| Revision as of 03:26, 23 June 2010 editFlipping Mackerel (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users732 editsm Not long enough quote, + unnecessary boldface← Previous edit | Revision as of 23:44, 23 June 2010 edit undoFlipping Mackerel (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users732 edits I decided to go the whole hog and redo this article, give full citations, slim down any duplicate info, and explain the position.Next edit → | ||
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| '''Emeth''' |
'''Emeth''' (] אמת : "truth," "firmness," or "veracity") is a ] character from ]'s book '']'' (from the ] series). As a Calormene, Emeth was raised to follow Tash, the antithesis of ], and did so with an emphatic devotion and loyalty. Nevertheless, Emeth manages to travel to Aslan's paradisaical country after the destruction of Narnia, and is welcomed by Aslan.<ref name="lastbattle">Lewis, C.S. (1956). "The Last Battle", London: Harper Collins. Chp. 15, in which Emeth recounts his history.</ref> Because he worshipped a devil and not God, his acceptance has been controversial with some Christians who disagree with Lewis' ]. | ||
| == Implications in Christian theology == | |||
| Aslan's words to Emeth the Calormene in ''The Last Battle'' (''I take to me the services which thou hast done to ''... if any man swear by and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him") in which he ratifies the good deeds the latter did even under the name of Tash, are the subject of this controversy. The implication is that people who reflect a righteous heart are to some degree justified, regardless of their belief. This issue is a cornerstone of Christian theology: one party cites the Christian paradigm that faith alone saves, and the other questions the fate of those born and raised into another faith. At any rate, the passage is derived from Paul's speech to the Athenians in Acts 17:23: "I even found an altar with this inscription: ''to an Unknown God''. What you now worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you" (]), and from 1 Timothy 4:10: "God, the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe" (NIV). <ref>The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, vol iii, p 163: Lewis mentions the relevant passages in reply to a letter asking about the question.</ref> | |||
| Aslan's words to Emeth in which he ratifies the good deeds the latter did even under the name of Tash, are the subject of this controversy. | |||
| {{quote|I take to me the services which thou hast done to ... if any man swear by and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him."<ref name="lastbattle" />}} | |||
| The implication is that people who reflect a righteous heart are to some degree justified, regardless of misbelief. This is a cornerstone of Christian theology: one party cites the Christian paradigm that faith in Christ alone saves, and the other questions the fate of those born and raised into another faith. In a letter from 1952, Lewis summarized and explained his position: | |||
| {{quote|I think that every prayer which is sincerely made even to a false god, or to a very imperfectly conceived true God, is accepted by the true God and that Christ saves many who do not think they know him. For He is (dimly) present in the ''good'' side of the inferior teachers they follow. In the parable of the Sheep and Goats those who are saved do not seem to know that they have served Christ.<ref name="letters">The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, vol iii, p 244-245 & 163, respectively. Quoted from letters C.S. Lewis wrote in 1952 to correspondents who asked him about the question.</ref>}} | |||
| Lewis cites this view as derived<ref name="letters" /> from the parable of the sheep and goats in , from Paul's speech to the Athenians in Acts 17:23: "What you now worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you", and from 1 Timothy 4:10: "God, the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe" (all references ]). | |||
| In regards the latter, Emeth is an emphatically good Calormene, whose name derives from Emet (אמת), a ] word that has been variously translated as "truth," "firmness," "veracity," (and similar) when used in the Christian Bible. Thus Lewis denotes Emeth as one who prizes objective truth above all, and Jesus revealed: "I am the Truth" (John 14:6). Therefore Emeth (lover of Truth) ignorantly served the demon Tash but did so as a Narnian might well serve the True God Aslan — dutifully and with love and devotion, to the best of his knowledge interacting receptively with any truly divine light given him — and was thereby allowed to ascend to Aslan's perfect Narnia. | |||
| == References == | == References == | ||
Revision as of 23:44, 23 June 2010
- As the word which supposedly activates a golem, see Golem.
 | It has been suggested that this article be merged with List of characters in The Chronicles of Narnia. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2007. |
Template:Infobox Narnia character
Emeth (Hebrew אמת : "truth," "firmness," or "veracity") is a Calormene character from C. S. Lewis's book The Last Battle (from the Chronicles of Narnia series). As a Calormene, Emeth was raised to follow Tash, the antithesis of Aslan, and did so with an emphatic devotion and loyalty. Nevertheless, Emeth manages to travel to Aslan's paradisaical country after the destruction of Narnia, and is welcomed by Aslan. Because he worshipped a devil and not God, his acceptance has been controversial with some Christians who disagree with Lewis' soteriology.
Implications in Christian theology
Aslan's words to Emeth in which he ratifies the good deeds the latter did even under the name of Tash, are the subject of this controversy.
I take to me the services which thou hast done to ... if any man swear by and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him."
The implication is that people who reflect a righteous heart are to some degree justified, regardless of misbelief. This is a cornerstone of Christian theology: one party cites the Christian paradigm that faith in Christ alone saves, and the other questions the fate of those born and raised into another faith. In a letter from 1952, Lewis summarized and explained his position:
I think that every prayer which is sincerely made even to a false god, or to a very imperfectly conceived true God, is accepted by the true God and that Christ saves many who do not think they know him. For He is (dimly) present in the good side of the inferior teachers they follow. In the parable of the Sheep and Goats those who are saved do not seem to know that they have served Christ.
Lewis cites this view as derived from the parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25:34-40, from Paul's speech to the Athenians in Acts 17:23: "What you now worship as something unknown, I am going to proclaim to you", and from 1 Timothy 4:10: "God, the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe" (all references NIV).
References
- ^ Lewis, C.S. (1956). "The Last Battle", London: Harper Collins. Chp. 15, in which Emeth recounts his history.
- ^ The Collected Letters of C.S. Lewis, vol iii, p 244-245 & 163, respectively. Quoted from letters C.S. Lewis wrote in 1952 to correspondents who asked him about the question.