Tyler van Opstal "Turkish Delight"

     In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis (1950), the Middle Eastern (the exact origin of the dessert is contested) dessert Turkish Delight is used as an allegory for the addicting temptations of evil. Perhaps an apple would have been too on the nose even for Lewis, a man who delighted in allegory, occasionally to the annoyance of associates like Tolkien. Or perhaps Lewis thought that while an apple may have been sufficient temptation for Adam, even in taste-bereft wartime England a young boy would need something decidedly sweeter than a tree fruit to take a bite on behalf of a snake. Regardless, Lewis' choice (and the incredible David Crowder Band song modeled after it) has led to an increased popularity of Turkish Delight in the Western world, where many associate it with the series of Narnia books.

    The idea of evil and sin being appealing and, once consumed, addictive is a constant across any religion I know of. In Christianity the White Witch is the snake and there is the Original Sin of Adam and Eve and the idea that had the addiction not been acquired humanity could have lived forever without sin. In Buddhism, the White Witch is Mara, tempting the Buddha with his celestial army and beautiful daughters. Siddhartha is able to resist the Turkish Delight as Adam could not, but in Buddhism Mara still tempts everyone in the Samsara world (our own) despite Buddha's victory against him. 

    Edmund, while considered foolish for taking the Turkish Delight much as many Buddhist sutras declare those who succumb to Mara's temptations as foolish, is never considered irredeemable, which is perhaps the most important feature of addictive sin in religion. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, Edmund is forgiven by both Aslan and his family. In Christianity, the death of Jesus forgives the sins of all those stuck in the addictive sin first tasted by Adam. And in Buddhism, those who fail to follow the precepts are told to forgive themselves and acknowledge they are not perfect (commentary from The Anapanasati Sutta). Turkish Delight is tasty, and while we certainly shouldn't gorge and should acknowledge that every bite makes the next harder to resist, it is comforting to think that consuming it is not an irrecoverable damnation. 

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