Perelandra and Preface to Paradise Lost

For the C.S. Lewis class i am (re)taking this semester, I had to write a paper critically comparing Perelandra and Preface to Paradise Lost. I found that towards the end, it sounded a bit like a book review, which was not my goal, but might make for interesting reading for you. Therefore, I give you a brief blurb of what I wrote.

Perelandra shows what might have happened if Eve had not given in to Satan, while Preface to Paradise Lost shows exactly what Satan was capable of. He is the bad guy in either situation. Perelandra is a good way to look at the situation because it shows what we are capable of, even today.

While it is nice to look at the story, and understand that it would have been possible for Eve to have chosen otherwise, it makes no sense for us to only look at it in such a way because then all we do is blame Eve more for the decision she made. Instead, it would be far more helpful for us to look at it as a means to say no today. We do have the ability to say no to the temptations Satan brings our way because we are Christians and are given the ability by God. As Christians, we have been made perfect, just like Adam and Eve were perfect when they were created. It is the state of perfection that allows us to say no. Preface to Paradise Lost also gives us this option. By focusing on Satan as the bad guy, instead of Eve as the one who made a bad decision, or even as the helpless victim, we are shown that we do have strength to say no whenever we are tempted by Satan.

Because of this knowledge, these two books are immensely helpful in our Christian walk. They work in Tandem with the Bible to give us practical advice and solid examples of how we can do what God asks of us. In so doing, they empower us to live as God wants us to live, and therefore allow us to defeat Satan on a daily basis. He may be the bad guy, but he is powerless, if we choose to make him powerless.

Outside of Time

Over the summer, I read Mere Christianity. One of the things Lewis talks about in it is how God is outside of time, and as a result, our timeline is always his present. He used it to explain why God knows what the future will be and therefore knows what is best for us. The question that it brought to my mind, however, was one dealing with Christ on the Cross. If our past, present and future are all present for God, then that means that right now, Christ, being bound to the limits of time while He was a man, is still on the Cross, He is still dead, and He is resurrected. It also means that in God's frame of reference, Adam and Eve have not yet sinned, but at the same time, Cain has already killed Abel. This also means that each of us has already died. We have already made every single decision we will ever make.

This sort of leads to a greater question about free will. In that case, we really do have free will, God just has the foreknowledge of what our choices will be. That being the case, could our lives turn out any differently than they do? If we have already made our decisions before we are ever even born, then it seems unlikely that our path could be anything but what it is. We don't know what it will be, but God does, and has planned accordingly.

Kind of cool to think about, but also sort of saddening. While I know that Christ is in heaven, it's hard to think of God looking down and seeing His son on the cross. That doesn't change. It also Sort of brings new meaning to the idea that we put Christ on the cross every time we sin. It's true. God knew every choice we would make in advance, which is why Christ could die for our sins in advance, but it still makes me sad to think about. It also makes me want to live a more godly life. Kind of like a challenge. :)

Devotional thoughts

I just started going through the book "Praying the Names of God" with my mom this morning, and one of the things that came up as we were talking about it this morning was this. When Jesus cried out to God on the cross, he used the name Eloi, which is a form of the word Elohim, meaning God of gods. This particular name denotes God's power and authority. He did not use Abba or any other name that would appeal to God's love and compassion, instead he appealed to his power and authority. Doing show shows us that he was acknowledging God's ability to change the situation if he so chose. He had the power to take Jesus down off the cross, yet he chose to turn his back on him for the moment that Jesus was carrying the sins of the world. Jesus wasn't asking God to take pity on him, he wasn't asking for compassion. He was asking why God, who had the power to do otherwise, continued to allow Jesus to experience the excruciating pain of the cross. The reason is this: God really could not do anything different because of his justice. In his power and authority he knew that if he wanted to spend eternity with us one day, Jesus must endure this. God chose us over his son. That to me is the most powerful form of love you can imagine.

just for fun

Last fall I took a class on feminism, and one day the professor gave us a handout titled "How to be a Good Wife." It is rumored to come form a 1950's home economics textbook, but SNOPES couldn't confirm. Either way, it's pretty fun to read, mostly because of the differences between what was expected then and what is expected now. Enjoy :)

Have dinner ready: Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal -- on time. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal are part of the warm welcome needed.

Prepare yourself: Take 15 minutes to rest so that you'll be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your makeup, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh-looking. He has just been with a lot of work-weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting. His boring day may need a lift.

Clear away the clutter: Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives, gathering up school books, toys, paper, etc. Then run a dust cloth over the tables. Your husband will feel he has reached a haven of rest and order, and it will give you a lift too.

Prepare the children: take a few minutes to wash the children's hands and faces (if they are small), comb their hair, and if necessary, change their clothes. They are little treasures and he would like to see them playing the part.

Minimize all noise: At the time of his arrival, eliminate all noise of the washer, dryer, dishwasher, or vacuum. Try to encourage the children to be quiet. Be happy to see him. Greet him with a warm smile and be glad to see him.

Some don'ts: Don't greet him with problems or complaints. Don't complain if he's late for dinner. Count this as minor compared with what he might have gone through that day. Make him comfortable. Have a cool or warm drink ready for him. Arrange his pillow and offer to take off his shoes. Speak in a low, soft, soothing and pleasant voice. Allow him to relax and unwind.

Listen to him: You may have a dozen things to tell him, but the moment of his arrival is not the time. Let him talk first.

Make the evening his: Never complain if he does not take you out to dinner or to other places of entertainment. Instead, try to understand his world of strain and pressure, his need to be home and relax.

The goal: Try to make your home a place of peace and order where your husband can renew himself in body and spirit.

new people

I made a new friend a few weeks ago. He is the housemate of a friend of mine, so we've only really been in contact a few times, but each time he's been polite, fun, a gentleman...just an all around nice guy. Makes me think "why can't you be a Christian?" It's nice to be treated really well, especially by someone you hardly know.

Works for me Wednesday

It's been a really long time since I've done one of these, but here you go. I recently received a Kindle as part of my trip to Cambridge this summer with Torrey. It did not come with a case (obviously) and Amazon was selling them for close to $60. I remembered that my sister-in-law Emily made a case for my brother Gabe for Christmas last year, so I called her up and asked her if she would do one for me for $20. She agreed, and it resulted in this: (sorry for the sideways picture, it didn't want to rotate :P)

Isn't it pretty? A good looking case that I like, that's within my price range. Works for me :) (Also, if you want one yourself, she'll gladly make you one, so go get yours!)

A modern day Greek myth

This semester, I took a class that compared Lord of the Rings with His Dark Materials (for those of you unfamiliar with the trilogy title, you might know it better by the first book, The Golden Compass). I remember a few years ago when the movie came out, and how up in arms the Christian community was about it, how the trilogy killed God in the end, and therefore it was the worst kind of literature we could ever possibly read. I hadn't read it at the time, and the people who wrote reviews about seemed to know what they were talking about, so I didn't read it, but I was curious. Now having read it, I can say that while "God" is "killed" (really, it's more like he just dissolves after being set free from a box he was being kept in), the trilogy is about as far from attacking our God as it could be.

As I read it, I began to see the many parallels between it and several of the epics I had read in Torrey. This made me realize, then, that while Pullman is referring to the religion in his book as Christianity, he is really writing about the religion of the ancient Greeks/Romans. For example, Pullman's god (called the Authority) lives on a mountain. He is not eternal, but was made by something else (we're never told what) and seems to enjoy the way the church is running things (more on that later) simply because it gives him something to watch. It is a form of entertainment for him. (Metamorphoses anyone?)By the time the story starts, he is not even in control any longer, but has instead withdrawn into his mountain and given the control to his main angel Metatron. This situation is actually kind of like the way that Zeus allows his under-gods to run things when he simply doesn't want to deal with it.

When the Authority dissolves, it is made clear that it is because he is so old. He is a created being, just like the other angels, and is therefore not worthy of the worship that people give him. He has no control over death, or life, or anything. He simply usurped the power of the earth, and started making rules. When such a ruler exists, it is right that we should rebel. He is not only unworthy of worship, but corrupt and evil. His position more closely resembles the demi-gods of Homer's time, than he does the God of Christianity.

It gets better though. The most clear parallel between His Dark Materials and the Greek myths is when the main characters travel to the world of the dead. That's right, they go to the underworld (Remind anyone of The Illiad? The Odyssey? The Aenid?) Virtually all Greek epics contain this element. While Pullman is a very outspoken atheist, he is certainly not writing about God.

Furthermore, the main attack of the book centers around the church. In the beginning, the church kidnaps children in order to experiments on them to see what happens when they are separated from their soul, a visible part of them known as the daemon. The reasoning they have for this is an attempt to prevent Dust (what is not directly defined as, but understood to be sin) from settling on them. The innocence of children is believed to be preservable as long as this part of them can be cut away. It sort of lines up with the (not biblically provable, but certainly generally accepted) belief of the age of accountability.

As the story progresses, the church, not the Authority, continues to pursue those trying to defeat the Authority, killing when necessary (and it seems like it is necessary far too often, simply because they don't want their enemies to survive). When looked at altogether, it is definitely more an attack on the corrupt church (and who can disagree that we as people are corrupt and sinful, and if given too much power will abuse it, to the detriment of the world, rather than to its benefit?). Looking at it this way, then, shows us that such a series is more a warning against a too powerful corrupt church, the worship of an unworthy being, and our duty to prevent such an occurrence.

There is danger in the series, however. This danger lies largely in the fact that Pullman uses the name Christianity for his religion. He also uses strictly Christian terminology throughout the trilogy. The danger then is when people who are reading it do not know that he is not actually describing Christianity. The main audience for which this could pose a problem is of course children. However, that does not mean that no one should read it. There are a lot of good books out there that should be read but which would not be considered suitable for children (consider the majority of the Torrey cannon). In fact, Pullman did not originally write the trilogy for children, but rather aimed it at adults (many of the conversations and topics of discussion, even the way that things are worded, would go right over most children's heads). It was actually a move on the bookstores'/publisher's part to put it in the children's literature section.

Having said all of this, I think that the popularity and content of the trilogy makes it more necessary to read, rather than less, if for no other reason than that as Christians it is necessary to know what the world reads in order to have an answer for it.