Man or Rabbit?

"One of the things that distinguishes man from the other animals is that he wants to know things, wants to find out what reality is like, simply for the sake of knowing."

"Morality is a mountain which we cannot climb by our own efforts; and if we could we should only perish in the ice and unbreathable air of the summit, lacking those wings with which the rest of the journey has to be accomplished. For it is from there that the real ascent begins. The ropes and axes are 'done away' and the rest is a matter of flying." ~ C.S. Lewis

I found this reading to be a bit more difficult to interpret. I think that in this essay, more so than the others we have read, the Anglican background of C.S. Lewis is manifested. Anglican theology holds that works are a necessary ingredient of justification. For example, Lewis says the following about three men who were unbelievers, Socrates, Confucius and J.S. Mill: "...these men were in a state of honest ignorance or honest error. If their intentions were as good as I suppose them to have been (for of course I can't read their secret hearts) I hope and believe that the skill and mercy of God will remedy the evils which their ignorance, left to itself, would naturally produce both for them and for those whom they influenced." I think that the implication in this is that a man who outwardly does the work of the law even if he does not know Christ, will be forgiven that lack of knowledge. Reformed theology holds that man is justified by grace, and that works will necessarily follow "for it is impossible that those who are implanted into Christ by a true faith should not bring forth fruits of thankfulness (Heidelberg Catechism A. 64)." Notice that fruits of thankfulness only come from those implanted into Christ. God does not justify those who do not know Christ.

The error of Lewis concerning the relationship of justification and works made this reading difficult for me, but I did my best to not write off the whole reading because of its presence. I found the end of the essay to be quite rewarding. "All the rabbit in us is to disappear -- the worried, conscientious, ethical rabbit as well as the cowardly and sensual rabbit. We shall bleed and squeal as the handfuls of fur come out; and then, surprisingly, we shall find underneath it all a thing we have never imagined: a real Man, and ageless god, a son of God, strong, radiant, wise, beautiful, and drenched in joy." I believe that I think differently about this than Lewis did. I think that Lewis is referring to the resurrection only. I think, though, that we can look at this quote in the light of regeneration and the resurrection. In a sense, when we were regenerated we were given a "real Man" that is hidden in the body of the "rabbit." The rabbit representing our old flesh and our old nature. But I like the imagery given by Lewis, that we will "bleed and squeal," because having a new heart is not something that we want, but something that God makes us want and gives to us freely. And then this imagery fits with the final resurrection as well, because we will shed our old flesh when we die, but then we will be made anew. God has done this for us! How amazing!

So as those who are regenerated and look forward to our resurrection, we do not have to decide if we are a man or a rabbit. God pulls off our fur in spite of the fact that we don't want him to, and He makes us Men (and Women). In this knowledge we fly from the summit by the wings of His grace!