In the conservative denominations within evangelical Christianity, a considerable deal of weight is placed on the notion that explicitly stated faith in a risen Savior is a requirement for admission to heaven. This is the bread and butter of evangelical sermons now – and it has been since the days of Charles Spurgeon and other preachers riding the circuit, bringing the message of salvation to churches across the globe. Those believers who attend worship in these denominations place a high value on their own inclusion in the Kingdom of Heaven – and in the exclusion of others who have not made the same sorts of sacrifices, in the area of lifestyle, to earn membership in the church – and in God’s fellowship. The notion put forth by C.S. Lewis, in a number of places within his writings, that it may well be enough to understand the character of God, and act as though one can live with an understanding of that character, has long disturbed many evangelicals, who see this way of thinking as a sort of “Get Out of Hell Free” card that is just as offensive as the notion recently put forth by theologian Rob Bell, indicating that it might be possible for people to escape Hell after the return of Christ and the ostensibly final judgment. While I personally believe that faith must be explicit in order to bear fruit in my life, I also recognize that there are members of other religions who accept the same sort of principles that Christ teaches – and live by those principles. Because they have grasped the nature of what it means to live life according to the tenets that I find in the Sermon on the Mount and other areas of the teachings of Christ, it is not for me to object, should God choose to include them in Heaven. Lewis’ notion that members of other religions could get it right, while ostensible Christians end up missing out on Heaven because of their own misunderstandings, is a needed prod to the modern-day Pharisees that bedevil churches.
In The Last Battle, the final volume of Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia, a soldier of Tash ends up inside the area of Aslan’s people, having mysteriously made it through the Stable, walking up to Aslan’s true country. When asked, this soldier, who had fought against the armies of Aslan and Narnia, said that he grew up worshipping Tash (the god of the army trying to conquer Narnia), but it is clear that the soldier has learned the lessons of honor that were taught to Narnians through Aslan’s instruction. Because he knows these tenets, he has made it into Aslan’s country. Meanwhile, there are members of Aslan’s own “chosen people” – namely, some of the Black Dwarves – who sit in that very Stable, unable to see the glory before them, because they simply do not believe. They made it into the Stable because they were chosen, but they do not get to go to Aslan’s land, for the simple reason that their lack of faith makes them unable to see it.
While I believe the teaching in John 3:16, which indicates that those who believe in the death and resurrection of Christ will enter heaven, there is nothing indicating that God could not include others in heaven in addition to those who believe. Also, ultimately, God’s reasons are much grander and much wider than what I can comprehend as a mortal. As a result, it would not be proper, in any sense of the word, to object to the inclusion of others whom God saw fit in His Kingdom. If I live my life in accordance to the Scriptures, I know that even if there are Muslims, Hindus, or members of other faiths there too, we will all live in God’s glory.
Works Cited
Lewis, C.S. The Last Battle. New York: HarperCollins Children’s Books, c2007.
