It is indeed a rare occasion when I can recommend a DVD that reached the number one spot at the box office to the members of the congregation, but I am happy to be able to do so now. In The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe we have a movie that is not only family friendly and very well done, but which teaches important Christian themes by means of allegory. This is probably due in no small part to the fact that the movie was co-produced by Douglas Gresham, the step-son of C.S. Lewis. Gresham resisted offers to make a big-screen version of the Narnia Chronicles for many years because of his insistence that he be given final say over what went into any movie version of the books. His reason of course, was that he didn’t want Narnia to be sanitized of its blatantly Christian themes by a studio eager to avoid offending anyone – and Narnia offended many members of the intelligentsia both here and in the UK. Apparently though, the movie going public could care less about the sensibilities of anti-Christian reviewers because the movie did very well in both countries and a second movie from the series, Prince Caspian, is due out next year.
For those of you unfamiliar with the plot, it centers on the story of four English children, evacuated from London to the countryside during the blitz, who discover the gateway to another world called “Narnia” in an old wardrobe. Narnia is ruled by the White Witch who keeps the land in a state of perpetual winter and who turns all her enemies to stone. The power of the Witch can only be broken by the true lord of Narnia, the great Lion Aslan. But in order to defeat the witch he must pay the penalty for the betrayal of one of the children.
The story itself is obviously intended to convey the great themes of the bible; the fallen state of the world, the deceptiveness, cruelty, and malice of the devil, and the need of redemption from sin through the vicarious atonement of Jesus Christ. That ability to convey great themes in entertaining and thought-provoking stories was the great strength of Lewis’ writing. However, one should not expect the movie to do more than convey biblical themes and wholesome messages in an entertaining format. For instance, if one is not familiar at all with the Gospels, one is not likely to be converted to Christianity by the movie, which is after all the story of Aslan and Narnia, not Jesus and the Cross. It also has to be admitted that theologically there are numerous shortcomings to The Lion. Amongst them that it fails to show the universality of sin, and presents the unbiblical medieval Ransom Theory of the atonement. But if you go to the movie expecting not biblical theology, but an excellent and uplifting story well told, you will not be disappointed.
Be warned, the movie is probably too scary for very small children, but there is no gore, no bad language, and while there is violence, there is none of the gratuitous sex and violence of most modern adventure movies.
I agree; if it's sound theology you want, don't expect much help from fiction, but if you want a good read, most theologians aren't good at that either! Bunyan is one exception, I marvel at his prose abilities. Note, many of the Puritans were schooled in the ancient (but pagan) classics.
It is profitable to talk with one's children about their stories (many are good but none are perfect) & invite comparisons with God's Word.
My kids also enjoy "The Wind & the Willows" and Jane Austen (esp. after seeing the recent movie).
Incidentally, our children will be damned to Hell if they are not regenerated by the Holy Spirit and therefore never close with the Lord Jesus Christ and come to an abiding faith in him. This saving faith ordinarily comes via the preaching and reading of the Word of God, and it indicates that we have a duty to bring them to church, and worship with them and teach them in the family. But it does not mean that we may not also play with them, watch movies with them, and read them stories. As we do these things as well, should they also not be edifying and uplifting?
As for the Fairy Tale qualities - Centaurs, Fawns, talking animals and the like, you are in danger of declaring centuries of childrens stories including tales like the Three Little Pigs and Hansel and Gretel forbidden to Christians, not to mention the wider world of poetry and literature. Such an approach is more than scripture calls for and smacks of a deliberate decision to ignore the common grace elements of the world. Admittedly there are good stories and bad stories, good poems and bad poems, and as Christians we need to learn to discriminate between them. Who better to teach children this critical discernment skill than their parents?
A few points, C.S. Lewis wrote the Narnia books as allegories. In one sense they are entertaining stories (and there is no biblical injunction against telling entertaining and edifying stories) and in another sense they are stories used to provide illustrations of biblical truths. Using allegories, anecdotes, and examples to shed light on biblical truths is something that Pastors do all the time in sermons, Jesus himself used parables which are earthly stories with heavenly meanings in order to teach the truths of the kingdom. Lewis did not intend to supplant the Gospel, merely to shed light. So he was emphatically not saying "worship Aslan" he was saying in a story "Children, Jesus is like a mighty lion."
Also, The only user of magic in "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" is the White Witch. Her magic is evil and deceitful which is appropriate because she is intended to be an allegory for Satan. At no point in the story are we supposed to think that magic or witches are good - quite the opposite.
you say the story is to convey the themes of the BIBLE. this is a fairy tale which is magic. man cannot redo what JESUS has already accomplished. teach and or study yhe BIBLE to understand what GOD has done or else we damn our children to hell. i may not know much but i know that these books and movies are not pleasing to GOD.
When did I indicate I wanted to replace the Bible with the Narnia series? This was just a review of a recently released DVD, which is worth watching on a family movie night. Unlike the vast majority of films released these days, it's edifying .
For the record there is nothing that can replace the inspired word of God in its role as the sole rule and guide for all of our faith, life, and practice.
What I was doing in this blog was simply reviewing a movie. On occasion I will post positive or negative reviews of books or movies indicating my opinion on whether or not the are worth reading or watching. I will never be indicating that any of them can "replace" the word of God in any of its normative functions.
why do you want to replace the BIBLE with a fairy tale? why consider the different translations of the BIBLE and preach out of something that is antichrist? I cannot find aslan in the scriptures.
Older
Top
USER COMMENTS | 
6/8/06 9:20 PM
