Joel and I recently read the Chronicles of Narnia series with Jasper at bedtime. Last night we finished book number five: The Horse and His Boy. I am going to be honest, after The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the other books in this series have been very difficult for me to get through. The books lack the compelling storyline that we so greatly loved in the first book of the series.

That is, until we started reading The Horse and His Boy. Typically, we would read a few pages each night (the chapters are long for Jasper), but with this particular book, I found myself wanting to read, read, and keep on reading. It is a book rich with insight and spiritual application.

The following is a brief summary of a moment from this story that struck me as I have wrestled with balancing justice and mercy:

At the end of the book, Prince Rabadash from the kingdom of Tashbaan had been captured and was standing trial for his unprovoked attack on the kingdom of Archenland, breaking the peace agreement between the two nations.

King Lune, the king of Archenland, knew that it was within his rights to kill Prince Rabadash. This execution would be justified by the rule of law. However, King Lune was not at peace with this sentence and proposed to Prince Rabadash a more benevolent plan. King Lune offered to release the prince and send him back to his kingdom, but with the provision that Prince Rabadash would never return or attack Archenland again.

King Lune was offering Prince Rabadash redemption and freedom—a grace and mercy that far exceeded the actions of this evil prince.

Prince Rabadash refused the offer.

Then Aslan entered the picture.

At this poignant moment, everyone in attendance at Prince Rabadash’s trial was moved to silence and awe. Everyone except for the nasty prince. Rather, he grew more hostile and more antagonistic in the presence of the true King of all.

Aslan gave Prince Rabadash multiple opportunities to receive a lesser sentence, but—again—he refused them all. The time had come for Aslan to administer the final judgement for Rabadash.

While screaming out his rage, Rabadash slowly began to morph into the form of a donkey—a donkey that could not speak, unlike the talking animals of Narnia.

As the donkey brayed in shock and confusion, Aslan spoke:

“Now hear me, Rabadash,” said Aslan. “Justice shall be mixed with mercy. You shall not always be an Ass.”[1]

Justice shall be mixed with mercy.

The justice end of Aslan’s judgement was that Rabadash took on the form of an animal—an animal of low regard…an Ass.

The mercy end of Aslan’s judgement was that a way was provided for Rabadash to find freedom from the form of a donkey and to become a human once again. But even his freedom came with a caveat.

Once returned to his human self, Rabadash was forbidden to stray more than ten miles from the great temple in Tashbaan. If he did so, if he so much as placed one foot beyond the boundaries Aslan set in place, Rabadash would instantly become a donkey once again, and this time there would be no chance for redemption.

Prince Rabadash yielded to Aslan’s warning, and he spent the remaining years of his life sequestered within the boundaries of the temple in Tashbaan. He was never remorseful or repentant. While he lived in freedom, he was forever a prisoner locked in the dungeon of his hatred.

C.S. Lewis’s profound understanding of God’s mercy and justice is powerful and palpable. He paints the most exquisite portrait of how both mercy and justice can be mixed together.

I believe that evil requires swift judgment. I have often wrestled with the distorted belief that mercy is giving allowance to bad behavior. But as I read the ending of this intriguing story, I realized that mercy is merely holding the door open for a radical change of heart, rather than shutting it completely—that punishment for wrong actions must be accompanied by hope for redemption.

Mercy and justice come as a package deal. You can’t take one and leave out the other. They are bundled together. Mercy alone will not foster repentance or redemption. Justice alone will do more harm than good; it is punishment without love and concern and can easily spin into retaliation.

However, when mercy—the opportunity to repent and find a new pathway forward—is coupled with justice—the concise and deliberate judgement that I tend to lean into—hope breaks through the hard places. Church hurt will be remedied when justice and mercy are mixed together in an attitude of hope for redemption. This packaged deal, all rolled into one great big bundle, is a reflection of the nature of Christ, both loving and just.

This is a lesson that I have tucked into my heart. It is like a light went on when I read the story of Prince Rabadash, King Lune, and Aslan. I needed that visual to understand the magnitude of what mercy and justice are supposed to look like. When we approach God with all of our ugliness and sin, the appropriate consequence is always death. Romans 6:23 tells us, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Justice demands a death sentence for our sins. And yet, God mixes justice with mercy in such a beautiful way. If we choose to repent, turn from our sin, and surrender our lives to Jesus—this gift from God—we step into the hope and the assurance of eternity with Him.

I really do believe we will be on a much steadier pathway to working through the mud and muck of church hurt when we operate and handle these situations with both justice and mercy.

I was at a conference recently, and the speaker was telling the story about her sister who was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. I can’t recall all the details about the diagnosis and prognosis of this young woman, but what I do remember clearly is that the speaker’s sister had to undergo a serious surgery. Due to the nature of this cancer, the surgeon had to make an incision from under the ear of one side of her face, down and across her throat, all the way to the side of the opposite ear. Coupled with the urgency of the surgery, this young patient was preparing for her wedding, which was a not too far away from this current crisis.

Her wedding day came, and she bore the scar of the surgery that removed the cancer that had metastasized in her thyroid. The speaker referred to this scar as a healing scar.

When we have been knocked down by church hurt, in whatever form it takes, we are often left with a wound. Sometimes those wounds are deep and invasive. Sometimes it takes a kind of spiritual surgery in the hands of a skilled counselor to extract the cancer and disease that has metastasized around the heart. Eventually, these wounds do heal over time. Some more quickly than others. But for a time, we bear a healing scar—a visual reminder of what we have been through. Even those scars will fade, but they will never disappear forever. And some of us will walk with a limp for the rest of our lives. However, we will walk in the truth that even these scars will be redeemed.

(Paper written and permission to post by Brooklyn Slater, 2023)

When opening a school textbook, thousands of words pour out and culminate into various stories and events. Sentences connect through the organization of paragraphs, which, in the end, finish as papers, essays, and records. However, not everything read is accurate, and many are eager to argue that certain historical events are entirely fabricated to ease prejudiced minds. One of the most shocking is the claim that the Holocaust was fictitious. The number of individuals who object to the existence of the Holocaust is disturbing; therefore, understanding the Holocaust and its effects on future generations is crucial.

Holocaust deniers’ ideology is supported by the logic that since no written document nor decree from Hitler initiated the Holocaust, it is a fabricated story that served as a justified reason to enter the Second World War and publish the New Deal. Professor John P. Jackson Jr. describes the pre-history: “Holocaust denial grew out of a rejection of the New Deal political order and simultaneous commitment to isolationism in foreign policy” (Jackson 27). Many right-winged men in the United States rejected President Roosevelt and his deal. Jackson elaborates what on one man thought: “Roosevelt sneaking us into war was all of a piece with his creation of unconstitutional agencies to institute his plan for overall regimentation of the U.S. economy and his court-packing scheme to make sure no other branch of government would stop it” (Jackson 27).

Holocaust deniers also theorized that the Holocaust was used to gain reparations from Germany and to allow Israel to become an established state. Willis Carto was one of the many individuals who declared themselves as far-right political figures, anxious to be known as a Jeffersonian or populist; instead, he became known as a raging antisemitic. The Southern Poverty Law Center states that “In 1978, he founded the first major American Holocaust-denial outfit, the Institute for Historical Review” (SPLC 1). Carto used this to instigate and encourage the blaze of hatred towards the Jews: “The revisionist collaborative circle allowed members to manage tensions between the conservative/libertarian individualist ideology and racist antisemitic ideology. Antisemites like Carto tolerated libertarians because their presence provided some political cover for their attack on what they viewed as a massive Jewish conspiracy” (qtd. in Jackson 47). Carto successfully grouped many men to encourage one another’s antisemitic mindsets. His influence and approval are critical factors in the rise of antisemitism in the Western world after the Second World War and throughout the 50s up to the 90s.

Film and the media contribute to confusion and intrigue about the Holocaust. Cinematography is one of the most valuable tools in transforming an individual’s ideas and opinions about some issues. During the Second World War, antisemitic propaganda films, The Eternal Jew, and pro-Nazi propaganda films, Triumph of the Will, were the most discreet ways of spreading falsified information nationwide. Dr. Stefanie Rauch writes about the effect of watching movies taking place during the Holocaust and World War ll in order to discern whether or not the audience takes the message or story literally. Rauch uses her research to explain that:

Despite the paucity of empirical research into individual reception of films about the Holocaust, scholars have often made and perpetuated assumptions regarding the alleged strong impact of Holocaust representations on viewers, which are not adequately substantiated by empirical evidence. This includes both scholars who warn of film and television’s supposed inherent risks and shortcomings and others who have a more positive view of the effects of “Holocaust films” on viewers. (Rauch 4)

Many educated and scholarly individuals agree that Hollywood and independent studios take events and add or remove scenes to portray the vision they have in mind. Rauch notices that the knowledge of how people receive the film afterward is unknown when focusing on the movie’s contents, not the story it is retelling. Everyone who walks out of a movie theatre enjoys or dislikes the story they watched. However, people talk about whether or not the movie stood true to the original afterward and after research. “When it comes to the representation of the Holocaust on film, historiography has largely focused on theoretical, philosophical and ethical considerations, critical and public reception and contemporary media responses” (Rauch 3). It is based mainly on the reception gained from audiences through their letters and opinions. Films such as Conspiracy, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, The Reader, Defiance, and The Grey Zone all focus on different viewpoints, some from the eyes of genuine historical figures/survivors or as a historical fiction story. However, the plot of historical fiction movies is questionable because the story must have been inspired by an actual event or personal testimony, especially if it is a movie about a man or woman in one of the concentration camps.

The Holocaust has been subjected by many towards a list of questionable events; such as the Flat Earth Theory and Bigfoot. “Holocaust deniers argue that this entire chapter of history is an elaborate hoax by Jewish propagandists who simply wanted reparations from Germany, the creation of a Jewish state, and a distraction from their double-dealing” (ADL 1). Younger children are more likely to be exposed to storing this information in their minds, which could confuse them as they are in a school or public setting. The Dallas Holocaust and Human Rights Museum discusses the ten stages of genocide, including examples from the Bosnian, Rwandan, Albanian, and Guatemalan genocides. Dr. George Stanton separated each stage by its title: classification, symbolization, discrimination, dehumanization, organization, polarization, preparation, persecution, extermination, and denial. Dr. Stanton evaluates:

“The perpetrators of genocide […] deny that they committed any crimes and often blame what happened on the victims. They block investigations of the crimes and continue to govern until driven from power by force, when they flee into exile. Unless they are captured and placed of trial, they will continue to deny” (Stanton 4). He continues that trial and punishment are the best and most effective ways of stopping denial. Asserting the evidence in a broad light and publicly displaying records allows people to see for themselves the truth and evidence. From evaluating past massacres, denial is one of the most apparent indicators of a genocidal massacre.

Holocaust ignorance is the outcome of prejudiced minds who have managed to influence many young adults. A study in 2018 announced that nearly two-thirds of young adults between the ages of eighteen and thirty-nine do not know about the Third Reich nor that a genocide even occurred within the concentration camps during the Second World War. “The Internet is now the chief source of Holocaust denial and the chief means of recruiting for Holocaust denial organizations” (Holocaust Encyclopedia 1). Many have ignored or allowed personal biases/opinions to blind their eyes from the truth.

The First Amendment protects students and young adults in the United States of America to speak about whatever they choose; however, the repercussions allow for misinformation and disagreement to be published, confusing the younger generation. Across the globe, in France, Germany, Australia, Belgium, and Canada, antisemitic acts have increased; but action has followed because many have decided to criminalize antisemitic publishes, including neo-Nazi ideology. Even the United States, the land that offers freedom of speech and religion, has a negative past regarding the treatment of Jews. “The history of Jews in America is a history of the ongoing negotiation between hard-won legal freedoms and the lingering social effects of racial and religious prejudice as it persists and reignites in this country” (ADL 1). Books such as Erik Larsons’ novel, based on the written accounts and diaries of the first American ambassadors in Germany before the invasion of Poland, reveal an American viewpoint of what United States citizens saw and thought of Germany. The Pew Research Center discovered that “…visiting a Holocaust museum and knowing someone who is Jewish are strongly linked with Holocaust knowledge” (Pew Research Center 1). These books and museums, such as the Holocaust Museums in Washington D.C. and Texas keep the memory of survivors, victims, and history relevant. It is vital to comprehend that not understanding history, whether ours or not, will significantly impact what the next generation inherits.

Holocaust denial has been rooted in personal bias’, and though action has been made, the statistics show a shocking increase in recent years. Advocates have used their voices and power to aid the Jewish community but face modern issues of technology, films, and personal opinions. Many individuals struggle to break away from the deep past that holocaust denial has created in their families. Film has been a more public podium of advocacy for Jews by sharing testimonies, culture, and events through storytelling. There is hope for the Jewish community, but it will be a matter that can only be dealt with through respectful confrontation and awareness of the signs of racism or discrimination of ethnic groups.

Works Cited

Anti-Defamation League. “A Guide to Old Myths in a New Era.” Antisemitism Uncovered, antisemitism.adl.org/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2023.

Anti-Defamation League. “Antisemitism in American History.” Antisemitism Uncovered, antisemitism.adl.org/antisemitism-in-american-history/. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.

Anti-Defamation League. “Our Mission and History.” www.adl.org/about/mission-and-history. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.

Jackson, John P., Jr. “The Pre-History of American Holocaust Denial.” American Jewish History, vol. 105 no. 1, 2021, p. 25-48. Project MUSE, https://doi.org/10.1353/ajh.2021.0002.

Pew Research Center. “What Americans Know About the Holocaust.” Pew Research Center’s Religion & Public Life Project, 22 Jan. 2020, www.pewresearch.org/religion/2020/01/22/what-americans-know-about-the-holocaust/.

Rauch, Stefanie. “Understanding the Holocaust through Film: Audience Reception between Preconceptions and Media Effects.” History and Memory: Studies in Representation of the Past, vol. 30, no. 1, spring-summer 2018, pp. 151+. Gale OneFile: World History, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A553126861/PPWH?u=txshracd2552&sid=bookmark-PPWH&xid=a37e19ec. Accessed 22 Sept. 2023

Stanton, George  H. “Ten Stages of Genocide.” The Genocide Education Project, www.genocideeducation.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/ten_stages_of_genocide.pdf. Accessed 10 Oct. 2023.

The Foundation to Combat Antisemitism. Stand Up to Jewish Hate, 31 Oct. 2023, www.standuptojewishhate.org/.

United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. “Holocaust Deniers and Public Misinformation.” United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, encyclopedia.ushmm.org/content/en/article/holocaust-deniers-and-public-misinformation. Accessed 21 Oct. 2023.