Belief in the Christian Story: Tolkien and Lewis

Beloved:
We did not follow cleverly devised myths
when we made known to you
the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ . . . (2 Peter 1:16)

Often atheists will look upon Christianity or any religion for that matter, as a myth, a telling of a story that is not true and at best is just a moral platitude.  I say that the story of Christianity is a true story and that it is history itself, a story that is true, for even the word “true” or “truth” has no meaning without this story, the story of God.

When J.R.R. Tolkien was trying to convince his good friend C.S. Lewis that God existed and that the Bible was not a cleverly devised myth he used the analogy of a prison.  He said to Lewis, in an argument to this effect, “If people from birth were immediately put into a prison with no windows would they ever be able to conceive of anything in their minds outside of the prison?  No, they would not, their entire world and knowledge is contained within the walls of the prison, it would be impossible to think of something outside of the walls.  Unless, indeed there was something outside of the walls, and that – that something gave the prisoners an instinct, a thought, of something greater than what was inside of these walls only.” 

Tolkien’s logic is solid, for how can man think of anything outside of this world\universe, this world – this universe is our prison, if you will.  How is that we can think of God, of heaven of something that exists outside of these walls?  No, we could not!  But since God has made us in His image, we have the instinct, the thought of what’s beyond these walls.

Tolkien hooked Lewis with this argument.  He met Lewis on level ground, two master story tellers, one showing the other the value of story and its beauty to show that all stories are connected to the one story, the story of Jesus. It’s His story (history).  It’s a story rooted in truth a truth we could never conceive on our own, but a truth embedded in our very nature (we are made in the image and likeness of God).

Lewis was a staunch atheist who became a very devout Christian.  He realized that story was not a cleverly devised myth but one that made complete sense.  He not only understood Tolkien’s argument of the prison but He felt something even greater, the power of Christ.  He felt the author of all tell the story through Tolkien, but more importantly he felt the author of all touch his heart and he realized that he was an important character in the story, a prisoner who finally understood why he had these thoughts of something outside the walls, for that thing is God!

Pictured below is early art concept of a Tolkien - Lewis film, I pray it is true :)