Pagan Inspiration in C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien

I asked ChatGPT to summarize pagan influence in the work of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, and below is the result.  I'm very familiar with both of these authors, and, as I suspected would be the case, ChatGPT's summary is very helpful and accurate.

There are rays of truth in all human religions and cultures, and a Catholic Christian worldview encourages us to approach various cultures and religions with a nuanced perspective, recognizing elements of incompatibility and difference, but also recognizing and appreciating elements of truth and beauty.  I think the works of Lewis and Tolkien provide an excellent example of such nuanced appreciation, and how Christians can derive inspiration from paganism.  I've discussed this more here, here, and here.

I should note that neither Lewis nor Tolkien advocated an uncritical acceptance of pagan ideas.  They were critical of certain aspects of paganism, particularly where pagan ideas conflict with Christian beliefs and values.  There is a lot of diversity in paganism, as I discuss in this post.  But what I want to emphasize here is the positive value they found in pagan myths, themes, motifs, and practices, as they appreciated them from a Christian point of view.

I should also note that, while Tolkien's fictional works were influenced profoundly by his Christian worldview, he did not see his works as allegories referring to Christian themes but as myths and stories with their own unique integrity as "sub-creations" (see below).

The analysis below was generated with the assistance of OpenAI's ChatGPT sometime in August (with just a little bit of editing by me).

C.S. Lewis

C.S. Lewis, renowned for his profound Christian writings and imaginative fiction, intricately wove pagan motifs, themes, aesthetics, practices, deities, and magical elements into his works. This synthesis was not merely artistic but stemmed from his belief in the intrinsic value of myth and its role in pointing toward deeper truths. Lewis saw pagan myths as echoes of a universal longing for redemption and truth, which he believed were ultimately fulfilled in Christianity. This integration showcases how Lewis reconciled pagan elements with his Christian worldview, using them to enrich his narratives and convey spiritual truths.

Incorporation of Pagan Elements in Lewis's Works

1. Mythological Creatures and Deities:

   • The Chronicles of Narnia series is replete with creatures from Greek and Roman mythology, such as fauns, centaurs, dryads, naiads, and satyrs. For instance, Mr. Tumnus, a faun, plays a pivotal role in "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."
   • In "Prince Caspian," Bacchus and Silenus, figures from Roman mythology associated with revelry and nature, appear and participate in the narrative, symbolizing liberation and the restoration of rightful order.

2. Pagan Practices and Rituals:

   • Lewis incorporates festivals and celebrations that echo pagan rituals. The joyous romp led by Bacchus in "Prince Caspian" mirrors ancient rites celebrating nature's bounty and the gods' favor.
   • The emphasis on deep magic and ancient laws in Narnia reflects a world governed by timeless, mystical principles reminiscent of pagan cosmologies.

3. Aesthetic and Thematic Elements:

   • The natural world is sacralized, embodying a living, enchanted universe where trees and rivers possess spirits, akin to animistic beliefs in pagan traditions.
   • Themes of sacrifice, rebirth, and redemption are explored using pagan symbols, such as the dying-and-rising god motif, which parallels Aslan's sacrificial death and resurrection.

4. "Till We Have Faces":

   • This novel is a retelling of the Cupid and Psyche myth from Greek mythology. Lewis delves deep into pagan religious practices, exploring themes of love, jealousy, and the human longing for the divine.
   • The protagonist's journey reflects a spiritual pilgrimage from ignorance to understanding, using the framework of a pagan myth to explore universal truths.

Relation to His Christian Worldview

1. Myth as a Precursor to Truth:

   • Lewis viewed pagan myths as "good dreams" given by God to humanity, preparing the way for the ultimate truth revealed in Christianity.
   • He believed that these myths contained fragmented reflections of the same truths fulfilled in the Christian narrative of Jesus Christ.

2. "Myth Became Fact":

   • In his essay "Myth Became Fact," Lewis argues that myths are expressions of profound truths and that Christianity is the true myth that became historical fact.
   • By incorporating pagan elements, Lewis bridges the gap between myth and history, showing how ancient stories find their culmination in the Christian gospel.

3. Redemption of Pagan Elements:

   • Pagan motifs are not presented in opposition to Christianity but are redeemed and integrated into a Christian framework.
   • The presence of pagan deities and creatures in Narnia acknowledges the validity of their symbolic meanings while subsuming them under the sovereignty of Aslan, the Christ figure.

4. Imagination and Faith:

   • Lewis championed the role of imagination in understanding and experiencing faith. Pagan myths stir the imagination, opening hearts to spiritual realities.
   • He used pagan imagery to make Christian truths more accessible and resonate deeply with readers' innate sense of wonder and longing.

Lewis's Theological Perspective

1. Natural Law and Deep Magic:

   • The concept of "Deep Magic" from the dawn of time in Narnia represents a moral order inherent in the universe, akin to the natural law tradition in Christian theology.
   • This reflects Lewis's belief in a universal moral code that transcends cultural and religious boundaries, which pagan myths also touch upon.

2. Common Grace and General Revelation:

   • Lewis acknowledged that truth and beauty in paganism are a result of God's general revelation to all humanity.
   • He believed that God imparts wisdom and glimpses of truth even outside the specific revelations of Christianity.

3. Transformation and Fulfillment:

   • Pagan elements are transformed within his stories to serve a higher purpose, illustrating the fulfillment of human myths in divine reality.
   • This aligns with his view that Christianity does not discard pagan truths but fulfills and elevates them.

Conclusion

C.S. Lewis masterfully integrates pagan motifs into his works to enrich his storytelling and to highlight the universal human quest for meaning, truth, and redemption. By doing so, he demonstrates how pagan myths are not antithetical to Christian belief but can be harmoniously woven into a Christian narrative that fulfills the deepest longings expressed in those myths. Lewis's approach reflects his conviction that all myths and stories find their ultimate significance in the Christian story, where the myth becomes reality, and the ancient hopes of humanity are realized.

Through this synthesis, Lewis invites readers to explore the depths of their own imaginations and desires, guiding them toward the spiritual truths he cherished. His works stand as a testament to the power of storytelling to bridge cultures, epochs, and beliefs, revealing a tapestry of divine truth threaded through the diverse expressions of human longing.

J.R.R. Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien, best known for his epic works The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, was a devout Roman Catholic whose deep faith profoundly influenced his writing. However, his works are richly infused with pagan motifs, themes, aesthetics, practices, deities, and magical elements drawn from Norse, Celtic, and other mythologies. Tolkien's intricate blending of these elements serves to create a mythopoeic world that explores universal themes such as good versus evil, sacrifice, and redemption. This synthesis reflects how Tolkien reconciled pagan elements with his Christian worldview, using them to illuminate spiritual truths and moral principles.

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Incorporation of Pagan Elements in Tolkien's Works

1. Mythological Creatures and Beings:

   • Elves and Dwarves:
     • Tolkien's Elves and Dwarves are heavily inspired by Norse mythology. Elves (Álfar) and Dwarves (Dvergar) in Norse myths are supernatural beings with their own realms and cultures.
     • In Middle-earth, Elves are immortal, wise, and possess a deep connection to nature, while Dwarves are skilled craftsmen and miners, echoing their mythological counterparts.
   • Ents and Dragons:
     • Ents resemble the tree-like beings found in various mythologies, symbolizing the personification of nature.
     • Dragons like Smaug draw from European dragon legends, embodying greed and destructive power.
   • Valar and Maiar:
     • The Valar and Maiar are god-like beings that govern the world, similar to pantheons in pagan religions. They represent various aspects of creation and natural forces.

2. Pagan Themes and Motifs:

   • Heroic Quest and Destiny:
     • The narrative structure follows the classic hero's journey found in mythologies, where characters embark on quests that shape their destiny.
   • The Cyclical Nature of Time:
     • Tolkien's world operates in ages, reflecting the cyclical concept of time present in pagan cosmologies.
   • Fate and Prophecy:
     • Prophecies and predetermined fates play significant roles, akin to the Norse concept of fate (wyrd).

3. Aesthetic and Cultural Elements:

   • Runes and Languages:
     • Tolkien, a philologist, created languages like Quenya and Sindarin, inspired by Finnish and Welsh. The use of runes echoes ancient writing systems like the Futhark runes.
   • Cultural Practices:
     • Rituals, songs, and storytelling within the cultures of Middle-earth reflect pagan traditions of oral history and celebration.

4. Magic and Supernatural Elements:

   • Magic as a Natural Force:
     • Magic in Middle-earth is an inherent part of the world, wielded by beings like wizards (Istari) and Elves. It is not "supernatural" but a natural aspect of existence.
   • Artifacts and Relics:
     • Objects like the One Ring, swords like Narsil/Andúril, and the Silmarils hold immense power, reminiscent of enchanted items in myths.

5. Creation Mythology:

   • "The Silmarillion":
     • Tolkien presents a creation story where Eru Ilúvatar (the One) creates the world through a great musical theme sung by the Ainur, paralleling creation myths in various pagan traditions.

6. Nature and Respect for Nature:

   • Reverence for the Natural World:
     • Tolkien's works exhibit a profound respect for nature, reflecting pagan animism where natural elements are imbued with spirit and agency.
     • Forests like Fangorn and Lothlórien are depicted as living entities with consciousness and memory.
   • Harmony with Nature:
     • Characters such as the Elves live in harmony with their environment, embodying a deep ecological wisdom and stewardship over the natural world.
   • Environmental Themes:
     • The destructive impact of industrialization is personified in characters like Saruman, whose defilement of Isengard represents a violation of the natural order.
     • The scouring of the Shire highlights the consequences of environmental neglect and the importance of restoring balance.

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Relation to His Christian Worldview

1. Sub-Creation and Reflection of Divine Creation:

   • Concept of Sub-Creation:
     • Tolkien believed that humans, made in the image of the Creator, have the innate desire to create (sub-create). His myth-making is an act of sub-creation that reflects divine creativity.
   • Moral Order and Providence:
     • Despite the pagan elements, the underlying moral order in Middle-earth reflects a Christian understanding of good and evil orchestrated under divine providence.

2. Redemption and Sacrifice:

   • Christ-like Figures:
     • Characters like Gandalf, Frodo, and Aragorn embody aspects of Christ's journey—sacrifice, resurrection, and kingship.
     • Gandalf's fall and return as Gandalf the White mirrors resurrection.
   • Self-Sacrifice:
     • The willingness of characters to sacrifice themselves for others aligns with Christian virtues.

3. The Fall and Corruption:

   • The Corrupting Influence of Power:
     • The One Ring resonates with the idea of sin and the corrupting nature of power, reflecting the Christian concept of original sin and temptation.
   • The Fall of Races:
     • The decline of Elves and Men echoes the Fall of Man, a central theme in Christian theology.

4. Hope and Eschatology:

   • The Triumph of Good Over Evil:
     • The ultimate defeat of Sauron reflects the eschatological hope in Christianity that good will prevail.
   • The Undying Lands:
     • The Elves' journey to the West can be seen as a metaphor for the soul's journey to the afterlife.

5. Integration of Pagan Elements into a Christian Framework:

   • Universality of Truth:
     • Tolkien believed that pagan myths contain fragments of the true light, which Christianity fulfills.
   • Christianity as the True Myth:
     • Concept of the True Myth:
       • Tolkien viewed Christianity as the "True Myth"—a myth that is also a historical fact. This concept suggests that the story of Christ is the fulfillment of the truths and archetypes expressed imperfectly in pagan myths.
     • Discussion with C.S. Lewis:
       • Tolkien played a pivotal role in C.S. Lewis's conversion to Christianity. In their famous conversation, Tolkien explained that myths are not lies but convey profound truths.
       • He argued that the pagan stories of dying and resurrecting gods are echoes of the ultimate truth realized in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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Tolkien's Theological Perspective

1. Free Will and Moral Choice:

   • Emphasis on Choice:
     • Characters are defined by their choices, highlighting the Christian belief in free will and moral responsibility.
   • Resisting Temptation:
     • The struggle against temptation, as seen with Frodo and the Ring, underscores the spiritual battles described in Christian theology.

2. Suffering and Providence:

   • Purpose in Suffering:
     • Suffering leads to growth and fulfills a greater purpose, aligning with the Christian understanding of redemptive suffering.
   • Hidden Providence:
     • The unseen guidance of a higher power reflects the Christian belief in God's providential care.

3. Community and Fellowship:

   • Importance of Fellowship:
     • The unity and cooperation among diverse races symbolize the Christian ideal of community and the Body of Christ.
   • Hospitality and Generosity:
     • Acts of kindness and hospitality are recurrent, echoing Christian virtues.

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Conclusion

J.R.R. Tolkien masterfully weaves pagan motifs and elements into his works to create a rich and immersive mythological world. While deeply rooted in various pagan traditions, his narratives are imbued with Christian symbolism and themes, reflecting his faith. Tolkien does not reject the pagan myths but reinterprets them, integrating their universal truths into a Christian framework.

Through this synthesis, Tolkien explores profound themes of creation, fall, redemption, hope, and the sanctity of nature. His works emphasize the intrinsic value of the natural world, advocating for a harmonious relationship between humanity and the environment. This respect for nature aligns with both pagan reverence for the natural world and Christian stewardship of creation.

Central to his integration of pagan elements is the concept of Christianity as the "True Myth." Tolkien believed that while pagan myths express fundamental truths about the human condition and the divine, these truths find their fullest and most concrete expression in Christianity.

His stories invite readers to ponder the complexities of good and evil, the significance of free will, and the possibility of redemption. By harmoniously blending pagan elements with his Christian worldview, Tolkien's narratives resonate with a timeless appeal, offering both an epic adventure and a reflection on the spiritual truths that transcend culture and time.

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References to Key Works:

• "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings": Exploration of heroism, sacrifice, the battle between good and evil, and the deep connection to nature.
• "The Silmarillion": Detailed mythology of Middle-earth, including creation myths and the history of its peoples.
• Letters and Essays: Tolkien's correspondence and writings provide insight into his intentions and the theological underpinnings of his work, including his concept of Christianity as the True Myth.

By delving into the rich tapestry of Middle-earth, readers encounter a world where pagan and Christian elements coalesce, offering a profound reflection on the human condition and the divine narrative that Tolkien believed encompasses all of history. His emphasis on respect for nature and the idea of Christianity as the True Myth serves as a reminder of the interconnectedness of all creation and the ultimate fulfillment of human longing in the Christian story.

Published on the feast of St. John of Capistrano

A Catholic in a Pagan Land: My Experiences at Oak Spirit Sanctuary

Likewise, other religions found everywhere try to counter the restlessness of the human heart, each in its own manner, by proposing "ways," comprising teachings, rules of life, and sacred rites. The Catholic Church rejects nothing that is true and holy in these religions. She regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. . . .  The Church, therefore, exhorts her sons, that through dialogue and collaboration with the followers of other religions, carried out with prudence and love and in witness to the Christian faith and life, they recognize, preserve and promote the good things, spiritual and moral, as well as the socio-cultural values found among these men.

~ Nostra Aetate, Second Vatican Council

So I've been hanging out with pagans lately.

There is a pagan community and nature preserve about thirty minutes away from where I live called Oak Spirit Sanctuary.  I came across it about three-and-a-half months ago as I was looking to enhance my celebration of the Advent-Christmas season.  I'm a medievophile, and I've always been attracted to the ethos of the (European, especially English) Middle Ages.  I'm the kind of person who likes to hang out at Renaissance festivals.  I love Arthuriana, Robin Hood, Vikings, and all the rest.  I'm attracted to the seasonal and cultural celebrations that accompanied the celebrations of the Church Year in medieval and Renaissance times.  So, this past Christmas, I was looking for some kind of classic "Yule"-type celebration to enhance my other Christmas traditions.  Oak Spirit Sanctuary (OSS) was having such a celebration, so I decided to attend.

Anyone who knows me knows that this sort of boundary-crossing is nothing new to me.  I've always been inclined to wander out of my own circles to explore those of others.  I love crossing boundaries and bringing separate worlds together.  In my high school days I used to attend synagogue regularly, hang out at mosques, and go Christmas caroling with Latter-day Saints, among other things.  During my synagogue-attending days I began to learn some Hebrew.  When the members of Temple Beth-El (a small, Reform Jewish congregation in Sedalia, MO) found out about that, they invited me to join the rotation in leading Shabbat services on Friday nights.  The congregation was too small to keep their own rabbi during most of the year, so the members would rotate leading the services.

When I attended the Yule event at OSS, I very quickly fell in love with the place and with the community, and so I decided to continue to visit.  OSS follows a yearly cycle of celebrations common in some forms of Neo-Paganism, a cycle which tracks to a significant degree the seasonal celebrations in various parts of medieval Europe and which were, in various ways, often celebrated by Christians as well.  In fact, it is often very difficult historically to separate pagan and Christian strands out of these traditions because the two cultures became so intertwined.  In addition to Yule, I have now attended Imbolc and Ostara as well (I'll talk about these a bit more below).

As a Catholic Christian who believes in the value of crossing boundaries in this kind of way, I wanted to take some time to briefly describe my own experience and how this works for me and to provide some general reflections.  It is a bit tricky to write an article like this, since I recognize that I may have readers from both Christian and pagan backgrounds.  The different mindsets of these traditions (with their different beliefs, concerns, ways of using language, etc.) make it difficult to speak in a way that will communicate well to both groups at the same time, but I'll do my best!

A Nuanced Relationship

First of all, I am a mainstream, orthodox Catholic, faithful to the Catholic faith as taught by the Magisterium of the Catholic Church.  I have a friend who describes himself as a Catholic of a heretical variety.  He takes elements of Catholicism and blends them with elements of other religions in his own way without a commitment to be consistent with official Catholic teaching.  His experience is a fascinating one, to be sure, but it is not the same as mine in this respect.  My commitment to orthodox Catholicism provides both incentives as well as challenges to my attempt to make a religious connection outside the boundaries of the Catholic Church and Christianity.

There are incentives.  As my quotation at the beginning of this article illustrates, the Catholic Church recognizes that there is truth and beauty in other religious traditions, and she encourages her children not only to recognize that but to respect, and even to preserve and to promote, such goodness and beauty.  At the same time, there are challenges.  There are elements of pagan practice that are inconsistent with orthodox Catholic belief and practice.

What this means for me is that my participation with the community at OSS has to be carefully nuanced.  I want to join in with whatever I can, but there are elements from which I have to remain aloof.  For example, as a Catholic, I will not participate in the invoking of spirits, magical practices, or the worship of pagan or nature deities.

For Catholics, one of the concerns about invoking spirits is that there is a danger of becoming involved with evil spirits.  When I participate in events at OSS, I carry a rosary and cross and a pendant dedicated to Mary as well as praying for God's special protection and the protection of his angels.

But, while I must remain aloof from some things, I choose to see my relationship with OSS in an overall positive way, and I find much that I not only can participate in but that I find to be greatly enriching to my spiritual and personal life.

Some Beautiful and Valuable Virtues of Paganism

The spirit of modern paganism, at least of the sort encountered at OSS, I would characterize as one of joy and celebration.  It is a delightful spirit that fills my heart with great encouragement and joy!  When I listen to pagan folk music and participate with the community at OSS, I often find myself filled with the exuberance and joy of life.  There is a great spirit of festivity, but a festivity full of religious mystery as well.  It is difficult to convey this atmosphere in writing to someone who has not experienced it.  Ironically (or perhaps not?), as I search about for some way of conveying the atmosphere I am speaking of, what comes to mind is the many instances of fauns, dryads, nymphs, and others dancing and celebrating in Christian author C.S. Lewis's famous Chronicles of Narnia.  In The Horse and His Boy, the faun Tumnus describes the Summer Festival in Narnia, where "there'll be bonfires and all-night dances of Fauns and Dryads in the heart of the woods."¹  Here is a snippet of a description of the Narnian "Great Snowball Dance" from The Silver Chair:

The noises she had been hearing turned out to be of two kinds: the rhythmical thump of several feet, and the music of four fiddles, three flutes, and a drum. She also got her own position clear. She was looking out of a hole in a steep bank which sloped down and reached the level about fourteen feet below her. Everything was very white. A lot of people were moving about. Then she gasped! The people were trim little Fauns, and Dryads with leaf-crowned hair floating behind them. For a second they looked as if they were moving anyhow; then she saw that they were really doing a dance—a dance with so many complicated steps and figures that it took you some time to understand it. Then it came over her like a thunderclap that the pale, blue light was really moonlight, and the white stuff on the ground was really snow. And of course! There were the stars staring in a black frosty sky overhead. And the tall black things behind the dancers were trees. They had not only got out into the upper world at last, but had come out in the heart of Narnia. Jill felt she could have fainted with delight; and the music—the wild music, intensely sweet and yet just the least bit eerie too, and full of good magic as the Witch's thrumming had been full of bad magic—made her feel it all the more.

    All this takes a long time to tell, but of course it took a very short time to see. . . .  Circling round and round the dancers was a ring of Dwarfs, all dressed in their finest clothes; mostly scarlet with fur-lined hoods and golden tassels and big furry top-boots. As they circled round they were all diligently throwing snowballs. (Those were the white things that Jill had seen flying through the air.) They weren't throwing them at the dancers as silly boys might have been doing in England. They were throwing them through the dance in such perfect time with the music and with such perfect aim that if all the dancers were in exactly the right places at exactly the right moments, no-one would be hit. This is called the Great Snow Dance and it is done every year in Narnia on the first moonlit night when there is snow on the ground. Of course it is a kind of game as well as a dance, because every now and then some dancer will be the least little bit wrong and get a snowball in the face, and then everyone laughs. But a good team of dancers, Dwarfs, and musicians will keep it up for hours without a single hit. On fine nights when the cold and the drum-taps, and the hooting of the owls, and the moonlight, have got into their wild, woodland blood and made it even wilder, they will dance till daybreak. I wish you could see it for yourselves.²

In these descriptions, I feel like Lewis has captured the atmosphere I have often felt at pagan events.  There is a spirit there that fills the heart with a sense of exuberance, deep joy, freedom, and mysterious transcendence all at once, and which leaves one feeling one has encountered the Love and Joy that is at the root of all things.  This is something that we Christians can resonate with and totally get behind.  Christianity tells us that at the heart of all things there is a kind of Great Dance of love and joy - the Life of God.  The foundation of all existence is the Supreme Being who is a Trinity of Persons, whose Being is the fullness of Goodness, Truth, and Beauty.  The members of this Trinity - Father, Son. and Holy Spirit - eternally share this Divine Life and Beauty with each other in a relationship of supreme Love.  The creation of the world is the overflow and outpouring of that Life and Love filling up the nothingness with their beauty and joy.  And redemption in Christ is all about bringing all of us, who have been alienated from that Divine Life, back into full communion with it.  When I am at a pagan event, God uses the spirit of that celebration to help put me in connection with this Divine Life.

The pagan atmosphere I have experienced is also one of love, compassion, empathy, caring, community, and the celebration of differences and individuality.  One of the mottos of OSS is "Welcome Home!"  And they truly mean it and practice it.  Pagan spirituality and culture emphasizes the uniqueness of individuals and encourages the celebration of that uniqueness.  People of all sorts are welcomed and loved and appreciated.  From my first moments visiting at Yule, I felt at home.  I felt I was able to be myself and that I would be valued and appreciated for who I am.  We are one common humanity, and this is something one feels at OSS.  It has been deeply meaningful for me personally.  And, again, it is something Christians can get behind.  We are all made in God's image and reflect, to some degree, his glory.  We have value as our unique selves.  Christian imagery describes the Church - the people of God - as a Body, which has a unity but consists of many distinct parts which are all important in their own way.  "But God has so adjusted the body, giving the greater honor to the inferior part, that there may be no discord in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.  If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together" (1 Corinthians 12:24-26, RSVCE).³

Paganism encourages a deep connection to nature which I also appreciate.  The world is God's creation, and it is full of life from God.  It is something to be celebrated and protected and nurtured.  God connects to us through it.  During my time at OSS so far, I have already been encouraged to think more deeply about my own connection to nature.  At the Ostara event this past weekend, there was a lecture about native Missouri flowers and an encouragement to plant them and spread them.  I've had very little connection in my own life to gardening and planting, but I've been concerned for some time about the harm that our industrial society has done and continues to do to nature (not to mention the harm it does to our fellow human beings) and I have wanted to learn better how to live in a more nature-nurtuing way.  Paganism's interest in and love of nature provides a much-needed emphasis here and I look forward to learning more from various members of the community.

Appreciating the Sacred in a Pagan Context

Christians have often recognized that God communicates truth and grace through the myths and practices of other religions insofar as they are rays reflecting the truth and beauty of God.  I have encountered that at OSS in a number of ways.

I have already mentioned pagan celebrations and rituals.  Pagan rituals involve elements that, as a Catholic, I cannot participate in, such as directly invoking spirits, worshiping various deities, and practicing magic.  During these celebrations, I must bow out at certain times.  But even when I must bow out, I can recognize elements of truth, goodness, and beauty that are there.  At the Ostara festival this past weekend, the focus was on saying farewell to winter and welcoming spring.  This was made concrete by the burning of an effigy of the goddess Marzanna after holding a wake for her dead form (symbolizing the dying and passing of winter).  Another element of the ritual observances was an enactment based on the myth of Persephone, who lives with her husband Hades in the underworld during the winter but comes back to bring new life to the earth in the springtime, returning to her mother Demeter.  As a myth, I can recognize much truth and value in it, as I, too, live in the world and experience the changing of the seasons.  Enacting out these seasonal truths in a kind of concrete ritual celebration is not something that need be foreign to Christian sensibility, though Christians would not invoke or worship Persephone, Demeter, etc., as actual deities.  And these myths have a deeper significance also, as they point to the fact that, spiritually speaking as well, life leads to death, and new life cannot come about except through death.  To reach the Divine Life, we must die to self and to sin.  We must suffer and be crucified with Christ in order to rise with him.  God himself has died in order to bring us new life, and we must walk this path he has opened for us.  (Romans 6; Galatians 2:20; etc.)  The changing of the seasons is a temporal reality which points us to this deeper spiritual truth.  During these celebrations, while abstaining from elements incompatible with my Catholic faith, I was able to participate in and be enriched by elements that were not only compatible with but which also fed my own Christian experience.

Myths, symbols, fantasy - all of these have been and are used by God to reach us and connect with us.  Christians have often considered these things as "preparations for the gospel," and they can enrich our spiritual experience as Christians.  I have been greatly enriched here by the thinking of modern Christian writers C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien (the latter a Catholic), both of whom used elements of pagan-inspired myth to convey spiritual realities and believed that this is a valuable practice.  We've already seen this in my earlier quotations from The Chronicles of Narnia.  Pagan references abound in this series.  In Lewis's Space Trilogy, we see the gods and goddesses associated with various planets make an appearance in a positive way.  (See especially the chapter "The Descent of the Gods" in That Hideous Strength.)  And Tolkien introduces us to elves, goblins, and many other pagan-myth-inspired characters and creatures.  The characters in his mythology also include the Ainur, who are powerful beings that are involved in the creation of the world and are often honored and invoked by the elves.  In a fascinating and beautiful essay, "On Fairy-Stories," Tolkien laid out his vision of how all of these things are connected.  I highly recommend it.  In that essay, Tolkien says, "God is the Lord, of angels, and of men--and of elves."⁴

Nostra Aetate, the Church document from the Second Vatican Council I quoted from at the beginning of this article, after telling us that all religions "reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men," goes on to say that the Church "proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ 'the way, the truth, and the life' (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself."⁵  Catholics have often spoken of Christianity as the fulfillment and the fullness of all religion.  This sounds condescending to a pagan perspective, for obvious reasons, and yet what is meant is simply that Catholics see Christianity and the Christian gospel as true.  We believe it is true that there is one God, that he is a Trinity of Persons, that this one God created the world, that the world has fallen away from God, that God has reconciled and saved the world through Christ, etc.  If these things are really true, then all other truths must find their context in these great overarching truths.  For me, therefore, all spiritual practices and experiences direct me to God through Christ as their ultimate goal and context.  All the truth and goodness and beauty found in the spiritual and the natural world flow from the foundation of the blessed fullness of life and love found in the Trinity and ultimately lead us back to the Trinity.

There are many stone circles and fire rings at OSS.  Yes, there are elements in these things that Christians must remain aloof from.  But the symbolism of these kinds of places - like the myths and images drawn from paganism in The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia - can also be a means of divine grace and experience of the divine.  Because fantasy and pagan and medieval culture have been important parts of my own spiritual formation, I find myself deeply touched by these kinds of places, and I experience the sacred in them (cautiously!).  There is a beautiful ritual circle area at OSS called Redbud Circle.  I spent some time by myself there this past weekend and felt a deep connection to nature and to the sacredness of the place (sacred to me because of the symbolism connected to my background), and through these things to the divine life.  There was a wonderful moment where I was in the midst of this experience and I heard a flock of wild geese in the distance.  Wild geese are meaningful to me as a symbol of God's presence with me - something I derived years ago from Celtic Christianity which often uses the goose as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.  So the combination of wild geese with the sacredness and beauty of Redbud Circle was deeply meaningful to me.  My spiritual experience during this time also brought me in touch with difficult life-experiences I have been going through lately and had an encouraging and cathartic effect on me, helping to continue my healing.

There is another spot on the land called "Aphrodite's Grove" - a shrine area dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite.  The goddess Aphrodite has personal meaning for me because of my own personal history.  At the very beginning of my awakening to spiritual life and practice, back when I was thirteen years old, I got for my birthday a computer game (for my old Amiga computer - this was 1990) called Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail.  In this game, the player plays King Arthur who is searching for the Holy Grail to save his kingdom.  The game designer, Christy Marx, clearly had a lot of Neo-Pagan influence.  A major portion of the plot has to do with the Great Goddess and her manifestations in other goddesses.  The Goddess particularly manifests as Aphrodite, and it is ultimately Aphrodite from whom Arthur must attain the Grail by passing a number of spiritual, mental, and physical tests.  This game played an important role in awakening my spiritual sense and helped form the symbolism and imagery that would be meaningful to me throughout my life, so Aphrodite has always been an important spiritual symbol for me.  Just to be clear - as a Catholic, I do not worship the goddess Aphrodite.  However, she is a symbol of what might be called "the divine feminine."  God connects to us in a variety of ways.  He connects to us directly, but, according to Catholic spirituality, he also connects us to through his saints (and through sacraments, sacramentals, and other tangible means).  There are Catholic saints who are patrons of various things, paralleling in some ways how pagan deities are gods or goddesses of particular things.  The saints are not deities, but they are full of God's grace and so reflect, to some degree, his glory and goodness, and we honor them because of the presence of the divine life manifested in them.  They intercede with us before God.  God blesses us through them.  The ultimate Saint is the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, who is Full of Grace.  Catholic theology defines "grace" as the "gift of the divine life."  In Mary, we have an image - a feminine image - of a person filled with God's grace and thus with the divine life, reflecting the beauty of that life.  God communicates truth and beauty to us through the feminine person and image of the Virgin Mary.  So, while Mary is not God and not to be worshiped as God, she manifests the divine life and so can be called, in a sense, a manifestation - the manifestation - of the divine feminine.  Myths and images of the Goddess in paganism also manifest to some degree the beauty of the divine life (again, as God uses myths and symbols to communicate himself to us and connect with us, like I talked about earlier).  So there is a connection between pagan images/ideas of the Goddess and the Virgin Mary.  For me, therefore, there is a connection particularly between Aphrodite and the Virgin Mary, because Aphrodite, to me, is a mythic symbol that God has used to connect with me, manifesting the beauty of the divine through a feminine image, and the Virgin Mary also connects with that reality.  I was therefore delighted to find a shrine to Aphrodite on the land.  And I was even more delighted when I found that among the statues and images at the shrine, there is a statue of the Virgin Mary.  I had never encountered this connection before outside my own experience, so this was a very meaningful manifestation of God's providence for me.

The festival of Imbolc, which I attended last month, focused on the Irish goddess Brigid.  The central ritual involved calling on Brigid to bring hope in the coming year.  But Brigid the goddess is bound up with St. Brigid of Kildare, a famous Irish saint (the patroness saint of Ireland).  Imbolc is also called St. Brigid's Day.  This is a good example of the historical overlap and interwoven quality of pagan and Christian practices and celebrations.  While I could not invoke Brigid as a goddess, I was able to celebrate St. Brigid (whose associations parallel those of her goddess version to a great degree) and participate in that way with the community (while abstaining from the specifically magical and deity-worshiping elements).

Time for a very brief excursus:  Why do Catholics not consider the saints to be minor deities?  There is no doubt that there is significant overlap between how gods and goddesses function in paganism and how the saints function in Catholicism (especially when various deities are seen as manifestations of some higher Supreme Being).  The parallels are striking and obvious.  (Protestants are often happy to point them out as they accuse Catholicism of being too pagan!)  I think the difference is rooted in the different worldview-constructs of paganism vs. Christianity.  In paganism, polytheism is often at the core of the view of the world.  The universe is a place of chaos where various gods bring a limited order.  The gods have a kind of independence.  They are even often at odds with each other in the myths of various cultures.  Monotheism, on the other hand, roots the universe in the unified order of one Supreme Being (although Christianity makes that supreme reality one of relationship and love because of the Trinity).  There are no competing principalities.  Even Satan and his demons are fallen angels, deriving everything from God and only doing their works under God's permissive will.  In this view, only one Being has a right to be treated as Supreme.  There are no other autonomous or independent powers or authorities.  The Abrahamic traditions manifest this conviction by refusing to allow other entities besides God to be treated as deities, maintaining a strict ontological divide between Creator and creatures.  And yet, in these traditions, other entities exist and have limited supernatural powers (derived ultimately from God).  Angels are created by God.  The saints, including Mary, are mere humans who have been raised up to share in the divine life as a gift of unmerited grace (a destiny all of us are called to).  So, in Christian language, we do not "worship" angels or saints as "gods," and Christians must stay away from giving "worship" - supreme value and authority - to any being other than God.  (However, there are some forms of paganism in a broad sense - Hinduism being perhaps the most obvious example - where there is a strong recognition of a Supreme Being and that lesser deities are derived from him.  I think there is room for fruitful dialogue here regarding how we should understand the similarities and the differences between this kind of view and the view of the Abrahamic religions.)

My love of and history with Arthuriana also gives me a connection to paganism, as the legend of King Arthur is something both traditions have an interest in and the Arthur story has been told in both Christian and in pagan ways (and often involving a mix of the two).  In the early days of OSS, the community was called Ozark Avalon, a reference to Arthurian legend.

Catholic and pagan cultures also share the celebration of May and Maying traditions.  I've always been attracted to Maying traditions because of their connection with medieval culture and with Arthurian and Robin Hood stories.  Maying festivies have included things like maypole dancing and the crowning of a May Queen and sometimes a May King.  OSS, along with many pagan groups, celebrates Beltane, a pagan version of this Maying tradition which involves such historic customs.  While pagans at OSS will be crowning May royalty, Catholics in the community will be celebrating the Virgin Mary who is associated with the month of May.  In fact, one of the common traditions among Catholics during May is to give Mary a May Crowning where statues of the Virgin are crowned with wreaths of flowers, celebrating Mary as Queen of Heaven and Earth.  Mary is the ultimate May Queen!

A Beautiful and Loving Community

The time I've spent at Oak Spirit Sanctuary so far has been deeply enriching and meaningful to me.  I have been enriched by the connection to nature, the sacredness of the land, the spiritual practices, and, certainly not least, the wonderfully joyful and caring community.  OSS has given me an acceptance and welcome that has meant a lot to me.  Even in the short time I've been visiting, I have come to love this community.  One of my friends at OSS told me that people tend to find out about the community when they need it.  This has certainly been true for me, and I am forever grateful to the people of the community for their love and acceptance of me even over just these past three months.  I look forward to many years to come.  I mentioned above that one of the mottos of OSS is "Welcome home!"  It's on the sign on the front gate and people say it to each other frequently.  This, again, is personally meaningful to me because I have often remembered over the years since becoming Catholic how one of my RCIA sponsors who helped guide me into the Catholic Church back in 2016 wrote a congratulatory card to myself and my family upon our entering the Church, and in that card she wrote, "Congratulations and welcome home!"  Catholics often say that to those who have joined the Church, and I've always treasured that welcome.  I don't believe that anything happens by chance, and I am grateful to God for the parallel.

The Value of Crossing Borders

All of us are members of the same human family, but we all-too-often miss out on the full experience of that fact because, for most of us, it is our tendency to stay within our own borders.  We also often miss all the truth and beauty that we have to share with each other.  As a Christian, my spiritual life is greatly enriched because of my ability to draw from the rich spiritual experiences in pagan life and practice.  I am grateful to God that he has given me a personality that has a natural tendency to want to cross borders and bring people together, and I see it as a calling in my life to help build these kinds of connections.  The Church has encouraged us Catholics to get out and get to know our other human brothers and sisters, to dialogue, to collaborate, and to help build together a respectful and loving community.  This was a major theme of one of Pope Francis's recent encyclicals, Fratelli Tutti (which means "all brothers"), which closes with a couple of beautiful prayers asking God to help us remember our common humanity and to work together in love to better the world.

During the closing ritual at Ostara this past weekend, one of the celebrants reminded us that life is followed by death, but that through death comes new life.  I left that celebration to go to St. Thomas More Newman Center Parish in Columbia to celebrate Palm Sunday and the beginning of Holy Week, where Catholics celebrate how Christ's life led to his death, and how his death led to a resurrection of new life for himself and for all the world.  I can think of no connection more fitting!

St. Brigid, Holy Mary Mother of God, and all the saints, pray for us!

Blessed Be!

1  C.S. Lewis, The Horse and His Boy (New York: Collier Books, 1970), 72.

2  C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair (New York: Collier Books, 1970), 191-193

3  The Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Catholic Edition (Washington, DC: The Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, 1965, 1966), taken from the Bible Gateway website at https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+12&version=RSVCE on 3/25/24.

4  J.R.R. Tolkien, "On Fairy-Stories", The Tolkien Reader (New York: Ballantine Books, 1966), 70-73).

5  Nostra Aetate (October 28, 1965) 2, http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vatii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html.

Published on Monday of Holy Week

ADDENDUM 3/29/24:  Just to be clear, this article is autobiographical in nature, and is not intended as an overall catechesis on the Catholic view of non-Catholic religion.  If one is looking for a more holistic, objective catechesis of this sort, one might start (in addition to the content and the links already provided within the article, including the link to Fratelli Tutti) with Nostra Aetate #1, 2, and 5 (this is the Second Vatican Council document I quoted from in the article), and then one might look at The Catechism of the Catholic Church #836-848, 856.  If one wishes to go a bit further, one might also consult these documents here, here, and here.

While I'm "addending," let me also provide a link to Laudato Si, in which Pope Francis has laid out a case for the care we owe to nature (since I mentioned in the article how love of and care for nature is important in paganism).

ADDENDUM 6/22/24:  Since I wrote this article, I’ve been continuing to reflect on pagan ideas and practices.  My observations and reflections have led me to recognize greater nuances in how various concepts, like “magic,” are understood in the Neo-Pagan community.  See here for some further thoughts on some of these things, looking at them and evaluating them from the perspective of a Catholic worldview.

ADDENDUM 10/23/24:  See here for more on pagan inspiration in C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Christianity is the True Myth

One of the things that has always been an important part of my view of the nature of the world, and of the world as Christian, at least since I have been a Christian, is the idea of Christianity as the True Myth.  We humans are made in the image of God, and the things that we create reflect that image, including our literature and our stories.  In our stories, in which there is a beginning, a middle, and an end, we often manage to portray, in a microcosm, to some limited degree, the true story of history as written by God.  That is, our stories, as we pour into them our own intuitions coming from the image of God inside of us--from our reason, our feelings, our imagination--come to reflect to a limited and imperfect degree the fundamental themes of history as written by God.  In our stories, there is purpose, there is good, there is evil, there is a battle between good and evil, and there is the ultimate victory of good, often coming at the very moment when evil seems strongest (this moment J. R. R. Tolkien called the "eucatastrophe").  We infuse beauty into our stories, just as we do into our other forms of creation (music, art, architecture, etc.)  We capture the character traits of virtue, and of wickedness.  We often manage to portray the fact that good wins by coming down into the mass of evil and overcoming it from within, just at the point when it seems as if it will be overcome by it (pointing to the cross of Christ).

This is one of the main reasons, I believe, we are drawn to stories.  We see in them glimpses of the Ultimate Reality.  Similarly, we are drawn to other human creations, such as music and art; we see in them glimpses of True Beauty.  Of course, great caution is necessary at this point.  There is a temptation to idolatry that accompanies these things, for obvious reasons, just as there is a temptation to idolatry involved in all manifestations of beauty and truth in this world (whether we find it in the natural creation or in those things created by man).  We should not throw out all finite manifestations of truth and beauty or fail to appreciate them as gifts from God simply because of the danger of idolatry that accompanies them, but we must tread with great care.  (Acts 14:11-18; Psalm 19:1.)  On a similar note, we must remember that human stories, as productions of man made in God's image but also of man as fallen, can contain both truth and error, goodness and wickedness.  A story can bring out more clearly the truth, but it can also be used to give a false beauty and appearance of truth to wickedness and error.  The same can be said for other human artistic creations.  We must "Prove all things," and "hold fast that which is good," as the Apostle says (1 Thessalonians 5:21).  Our ability to create is a gift of God, for which we must be grateful, but we must use and appreciate it with care and intelligence, by the grace of God.

I said above that I have long thought of Christianity as the True Myth.  What I mean by that is that Christianity is the truth of reality that all the truth and beauty hidden in our humanly-created stories point to.  Richard Dawkins, the famous Atheist, in his book River Out of Eden (New York: Basic Books, 1995, pp. 131-132), has famously described his view of the world in this way:

The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference.

But human stories confront us with the fact that this is not the way the world really is at all.  An Atheist must see the world in this way, for he wants to reduce all mind to mindless matter, thereby destroying any idea of ultimate purpose, beauty, or goodness.  Intuitively, we are aware that this is false, and that the elements involved in personhood are more fundamental parts of ultimate reality than mindless matter.  Intellectually, our intuitions in this area can be proven (see my attempt to prove this, along with the rest of Christianity, in Why Christianity is True).  Stories have a way of inflaming our true intuitions in this area, because they present such a compact, forceful glimpse of those facts of reality that Atheism is all about denying.  Our human stories, therefore, have a natural power to point us beyond this world and to the Triune Personal God, to Christ and the Incarnation, to the cross and the resurrection, and to history as God's purposes unfolded, because in Christianity only do we find the full fulfillment of those things that we glimpse in our stories.

This idea of Christianity as the True Myth came to me to a great extent through the writings of two famous Christian writers--C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien.  Therefore, below I have selected three readings--one from J. R. R. Tolkien, one from C. S. Lewis, and one from a biography of Tolkien discussing Tolkien's and Lewis's friendship.  I think these selections shed a lot of light on what I've been talking about (though, as should go without saying, this doesn't mean I agree with every single thing they have to say or all their ways of putting what they have to say).

From "On Fairy-Stories", by J. R. R. Tolkien (Taken from The Tolkien Reader [New York: Ballantine Books, 1966], pp. 70-73):

This "joy" which I have selected as the mark of the true fairy-story (or romance), or as the seal upon it, merits more consideration.
    Probably every writer making a secondary world, fantasy, every sub-creator, wishes in some measure to be a real maker, or hopes that he is drawing on reality: hopes that the peculiar quality of this secondary world (if not all the details)(40) are derived from Reality, or are flowing into it.  If he indeed achieves a quality that can fairly be described by the dictionary definition: "inner consistency of reality," it is difficult to conceive how this can be, if the work does not in some way partake of reality.  The peculiar quality of the "joy" in successful Fantasy can thus be explained as a sudden glimpse of the underlying reality or truth.  It is not only a "consolation" for the sorrow of this world, but a satisfaction, and an answer to that question, "Is it true?"  The answer to this question that I gave at first was (quite rightly): "If you have built your little world well, yes: it is true in that world."  That is enough for the artist (or the artist part of the artist).  But in the "eucatastrophe" we see a brief vision that the answer may be greater--it may be a far-off gleam or echo of evangelium in the real world.  The use of this word gives a hint of my epilogue.  It is a serious and dangerous matter.  It is presumptuous of me to touch upon such a theme; but if by grace what I say has in any respect any validity, it is, of course, only one facet of a truth incalculably rich: finite only because the capacity of Man for whom this was done is finite.
    I would venture to say that approaching the Christian Story from this direction, it has long been my feeling (a joyous feeling) that God redeemed the corrupt making-creatures, men, in a way fitting to this aspect, as to others, of their strange nature.  The Gospels contain a fairy-story, or a story of a larger kind which embraces all the essence of fairy-stories.  They contain many marvels--peculiarly artistic,(41) beautiful, and moving: "mythical" in their perfect, self-contained significance; and among the marvels is the greatest and most complete conceivable eucatastrophe.  But this story has entered History and the primary world; the desire and aspiration of sub-creation has been raised to the fulfilment of Creation.  The Birth of Christ is the eucatastrophe of Man's history.  The Resurrection is the eucatastrophe of the story of the Incarnation.  This story begins and ends in joy.  It has pre-eminently the "inner consistency of reality."  There is no tale ever told that men would rather find was true, and none which so many sceptical men have accepted as true on its own merits.  For the Art of it has the supremely convincing tone of Primary Art, that is, of Creation.  To reject it leads either to sadness or to wrath.
    It is not difficult to imagine the peculiar excitement and joy that one would feel, if any specially beautiful fairy-story were found to be "primarily" true, its narrative to be history, without thereby necessarily losing the mythical or allegorical significance that it had possessed.  It is not difficult, for one is not called upon to try and conceive anything of a quality unknown.  The joy would have exactly the same quality, if not the same degree, as the joy which the "turn" in a fairy-story gives: such joy has the very taste of primary truth.  (Otherwise its name would not be joy.)  It looks forward (or backward: the direction in this regard is unimportant) to the Great Eucatastrophe.  The Christian joy, the Gloria, is of the same kind; but it is pre-eminently (infinitely, if our capacity were not finite) high and joyous.  But this story is supreme; and it is true.  Art has been verified.  God is the Lord, of angels, and of men--and of elves.  Legend and History have met and fused.
    But in God's kingdom the presence of the greatest does not depress the small.  Redeemed Man is still man.  Story, fantasy, still go on, and should go on.  The Evangelium has not abrogated legends; it has hallowed them, especially the "happy ending."  The Christian has still to work, with mind as well as body, to suffer, hope, and die; but he may now perceive that all his bents and faculties have a purpose, which can be redeemed.  So great is the bounty with which he has been treated that he may now, perhaps, fairly dare to guess that in Fantasy he may actually assist in the effoliation and multiple enrichment of creation.  All tales may come true; and yet, at the last, redeemed, they may be as like and as unlike the forms that we give them as Man, finally redeemed, will be like and unlike the fallen that we know.

From Tolkien: A Biography, by Humphrey Carpenter (New York: Ballantine Books, 1977), pp. 163-165:

    Usually his discussions with Tolkien took place on Monday mornings, when they would talk for an hour or two and then conclude with beer at the Eastgate, a nearby pub.  But on Saturday 19 September 1931 they met in the evening.  Lewis had invited Tolkien to dine at Magdalen, and he had another guest, Hugo Dyson, whom Tolkien had first known at Exeter College in 1919.  Dyson was now Lecturer in English Literature at Reading University, and he paid frequent visits to Oxford.  He was a Christian, and a man of feline wit.  After dinner, Lewis, Tolkien, and Dyson went out for air.  It was a blustery night, but they strolled along Addison's Walk discussing the purpose of myth.  Lewis, though now a believer in God, could not yet understand the function of Christ in Christianity, could not perceive the meaning of the Crucifixion and Resurrection.  He declared that he had to understand the purpose of these events--as he later expressed it in a letter to a friend, 'how the life and death of Someone Else (whoever he was) two thousand years ago could help us here and now--except in so far as his example could help us'.
    As the night wore on, Tolkien and Dyson showed him that he was here making a totally unnecessary demand.  When he encountered the idea of sacrifice in the mythology of a pagan religion he admired it and was moved by it; indeed the idea of the dying and reviving deity had always touched his imagination since he had read the story of the Norse god Balder.  But from the Gospels (they said) he was requiring something more, a clear meaning beyond the myth.  Could he not transfer his comparatively unquestioning appreciation of sacrifice from the myth to the true story?
    But, said Lewis, myths are lies, even though lies breathed through silver.(1)
    No, said Tolkien, they are not.
    And, indicating the great trees of Magdalen Grove as their branches bent in the wind, he struck out a different line of argument.
    You call a tree a tree, he said, and you think nothing more of the word.  But it was not a 'tree' until someone gave it that name.  You call a star a star, and say it is just a ball of matter moving on a mathematical course.  But that is merely how you see it.  By so naming things and describing them you are only inventing your own terms about them.  And just as speech is invention about objects and ideas, so myth is invention about truth.
    We have come from God (continued Tolkien), and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, will also reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God.  Indeed only by myth-making, only be becoming a 'sub-creator' and inventing stories, can Man aspire to the state of perfection that he knew before the Fall.  Our myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily towards the true harbour, while materialistic 'progress' leads only to a yawning abyss and the Iron Crown of the power of evil.
    In expounding this belief in the inherent truth of mythology, Tolkien had laid bare the centre of his philosophy as a writer, the creed that is at the heart of The Silmarillion.
    Lewis listened as Dyson affirmed in his own way what Tolkien had said.  You mean, asked Lewis, that the story of Christ is simply a true myth, a myth that works on us the same way as the others, but a myth that really happened?  In that case, he said, I begin to understand.
    At last the wind drove them inside, and they talked in Lewis's rooms until three a.m., when Tolkien went home.  After seeing him out into the High Street, Lewis and Dyson walked up and down the cloister of New Buildings, still talking, until the sky grew light.
    Twelve days later Lewis wrote to his friend Arthur Greeves:  'I have just passed on from believing in God to definitely believing in Christ--in Christianity.  I will try to explain this another time.  My long night talk with Dyson and Tolkien had a great deal to do with it.'
    Meanwhile Tolkien, invigilating in the Examination Schools, was composing a long poem recording what he had said to Lewis.  He called it "Mythopoeia', the making of myths.  And he wrote in his diary:  "Friendship with Lewis compensates for much, and besides giving constant pleasure and comfort has done me much good from the contact with a man at once honest, brave, intellectual--a scholar, a poet, and a philosopher--and a lover, at least after a long pilgrimage, of Our Lord.'"

From Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life, by C. S. Lewis (New York: Harcourt, Brace, & World, Inc., 1955), pp. 234-236:

    Thus my churchgoing was a merely symbolical and provisional practice.  If it in fact helped to move me in the Christian direction, I was and am unaware of this.  My chief companion on this stage of the road was Griffiths, with whom I kept up a copious correspondence.  Both now believed in God, and were ready to hear more of Him from any source, Pagan or Christian.  In my mind (I cannot now answer for his, and he has told his own story admirably in The Golden String) the perplexing multiplicity of "religions" began to sort itself out.  The real clue had been put into my hand by that hard-boiled Atheist when he said, "Rum thing, all that about the Dying God.  Seems to have really happened once"; by him and by Barfield's encouragement of a more respectful, if not more delighted, attitude to Pagan myth.  The question was no longer to find the one simply true religion among a thousand religions simply false.  It was rather, "Where has religion reached its true maturity?  Where, if anywhere, have the hints of all Paganism been fulfilled?"  With the irreligious I was no longer concerned; their view of life was henceforth out of court.  As against them, the whole mass of those who had worshiped--all who had danced and sung and sacrificed and trembled and adored--were clearly right.  But the intellect and the conscience, as well as the orgy and the ritual, must be our guide.  There could be no question of going back to primitive, untheologized and unmoralized, Paganism.  The God whom I had at last acknowledged was one, and was righteous.  Paganism had been only the childhood of religion, or only a prophetic dream.  Where was the thing full grown? or where was the awakening? . . . I was by now too experienced in literary criticism to regard the Gospels as myths.  They had not the mythical taste.  And yet the very matter which they set down in their artless, historical fashion--those narrow, unattractive Jews, too blind to the mythical wealth of the Pagan world around them--was precisely the matter of the great myths.  If ever a myth had become fact, had been incarnated, it would be just like this.  And nothing else in all literature was just like this.  Myths were like it in one way.  Histories were like it in another.  But nothing was simply like it.  And no person was like the Person it depicted; as real, as recognizable, through all that depth of time, as Plato's Socrates or Boswell's Johnson (ten times more so than Eckermann's Goethe or Lockhart's Scott), yet also numinous, lit by a light from beyond the world, a god.  But if a god--we are no longer polytheists--then not a god, but God.  Here and here only in all time the myth must have become fact; the Word, flesh; God, Man.  This is not "a religion," nor "a philosophy."  It is the summing up and actuality of them all.

To see my attempt to portray the heart of the Christian story of reality, see here.