Mon
Dec
05
2005

Narnia - not Christian?

The pre-release info on the Disney production of ‘The Lion, the wtcih and the wardrobe’ sounds pretty good. By all acounts, it is faithful to C.S. Lewis’s wonderful book.
So it was surprising to read in today’s SMH Morning Herald) that Lewis’s stepson doesn’t consider the Naria Chronicles overtly Christian. He is quoted: “Jack didn’t intend the Narnia books to be an evangelistic fantasy… The myths of Narnia are partly those of the great man-made religions – Norse mythology, Hindu mythology, as well as the true myth of Christ. Exposure to man’s myths will make young viewers ask questions about themselves – and only later will the seed of faith take root.”
Lewis’s stepson, Douglas Gresham, is a Christian himself, which on first take, makes the above quote even more unusual. But as is often the case, these things need a little more digging to reveal the truth.

Gresham is the co-producer of the film, but he appears to be not toally happy with the publicity spin that Disney is putting on the release. The studio is prompoting the film heavily to the “massive Christian market” and has even “appointed a Christian “outreach” organisation to promote the movie to British congregations”. So perhaps that is what Gresham is reacting against.

Back to the orignal quote though and the idea that the Narnia books are not overtly Christian. That viewpoint seems to be challenged by Jack Lewis himself. In a related article , Lewis is said to have written in a reply to a child fan in 1961: “Since Narnia is a world of talking beasts, I thought he would become a talking beast there as he became a man here. I pictured him becoming a lion there because a) the lion is supposed to be the king of beasts; b) Christ is called the lion of Judah in the Bible.”
Personally, I can’t see how you can get away from the strong biblical allegory of the Narnia Chronicles, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Christians everywhere use the new film to forward the cause of the gospel.

Posted by Neil, 5 December 05
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Comment

  1. Honestly, if one knows their religion and history (the truth, and not only the dogmatic view of modern Christianity) one knows that most of the symbols and stories of Christianity are blatantly lifted from earlier pagan beliefs. Knowing this, and seeing the number of mythological creatures and magic present in the Narnia books, one could say that it’s more true to the ideals of paganism than Christianity. As for C.C. Lewis’s version of the truth, if you check out the Wikipedia entry on the Chronicles of Narnia, you’ll see several quotes from the man which indicate he did NOT write it as Christian allegory, but that those ideas came through as time went on. Indeed, Lewis was merely thinking of pagan creatures and a fantasy to rival that of his friend J.R.R. Tolkien.

    — Wilder_K_Wight · Jan 1, 02:30 AM · #

  2. Honestly Wilder, if one knows one’s historical Bible (the truth and not the dogma of post modernism), one knows that such a claim about Christianity doesn’t hold water. In fact, Christians through the ages have sought to do the opposite and take over some of the symbols and festivals of the pagans and Christianise them (whether that was a good thing or not is another question entirely).
    I don’t know that quoting a Wiki is particularly authoritative either. If you read Lewis’s works yourself (rather than taking other’s opinions). you will plainly see what the man was about.
    I agree that it’s possible that he didn’t set out to write L,W & the W as a Christian allegory, but it certainly finished that way (while also standing as a children’s fantasy story in it’s own right), and there is no question that the rest of the Narnia Chronicles build on that allegory.
    I wonder if you have read them?

    — NeilA · Jan 1, 02:47 AM · #

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