The Apologetic Value of Myth– CS Lewis’s Myth became Fact

/ Al Ngu, MDiv / Leave a comment

I think the apologetic value of myth is tremendous as per CS Lewis, taking the point in particular the old myth of the dying God, without ceasing to be myth, comes down from the heaven of legend and imagination to the earth of history and happened on a particular date, particular place, and definable historical consequence. We passed from history to a historical person crucified by Pontius Pilot, so that myth became fact.[1] All that like the transcendent God coming down to earth, is just to too good to be true, and yet it is really myth became fact. And if that happened, that will energize the whole base of humanity to move closer to knowing and experiencing transcendent God. Its also part of the curiosity and inquisitiveness of human nature to be drawn with something fascinating, something beyond us.

I think the beauty and power of mythical thinking in apologetics is to open and provide a way for us to connect to the mysterious and mythical element of the transcendent God. Too often, case in point, Easter just becomes a commercial social celebration gathering with Easter bunnies etcetera because people lost touch with the mythical and the mysterious aspect of the dying God on the cross. We must communicate that to the unbelievers in the world so that they can appreciate Good Friday and Easter that it is not just a ceremonial process in the good old Christian customs but rather it is part of the greatest mystery and myth of Christianity that a God man was crucified in time and space. This is not only good for apologetics for non-believers but this is hugely beneficial and essential for Christian flourishing too.

We are also telling unbelievers and the Christians that if and when they choose to believe in Christ, they need to understand that it is not a mere assent to the intellectual story of Christ death on the cross, but it is essential to embrace the mythical and mysterious aspect of such crucifixion of a God man. To be convinced the supernatural that is that even possible naturally.

The mythical aspect of the gospel as Lewis puts it, claims not only our love and our obedience but also our wonder and delight because of the mythical radiance resting on theology as God chooses to be mythopoeic and myth pathetic, therefore we want to respond in light manner. And that is to respond not only with obedience and with love but also with the wonder and delight. So the apologetics to the non-believers and even believers is the aspect of wonder and delight in the God who speaks to us in such intensity and passion.

[1] CS Lewis, God in the Dock

Do not forsake wisdom, she will protect; love her. She will watch over you

/ Al Ngu, MDiv / Leave a comment

“Get wisdom, get understanding, do not forget my words or turn away from me”. Do not forsakewisdom, she will protect; love her. She will watch over you. (Proverbs 4:5-6)


I think this is a huge concept and idea of how to treat God’s word or Wisdom as a person. God’s Word or Wisdom as revealed in the Bible gives us a tremendous insight. The personal touch of  God is so powerful. 

 

As a John 1: 1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”.

 

You see the personification of the Word logos is God so if you love the Word of God, you love God because they are the same. The Word of God, the scripture is revelation of who God is and what he does. There’s no other things shows that, although I know the nature, shouting screams and the glory of God, only because of God. 

 

The real deal is not to forsake and she will protect you, love her and she will watch you. Love is powerful. Love that “love” the word. Love her because you are really treating the word of God is a person now and it’s not just a person but very personable person, a person whose emotion and attributes, characteristics,like you fall in love with a girl, you fall in love with a woman,you fall in love with a man. You love your wife, you love your husband, your boyfriend, girlfriend. This is how God wants us to understand and treat the word of God. Now if you love the Word, you have no problem to obey the word because you love her. It’s no more duty. It’s a delight from duty to delight. You don’t obey the word of God because you have to. You obey the word of God because you love her. Hallelujah it’s like you want to care for your husband or wife because you love him or her.

V 7 “:The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. Cherish her, and she will exalt you; embrace her, and she will honor you”.

 

Cherish her and she was you and her and she would honor you. What a powerful profound statement right here even though it costs all you have. Christianity is all or nothing. And that’s why Jesus said the first commandment is “Love the Lord of God with all your heart, all your mind and all your soul”. Its all and notlove as much as you can. 

 

The problem is we don’t understand that loving God with all hearts is organic even if you love gotten only 10% for now, but you know your heart is towards that direction. It’s no problem even if you screwed up big time, but the Lord, God will forgive you and restore. Amazing look at David. David is the greatest king over Israel ever. But he made the most grievous sin that I’ve known of and its sick to the heart because he killed one of his own soldiers to get his wife because his wife is beautiful and she bathed half naked in her backyard, and David saw her her from his balcony in Palace. After that he go her to sleep with him, that Dave slept with her and God judged severely. The baby that was born died. And David was severely punished, and all his concubines were slept by his son Absalom as God judged David. He was doomed. His son Absalom went after him, trying to kill him and take his throne, that is a judgment form God. But on the incredible side, he was so shaken in his heart because God confronted him. His conscience pricked him so badly so hardand the Spirit of God convicted him so badly, and that he fell down and pleaded with God for forgiveness. He cried. Like he prayed in the book of Psalms. He wrote, he prayed that, “Take not your Holy Spirit from me”. –He loves the Lord. You see, love covers a thousand sins. 

 

1 Peter 4 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

 

Psalm 51

 Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a right[b] spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

 

Against the Lord, have I sinned. Of course, he sinned against other guys, but he’s always talking with God. He’s so focused with God and loving the Lord passionately. God is the most important person in his life. There’s no other comparison. No one comes near. The Lord eventually restored him, forgive him. He moved on to become the greatest king of Israel ever known. Because he loves the Lord. A lot of things can be forgiven, and God looks over the wrongs and the sins of done, and God forgives you, and moves on. But don’t do it again and indeed David never did that again. In fact, never 300 concubines after that shamed by his son and he never went near them anymore. 

 

The power of love in the Lord. Amen.

“The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact.”

/ Al Ngu, MDiv / Leave a comment

Lewis writes, “Myth transcends thought, incarnation transcends myth. The heart of Christianity is a myth which is also a fact. The old myth of the dying God, without ceasing to be myth, comes down from the heaven of legend and imagination to the earth of history. It happens- at a particular date, in a particular place, followed by a definable historical consequence. We passed from history to our historical person crucified under Pontius Pilot. By becoming fact, it does not cease to be myth; That’s a miracle. I suspect the men have sometimes derived more spiritual sustenance from myths they did not believe then from the religion they’re professed”. That’s a huge insight to the call not to stop at Easter resurrection, but truly dwell on the mystery of a resurrected Christ bodily, I see Lewis’s exhortation of dwelling in the myth of Christ must be grasped by Christians today to be able to truly walking in the Spirit.

Lewis writes, “ A man who disbelieved the Christian story is fact but continually fed on it as myth would, perhaps, be more spiritually alive than one who assented” and did not think much about it”. There is so much truth to that because there are many people who just intellectually assented to the story of salvation and even believed in it but did not think much about it and which means it never changes their lives much at all. Compared to a person who disbelieve the Christian story but believe in the myth that came with it is, definitely potentially more spiritually alive person in a spiritual sense.

Lewis rightly says that those who do not know this great myth became fact when the virgin conceived or, indeed, to be pitied. I think America today is awash with people who don’t believe in the myth of Christianity but merely assented to it intellectually on a superficial level and that’s why we have this Easter bunnies overwhelming the resurrection of Christ. To the point that even White House refused any religious themes to Easter celebration this year.

Lewis writes, “Christians need to be reminded that what became fact was a myth, that it carries with it into the world of fact all the properties of a myth. God is more than a god, not less; Christ is more than Balder, not less. We must not be ashamed of the mythical radiance resting on our theology. We must not, in false spirituality, withhold our imaginative welcome. If God chooses to be mythopoeic- and it’s not the sky itself a myth- shall we refuse to be myopathic? For this is the marriage of heaven and earth; Perfect myth and perfect fact; Claiming not only our love and our obedience, but also our wonder in delight, addressed to the savage, the child, and the poet in each one of us no less than to the moralist, the scholar, and the philosopher”.—I think Lewis just make Christianity so much more alive and personal, something not only to be obeyed and followed in obedience, and with love, but indeed with wonder and delight. That’s a huge contribution to humanity understanding of Christianity because no one, even though rejecting Christianity or just being ignorant, will reject delight and wonder in a religion. To deprive Christianity of wonder and delight is to make the God of miracles and love and passion into a stoic idle that doesn’t speak or move.

(Lewis, God in Dock, “Myth Became Fact.”)