Friday, August 11, 2006

Islamic Terrorists as Devil Worshippers

One of my favorite parts of the writing of CS Lewis is an epsiode from The Last Battle, which is the last book in the Narnia series. Aslan (who represents God) confronts Tash (who represents the devil). One of Tash's warriors - Emeth - is a good and righteous man, who misunderstands Tash and believes him to represent good, not evil. What is this warrior's fate? Redemption or damnation? Aslan answers him:

I take to me the services which thou hast done to him [Tash]. For I and he [Tash] are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he knows it not, and it is I who reward him...

At its heart, I suspect that this is more of a question about your religious beliefs than anything else. But if you believe in God as depicted in the Bible, and superimpose the theology of Aslan, then are not terrorists (Islamic terrorists in our current circumstance) following the devil?

Discuss amongst yourselves...

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3 comments:

Philo-Junius said...

If by "following" one means "recapitulating" then, of course, the answer is yes.

On the other hand, they themselves have their own notion of Satan, and would reject the notion, presumably violently.

Anonymous said...

I have a good shot at the good place, in spite of myself.

Thank God.

Anonymous said...

It is unnecessary, IMHO, to use contorted logic to identify evil as evil, or to justify doing so....as it were.

Evil simply is.