"Please," said the Lamb, "I can't understand. What have we to do with the Calormenes? We belong to Aslan. They belong to Tash. They have a god called Tash. They say he has four arms and the head of a vulture. They kill Men on his altar. I don't believe there's any such person as Tash. But if there was, how could Aslan be friends with him?"
The Ape jumped up and spat at the Lamb.
..."What do you understand of such things? But the others, listen. Tash is only another name for Aslan. All that old idea of us being right and the Calormenes wrong is silly. We know better now. The Calormenes use different words but we all mean the same thing. Tash and Aslan are only two different names for you know Who. That's why there can never be any quarrel between them. Get that into your heads, you stupid brutes. Tash is Aslan; Aslan is Tash."
It's uncanny how familiar that lie sounds. The Lamb's question should also sound familiar to us, because it echoes 2 Corinthians 6:15 very closely, which says, "What has Christ to do with Belial [Satan], or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever?"
Lewis had a knack of recognizing the old falsehoods that are told over and over again to each new generation. They may be called by different names, but they are still the same damnable lies told from the beginning.
Perhaps the only answer to a lie like this one is the answer the King of Narnia gave to the Ape: "Ape," he cried with a great voice, "you lie damnably!"
2 Comments:
Sarah, Bryan here - next time I see you I would love to discuss Mr. Lewis with you! The Last Battle is good, but I much prefer The Magicians Nephew (my favorite out of all of them).
If you would like a good book, read Pereladra. Lewis simply excels in that book.
Thanks, Bryan!
I will...I think I might have read parts of his Space Trilogy a long time ago...when I didn't properly appreciate it :) Thanks for reminding me--I'll try to get it out of the library!
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