Aslan wasn't talking about a Neevil nor a Weevil. Aslan was informing the 1st council of Narnia that an Evil had entered into the country.
In The Magician's Nephew we learn that Evil entered into the world from an outside force. An intruder had invaded into a new territory, even though Narnia was intended to be pure and untainted.
However, in our world we are taught that evil came from within. An inside force had fallen from its place in perfection and became the source of evil in our universe.
I've often wondered where this idea of Evil falling from heaven came from. I did a little Bible and Wikipedia work and discovered some interesting ideas. Within the Bible, I found this passage:
How you have fallen from heaven,
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
O morning star, son of the dawn!
You have been cast down to the earth,
you who once laid low the nations!
-Isaiah 14:12
After a quick Wikipedia search I discovered many other stories. The Hebrew Apocrypha is a fascinating little book! In the book of Enoch we find that Satanael is the prince of the Grigori, who was cast out of heaven. The Grigori was a tribe of fallen angels who mated with humans and bore creatures known as Nephilim! These creatures are actually mentioned in the Bible, Genesis 6:4 and Numbers 13:33.
Where does all this come from?! How are these people able to interpret a history that came into existence before themselves? Did God teach the authors in history class, right after he explained the happenings of the Job story?
I sometimes wonder if we look too much into these stories. Maybe we shouldn't try so hard to put a face with the Neevil, I mean Evil. What if Evil is just some negative force that really doesn't derive from anything? It just exists.
Sometimes I find myself questioning the Bible's fallibility. How are the stories in the "certified" Bible any more legitimate than other stories, such as the Apocrypha?
(Sorry for the tangent.)
Where does all this come from?! How are these people able to interpret a history that came into existence before themselves? Did God teach the authors in history class, right after he explained the happenings of the Job story?
I sometimes wonder if we look too much into these stories. Maybe we shouldn't try so hard to put a face with the Neevil, I mean Evil. What if Evil is just some negative force that really doesn't derive from anything? It just exists.
Sometimes I find myself questioning the Bible's fallibility. How are the stories in the "certified" Bible any more legitimate than other stories, such as the Apocrypha?
(Sorry for the tangent.)
Neevils and Nephilim, oh my! Sorry.
ReplyDeleteIt does challenge our presuppositions about how to read the Old Testament when we learn about its origins as a text and when we encounter many other ancient texts as well. My own conviction is that working through these issues, though it's difficult, will lead us to a deeper and more authentic engagement with the God we meet in Scripture.
A question... What is it for a story to be "legitimate"?