It’s nice being back in Melbourne, back in routine, with my things around me, and our kitty [who has been named Yuki by the way] being adorably cute allllll the time. Yes.
It also allows me time to think in the mornings, for a little bit. I am appreciating having this ability again.
So ’s last post got me to thinking about one of my favourite topics, religion, and more specifically, CS Lewis. As a staunch anti-theist, it may surprise you to find out I have a huge fondness for the Narnia series, which I grew up on. But really, it’s not such a strange thing. I am fascinated by theist stories. As long as you look at them as morality tales - and *fairy stories*, it’s all good. There’s some great moral lessons to be learned, and as children, we need to have guidelines. That’s not to say I think a religious upbringing is required to live a moral life - I’d like to think I am proof otherwise [I did not have religious parents]. But some of the most moral people I know, the kindest and the most open-hearted, did have a strongly religious upbringing, and it’s something I’ve wondered about on and off over the years.
But back to CS Lewis, and the book discussed, The Last Battle. I always thought the allegory of the dwarves in their shed an interesting one: the idea that there is no hell, but that of your own mind and lack of belief in God. Interesting - and I guess I was always kind of wistful for the ability to have faith. But I am a staunch realist, and I know that kind of ignorant bliss is completely impossible for me, though I can truly imagine how blissful it must be.
But the more I think on it, the more I despair, because most people truly don’t tend to think that way about the hardest things. It is human to believe whatever you want to believe, no matter how illogical, or how unhappy it may make you in the long run. Core beliefs and principles can become ingrained in us at a very young age as survival mechanisms, and the God meme has worked really well for a lot of humans in helping them survive [or, if you look at it another way, in helping the God meme survive]. So chances of getting people to change if they are brought up a particular way, is slim. But I would say I’d prefer to be around people brought up on the CS Lewis flavour of Christianity than many other strains. At least CS Lewis used mostly good examples, full of adventure and just deserts for people who were vain, selfish or just plain nasty!
