How Close, And Yet How Far Apart, Were The Worlds Of The Familiar And The Extraordinary

Guy Playfair wrote about an occasion when he was inside the Hodgsons' house while investigating the Enfield Poltergeist. He's contrasting the paranormal events inside the house to what was going on with the people walking by outside, who were focused on other things:

"It was late afternoon, and commuters were going home from the station, snatches of their conversation drifting through the window. Once again I was reminded of how close, and yet how far apart, were the worlds of the familiar and the extraordinary." (This House Is Haunted [United States: White Crow Books, 2011], 50)

Prayer Is A Mighty Weapon

"Prayer is a mighty weapon if it be made with suitable mind. And that thou mayest learn its strength, continued entreaty has overcome shamelessness, and injustice, and savage cruelty, and overbearing rashness. For He says, 'Hear what the unjust judge saith.' [Luke 18:6] Again it has overcome sloth also, and what friendship did not effect, this continued entreaty did: and 'although he will not give him because he is his friend' (He says), 'yet because of his importunity he will rise and give to him.' [Luke 11:8] And continued assiduity made her worthy who was unworthy. 'It is not meet' (He says) 'to take the children's bread and to cast it to the dogs.' 'Yea! Lord!' she says, 'for even the dogs eat [the crumbs] from their master's table.' [Matthew 15:26-27] Let us apply ourselves to Prayer. It is a mighty weapon if it be offered with earnestness, if without vainglory, if with a sincere mind. It has turned back wars, it has benefited an entire nation though undeserving. 'I have heard their groaning' (He says) 'and am come down to deliver them.' [Acts 7:34] It is itself a saving medicine, and has power to prevent sins, and to heal misdeeds. In this the desolate widow was assiduous. [1 Timothy 5:5] If then we pray with humility, smiting our breast as the publican, if we utter what he did, if we say, 'Be merciful to me a sinner' [Luke 18:13], we shall obtain all." (John Chrysostom, Homilies On Hebrews 27:9)

Interplanetary politics

1. From what I've read, Perelandra is the most popular entry in the Space Triology, although a few connoisseurs (e.g. Rowan Williams) prefer That Hideous Strength. Perlandra's my personal favorite in the Space Trilogy. 

Perelandra was initially Lewis's favorite until he wrote Til We Have Faces. Some literary critics agree that that's his best novel, but that may be because they think they're supposed to admire it and rank it higher than the others. For a couple of reasons, I think it's possible that Lewis himself overrated Til We have Faces. The myth of Cupid and Psyche had captivated him since he read it for the first time in 1916, when he was still a teenager. But there were many false starts. He tried to do a poetic version. He struggled with how to retell the myth for almost 40 years. His own worldview as well as the interpretation evolved over time. Cf. Peter Schakel's chapter (20) in The Cambridge Companion to C. S. Lewis.

In addition, the breakthrough moment came when he talked it over with his future wife:

Jack has started a new fantasy–for grownups. His methods of work amaze me. One night he was lamenting that he couldn't get a good idea for a book. We kicked a few ideas around till one came to life. Then we had another whiskey each and bounced it back and forth between us. The next day, without further planning, he wrote the first chapter! I read it and made some criticisms…he did it over and went on with the next. D. King, ed. Out of My Bone: The Letters of Joy Davidman (Eerdmans 2009), 242.

So he may have associated the book with his wife, which lends it a special poignancy for him.

2. Because for most readers, myself included, That Hideous Strength is a letdown after Perelandra, it raises the question of how or whether it could be better written. Another question is whether he should have ended with Perelandra. What do you do for an encore? If the final installment can't equal, must less surpass, the second entry, would it be wiser for Lewis to quit while he was ahead rather than end with an anticlimactic climax?

In fairness, it's not a bad book. It has some memorable scenes. Strokes of genius. It's prophetic. But it's not all of a piece. 

3. As every commentator explains, That Hideous Strength marks an abrupt stylistic shift from the first two installments, due in part to the newer influence of Charles Williams and spent impact of Tolkien. Tolkien was no longer a creative stimulus for Lewis, in part because Lewis had outgrown Tolkien, who was a smaller talent, and due to irreconcilable artistic visions.    

But over and above that, a change was inevitable. At a scenic level, That Hideous Strength can't compete with the extraterrestrial landscapes and seascapes of Venus and Mars, or their species. That's exacerbated by the fact that Lewis makes no pretense of astronomical accuracy. They exist in his cosmological mythos. That frees him to indulge in surreal flights of fancy unconstrained by what's physically possible. By contrast, That Hideous Strength must have a more realistic setting. After all, his readers are earthlings. 

4. One of the tensions in Out of the Silent Planet is Lewis attacking secular science and its counterpart in hard science fiction. In particular, the materialist notion that outer space is mostly deserted and dead. But as a matter of fact, that's the case. And even though Lewis didn't have the benefit contemporary astronomy, c. 2020, he must have known back in the 1930s that there was no presumption of other life in our solar system. 

Of course, this is soft SF, not meant to be accurate, but then, what does his critique amount to in that respect? It works at the level of his fictional cosmology, but it's not a refutation of the hard SF view of the universe as mostly deserted and dead. 

However, that's offset by the fact that soft SF is never obsolete, whereas the danger of futuristic hard SF is to become dated when overtaken by real events. It works if you have a dualistic view of reality, where there are spiritual agents behind the physical realm, who participate in the physical realm. Interaction between two different domains. Sacramental universe. 

5. Despite the comedown, there is some justification in the third and final installment. All three share the common theme of a primordial angelic rebellion. Against his will, Ransom is drawn into the internal affairs of Mars. Then he is summoned to Venus. The Martian guardian angel visits earth to facilitate the trip. 

In terms of dramatic logic and closure, it makes sense that events come to a head on earth. Having decisively intervened on Venus, it's only fair that heavenly angels lend Ransom a hand for a critical battle with the dark side on earth. Especially since earth is the epicenter of the cosmic rebellion. That rounds out the dramatic arc of a story that began with Mars and proceeded through Venus. 

6. In addition, it gives Lewis a pretext to reinterpret the King Arthur mythos–a theme many English poets and novelists find irresistible. Merlin fits into Lewis's philosophy of myth and magic. However, making Ransom a descendent of King Arthur is ad hoc. King Arthur has no useful role to play in a 20C setting. He's timebound in a way that Merlin is not. 

Intrusive thoughts

I was asked about Christians who suffer from intrusive blasphemous thoughts. There are different possible explanations:

i) A naturalistic possibility is that that their brain is doing funny things, and they need psychotropic medication to stabilize it. That's not a cure, but it can sometimes provide necessary relief. 

I have a relative whose parents thought it was a swell idea to send her to a missionary training school in Canada when she was an adolescent girl. She developed mental illness as a result of the isolation, and remains on medications to this day. 

I have another friend who suffered from night terrors and old-hag syndrome until he was diagnosed with sleep apnea, and underwent some sort of treatment, which greatly diminished the symptoms (as I recall).

ii) There's also the question of whether the individual is under too much stress at work, home, or school. 

iii) As to where such thoughts come from, most American men have consumed lots of unsavory stuff (myself included). Although we may keep that quarantined in the subconscious, it's still there. 

Martyn Lloyd-Jones talks about an elderly man who was very devout, but after he developed dementia, a different side surfaced–the side he self-censured when he was in his right mind.

iv) As for supernatural explanations, if evil spirits have access to human minds, then they might be able to plant blasphemous thoughts in human minds. Demoniacs could discern the true identity of Jesus, which suggests telepathy. Here's another example suggesting that demons can read minds:

http://triablogue.blogspot.com/2017/11/jesus-and-psychiatrists.html

v) As our country becomes more anti-Christian, there's probably a resurgence of paganism, so that may be in the air (so to speak). The experience might be like missionaries who go to countries steeped in witchcraft, and find themselves under psychological attack from unseen forces.

vi) Another possibility is that someone hexed the Christian who now suffers from intrusive blasphemous thoughts. 

vii) Just in general, I think human psychology is different at night, in the dark. We're more vulnerable to fear and doubt. That can have a naturalistic explanation, but it can also be opening for malign supernatural agents.

viii) I wouldn't worry about the unforgivable sin. Intrusive thoughts are involuntary. That's hardly comparable to the Gospel accounts.  

Angelic warfare

The Bible contains scattered references to angelic warfare. I use that to designate two different, but related things: angels waging war on each other (or God), and angels waging war for or against humans. 

As Christians, we must take this seriously. However, the analysis often boils down to two inadequate alternatives: "Spiritual warfare" is simply a synonym for sanctification, or else spiritual warfare is depicted in Miltonian terms: humanoid angels with superpowers, like Greek gods smiting each other. Let's briefly try to improve on those alternatives. 

i) The diabolical war against God is indirect. God is invulnerable, so Satan and the demons can't attack him directly. instead, it's a kind of angelic Cold War. To take a comparison, Russia and America couldn't safely nuke each other. And because they occupy different continents, they couldn't invade each other. So they fought proxy wars through allies and satellites. 

ii) How do angels (i.e. heavenly v. fallen) fight each other? As discarnate spirits, presumably this is psychological warfare. Mind games. Telepathic espionage and counterespionage. Disinformation. 

iii) Angels are shape-shifters. According to Scripture, they can assume human form. That's an extension of psychokinesis.

Heavenly angels can use their powers to protect God's people by warding off physical adversaries (Gen 19:11; Exod 14:19-20; 2 Kgs 19:35). Conversely, demons can take possession of humans or animals. Although angels can make themselves visible or audible to humans, presumably they can shadow us as unseen guardians or adversaries. 

Things that go bump in the night

RHOLOGY SAID:

“Hate to pile on, but I'd be interested in knowing what you'd do if you encountered a case of demon-possession.”

TRUTH UNITES... AND DIVIDES SAID:

“Along with Rhology, what do you think of all the Protestant missionaries who encounter demon-possession in the third-world countries they're at?__Or in other words, suppose you went on an overseas mission trip and you witnessed a demon-possession along with the local missionary stationed there. What would you do in that situation?”

i) Since I’ve never been in that situation, I don’t know for sure what would work. I might have to improvise.

That said, these are the operating assumptions I’d bring to my initial encounter:

ii) The NT doesn’t explicitly authorize Christians to expel demons. In the absence of explicit Scriptural authorization, I wouldn’t presume to boss the demon around. I wouldn’t command it to leave the demoniac. I wouldn’t pretend to be some sort of authority-figure in relation to the demon.

iii) However, we can always pray. We can pray for people (at a distance), and we can also with them (if they’re lucid and cooperative) or over them (if they’re unresponsive).

iv) I’d bring some other Christians along with me. Corporate prayer. We might also work in relays–if need be.

v) I wouldn’t get into an argument with the demon. I don’t have any power over the demon. So I don’t think a successful exorcism depends on my relationship with the demon. On my personal clout. I’m in no position to issue orders. I’m not Jesus or one of the apostles. I can’t throw my weight around in the presence of the dark side.

vi) Apropos (v), instead of addressing the demon, I’d address God. I think a successful exorcism depends on my relationship with God. God is the authority-figure in this transaction, not me. God has the power over the demon, not me.

vii) I’d do other things to make the demon uncomfortable. We could sing hymns. Read passages of Scripture aloud. Take turns. Work in shifts. Hold an informal church service in the bedroom of the demoniac.

viii) I don’t think it’s necessary to raise my voice. I don’t think a demon is hard of hearing. And we don’t need to yell for God to hear us either. And our prayers are directed at God, not the demon.

No reason to turn an exorcism into a shouting match. That may make for good movies, but I know see how it’s relevant to a successful exorcism.

ix) If the demoniac has lucid moments, I’d try to involve the demoniac in the process. Invite him to pray with me. Repeat Scripture after me.

x) In the case of a hex, it may be necessary to destroy the talisman.

xi) It’s also important to have a follow-up ministry. Aftercare. Discipleship. Friendship. The fellowship of the saints.

xii) Since an exorcist is exposing himself to direct confrontation with the dark side, he also needs to be very attentive to his own devotional life. For there’s a sense in which he’s leaving himself open to counterattack.