“If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” These words, written by C.S. Lewis in his book Mere Christianity, reflect Lewis’s passion for mythology and fantastical stories, before and after his conversion to Christianity in September 1931. He shared this passion for mythology with his lifelong friend and fellow Oxford scholar J.R.R. Tolkien, the famed author of The Lord of the Rings. On the evening of Sept. 19, 1931, Tolkien, a Catholic, and Hugo Dyson, a Protestant, sought to convince the theistic C.S. Lewis that humanity’s longing for myth and fantasy points to a deeper longing to commune with its Divine Creator. The conversation between Lewis, Tolkien, and Dyson highlights one of the most undervalued tools for arguing for the Christian faith — storytelling.
We all love a good story. We ache to be lifted off our feet and swept away from our seemingly mundane existence into worlds where superheroes save the day, knights and elves defeat dragons, and good always triumphs over evil. One might think that we are drawn to these stories solely to escape our reality and step into a fictional world. While escapism may play a factor, our innate longing for mythical worlds and stories goes much deeper than mere entertainment and escape. We don’t simply find joy in mythical and fantastical stories, we want them to be real. We wish that superheroes could fly in and save us from our problems. We wish the intrigue of knights, elves, and dragons existing in our world would deliver us from the boredom of everyday life. In the midst of wars, political unrest, social issues and pure chaos, we want to hear tales of good triumphing evil, though it may seem from our perspective like it may not always.
Our fascination with fantastical stories and fictional worlds begs the question: “Where did myths and stories come from, and why are we so captivated by them?” We can trace stories, legends, epics, and myths throughout history, but that does not explain where they came from and why we are all so drawn to them. The answer, as Lewis and Tolkien firmly believed, is that our love for fantastical storytelling and mythology can be traced back to the ultimate story that the sovereign Creator God became a man, lived, died, and rose from the dead. The story of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection contains elements commonly associated with mythological storytelling; it is a sacred narrative involving supernatural beings and events in the distant past. However, the story of Christ differs from myths because it is historically true. Jesus Christ is the real superhero who saved the day, giving up His life to do it, and rose from the dead, declaring victory over death itself. Because He lives, the ultimate story of God becoming man and saving humanity from their sin is what the very essence of myth and fantastical storytelling points to. Every story we’ve heard throughout history, whether sacred or secular, of epic heroes, fierce monsters, supernatural battles, are all mere echoes of the true story of God triumphing over evil by sending His son for us.
The fictional works of authors C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien are worth considering because they reflect the reality that the desire for God is written on every human heart. Lewis and Tolkien did not simply take inspiration from Christian belief to tell their stories, they told mythical stories of good versus evil and absolute morality in such a way that highlights the desire we all have to know God and to be rescued by Him. In the third book of Lewis’ famous Narnia series, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the Lion Aslan says to Lucy, “In your world, I have another name. You must learn to know me by it. That was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there.” In Lewis’ Narnia series, Aslan is a Christ-figure who rules the magical land, and even gives up his life and returns from the dead. However, Lewis was not simply writing a character who reflected Christ. He wrote a character that pointed out how hypocritical we can be when it comes to drawing the line between myth and truth. Lewis pointed out that people are so smitten with a fictional character like Aslan, a lion who gives up his life and rises from the dead, yet dismiss the story about a God who became a man, gave up his life and rose from the dead, strictly because one is clearly a myth and the other, countless people claim to be truth.
Lewis and Tolkien both held a firm belief that our love for myths and fictional stories did not agree with the atheistic belief that there is no God. The fact that our hearts long for something this world cannot provide gives evidence that we were not made for a world of brokenness and pain. We were made for a world where we walk with the King of kings and Lord of lords, the ultimate storyteller who wrote us all into His perfect story.
— Ben Hammontree is studying English at Wofford College in Spartanburg, S.C.