Inclusivism in the Fiction of C. S. Lewis: The Case of Emeth‪.‬

ONE of THE SCENES in C. S. Lewis's collection of fiction that most puzzles readers concerns the salvation of Emeth, a Calormene and worshipper of Tash, in The Last Battle. (1) The god Tash is portrayed as evil, as a false god, and is given Satan's job in claiming the evil Calormenes and Narnians (LB, 738-40; 12). Since the Narnians' faith in Aslan can be compared to a Christian's faith in Jesus, Emeth's salvation in spite of his erroneous beliefs raises the question of Lewis's views concerning the possibility of salvation in non-Christian religions. (2) Is Lewis an inclusivist? (3) What, according to Lewis, is necessary for salvation? Although never treated as a major theme, the possibility of salvation outside of Christianity does show up continually in Lewis's works, especially in his fiction. Often characters who do not hold correct beliefs obtain salvation as long as those beliefs are contained within a sincere search for Truth throughout their life. It is this search for the Truth, or as Lewis experienced it, this desire for joy, that is necessary for salvation. Joy "is never a possession, always a desire for something longer ago or further away or still 'about to be.'" (4) It is associated with an "inconsolable longing" for heaven, even if, like Lewis, one does not recognize this connection at one's first experience of Joy. (5) Those who are sincerely searching for Truth are really exhibiting a longing for heaven. Therefore, it is possible, according to Lewis, to be saved from within a non-Christian religion as long as one does have this true longing for Truth.