yearning like Heaven and God do.
We shouldn't let ourselves to be fooled by supposed "childishness" of Narnia books.
 Hidden among the adventure there are gems for the Christian heart, mind and soul. When I try to explain why we seek God, why we have such a yearning for Him and why we find Him and others do not. What does Lewis say about it:“You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you," said the Lion.”― C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair.

For those who were deprived of this joyful experience as child, Aslan is a lion, or The Lion, Jesus of Narnia.

I have learned many things from Narnia. I'm a very independant person, too much so even. And it is hard for me to take advice from someone else. Even from God, I'm sad to admit. So life has been hard for me. I have fought and I have cried. But, again, in Lewis' words: Crying is all right in its way while it lasts. But you have to stop sooner or later, and then you still have to decide what to do.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair.

And Narnia books have been there to help me to decide what it is that I will do.

Just in case someone is thinking that I read C. S. Lewis and Narnia like Bible, this isn't so. Bible is much more important than any other book and so is reading it much more important than reading any other book. There just isn't anything like it in the whole 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.”-- C.S. Lewis in The Silver Chair

 But you must admit that Bible isn't easy to understand. Especially for a child. And this is why good Christian children's literature is so important. There are so many things I have been able to lean on to in Narnia.

When I was teased and bantered in Jr High School and High School because of my Christianity I could say like Lewis: “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.”-- C.S. Lewis in The Silver Chair.

“I daren't come and drink," said Jill.
Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion.
Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer.
"I suppose I must go and look for another stream then."
There is no other stream," said the Lion.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair 

There was something in my heart that said, no matter the hurt, no matter the words, no matter what they say, I know my God exists, I know He loves me and even if it's just a dream and they don't understand it and believe it, it is such a magnificent dream that I will keep believing it. Because without it there is no reason to live on.

There are many gems in Narnia books where Lewis has gone his way to explain us, the children, what the Bible and Jesus meant.

There is a place in Silver Chair where the main characters find themselves underground with nothing to drink, hot and thirsty. And then Jill, a girl, just like me, finds herself in front of a stream and a lion.

People like me who had read the other books knew, of course, that the lion was Aslan. And he would never hurt Jill. But this was her first time in Narnia and the first time she met Aslan. So, she couldn't know this.

Outside the conversation seems pretty normal. “I daren't come and drink," said Jill. Then you will die of thirst," said the Lion. Oh dear!" said Jill, coming another step nearer. "I suppose I must go and look for another stream then." There is no other stream," said the Lion.”― C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair.

A girl looking for something to drink in a cave and the lion tells her that there is no other stream around. But as a Christian you know that this isn't all. Aslan is the stream, like Jesus is the living water. There is no other water that will take your thirst away.

It has been 50 years since C. S. Lewis passed away but his books still live among us. He still has many things to say to us and those things are as current as when he lived. I thank him for reflecting God's glory and letting me peak at it when I needed it.

“You would not have called to me unless I had been calling to you," said the Lion.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair

If you enjoyed this post about C. S. Lewis's work, you might also like another post about his Narnia books, here.

Haven't read the books yet but would love to? Or you would like to refresh your memory?

Amazon has the books in an amazing price.

 

 You can get the movie, too. At a very comfortable price.

 

I also recomend C. S. Lewis's more adult work.