Letter #189: The Theology of the Lion

Christ and the Natural Man

Sprong.

You raise an interesting question: Do we have to re-evaluate common sense morality in the light of the Christian revelation?

Some people seem to think a Christian man is like a lion who has developed a conscience. There he was, happily roaming the Serengeti, picking off the occasional antelope who trails behind the herd, when suddenly it occurs to him to ask: “What am I doing here? Ripping the guts out of this beautiful creature who hasn’t done me any harm? I must reform. From now on, I’m going to lie down with the lamb. Though I may bring along some mint jelly, just in case I need a midnight snack.”

Does Christian morality call on a lion not to be a lion? Does it call on a man not to be a man?

One of the fascinating things about the systems that arose from the Enlightenment, is that they work so well precisely because they’re not “Christian” in that sense. Democracy, capitalism, free trade — they harness our natural ambition, competitiveness, partisanship and desire for gold. These things, when set free under controlled circumstances, encourage creativity, achievement and the building of wealth. Sure, a billionaire may be charitable, but he didn’t become a billionaire by being charitable. He did it by crushing the other guy with his superior products, investments and strategies.

And we admire him for it. I mean, we can piously pretend not to, but assuming he did business honestly, and won out through cleverness, hard work and drive, we respect him for his success. Just like we admire and respect a character like James Bond who not only gets the beautiful girl, but gets a different beautiful girl in every movie. Again, readers can leave pious comments saying tsk tsk tsk, but the truth is: assuming Bond is not an abuser or an adulterer, guys want to be him, and girls want to be with him. And when Dr. No tries to destroy the world, who you gonna call?

I’ll go even further. Christians who get prissy about human nature are incredibly off-putting. Those people who attacked J. D. Vance for speaking simple moral common sense? Does anyone admire or respect them even a little? Not even themselves, I’d wager. They’re like those people who acknowledge that their land once belonged to the Indians when they are in no way prepared to give the land back. Why even strike the pose?

Christianity certainly adds a new dimension to our moral calculations — the dimension of eternal life. But in practical terms, this does not delionize the lion, it merely directs the man toward his highest self. It confirms us in our sense that there are things more important than present advantage, things even worth dying for.

And when we see a man do that — when we see him lay down his life for the good — we admire that more than anything. That, too, is our nature. That, too, is who we are.

Love, Dad