by jo » December 23rd, 2009, 1:10 am
Hi and nice to make your acquaintance :)
This is something that I have struggled with for years (though I am an agnostic, not a Christian). One the one hand I find the concept of killing another human being, in any context (war, capital punishment, disturbed burglar etc) to be abhorrent. On the other hand, I know enough of history - and especially the history of the 20th century - to know that sometimes, saying 'well killing is wrong so we should just never do it', whilst it might sound laudable, doesn't REALLY work in practical terms. And yes, Lewis was a veteran of WWI and someone who witnessed WWII, with all the horror that came with that. I am not trying to condemn him personally for the actions that his characters take but merely to say that to me, with the sensiblities that come with my generation (70s child), it is difficult to understand, still less justify, killing a human being without so much as a trial.
(Incidentally this is something that has occasionally bothered me in both the CoN and Tolkien's books, though I am a huge fan of both).
"I saw it begin,” said the Lord Digory. “I did not think I would live to see it die"