Recently I was using Google's new RSS feed viewer in my gmail account. It brought me to a link on how to create and remember your strong passwords for online banking and such. Very good advice now that so much of our personal information is online. Sometimes we need a little help remembering things that are very important.

Over the years, the PBGs have helped to make God and Jesus palatable for me. If that sounds strange to you, you don't know me very well. Or perhaps you have just come to know me recently.

I was visited by the PBGs on my run this morning. They spoke to me about belief.

I said:"Go ahead and believe whatever damn fool thing you want. The Facts will always beg to differ."

The PBGs whispered: The 'facts' shouted from the roof-tops may bear little resemblance to the Truth.

I am reminded of a scene in the book, "The Silver Chair" by C.S. Lewis. This is one of the Narnia books, though it isn't nearly as well known as "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe". In this scene, the Green Witch, who is really a poisonous snake in disguise tries to convince the protagonists that there is no sun, no overworld and no Aslan. She calls these ideas fantasies and children stories. She uses her magic smoke, harp music and lilting voice to dull their senses, addle their brains and put them to sleep.

Puddleglum, a marsh wiggle, breaks out of her powerful spell and says

Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up... trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself... all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones... We're just babies making up a game, if you're right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That's why I'm going to stand by the play-world. I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it.I'm going to live like a Narnian as I can [sic] even if there isn't a Narnia.

It is a powerful message placed in a powerful and memorable scene in a wonderful story. Encoded in these wonderful books are concepts to save a world by. A story like this helps us remember what is truely important. It encourages us to stand up for what is right regardless of what the 'facts' are telling us is prudent or acceptable

And a child's story (the Narnia books, in this case) help us to remember what is important. "Remember what silly old Puddleglum said..." For a wiggle, he sure had his head on straight.