Wednesday, September 1, 2010
I find it interesting that C.S. Lewis would end The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe with this great battle where good triumphs over evil and everybody gets a happy ending. I bring this up because this seems like the classic case of the myth of redemptive violence. This myth is the belief that violence will somehow bring about peace. Yet, fighting for the sake of peace is like having sex for the sake of virginity; it doesn’t make sense. Redemptive violence only works in fictional stories, yet we all seem to believe that violence is what will bring us peace in the real world.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
There does seem to be a myth of redemptive violence in LWW, as in many stories. But some will say that it's a true myth! Can we just assume that it isn't?
ReplyDeleteI also wonder whether folks might not think that violence is sometimes necessary to bring about a kind of less-than-final peace without believing that violence will truly bring us the kind of Peace that will come only with the Kingdom of God.