Lewis' extraterrestrial encountering narrator implies below, why else would we own pets?
Much of our fiction uncovers a desire to discover extraterrestrial minds. In the context of horror, this usually turns out poorly for us.
However, some of our most popular aliens are friendly ones. Look at how beloved ET is, despite not being able to converse fluently. Human being want to discover another order of being that we can talk to as equals, and our fiction is full of it, whether we call them aliens, elves, or ghosts.
We don't have aliens yet, but if you assume nearly any theology at all, we do have alien minds in the spiritual realm. But here’s where the danger comes in (and I would say the main danger of Halloween in modern society other than lust). Spirits only come in two types (as far as we know): good (The Holy Spirit, angels) and evil (demons).
I find a view of reality which includes the pagan gods under God incredibly appealing. However, I also find it a) unlikely and b) dangerous.
A) I find it unlikely because any spirit that exists outside of eternity must exist in the cosmos. And anything that exists in the cosmos we will eventually find empirical evidence for. No matter how many science experiments I do, I will never publish a scientific paper on angels. They exist outside of space and time, and thus even if I went to Mars, I wouldn’t find them. Polytheistic gods (and those lesser sprites, fairies etc) are apparently here in the world. They wield lightning, or water, or metal, or wine. I can go to the top of Mt. Olympus and demonstrate that they are there, or not. Thus, I think if there is someone in between angels and men, we would have found them by now. (I am aware that I am not following current neopagan belief. While that is not my specialty, I have a vague notion that the current neopagan concept of “the Lord & the Lady” is somewhat more transcendent than the gods of old. But as I warned in my first article, I am taking this from a Catholic perspective).
B) I find it dangerous, because when you call upon spirits that are not allied with God, anything could answer. If the gods don’t exist, that means that "anything" must be demons. St. Paul clearly comes down on this side when he says "So what am I saying? That meat sacrificed to idols is anything? Or that an idol is anything? No, I mean that what they sacrifice, [they sacrifice] to demons not to God, and I do not want you to become participants with demons." (1 Corinthians 10:19-20) Many Catholic exorcists have spoken on how they believe the rise in possessions they see currently is the result of the rise of occult practices. I even read an interview of a non-exorcist priest (not every priest is authorized or trained to perform exorcisms) who had to instruct a pair of Baptist women how to get a demon out of their lives after they used a Ouija board. (To Save a Thousand Souls by Fr. Frett A. Brannen pgs 19-20).
Where does one draw the lines? A solid place to start is to avoid things that are forbidden by the church: astrology, astral projection, magic (even white magic), worshipping idols etc. But these things aren’t temptations for me. Ghosts stories are.
I love Halloween, so it’s no surprise I love ghost stories. But ghosts are bound up in séance culture, which seems to me like a pretty clear violation. (The giggling sounds you hear is all my protestant readers wondering what the difference is between a séance and praying to the Saints. The different is that 1) I know exactly who I am talking to 2) I know they are allied with God, and 3) I am asking them for help to become more holy, not for magic tricks). However, ghost stories around the campfire seems pretty safe. What about Ghost hunting equipment such as heat cameras….now we’re into fuzzy territory. I don’t have an answer, but I do think of C.S. Lewis “materialist magicians” when I see modern-style ghost hunters. I recently read this excellent blog article where a Catholic mother laments that none of her children are believers, and she wonders if she spends too much time on ghost stories, and not enough on the Saints.
I’m not trying to purify Halloween of any fun. Our desire for the spiritual aspect of life is good. Outside of those things forbidden by the church, I think these are lines everyone has to discern for themselves. But it is good to remember that God, in His wisdom, has provided abundant minds who are perfectly safe to seek out, even if most of them are human (as fully human as it is possible to be). Remember that All Hallows Eve leads to All Hallows Day. The Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph, St. Justin, St. Francis, St. Cecilia and all the holy men and women are there willing to lend an ear (and to talk if, I could only learn how to listen). There are inhuman minds too: my guardian angel, other people’s guardian angels, and St. Michael wage their war, ever vigilant. We’re hardly alone.
Happy All Saints Day, everyone! May one day we all be saints too!
“[…]the Malacandrians don’t keep pets and, in general, don’t feel about their ‘lower animals’ as we do about ours[…]One just sees why when one sees the three species together. Each of them is to the others both what a man is to us and what an animal is to us. They can talk to each other, they can co-operate, they have the same ethics; to that extent a sorn and a hross meet like two men. But then each finds the other different, funny, attractive as an animal is attractive. Some instinct starved in us, which we try to soothe by treating irrational creatures almost as if they were rational, is really satisfied in Malacandra. They don’t need pets.”--Out of the Silent Planet by C.S. Lewis
Much of our fiction uncovers a desire to discover extraterrestrial minds. In the context of horror, this usually turns out poorly for us.
We don't have aliens yet, but if you assume nearly any theology at all, we do have alien minds in the spiritual realm. But here’s where the danger comes in (and I would say the main danger of Halloween in modern society other than lust). Spirits only come in two types (as far as we know): good (The Holy Spirit, angels) and evil (demons).
What about gods and fairies, you ask? Well, here I must descend into opinion. *Some* people believe that other types of spirits exist between angels and men. Because they exist in the world and not in eternity like angels, they are neither entirely good or entirely evil. They run the moral gamut like us, just differently. C.S. Lewis notably included the Greek gods as servants of GOD in much of his fiction. In Out of the Silent Planet the basis for earth's legends of the Roman god Mars literally rules the planet Mars. In Prince Caspian, Bacchus celebrates Aslan's victory by crazy-dancing with some dryads.
I find a view of reality which includes the pagan gods under God incredibly appealing. However, I also find it a) unlikely and b) dangerous.
A) I find it unlikely because any spirit that exists outside of eternity must exist in the cosmos. And anything that exists in the cosmos we will eventually find empirical evidence for. No matter how many science experiments I do, I will never publish a scientific paper on angels. They exist outside of space and time, and thus even if I went to Mars, I wouldn’t find them. Polytheistic gods (and those lesser sprites, fairies etc) are apparently here in the world. They wield lightning, or water, or metal, or wine. I can go to the top of Mt. Olympus and demonstrate that they are there, or not. Thus, I think if there is someone in between angels and men, we would have found them by now. (I am aware that I am not following current neopagan belief. While that is not my specialty, I have a vague notion that the current neopagan concept of “the Lord & the Lady” is somewhat more transcendent than the gods of old. But as I warned in my first article, I am taking this from a Catholic perspective).
B) I find it dangerous, because when you call upon spirits that are not allied with God, anything could answer. If the gods don’t exist, that means that "anything" must be demons. St. Paul clearly comes down on this side when he says "So what am I saying? That meat sacrificed to idols is anything? Or that an idol is anything? No, I mean that what they sacrifice, [they sacrifice] to demons not to God, and I do not want you to become participants with demons." (1 Corinthians 10:19-20) Many Catholic exorcists have spoken on how they believe the rise in possessions they see currently is the result of the rise of occult practices. I even read an interview of a non-exorcist priest (not every priest is authorized or trained to perform exorcisms) who had to instruct a pair of Baptist women how to get a demon out of their lives after they used a Ouija board. (To Save a Thousand Souls by Fr. Frett A. Brannen pgs 19-20).
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” --The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis (Image Credit)
While I’ve never used a Ouija board, I do cross into gray territory sometimes. I’m not always sure where to draw the lines.
Where does one draw the lines? A solid place to start is to avoid things that are forbidden by the church: astrology, astral projection, magic (even white magic), worshipping idols etc. But these things aren’t temptations for me. Ghosts stories are.
I love Halloween, so it’s no surprise I love ghost stories. But ghosts are bound up in séance culture, which seems to me like a pretty clear violation. (The giggling sounds you hear is all my protestant readers wondering what the difference is between a séance and praying to the Saints. The different is that 1) I know exactly who I am talking to 2) I know they are allied with God, and 3) I am asking them for help to become more holy, not for magic tricks). However, ghost stories around the campfire seems pretty safe. What about Ghost hunting equipment such as heat cameras….now we’re into fuzzy territory. I don’t have an answer, but I do think of C.S. Lewis “materialist magicians” when I see modern-style ghost hunters. I recently read this excellent blog article where a Catholic mother laments that none of her children are believers, and she wonders if she spends too much time on ghost stories, and not enough on the Saints.
I’m not trying to purify Halloween of any fun. Our desire for the spiritual aspect of life is good. Outside of those things forbidden by the church, I think these are lines everyone has to discern for themselves. But it is good to remember that God, in His wisdom, has provided abundant minds who are perfectly safe to seek out, even if most of them are human (as fully human as it is possible to be). Remember that All Hallows Eve leads to All Hallows Day. The Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph, St. Justin, St. Francis, St. Cecilia and all the holy men and women are there willing to lend an ear (and to talk if, I could only learn how to listen). There are inhuman minds too: my guardian angel, other people’s guardian angels, and St. Michael wage their war, ever vigilant. We’re hardly alone.
Happy All Saints Day, everyone! May one day we all be saints too!
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