Emeth
| Emeth | |
|---|---|
| Narnia character | |
| Race | Calormen |
| Nation | Calormen |
| Gender | Male |
| Major character in | |
Emeth (Hebrew אמת : "truth," "firmness," or "veracity") is a Calormen character from C. S. Lewis's book The Last Battle from The Chronicles of Narnia series. He is a controversial character with some Christians who disagree with Lewis' soteriology. Specifically, the 'salvation' of Emeth is understood to be an implicit endorsement of Inclusivism.
Emeth is a young Calormene officer, second in command of a detachment of the Tisroc's soldiers under Rishda Tarkaan, who enter Narnia in the guise of merchants. This is part of a conspiracy to seize the north of the country by using the Narnians' faith in a false Aslan controlled by the ape Shift. While welcoming the chance to distinguish himself in battle, Emeth is troubled at the "lies and trickery" used in portraying Aslan as the Narnian version of the Calormene deity Tash. When Shift and Rishda set up the notion that "Tashlan" is in a stable, Emeth insists on seeing Tash with his own eyes. Once inside, Emeth kills a Calormene soldier waiting to dispatch anyone who entered the stable, and then finds himself in what apparently is Aslan's Country. It is there that Emeth encounters Aslan himself, who explains that he and Tash are opposites: any virtuous act done in Tash's name is actually accepted by Aslan as Tash can only accept acts of evil. Thus Emeth's devotion to Tash, founded on noble motives, was actually to Aslan himself.
Aslan's words to Emeth, in which he ratifies the good deeds the latter did even under the name of Tash, are the subject of this controversy.
I take to me the services which thou hast done to Tash [the false God]... if any man swear by him and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him."
The implication is that people who reflect a righteous heart are to some degree justified, regardless of misbelief. This is a cornerstone of Christian theology: one party cites the Christian paradigm that faith in Christ alone saves, and the other wants to account for the fate of those born and raised into another faith. There has been extensive commentary on the question. In a letter from 1952, Lewis summarized and explained his position:
...
Wikipedia