Am I missing something here?
Okay, I have not read the Chronicles of Narnia since childhood, and am currently on book 3 of 7. I just read and saw in the news that the story is Christian based. Am I missing something or have the "Christians" once again laid claim to something just to throw Christianity in my face? If the stories are, indeed, Christian based, the message is so subtle it is almost indecipherable. Either that, or I'm stupid (which I pretty confident is not the case). If it were not the intent of Lewis to have this magical fairyland story linked to a religious message, shame on the "Christians". Why do they think they have the right to take over all of the media, society, rights, etc.? Who are they to tell me what I can do, what I can watch, what I can read, what I can listen to, what I can say. Are they God? Last time I checked, no.
Arrrrggggghhhhh.
Judgemental, hypocritical, controlling SOB's!!!
I do not mean any offense to those of you who read this blog and are what I would consider a true Christian: non-judgemental, humble, loving, selfless, understanding ...
posted by Heather @ 2:06 PM
11 Comments:
CS Lewis wrote a number of Protestant religious works. In the beginning days of the downfall of WWCG, those intent on changing church doctrines began to write articles and give sermons with references to his theological slant. Never having read Chronicles..., I have no clue if there is an underlying theological theme.
Sadly, all elements heard from in the world at large today tend to be judgmental, controlling and hypocritical. Paganized Christianity has their slant; liberal immorals (for lack of a better description) are just as intolerant of differences.
I haven't read any of Lewis' works or any of the Chronicles I can't answer that definitively. I saw a cartoon version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as a kid, and the story definitely came across as Christian allegory (although I didn't know that word at the time).
lol @ your disclaimer.
Oh, I don't know how faithful the cartoon was to the book.
I have'nt read or seen Chronicals of Narnia so I am writing this with assumption and a little ignorance. I assume that the "christian" media assumes that C.S. Lewis would only write a novel with some theological significance. Bad assumption. There are all kinds of "secular" writers and or film directors who have a faith based underlying theme to their work who dont believe at all. Take the Warchowski Brothers for example.(FYI-one of them just had a sex change so I dont believe you can call them "brothers" anymore) Anyone that knows much about the bible and its theme can see it all over the first Matrix movie. Thats just my perspective on it. I think we need to just let people think freely and receive what they can from any piece of work. Then again, maybe Chronicals is christian based. I'll make my own decision when I see it.(To see it is much faster than to read it)
Okay, so evidently I am missing something. After a little resarch, which I probably should have done before jotting out my criticsims, I have learned that C.S. Lewis is indeed a "Christian" author. I stll stand by everything I said, I will just change the dirction of the insults away from the Chronicles to anything else that applies.
I've recently read a good deal of old C.S., though not the Chronicles. My impression is, he's the kind of Christian in your disclaimer, that is, the real kind, and spends most of his time setting straight the fusty dusty types.
You might like The Great Divorce. It's an allegory, too, and it places him squarely in the camp of those (few) who see Christianity as being about selflessness. Getting real (literalized in the book as becoming solid) means getting over yourself.
One of my favorite books of his is A Grief Observed, which is more or less a journal he kept after the death of his wife. I like it on its own merits, but also just because it's so alarming, jarring, and heart-breaking in a good way to see such honesty from someone who claims to be a Christian.
On the other hand, I absolutely despised The Abolition of Man for reasons I won't go into here. If my kids hadn't been asleep when I finished it, I'd have thrown it against the wall.
I'm anxious to see which C.S. Lewis shows up for Narnia. Given its date of composition, I'm a little fearful.
Thanks Jody! I'm always on the lookout for books to read. I will put these on my list and expand my knowledge of Lewis.
Heather,
If I remember correctly from reading his "Mere Christianity"
book he was an athiest who became a christian. There are people who are Christian who aren't out to brainwash the world with their beliefs! It's a pretty big generalization!! Of course you only see or hear the Christians who are outspoken and perhaps judgemental. What about the believers who live their lives and don't proselytize?
http://www.factmonster.com/spot/narnia-lewisxan.html
Those people I tend to admire and are the ones referred to in my "disclaimer". I probably should come up with another term to describe the in your face Christians. Crazy, maybe?
"Churchians." It's the church/group that's important for them.
I think it's funny how many "Christians" claim Lewis as their own. The fundamentalists claim him because he makes a compelling set of arguments for an orthodox view of God and truth. The liberals claim him because he transcends rigid sets of rules and precepts as the sum total of faith.
Most of us who watch or read about Narnia will find something about Lewis that we will want to call our own. That has little to do with public religious identity and more to do with good writing.
Having read the Chronicles a couple of times, I can tell you that you probably will love the stories as stories (my daughters certainly did, long before they were old enough to grasp the allegories). If you want to use them to take yourself somewhere spiritual, they are useful for that as well.
If you are in a C.S. Lewis movie-watching mode anyway, I would recommend the film Shadowlands. It's a bio piece about Lewis' marriage. The man is played by Anthony Hopkins.
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