God as the Author

Outside Reading

November 17, 2016

As we talk about myth, we inevitably must talk about authorship, about the creator of the world in which this myth exists. How does the author think of this world? Is the story planned and outlined from the very beginning or does it flow from a feeling, from a relationship with the characters? On that note, how does the author interact with the characters? I find that these questions arise as I read and I long to sit down with the author and ask them all. However, C.S. Lewis draws a deeper parallel between the author and the story, a parallel that reflects the relationship between God and humanity. In Mere Christianity, Lewis lays out the principles of Christianity, tackling some of the points of struggle that many people struggle with. Every human being exists on a linear timeline, understanding the world as a matter of cause and effect, action and reaction. However, God does not exist on the same timeline. Lewis writes that he is the “page on which the line is drawn.” Lewis compares God to an author of a story. As the author, he can stop, contemplate, consider every moment of each character individually before continuing on in the story. Lewis writes, “God is not hurried along in the Time-stream of this universe any more than an author is hurried along in the imaginary time of his own novel. He has infinite attention to spare for each of us. He does not have to deal with us in the mass. You are as much alone with Him as if you were the only being He had ever created. When Christ died, He died for you individually just as much as if you had been the only man in the world.” Viewing God as the author has an incredible effect on how he relates to humanity. As the author he has an infinite amount of time for each individual. He is able to think on each person, love them, listen to their prayers, mourn loss alongside them, strengthen them. This idea takes the religion of Christianity and puts it on both an individual and universal plane.