Guest Emerson Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 out of all the books in the chronicles of narnia, the lion, the witch and the wardrobe isn't so subtle. As a kid I knew what the xtian story was about and then read the lion, the witch and the wardrobe and knew from the get-go that Aslan represented christ and his death and comeback was part of the christian story. Okay someone told me about how that book was about christ and stuff and I connected the dots. I don't know why C.S. Lewis thought that he could fool people. I mean its SO OBVIOUS. Geez. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
white_raven23 Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 Even better. The second book has paganism! Baccus and his "girls" party down with Aslan! A schoolgirl is even stripped! I'm serious. Prince Caspian. It's got some interesting little tidbits the Christians somehow gloss over. There's seven books in the series. In the bible you have a creation tale, a sacrificial lamb tale, and an end of times tale. So that covers: The Magician's Nephew, The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe, an The Last Battle. There's FOUR other books that all have the odd little morality thing going on here and there....but that is only Christian if you believe that Christians get to have to cornerstone and credit for morality itself! There is easily as much paganism as there is christianity in those books. A real shame the C.S. Lewis is the best (and apparantly ONLY) fictional writer the Christians have to rally around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yaoi Huntress Earth Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 Even better. There's FOUR other books that all have the odd little morality thing going on here and there....but that is only Christian if you believe that Christians get to have to cornerstone and credit for morality itself! What's interesting is that teaching morals (especally good manners) was one of Lewis' main goals with the Narnia series. (Check out the pop-up facts in the DVD. You also learn that him and Tolken were good friends.) What separates Lewis from LaHayle and his kind is that he (Lewis) didn't let self-rightousness and fear get in the way of his writting. Lewis didn't see magic and myths as the enemy of Chrisitanity, but as something that connects and brings a better understanding. I'm no expert on the man himself, but I have a good feeling that he is far from the Pat Robertson-type of Christianity that is trying to establish itself as the norm of how Christians should act. Someone on another MB (I forgot the name) mentioned that Lewis might've liked the Harry Potter series (especally since Hermonie is a lot like one of his heroines.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kellyb Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 Even better. There's FOUR other books that all have the odd little morality thing going on here and there....but that is only Christian if you believe that Christians get to have to cornerstone and credit for morality itself! What's interesting is that teaching morals (especally good manners) was one of Lewis' main goals with the Narnia series. (Check out the pop-up facts in the DVD. You also learn that him and Tolken were good friends.) What separates Lewis from LaHayle and his kind is that he (Lewis) didn't let self-rightousness and fear get in the way of his writting. Lewis didn't see magic and myths as the enemy of Chrisitanity, but as something that connects and brings a better understanding. I'm no expert on the man himself, but I have a good feeling that he is far from the Pat Robertson-type of Christianity that is trying to establish itself as the norm of how Christians should act. Someone on another MB (I forgot the name) mentioned that Lewis might've liked the Harry Potter series (especally since Hermonie is a lot like one of his heroines.) I think CS Lewis was a good guy. I used to have copies of some letters he and Tolkien were sending to each other, where Lewis was saying LOTR was such an abstract metaphore no one would ever "get it", and Tolkien was saying Narnia was too obvious. These are some of the historical factoids of Xianity I actually remember fondly. People like CS Lewis and E.Stanley Jones are the reason I still like (although disbelieve) some of Xianity. Have any of you ever watched "Shadowlands"? At the end it shows Lewis screaming about god being a "bloody vivasectionist" after the death of his wife. Come to think of it, "shadowlands" is a pretty powerful deconversion story...and even the title, (and the philosophy behind the name) is moving in a "don't waste your life on an imaginary god" kind of way. Poor dude. How shitty would it be to not "get it" until you were that old. He was a good man. Do any of you know if he "reconverted" and then wrote "On Suffering"? I never read that one, and don't know when it was written... ETA: I was thinking of "A grief observed"... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Grief_Observed In 1961 (basis of Shadowlands) And he died in 1963. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CS_Lewis So maybe he died a believer… If so, I hope his faith eventually brought him some comfort…. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LosingMyReligion Posted April 27, 2006 Share Posted April 27, 2006 C.S. Lewis was nothing like the evangelical neo cons of the moment. His faith was his faith, no more no less. I have great respect for the man as I've grown up on his stories(and I loved NARNIA! I even own the dvd). To me he only did what the bible itself did from numerous other stories before it. He co-opted many of the themes and wrote a fantastical story surrounding it. I think the Lion, The With, and The Wardrobe is allegorical(overtly so), but I believe C.S. Lewis wanted to use the theme in a fantastical way. The Christian fundies have only co-opted it to push their agenda. What they don't understand is that their book(the babble)is a fantasy as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob the Unbeliever Posted April 29, 2006 Share Posted April 29, 2006 Make no mistake, CS Lewis was a 'true Christian' who believed in devils, demons and such. Take a look at the "Screwtape letters" for examples of that. My experience with Leweis' work is mainly from his SciFi triology: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength. I did not like these very much, but at the time, I doggedly finished any story I started, and I saw the 3 books as one story. I have read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, but did not like it much - even though at the time I still saw myself as a Christian of sorts. Lewis was, to me, and still is a rather scary individual: he believed in a vast spiritual world 'out to get us', which I never did buy, even at the height (depth?) of my Christian experience. Largely due to that, I avoided reading any of the remaining narnia books; and I will likely avoid the movie, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
insomniac Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 I've seen the Narnia movie and have read the Tolkien/Lewis letters. I'm not the fantasy buff I once was, but I liked and still do appreciate the works of both authors. Their works seemed really genuine- and even if it's blatantly a xian allegory, Narnia's still awesome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toxic Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 Even better. The second book has paganism! Baccus and his "girls" party down with Aslan! A schoolgirl is even stripped! I'm serious. What about the fact that TLTWATW has creatures from pagan mythologies such as fauns, centaurs, dwarves, minotaurs, etc, etc. I also thought that Aslan's deatha nd resurrection could be analogous to Osiris, Krishna, Balder, etc - any dying resurecting god from pagan mythologies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlinfmct87 Posted April 30, 2006 Share Posted April 30, 2006 C. S. Lewis grates on me in a big way. It's probably just because of how he charaterized his atheism, but he always struck me as very immature, somehow. As for Narnia being 'not so subtle,' I agree. It's the ancestor of the Jack Chick track, in a way... trying to subtly 'sneak up' on unbelievers, thinking that they won't notice it's the exact same story(or moral, commandment, objection, club, etc) in sheep's clothing. Merlin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Interested Atheist Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 I just love the way a Christian film ends with the four characters coming out of the closet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlinfmct87 Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 I just love the way a Christian film ends with the four characters coming out of the closet! If only C.S. knew... Meriln Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nick5 Posted May 1, 2006 Share Posted May 1, 2006 Narnia Isn't So Subtle Also, it sucks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Merlinfmct87 Posted May 2, 2006 Share Posted May 2, 2006 Yeah, there's that too. Merlin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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