Of course, and without meaning to give offence or belittle anybodies beliefs.
I see the God (or gods, if you prefer) sitting like a candle in the dark, surrounded by people who keep staring at the light, because they are afraid of the dark, and what it might hold. The people need and create their God(s) to hold back the unnamed terrors that they cannot, and do not want, to see; at times they refresh the candle, they change its shape, they may increase or decrease the number of flames but the goal remains the same, to keep the darkness at bay. As people grow and their lives and societies become more complex (not the same as “better”) the candle diminishes in importance and dies down to a mere glow of memory and nostalgic affection. It is only when the candle light dims sufficiently that people can see the stars. If the God is the light then the darkness is its opposite, but only in the darkness can you see the true wonder of the universe.
Sadly, I think we do. I think it’s programmed into us to need a comfort blanket until we’re old enough to look under the bed and see that the monsters have gone.
The God-Shaped Hole theory. No offense intended at all, but if you don’t believe in a God outside of our own minds, why would you revere CS Lewis’s writings? He certainly did not agree with your theory.
Lewis was a great writer and an interesting, if unconvincing, theologian. Whilst you are absolutely right that he would have been horrified at the idea of a “man created” God, he actually created such a being in the Perelandra trilogy. The Ransom character goes from being an observer to a theist in the first 2 books, but in “That Hideous Strength,” he is in effect the earthly embodiment of the Trinity and ascends at the final victory. On the other side of the religious divide he creates a wonderfully human demon in “The Screwtape Letters” again defining the divine through its human incarnation.
All of which is, of course, only my personal interpretation and not one I would insist is accepted by anybody.
I consider the exact inverse of your belief to be the truth. If there is a God, then that God created everything, and therefore everything created would be emanating His brilliant light. The darkness, however, is a very small part of His creation which chose deny His light.
Therefore, the entire creation is a brilliant light, but there is the small “candle” of darkness desperately trying to hold back that light, so as to shield everything within it from that light. To pull from your reference, Ransom in the Space trilogy himself discovers that our planet(s) are not balls of light floating in empty space – rather deep space is the “light” and our planets are little balls of darkness floating in it.
On the second point (that God has no opposite), I also completely agree with Lewis. According to the biblical account, God did not even get off his throne when the angels in heaven rebelled. Michael (“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon”) and other angels beat the rebellion. In other words Satan would not even be the strongest angel, nevermind a match for God – Satan could not even beat other angels. The darkness is not an opposite to God, merely a lack/denial of his glory.
Respectfully, the Book of Genesis does not, I think, support your view of darkness.
“GENESIS Chapter 1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”
In the Perelandra trilogy my point was regarding the changing nature of Ransom rather than the nature of the spheres themselves.
With regard to God having no opposite, CSL said that God had no opposite because he was the only uncreated being. Had he joined the war against the rebels he would have been fighting his own creations; the question of equality in opposition does not arise.
These stories are mirrored in many creation myths, across many religions, ages and geographies; the unprovable nature of the deity/deities involved cannot be used as an argument either for or against the existence of the Divine.
All IMHO, of course – and I seek to convert nobody to my point of view or beliefs.
Everyone Has A Story... Again
12 responses to “God”
Amen.
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Mr Lewis, who’s writings I revere, was wrong about this (on both counts).
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Explain why you don’t agree, if you don’t mind.
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Of course, and without meaning to give offence or belittle anybodies beliefs.
I see the God (or gods, if you prefer) sitting like a candle in the dark, surrounded by people who keep staring at the light, because they are afraid of the dark, and what it might hold. The people need and create their God(s) to hold back the unnamed terrors that they cannot, and do not want, to see; at times they refresh the candle, they change its shape, they may increase or decrease the number of flames but the goal remains the same, to keep the darkness at bay. As people grow and their lives and societies become more complex (not the same as “better”) the candle diminishes in importance and dies down to a mere glow of memory and nostalgic affection. It is only when the candle light dims sufficiently that people can see the stars. If the God is the light then the darkness is its opposite, but only in the darkness can you see the true wonder of the universe.
Sorry to be so long-winded about it.
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Beautifully put.
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So, basically, you believe we create for ourselves our own versions of God?
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Sadly, I think we do. I think it’s programmed into us to need a comfort blanket until we’re old enough to look under the bed and see that the monsters have gone.
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The God-Shaped Hole theory. No offense intended at all, but if you don’t believe in a God outside of our own minds, why would you revere CS Lewis’s writings? He certainly did not agree with your theory.
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Lewis was a great writer and an interesting, if unconvincing, theologian. Whilst you are absolutely right that he would have been horrified at the idea of a “man created” God, he actually created such a being in the Perelandra trilogy. The Ransom character goes from being an observer to a theist in the first 2 books, but in “That Hideous Strength,” he is in effect the earthly embodiment of the Trinity and ascends at the final victory. On the other side of the religious divide he creates a wonderfully human demon in “The Screwtape Letters” again defining the divine through its human incarnation.
All of which is, of course, only my personal interpretation and not one I would insist is accepted by anybody.
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I’m not at all offended by what you believe. I appreciate you sharing with us!
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I consider the exact inverse of your belief to be the truth. If there is a God, then that God created everything, and therefore everything created would be emanating His brilliant light. The darkness, however, is a very small part of His creation which chose deny His light.
Therefore, the entire creation is a brilliant light, but there is the small “candle” of darkness desperately trying to hold back that light, so as to shield everything within it from that light. To pull from your reference, Ransom in the Space trilogy himself discovers that our planet(s) are not balls of light floating in empty space – rather deep space is the “light” and our planets are little balls of darkness floating in it.
On the second point (that God has no opposite), I also completely agree with Lewis. According to the biblical account, God did not even get off his throne when the angels in heaven rebelled. Michael (“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon”) and other angels beat the rebellion. In other words Satan would not even be the strongest angel, nevermind a match for God – Satan could not even beat other angels. The darkness is not an opposite to God, merely a lack/denial of his glory.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Respectfully, the Book of Genesis does not, I think, support your view of darkness.
“GENESIS Chapter 1
In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.”
In the Perelandra trilogy my point was regarding the changing nature of Ransom rather than the nature of the spheres themselves.
With regard to God having no opposite, CSL said that God had no opposite because he was the only uncreated being. Had he joined the war against the rebels he would have been fighting his own creations; the question of equality in opposition does not arise.
These stories are mirrored in many creation myths, across many religions, ages and geographies; the unprovable nature of the deity/deities involved cannot be used as an argument either for or against the existence of the Divine.
All IMHO, of course – and I seek to convert nobody to my point of view or beliefs.
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