Till We Have Faces #2
Keeping
with the theme of discovering Biblical connections within Lewis’ work, I was
reminded strongly while reading “Till We Have Faces” of the depiction of pagan
gods in the Old Testament and in the times of the early church. There is a
palpable tension in the Old Testament between the monotheistic beliefs of the
Jewish people and the polytheistic beliefs of the pagan people groups that
God’s people regularly interact with. We see this struggle manifest itself as
war during the conquest of the Promised Land in the book of Joshua, and we see
more conflict between these two systems once Israel had established itself.
For
example, in 1 and 2 Kings we see the prophets Elijah and Elisha battle against
the alleged gods of the Baal-worshipers and other heathen religions in the
area. Predictably, the God of the Jews always triumphs and asserts his
superiority over the false gods of these other religions. In reading “Till We
Have Faces,” I sensed a bit of this illustration of God’s superiority. Clearly,
the pantheon of Greek gods were rejected by Christians in the days of the early
church, just as the old regional gods of the Canaanites were rejected. There
seems to be a correlation between these lesser, fictional gods however, and
that is that they fallible and that they interact with humans in an almost
petty sort of fashion.
The
relationship between humans and the gods in “Till We Have Faces” exposes this
inferior worldview. The gods exist in a somewhat transactional relationship
with humans…falling in love them with them, fighting with them, giving and
receiving from them, etc. As we read in Lewis’ work, this clearly leads to
great turmoil between the divine and mankind. And it strikes me that this
entire work may make a powerful statement that the one true God exerts great
superiority over the petty affairs of false gods and men.
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