Narnia isn't Christian Fiction
| Posted On: 05/13/08 06:13:53 AM |
Age 42, TX |
Beside the centaurs, minotaurs, Santa Claus, magic spells and healing potions, it is no wonder that unbelievers may never notice the included (and somewhat deeply-embedded) Christian aspects of Narnia, as they are hodgepodged in with everything else.
Sometimes we, as Christians, just see what we want to see, and try to ignore that which doesn't conform to our theology...
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Atta Boy!!!
| Posted On: 05/12/08 09:52:15 PM |
Age 56, NE |
Excellent article. Very few people will mention Lewis' universalism. As for the Narnia books, and the movies, they have as much pagan mythology as they do Christian content. I really liked the first movie and look forward to Prince Caspian. I have no illusions about them being some kind of evangelistic tool and by no stretch can they be called Christian. You do well to warn us about entanglements with Hollywood.
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- Lewis Wasn't A Universalist
| Posted On: 05/13/08 07:02:21 PM | | Age 40, NH |
Lewis wasn't a universalist but an inclusionist. There is a distinct difference between the two.
Grace and Peace,
Jim
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It Is Fantasy
| Posted On: 05/12/08 04:33:33 PM |
Age 40, NH |
Since there is no direct Christian theme claimed by Lewis or anyone else, there is no issue here except with people who have no discernment. The movies are fantasy and not direct equivalents and should be seen as such.
The writings have elements of Greek and other national mythologies interspersed and if that can't be seen and explained by parents, leaders and most Christians then there is (unlike what Jesus said about the gates of Hell) no hope for the church.
This is making a mountain out of an ant hill really. Those who are true will see through the fantasy and see just what it is...fantasy.
Grace and Peace,
Jim
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TRUTH AND LOVE IS THE SAME BY ANY OTHER NAME
| Posted On: 05/12/08 02:27:29 PM |
Age 64, OH |
Shakespeare said, A rose is still a rose by any other name. Shakespeare understood what you do not, dear friend Russ. When men call upon a name are they always correct or do men make mistakes. Many popes have stolen,lied, and murdered and they claimed to do it all in the name of Jesus. But men are liars and men are easily wrong. These men did not act in the name of Jesus but were acting by the inspiration of Satan. Did the action of these men make the name of Jesus evil, of course not, but only the men who lied were evil, not the Only Name by which men may be saved. But a Name is not sounds which we make with our lips, but it is the nature of the person who is named. When we say John, we do not mean all Johns but we are referring to a certain John who has a certain nature. It is just a sound we make that refers to a certain person who has a certain nature. This Emeth in The Last Battle was told Tash was good and so connected the name Tash with what he had come to choose as good. Notice that when Emeth met the lion Aslan he immediately fell at his feet and said how beautiful Aslan was, even though he thought this meant his death, for he had served what he called Tash all of his days. But Emeth had served truth and love all of his days and not lies and hate. Aslan told Emeth that he was truth and love and so Emeth had served him even though he thought he was serving Tash. Just as the pope claimed to serve Jesus but served Satan so Emeth claimed to serve Tash, but served Aslan unknowingly. It is NOT the sounds of a name that judges who we serve but the nature of who we love. Emeth Loved Aslan even though Emeth thought the one he loved was named Tash. Just as there are many who claim to love Jesus but really love Satan and serve him and not Jesus. The pharisees did not fall at the feet of Jesus and say how beautiful Jesus was when they first saw Jesus. This is because they did not love God at all but served Satan instead. Dear brother you should repent for saying evil about C S Lewis. It is just that Lewis understood much more than you do. He was correct and you are wrong and you should pray about this for it is a serous thing to say evil about a servant of the Lord Jesus. Lou
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- Are you serious?
| Posted On: 05/13/08 12:34:54 PM | | Age 29, CA |
This is why I take my calling as a pastor so seriously. Here we have a person say that a person unknowingly was serving Aslan (the typological Christ). That sounds just like the Catholic heresy of "Anonmyous Christians." They teach that Hindus and Buddhists that serve their deities well are Christians, but just don't know it yet. That is ridiculous. I would not let such heresy even get a hearing at the fellowship entrusted to me. Read Romans 1 and 2. It makes it clear that all people everywhere are condemned by the general revelation of creation as well as violations against their own consciences. Romans 3 then teaches that no person is good and no one seeks God. So how could Emeth do good things for Aslan (God) in the name of Tash (Satan). This is inconsistent with the testimony of Scripture. Only by the grace of God and the drawing from the Father can a person through regeneration ever have the ability to believe and do good works by faith. All works prior to that are as filthy rags according to Isaiah.
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- ONLY THE HUMBLE WILL ENTER HEAVEN
| Posted On: 05/13/08 11:08:35 PM | | Age 64, OH |
The reasoning I give is pretty elementary. Did many speak the name of Jesus and claim to follow Him but were not. This reasoning proves that it is not the sounds of a name that possess the power, but it is the person of The Lord Jesus Christ who holds all the power that exists. If a person uses the name of Jesus, is it magic and Jesus is forced to obey, the same as the magic Abra Kadabra or open seesame. Jesus judges all of us by the intentions of our hearts as He writes in the scriptures. You or I are not going to judge one person to see if they get into heaven. Jesus is the One and Only Judge. I think C S Lewis was just trying to get us to be humble and see that we do not get to decide who gets in. Have you never read the parable of the sheep and the goats. Of ALL those that knew they were going to heaven, not one went. But all of those who did not think they had served the Lord Jesus entered into heaven. As Jesus said there will be much weeping and gnashing of teeth. Please be so kind as to read my post below titled SOME SPOKE THE NAME OF JESUS ONLY TO BE BEATEN BY DEMONS. May the light of the Holy Spirit shine down on us all. Lou
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- THERE IS BUT ONE HEAD AND THAT IS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
| Posted On: 05/13/08 10:49:03 PM | | Age 64, OH |
I preach every Sunday at the church I attend. But this fellowship has NOT been entrusted to me but it is the Holy Spirit of The Lord Jesus Christ that we all trust in. For a mere man who is called to be a pastor to be the head of any church is no different than the pope being head of the catholic church. Where do you ever see in the scriptures that a man is to be the head of any church. You say "I would not let" and this says volumes. One of the reasons the church of this nation is in such poor shape is the dictators that have been the head of the churches. God tells us in The Book of Samuel what would happen to any people who made a man king instead of making God their King. Have you never read what the Holy Spirit had Paul write in 1 Cor 14:26 What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, EVERYONE has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. ALL of these MUST be done for the strengthening of the church. 27If anyone speaks in a tongue, two—or at the most three—should speak, one at a time, and someone must interpret. 28If there is no interpreter, the speaker should keep quiet in the church and speak to himself and God. 29TWO or THREE prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. 30And if a revelation comes to someone who is sitting down, the first speaker should stop. 31For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. 32The spirits of prophets are subject to the control of prophets. 33For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. -- Do you know more than Paul. Where does it say that one man should run the show and decide who should speak or what is to be said. There is to be no mediator between any person and Jesus. When you make yourself the head you are putting yourself in the position to be held only by the Lord Jesus Christ. Lou
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- What?
| Posted On: 05/13/08 08:55:15 AM | | Age 31, OH |
I cannot follow your thought line at all here. If a name is just the sound that represents someone, how are we able to cast out demons ONLY by the power of the name of Jesus? You would do well to read through the Bible at how important names were. Often when something major happened to someone, their name was changed. Names were also chosen because of the meaning they held. Saying a name has no meaning is definitely a modern concept.
"Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain." Exodus 20:7
"Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee." Genesis 17:5
"And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you." Exodus 3:14
"Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and for evermore." Psalm 113:2
"And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved." Mark 13:13
"Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven." Luke 10:20
"If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it." John 14:14
"A GOOD name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold." Proverbs 22:1
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- SOME SPOKE THE NAME JESUS ONLY TO BE BEATEN BY DEMONS
| Posted On: 05/13/08 03:35:53 PM | | Age 64, OH |
You need to learn to read with more care. I NEVER said names have no meaning. 1st - You or no one else but the Lord Jesus Christ has ever cast out a demon. The Lord is the one who does all that is good and we can do nothing but call upon His name. 2nd - Have you never read Acts 19:13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." 14Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15(One day) the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.- It did these men no good to say the Name Jesus with their lips. For they knew Him not. The power is not in us or the sounds but The Lord Jesus is The One who has the power. He is sovereign and He decides what actions He will take. 2 Peter 1:20Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. 21For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.-- It is NEVER man that decides the actions or the words of God but it is The Holy Spirit who first inspires men to speak, then the Holy Spirit does as He said He would do. -- No man can decide to speak healing, prophecy, or any other action and then speak it and have God do it. The Holy Spirit of The Lord Jesus Christ has to speak to a man to speak or act in a certain way and when the man does as the Holy Spirit says then The Holy Spirit acts. If any man speaks a prayer of healing for someone and the person is not healed then there is much evidence to say that the Holy Spirit never said to pray for the person but it was their own idea. Lou
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- What is in a name?
| Posted On: 05/13/08 02:06:51 PM | | Age 32, MN |
Then, by your reasoning, should we say "Jesus" or should we say "Yeshua" or should we say "Yehoshua"? Seriously. Lou did not say the meaning was irrelevant. She said the name represents the nature of the person--it is not the "sound" of the name that matters.
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- LOU MEANS VICTORIOUS WARRIOR
| Posted On: 05/13/08 10:33:04 PM | | Age 64, OH |
Thanks for your kind support. But I know personally and he would be very offended to be called a she. Lou is short for Louis which means "victorious warrior" and the Holy Spirit has made it very clear that he was the one who named me. He has made my forehead as hard as flint as you can see by my posts. May the grace and mercy of Jesus be with you. Lou
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A little leaven leavens the whole lump
| Posted On: 05/12/08 11:20:31 AM |
Age 47, IA |
Kudos to Russ for exposing the unscriptual basis of these movies. C.S. Lewis is revered in many Chrisitan circles, however it is without just cause. He has mixed his occultic background with smatterings of "chrisitan principles' here and there. The Narnia books are full of divination, magic, astrology, etc., etc. In his book "Mere Christianity" Lewis states: "There are people in other religions who are being led by God's secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreemnet with Christianity and who belong to Christ without knowing it. For example, a Buddhist of good will may be led to concentrate more and more on Buddhist teaching about mercy and to leave in the background (though he might still say he believed) that Buddhist teaching on certain other points. Many good Pagans long before Christ's birth may have been in this position." Lewis was obviously a universalist. One could spend all day citing the contradictions to scripture in this statement alone. How he became such a prominent figure in Christianity can only be attributed to his academic prominence combined with lack of discernment by the church. Lewis' own testimony calls his possession of Christ into question. Professing lips aren't necessarily possessing lips.
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Heresy or God's Sovereignty?
| Posted On: 05/12/08 09:56:41 AM |
Age 38, IA |
I'm not sure about any "documented theology of universalism" in the works of C.S. Lewis, but based upon the Prince Caspian scene identified by Mr. Young in this essay, I don't see any condonation of Emeth's prior service to Tash. In fact, Emeth rightly sees that his previous actions were offensive and wrong and this is why he understandably falls at Aslan's feet. Rather, I see Aslan's response to Emeth as revealing God's ultimately sovereignty over ALL things - including Satan and his works. God uses even the actions of Satan to accomplish His ultimate purposes. This is readily observed in Scripture. So in this sense, Emeth's previous actions were "service" to Aslan and used by him to accomplish his ultimate purposes. Certainly, God does not condone, credit, or initiate sinful actions, but as God, He is entirely capable of taking those sinful actions and turning them around for His ultimate glory and the redemption of souls.
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YOU GIVE FALSE TESTIMONY
| Posted On: 05/12/08 09:22:43 AM |
Age 64, OH |
Russ, you completely misrepresent C S Lewis in the chapter of The Last Battle. Aslan did NOT tell the man that he served Aslan by raping and murdering others. That is completely and totally NOT true. Aslan told the man that he had served him (Aslan) by his search for truth and loving his fellow man. You would be well served to learn how to read or improve your memory until it did not remember the opposite of the truth. - As to the movie "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe"; it did not represent the truth in the book accurately at all. If someone made a copy of a great work of art such as Michelangelo's "Pieta", would you call it accurate if it was not beautiful. The "pieta" is beautiful. I saw it at the world fair and it was breathtaking. Your eyes deceived you; you knew it was made of stone but you expected it to move and breath at any second. You were surprised that something that looked so alive did not move and could be so still. A copy of the "pieta" that did not have that quality would NOT be an accurate copy at all. There is much more to art than making the "pieta" so that some one could tell it was supposed to be a copy of the "pieta". The same is true of the Narnia movies. While you can tell the movie is from the books; most of the beauty of The Truth has been lost. Someone who does not even understand what C S Lewis wrote can not make a movie about his work that is accurate. Somewhat like your account of the Last Battle. You should not write about things that you do not understand. You say Lewis believed in universalism; surly you would not convict a man on the testimony of one witness. For it is written in the Bible not to do so. What other witness do you have that this was the belief of Lewis. Lou
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Give me mere Christianity please
| Posted On: 05/12/08 09:18:31 AM |
Age 55, FL |
Any "church" that teams with Hollywood, whether Disney's, Mel Gibson's or others, should not reject the notion that it will not be called a church on the day judgment is completed. Genuine Christians should focus on Christ. The author of this article does us a favor to point out discrepancies he found in the Narnia fantasyland, but the author-and C S Lewis are merely human, and hopefully are part of Mere Crisitanity. Lewis will make error. Tozer will make error. Every man will make error, and for every one who makes an error, there is someone willing to punish him for it. I was a Christian when I read Chronicles of Narnia, and I saw the aspects I wanted to see, that might represent Christ. Countless theologians do the same thing, turning almost everything in the Scriputres into a "type" of this or that. It is the nature of men it would seem. Then supporters line up behind them, and fabricate truth. Can we get back to focusing on Christ? Was Tozer right when he wrote about the Great God Entertainment? Perhaps that is the question we should be dealing with. With the world perishing around us, should we be entertaining ourselves so thoroughly?
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C.S. Lewis is dangerous
| Posted On: 05/12/08 08:27:26 AM |
Age 61, MO |
I cannot share the enthusiasm for C.S. Lewis thant many evangelicals have for him. His writing talents are superb, but that is the very thing that makes him dangerous when he blends pagan mythology with Christianity. He can very cleverly have his readers calling evil good. Like most movies that try to depict Christ as a visual, the viewer is left with an interpretation that is more than likely incorrect or at best only partially correct. Even though Christ was Biblically presented as the Lion of Judah, it is distracting at best to have him presented as a talking animated lion in the Tales of Narnia. It is not worth putting Lewis on a pedestal for a few catchy phrases he has uttered about Christianity. Even though the book "Mere Christianity" may have purveyed some valid Scriptural ideas, the title of the book itself demeans the greatness of a Living Christ. George Cancilla
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- Are you kidding?
| Posted On: 05/13/08 07:08:04 PM | | Age 45, GA |
"A few catchy phrases he has uttered about Christianity"? Surely you don't think that's all there is to Lewis, do you?
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- read first; then comment
| Posted On: 05/13/08 02:35:47 PM | | Age 43, IL |
No personal offense meant here, George, but if the title "Mere Christianity" offends you for the reasons you imply, then you either haven't read it or it has been way too long since you have for your commentary to be meaningful. Lewis himself explains, at length, in the text, what is meant by the title. In a nutshell, he is stressing that it is his intention not to offer a defense of any particular denomination or sect, but Mere(ly) Christianity as a whole, focussing on the doctrines with which most Christians of any stripe would agree.
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- Too harsh?
| Posted On: 05/13/08 07:43:28 PM | | Age 61, MO |
Perhaps I am a bit too harsh on Lewis. I guess I just prefer to hear about Christianity from the likes of T.Austin Sparks, or Hendrickson, or Spurgeon. Pilgrim's Progress is the only Christian allegory I have ever appreciated. Actually, "Mere Christianity" was the only writing of Lewis that I did like, and, yes, it has been a while since I read it. George Cancilla
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We don't need movies!!
| Posted On: 05/12/08 05:43:57 AM |
Age 58, AR |
This is so right on! For the life of me, I couldn't find the Lord Jesus in this movie, or in the "Lord of the Rings". I don't think I'll be attending a showing of "Expelled".
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- Documental "Expelled"
| Posted On: 05/13/08 07:42:01 AM | | Age 65, FL |
"Expelled" is called and announced as a movie but is clearly a documentary of the abuses in Academia.
This documental serves a very important purpose, to open the eyes of most Americans about the brainwashing and Gestapo tactics used in Academia to propagate their anti-biblical lies in regards to evolution among other things.
Certainly is not a Christian documental but help believers and not believers know the workings of Satan to mislead and confuse them.
True believers know that Satan is behind of everything that is humanistic and not Bible supported.
But, nonbelievers also are exposed and repulsed by the lies of the Enemy and in that way believers can try to bring the salvation message to them.
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