Wayne Martindale - Beyond the Shadowlands (Foreword by Walter Hooper): C. S. Lewis on Heaven and Hell

BEYOND THE
SHADOWLANDS

Beyond the Shadowlands

Copyright 2005 by Wayne Martindale

Published by Crossway Books
a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers
1300 Crescent Street
Wheaton, Illinois 60187

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided by USA copyright law.

Cover design: Jon McGrath

Cover photo: Getty Images

First printing 2005

Printed in the United States of America

Extracts by C. S. Lewis copyright C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. 1942, 1943, 1944, 1952. Extracts reprinted by permission: The Last Battle; The Problem of Pain; Collected Letters of C. S. Lewis, vols. 1 & 2; The Weight of Glory; The Screwtape Letters; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Out of the Silent Planet; God and the Dock; Mere Christianity; Perelandra; Miracles; The Four Loves; Of Other Worlds; Experiment in Criticism; On Stories and Other Essays on Literature; The Letters of C. S. Lewis to Arthur Greeves; The Great Divorce; Prince Caspian; The Magicians Nephew; Letters to Children; The Horse and His Boy; The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair; Till We Have Faces; Letters of C. S. Lewis; The Pilgrims Regress; That Hideous Strength; The Oxford History of English Literature; The Worlds Last Night and Other Essays.

Excerpts from The Four Loves copyright 1960 by C. S. Lewis, renewed 1988, Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer copyright 1973 by C. S. Lewis, renewed 1988; Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life and Reflections on the Psalms copyright 1956 and 1958 by C. S. Lewis, renewed 1984 and 1986 by Arthur Owen Barfield. Reprinted by permission of Harcourt, Inc.

Excerpts from The Letters of C. S. Lewis, by C. S. Lewis, copyright 1966 by W. H. Lewis and the Executors of C. S. Lewis, renewed 1994 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd., and Poems by C. S. Lewis, copyright 1964 by the Executors of the Estate of C. S. Lewis, renewed 1992 by C. S. Lewis Pte. Ltd. Reprinted by permission of Harcourt, Inc.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture verses are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. Copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture verses taken from the King James Version of the Bible are identified KJV.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Martindale, Wayne
Beyond the shadowlands : C. S. Lewis on heaven and hell / Wayne
Martindale.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-58134-513-5 (tpb)
1. Heaven. 2. Hell. 3. Theology, Doctrinal. 4. Lewis, C. S. (Clive
Staples), 1898-1963-Religion. 5. Heaven in literature. 6. Hell in literature.
7. Lewis, C. S. (Clive Staples), 1898-1963-Criticism and interpretation.
I. Title.
BT832.M27 2005
236'.24'092-dc22

2004022218

BP 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 08 07 06 05
15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

For my grandson

JOSHUA WAYNE ELSEN

Is there a king of earth with dominion so vast from north to south
that he hath both winter and summer together?
Is there a king of earth with a dominion so vast from east to west
that he hath both night and day together?
So much more hath God both judgment and mercy together.
ADAPTED FROM JOHN DONNE

There was a real railway accident, said Aslan softly. Your father and mother and all of you areas you used to call it in the Shadowlandsdead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.

THE LAST BATTLE

I have come home at last! This is my real country! I belong here. This is the land I have been looking for all my life, though I never knew it till now.

THE LAST BATTLE;
JEWEL THE UNICORN ON ARRIVING IN
ASLANS COUNTRY, HEAVEN

CONTENTS

PART I. DEMYTHOLOGIZING HEAVEN:
THE NONFICTION

PART II. REMYTHOLOGIZING HEAVEN:
THE FICTION

PART I. DEMYTHOLOGIZING HELL:
THE NONFICTION

Myth #6: No One Could Be Happy in Heaven
Knowing Some Are in Hell

PART II. REMYTHOLOGIZING HELL:
THE FICTION

EPILOGUE

In writing a book, many debts of gratitude mount up, which may only be paid by love. Still, I must happily put down a verbal tribute as a small earnest. No one could be more blessed in family than I, and my family members are rightfully my biggest fans and best collaborators. The title, Beyond the Shadowlands, is the combined suggestion of my wife, Nita, and daughter, Heather Elsen. Without their encouragement to write, I would not have begun; without their careful corrections, I would not have written as well. Son-in-law David Elsen faithfully encouraged me and also read the manuscript. Heather and David have brought a great joy into our lives with grandson Joshua Wayne, whose poster pictures hung over my desk and on both sides of my study door throughout the making of this book. He inspired me more than he knows. He turned one year old as the last words were being written.

Others came to my aid in reading the manuscript before I finalized it. Lewis scholars Walter Hooper, Christopher Mitchell, and Thomas Martin gave me the counsel, confidence, and encouragement to put the book in the publishers hands. Of course, everyone who has benefited from Lewiss writing or cares about Lewis studies owes a debt of gratitude to Walter Hooper, who through a lifetime of dedicated service has brought many of Lewiss works into easily accessible print for the first time and kept many old ones in print as well, insisting in those early days that publishers bring back an old book (are they ever really old?) for every new one. Then there are the wonderful new collections of letters packed with essential annotations and the magisterial C. S. Lewis Companion & Guide, which I pull off the shelf so often the bottom is getting frayed. Readers who track down citations in the endnotes also have Walter Hooper to thank for urging the inclusion of chapter, part, and book numbers.

Christopher Mitchell and associate Marjorie Mead and the great staff (Corey, Heidi, Mary, Shawn) at the Wade Center have opened the treasures of Lewis holdings and made me feel at home among them. Thank you to everyone who has volunteered at or contributed to the Wade Center, especially the Wade family (what a gift!). I have also been materially helped and greatly encouraged by a Clyde S. Kilby Research Grant from the Wade Center. Tom Martin has urged this project on for years, was a soul mate during his years at Wheaton, and (besides family) is the best editor Ive ever had. Theologian and Pastor Jay Thomas responded with ever-insightful questions, offering a Reformed critique that deserves its own special hearing. My teaching assistants, Kathryn Welch and Ryan Hodgen, helped with permissions and indexing, and, along with Joel Sage, Wesley Hill, Marj Dolbeer, and Michael Weber, did me the honor of reading carefully and reacting most helpfully. Keith Call encouraged the project with good conversation and lots of books. All have saved me from some real howlers.The many scholars who have written or spoken on Lewis over the years have enriched my understanding and enjoyment of Lewis immeasurably;some of them are listed in the Works Cited here.