I would like to challenge a way of thinking we had in class the other day. In general, the class seemed to accept the answer of we don't really want to say people are going to hell, and maybe there is some way to be saved other than Christianity. As a Christian, this honestly scares me to think that people are too worried about other people's feelings to say if you don't believe in Jesus's sacrifice and you don't accept that salvation, you're going to hell. I'm here to tell you that the Bible has the ultimate authority on that, and it says: "Jesus answered, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the father except through me." (John 14:6) So, if Christ does not dwell in you, and you don't walk in the truth, you are going to hell. Plain and simple. The start of this argument came about in class when we were discussing Tash and Emeth. Emeth was a good man, who did good things, but he followed Tash. Someone stated that the idea for Emeth's salvation was that he was seeking after a god and doing good things, and then when he realized Aslan was the real god he sought to serve he was saved. This cannot at all be related to Christian theology when you remember John 14:6. If you work your whole life, doing good things, and seeking some fulfillment, and you never realize its God until you're standing in front of him being denied entrance, you will not be accepted into the kingdom. God has your name written in the book of life, but only if you believe in Him and what his Son did for you. I fear our class, though maybe you are all just "getting into the spirit of philosophy", is headed away from scriptural security. We should be able to hold fast to scripture despite philosophy's challenging our perspectives. Yes, it is good to think and to ponder and question, but it is not good if you start to encourage doubt, uncertainty and other negative things. This is only allowing room for the devil to sneak in and shake your footsteps. This may be a philosophy class, but it's taught at a Christian school by a Christian professor; shouldn't we remember our main goal: glorify God above all else? I feel that we should ultimately resolve with we can't know everything, but we can believe. Most importantly, we need to make clear distinctions between what we discuss as Narnian Theology and what is Christian Theology. The lines are often so blurry in class I don't know which side your on and whether or not some of you believe in Aslan or God.
In all things, Glorify God. Disciple the nations, love God, love people. That is our command. It must apply to all things, from taking out the trash, to C.S. Lewis and the Inklings. Please ask questions, but do not say things that cause the distinct line of Fiction and Truth to become blurred.
1 comment:
I agree with your concern but at the same time, I think that it's important that we ask the questions among ourselves, not just to "get caught up in the spirit of philosophy" but because it is the safest to hear these questions from other Christians first. Because these questions may be asked of us someday by people with malintent and then is when I think satan can really do damage. I think that a class that is taught at a Christian college, and by a christian proffesor is as safe as we are ever going to be to learn how to debate with our non christian friends the hard questions.
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