The Emerald Witch

There is a helpful image from C. S. Lewis’s Narnia Tale, “The Silver Chair.”  Young Prince Rillian, the son of King Caspian, has been held prisoner by the Emerald Witch.  Aslan, the Christ figure, sends the children Eustace and Jill to rescue him.  On their journey they are accompanied by Puddleglum the Marshwiggle.

They release Prince Rillian from the enchanted silver chair, and just as he is freed the Emerald Witch returns. She cannot bear to see the prisoner free for she is not free herself.  Softly she strums her mandolin as the hypnotic fragrance of the world arises from the fires of the Underworld.  The Emerald Witch intones, “There is no Narnia, no Overworld, only Underworld.  There is no sun, it is only an imaginary reflection of the lamps I have made.  There is no Aslan, there is only my familiar, the cat who roams the streets of Underworld.  Sleep.  Sleep.  Sleep.”

            As they begin to sink into an enchanted sleep the Marshwiggle stamps his webbed foot on the fire; it burns his heel, and the odor of burnt Marshwiggle begins to dispel the fragrance of the world.  The Marshwiggle echoes Pascal, “Even if Aslan and the Overworld do not exist, that is better than the deception you are offering us.”  The spell is broken.

            The Emerald Witch continues to strum her mandolin as the fragrance of the world arises and intones, “There are many roads to God, and Jesus is only the way for Christians.  Taking Jesus as a personal Saviour is a Western heresy.  Understand that Jesus Christ is the spirit of the world, and that the spirit of the world is Jesus Christ, and he is called by many other names.  He has many names, Apollo and Aphrodite, Shiva and Kali, and all ways are the one way.  The true mission of the Church is the millennium goals.  There is no objective Tao, no single Truth, only our feelings about what is right.  Our feelings, not your feelings for you have been conditioned by the narrow unrealistic faith of bygone generations.  We are right.  You are wrong.  We are right.  You are wrong.  Sleep.  Sleep.  Sleep.

            I stamp my webbed foot upon the fire saying, “The God we serve is able to deliver, but if he will not deliver the church at this time, we will not serve your gods are worship them.”