Last week I commented on a post by my friend Jeff about hope in the face of the recent tragic death of a young Christian man named Clete. Tom, a frequent visitor to Jeff’s site, who is not a Christian and keeps a site called “Lean Left,” also commented on Jeff’s post. Tom felt that the hope expressed by many of the young man’s friends and family was somewhat misplaced. Tom felt that “it would be infinitely better if the person hadn’t died at all.” Here are my thoughts:
Christians can make hopeful comments despite this kind of tragedy because we believe this life isn’t all there is. We believe Clete is in fact alive right now, more alive than he ever was before, and that his future is even more promising now than ever. This life, for us, is a pilgrimage towards a better country. It’s filled with joys that are only shadows of the joys to come, but it’s also filled with pains that pass away when we reach that better country. The Apostle Paul summed up our feelings about these things in his letter to the Phillipians: “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
This hope is also portrayed beautifully in the book from which Jeff’s blog takes it’s title, C.S. Lewis’ The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. “Dawn Treader” is one of the Narnia books, which include “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” soon coming out on film. The “Dawn Treader” of the title is a ship that sets sail towards the ends of the earth. One of the characters in “Dawn Treader,” Reepicheep the mouse, is intent on sailing all the way to Aslan’s country. (Aslan the lion, a central character in the Narnia stories, is a picture of Christ.) When the group’s courage falters and begins to question the usefulness of their mission, Reepicheep admonishes them:
If by use you mean filling our bellies or our purses, I confess it will be no use at all. So far as I know we did not set sail to look for things useful, but seek honor and adventure. And here is as great an adventure as I ever heard of, and here, if we turn back, no little impeachment of all our honors.
I’d encourage you to read the lovely little “Dawn Treader” story for a bit more insight on how Christians think about death. For us Christians, life is a great adventure because we know we are sailing towards “Aslan’s Country.” We bear hardships like the death of a loved one with great hope, even in the midst of great pain, because of this.
Perhaps you think Christians are deluded for thinking this way. We think, though, that people who view this life as the end of the adventure are the sad and deluded ones. After all, if this life is all there is, when could anyone ever say that they’ve lived a long and full enough life? There is always more to experience, see, and accomplish, yet it would all vanish in an instant. Like the writer of Ecclesiastes, we could all say
What does man gain from all his labor at which he toils under the sun? Generations come and generations go, but the earth remains forever….I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.
For the Christian, the answer to this is our faith that all of our days are in God’s hands, and that He is building something wonderful in and through us that will last forever.
7 replies on “Sailing Towards Aslan's Country”
Beautiful. Thank you.
Great rebuttal. Of course Christians are sad at the loss of loved ones, but there is also a joy and optimism that sometimes cannot be understood – particularly by those who may not have such hope.
I have responded to you at my site, but a few things I wanted to clear up here. No, I’m no longer a practicing Christian, but I was at one time, my family still is, and my wife still is. And I can tell you that the Christian view on death is not so unified as you make it seem.
Mainly, I think you misunderstand my point. I’m not disputing the idea that Clete is in a better place (while I disagree with it, I have no quarrel with those who agree); I’m disputing the idea that Clete’s death is somehow okay because he’s in a better place. It is that leap that I cannot make.
And I think that this sort of logic:
…is problematic, because it devalues this life. Even to a Christian, this life is extremely important. If it weren’t, why would God make us live it? And why would any death, no matter how abrupt or tragic, ever be wrong?
I would expect Jeff in particular to see the problem with that sort of reasoning. It doesn’t take much imagination to figure out some of the dark roads a well-meaning-but-misguided Christian could travel down in thinking that way.
And rather than thinking that Christians are “deluded” for thinking that way, what I think is that you are awfully presumptive to assume that all — or even most — Christians think that way.
Tom, thanks for stopping by. You are right that this life is deeply valued in Christian thought. Christians aren’t Gnostics — we don’t think our earthly existence is nothingness. I do think, though, that the strand of Christian thought about death that I’ve mentioned is basic and mainstream to historic Christian thought about death.
Also, I probably didn’t express my thoughts as clearly as I could have, but none of these thoughts about death mean that death is inherently a good thing. In the Christian way of thinking about death, the separation death brings is not the natural or intended state of creation. Death came into the world through sin. But the hope we have in Christ means that death has been defeated. Even though we have to suffer death, there is hope that the proper nature of things will be restored, and death will be no more. This is the Christian concept of redemption.
Also, I didn’t mean to suggest, and I don’t think anything I said suggested, that the Christian view of death excuses the drunk driver who killed Clete. God didn’t give people authority to take life deliberately (except in some extraordinary circumstances) or through recklessness. Those who violate this aspect of the moral law are rightly held accountable for their actions. Yet, even in the sinfulness of the drunk driver, and even in the pain and separation of physical death, God works all things out for the good of those “who love Him and are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28).
I think there is an assumption by many that Christians are overly obsessed with eternity to the point of neglecting our existence on earth. As a historical example, Enlightenment philosophes proposed that Christians focused too much attention on heavenly matters and did not spend enough energy on attempting to improve conditions on earth. Unfortunately, many people today share this criticism of the Church.
However, several examples from the past and present may help dispel this misconception. The international slave trade declined and was eventually outlawed due to the pressure of a handful of courageous Christians. In the U.S., both the abolitionist and civil rights movement were initiated and brought to fruition within the Christian Church. Presently, a majority of nonprofit organizations such as the Red Cross, the Salvation Army, World Vision, etc. are based on Christian principles and doctrine.
As Christians, we indeed look forward to the day when we will stand face to face with our beloved Creator. In the meantime, we consider it our duty and sacred joy to display the compassion of Christ to the world. As a result, I believe Christians more than any other group are actively involved in improving conditions on earth.
TedOp:
In many ways, the criticism is still valid, even if not so much as before. And this depends a great deal on what “church” you’re talking about.
Unfortunately, that same trade was perpetuated and fiercely defended almost exclusively by other Christians, and to this day, no Christian has ever given me a solid Biblical condemnation of slavery. It seems that Christianity (as a worldview, and as a philosophy) was irrelevant to one’s view of the rightness or wrongness of slavery.
Ditto, I’m afraid, for the civil rights movement, wherein the people who most loudly opposed it (and oppose its aftermath to this day) did so (and do so) under the purported auspices of Christianity.
This is in no way intended to slight the very real sacrifices made and courage displayed by Christians in helping to correct those injustices; it’s merely to say that it was neither unique to Christians nor unifying among Christians.
I agree that many injustices throughout history have been committed by “Christians”. However, we must be careful to divorce these people’s true motives from the essence of the faith. If we believe that Christ is to serve as our ultimate example of compassion and mercy, we strive to show the same to others. I don’t think the nature of trans-Atlantic slavery or the suppression of civil rights are consistent in any way with Biblical Christianity. Unfortunately, people throughout history and today sometimes use their “faith” to justify actions which are at odds with the true essence of that faith.
All of this does not negate the fact, however, that Christians who truly embrace the example of Christ, have historically effectuated positive change and social reform.