Emeth gets into Heaven- Aslan's Startling Response!!!

[nelsot5]

In the last book, The Last Battle there is the peculiar character I believe is named Emeth? If you look in Chapter 15, Further Up and Further In you find that Emeth has served Tash all his life and now realizes that he will not be able to enter "heaven". We find out later that Emeth is allowed to enter heaven thanks to Aslan's statement.

It is Aslan's response that troubles me. I want to know what you think of Aslan’s statement, here is a brief quotation, "[Aslan says] I take to me the services which thou hast done to him [Tash]. For I and he [Tash] are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he knows it not, and it is I who reward him..." (p.757 in my book - I have the unabridged all seven Narnia books in one huge book :))

Here is what I am thinking: I believe that service to a false god cannot be counted as service to Aslan [Jesus]. It is written in the Bible that "there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12) Also the Apostle Paul urges us to turn from being slaves to sin and become "slaves" or servants to Jesus, In Romans 6:19-23, it reads, "Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now I believe that Lewis was somewhat on the right track talking about how Emeth should serve Aslan with the same faithfulness and fervor, humanly speaking, that he served Tash with. Unfortunately I believe that Lewis went a little to far when he says that service to Tash can be counted as service to Aslan, and similarly that no “Vile service can be done to me [Aslan].” Remeber if the wages of sin [or Tash] is death, how can this be counted to Jesus???Anyway enough of my preaching.. Hope you didn't mind. Be glad to hear your thoughts, response, whatever.
-Tim

[Stanley Anderson]

[Sarah N.]

[Sven]

[nelsot5]

Good Post Stanley and Sarah N.- I agree that service to Aslan is service to Jesus.
However I do not agree with your view that service to Tash is service to Aslan- Stanley.
Also I do not agree with your view on the prinicple that non-Christians can be saved if their service to a false god is true and unselfish-Sarah N.

Please realize I am trying to diagree in a respectful manner. I will try to state this in a different way using a true false quiz. Perhaps I did not make myself clear the first time-my apologies

Here are some things I think we CAN agree on:

1.Tash is completely what Aslan is not- meaning Tash stands for everything that Aslan is against. They are opposites-Aslan himself says this to Emeth.

2. Service to Tash meant denying that Aslan existed, or acknowledging Aslan existed but choosing to not believe in him,ect

3. Service to Tash meant doing things that Aslan would be against-oppressing animals, killing innocent people,ect

Now if we agree with the top three statements how then can service to Tash be counted as service to Aslan?
Service to your enemy cannot be counted as service to you, can it?
The question is not "How true or unslefishly did you follow someone, but rather WHO you are following?" Do you fellas agree??

[Warrior 4 Jesus]

[Pete]

Firstly nelsot, I'd encourage you not to read the books as theological books - because they definitely do not fit that description, so I wouldn't be too concerned by what Lewis meant by what Aslan says, if I were you.

In addition to that, I don't believe it says anywhere that to serve Tash means to deny Aslan's existance. In fact, by all accounts in the Chronicles - the Calormene's very much believe in Aslan's existence but but believe Him to be a demon. Also, there's no evidence to suggest that service to Tash means oppressing animals, killing innocent people etc (as you put it), just because some of the Calormenes we get glimpses of in H&HB and LB fit that description, it doesn't mean they all do.

I think (personally), Sarah hit the nail on the head - by serving rightly and righteously, and in Truth he was serving the one who is Right and is Truth Himself - namely Aslan, however, if he was to go against his oaths he'd be living in hypocricy and thus serving the opposite of Truth - Falsehood which is obvioulsy Tash himself....after all if Aslan is Truth and Truth is Aslan then Tash being his opposite must be False and False be Tash - I don't mean he doesn't exist but that he - like the devil is the Prince of Lies.

One further thing, out of curiosity, what has your poll to do with your post?

[David Jack]

[jo]

[Stanley Anderson]

[Pete]

[Pete]

[jo]

[nomad]

[nelsot5]

I think perhaps focusing on a specific sentence of the text will take away some of the abstract feeling. Consider what Aslan says to Emeth, "...none [service] which is not vile can be done to him [Tash]."

Paraphrasing I think that means that no good deeds can be counted as service to Tash, or visa versa that all good deeds performed are in actuallity done in service to God-knowlingy or unknowlingly.

I think the latter part in italics is what we must discuss becuase it seems to be the focal point. Can our good deeds as sinners or non-Christians be counted as service to God?

Hmmm, I think not. I read in the Bible where it says that all "good deeds" that non-Christians perform are like filthy rags-meaning that nothing we do can be counted as service to God. In Isaiah 64:6 it reads, "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags..."

Furthermore Paul says the same things in much clearer terms stating that the non-Christian is hostile to God. In Romans 8:5-8 it reads, "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires..the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so...Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God."

Now in those verses in Romans it talks about the flip side as well and how the man who has the Spirit of God within him has his mind set on the Spirit's desires.

The key question then is How do you know if Emeth's mind was set on sinful desires or on the Spirit of God?
The answer is in v9, "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ."

In order to please God and have service counted to Him one MUST have the Spirit of Christ. What exactly is the Spirit of Christ? This is having Jesus, the Savior, Lord and Ruler of your life. This happens only when that person specifically acknowledges Jesus and his death atonement for our sins on the cross, nothing else will work. 1 John 5 :11-12 says, "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life."

I think it is clear from the TLB text that Emeth did NOT have "the Son" or Aslan because he admits from his heart, "For always since I was a little boy I have served Tash and my great desire was to know more of him and, if it might be, to look upon his face. But the name of Aslan was hateful to me... " Additionally upon meeting Aslan Emeth says, "I have served Tash all my days and not him....Alas, Lord I am no son of thine but the servant of Tash..."


Now I have no problem with Emeth be allowed into heaven if it was because he realized the errors of his ways and accepted Aslan as Lord. However this is not what Aslan asks of Emeth. Aslan accepts the service and oaths made to Tash as reason for entry, and that is the key part that I believe runs contrary to Scripture. Remember the non-Christian's action and service are like filthy rags.

Tim