A Theory of Art
Myths, Lewis told Tolkien, were “lies and therefore worthless, even though breathed through silver.”
“No,” Tolkien replied. “They are not lies.” Far from being lies they were the best way — sometimes the only way — of conveying truths that would otherwise remain inexpressible. We have come from God, Tolkien argued, and inevitably the myths woven by us, though they contain error, reflect a splintered fragment of the true light, the eternal truth that is with God. Myths may be misguided, but they steer however shakily toward the true harbor, whereas materialistic “progress” leads only to the abyss and the power of evil.
Hey! Well this is just buckets of fun. You got yourself a blarg.
About your post: I think I agree with you. Mostly. I probably I would have unthinkingly responded as Lewis did if the question of the absolute value of a myth were put to me.
But after some thought, I think I’d change my mind (and not just because you and Tolkien would so heartily disagree with me). I believe there is something in a myth that cannot be communicated through any other means. Reading Beowulf, one is powerfully impressed with the majesty of royalty, the valor that inspires courage and great deeds, and the unmistakable disparity between good and evil. Beowulf’s is a world in which actions ring loudly in history, and all of these things are scarcely communicated in today’s media. (Unless you watched 300.) (But I guess 300 would be a good example of a modern retelling of a myth.)
I guess what I’m doing here is trying to put to words the “inexpressible” truths that Tolkien mentions. Is this the kind of thing Tolkien meant?
Yeah man, that’s what Tolkien meant… I intend to start posting stuff about movies on here… this quote is really just a place holder and a explanation of the title of the site. What it boils down to in my mind is an explanation of why it is valuable to read/watch things that are outside of an explicitly Christian tradition. Heck, you could even read a novel by an atheist (as I am doing right now), because if the Bible is true then his ability to write the thing is a gift of God whether he acknowledges it or not. In addition to this gift God may have given him insights into human relationship, the inner-workings of our hearts, or just the ability to write beautiful sentences–all of which make the work valuable even if it runs contrary to the Truth in some obvious ways. All these things are ’splintered light’–fragments of the Truth. So myth here becomes all of fiction, which I know is not what Lewis and Tolkien were discussing, but I think the truth holds.
I think the myths that have held up through ancient history and into the present, the one’s that resonated with enough human hearts to get passed on, did so because they somehow evoked themes of deep significance in the human soul. Those themes all converge in the one great story that is told in Scripture.
In English’s classes they would often point to a certain archetypes are common in many good stories , I.E. the “Christ figure” The school teachers of course say these Archetypes are the base for the Bible, but I think its really God’s story and laws influencing our lives. And besides is far easier to get people to believe in twisted truth then an outright lie.