Christianity and The Chronicles of Narnia
C. S. Lewis, a well-known author and apologist, is best known by people of all
ages for his seven volume series entitled The Chronicles of Narnia. As Lewis
wrote about the land of Narnia, an imaginary world visited by children of this
world, he had two obvious purposes: to entertain the readers and to suggest
analogies of the Christian faith. Although some feel that his stories are
violent, Lewis is successful at using fiction to open peoples' hearts to
accepting Christ as their Savior because he first entertains the audience with a
wonderful story.
Lewis talked about how he came to write the books of Narnia, saying that they
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But how should Lewis go about getting past those who are
not open to the idea of Christianity? He believed that the best way to do this
was to present it in a fictional world, a world in which it would be easier to
accept. The audience grows to love Aslan and everything that he symbolizes; they
begin to wish for someone like Aslan in this world. After finding this love for
Aslan, they will ideally transfer that love to Christ when presented with the
Gospel later in life. It is important to remember that The Chronicles of Narnia
are successful because many readers do not realize the resemblance of Aslan to
Jesus Christ. Even though Christian themes are present, the Chronicles are not
dependent on them (Schakel 132). Peter J. Schakel, a professor of English at
Hope College in Holland, Michigan, states that a non-Christian reader can
approach the book as a fictional story and "be moved by the exciting adventures
and the archetypal meanings, and not find the Christian elements obtrusive or
offensive" (132). For this reason, "the Narnian stories have been so successful
in getting into the bloodstream of the secular world" (Hooper 99).
Hooper discusses how Lewis will be successful in sharing the gospel if he can
get past the "partition of
While many websites offer different reasons to why C.S Lewis wrote, or may have written, The Chronicles of Narnia they way he did
Mere Christianity, by C. S. Lewis, is written as set of guidelines of Christian belief. Lewis does not say there is any particular way to believe but he does make a point that the topic of religion itself is serious. As you consider whether you want to believe or not, you have to recognize how much thought it requires, and how thought provoking a process this decision is. Lewis covers Christianity in four different books within his book. In book one, Lewis discusses the Law of Nature and makes note of a tendency in humans of appealing to a standard of absolute truth in quarrels and arguments. He calls this standard the Law of Nature or the Moral Law. The Law isn't the same as the law of gravity
In chapter 14, there is a descriptive explanation of some of the creatures that existed in Narnia: “A great crown of people were standing all-round the Stone Table and though the moon was shining, many of them carried torches which burned with evil-looking red flames and black smoke” (Lewis 151). There were also ogres with huge teeth, wolves, and bull-headed men along with evil trees, and poisonous plants. Some creatures could be described in length for the sake of the readers (Lewis 151).
C.S. Lewis was a very influential man in not only literature but also for the Christian faith. His literature was revolutionary for everyone who read it. Lewis’s influence is still present over fifty years after his death. C.S. Lewis's childhood, time in the military, and walk with Christ were all influences on his literary works.
Narnia (Lewis 149). When Aslan created the animals, they grew out of the ground in Narnia, but
Throughout the book Shasta, who was raised by Arsheesh the fishermen, was loyalty to his trustworthy friends because they were on the same adventure. This is the book of The Horse and His Boy. Which diligently written by C.S Lewis. Lewis was born on November 29, 1898 and died 22 November 1962 which was 64 years later. The Horse and His Boy was written in 1950 and published with the help of Geoffrey Bles. This is an exciting adventure of loyalty and friendship throughout Narnia.
C.S. Lewis covers many topics in his fourth book contained in Mere Christianity titled BEYOND PERSONALITY: OR FIRST STEPS IN THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY. He addresses such topics as theology, what it means to be the Son of God, the three personal God, the relationship of God and time, the cost of being a Christian, how God works to turn us into image of Christ, why Christian growth is both hard and easy, and also what he thinks about our old personalities before becoming Christians. These are all relative topics that apply to us and our daily lives. Learning and understanding this book can help a Christian tremendously in forming a deeper relationship with God.
If the study of literature shows nothing else, it shows that every author, consciously or subconsciously, creates his (or her) work after his (or her) own worldview. Tolkien is no exception. "I am a Christian..." he writes(1), and his book shows it. Christianity appears not as allegory--Tolkien despises that(2)--nor as analogy, but as deep under girding presuppositions, similarities of pattern, and shared symbols.
The Sermon on the Mount is a sermon given by Jesus Christ found in the book of Matthew in the Holy Bible. The beginning of this sermon includes a list of blessings called the Beatitudes. Jesus uses these to explain God’s favor towards those who are striving for righteousness. For those who had come to believe and follow Jesus as the son of God, every word that he spoke in the Sermon on the Mount was intended as words of encouragement for Jesus’s disciples and were taken as such. For those who were skeptical, the crowd, that Jesus was truly the son of God, Jesus’s words took on a totally different meaning. The Beatitudes, simple words that promote the humility of man, were explicit words of encouragement for Jesus’s disciples. Yet at the same time, to the crowd listening, the Beatitudes were an implicit invitation to become men of God by believing that this man is God in the flesh, God in spirit, God almighty, God omniscient, God omnipresent, and God omnipotent.
This paper will focus on the theological nature of CS Lewis’ book based film, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. This will include a number of noticeable parallelisms, allusions and symbolisms found in
Due to the "highly subjective nature of most scientific theorizing... [we should] let the Bible speak for itself and modify our scientific view of origins accordingly." (as cited in Downey, D., & Porter, S., 2009).
The sermon at the mount is a collection of teachings and sayings that Jesus preaches to people at Galilee. It takes place after Jesus had been baptized by John the Baptist. This is the longest teaching by Jesus in a single preaching. It is found in the New Testament in the book of Matthew. It transverses chapter five to seven of the Gospel of Matthew. The main theme of sermon of the mountain is how people should relate with other people and God. The sermon is preached at a mountain when Jesus saw the crowd and his disciples’ were following him, he sat at a level ground on the mountain and started to preach. The Preaching’s can be divided it four major parts; The Beatitudes, Lord’s Prayer and parables.
Accomplished science fiction and Fantasy author C.S. Lewis saw the defamation of the Fantasy genre beginning during the early decades of the Twentieth century. Lewis was well aware of the strengths of the genre; from his youth he had been enchanted by fantastical stories of paranormal phenomena that included Norse mythology. Upon reaching adulthood and becoming a noted member of the English faculty at Oxford College, Lewis published a science fiction trilogy dealing with the clash between science and religion and between good and evil. He followed the well-received series with the Chronicles of Narnia, seven Fantasy novels written for children bearing large motifs of Christian mythology. And along the way, he managed to defend Fantasy, science fiction, and myth from its critics in a series of explicative essays dealing with literary theory.
However, something worth noting before delving into the argument of this essay, is the background of C.S Lewis. Although this is not a research essay, his personal religion does hold some relevance to the context of this essay. Despite some struggles with his belief in religion at an early age, by the time he was late into his adult years, C.S Lewis was a definite Christian. Not only was this his personal religion, but also very publicly so. He wrote novels explicitly outlining his Christian views and gave several
Christianity is the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Most followers of Christianity, called Christians, are members of one of three major groups--Roman Catholic, Protestant, or Eastern Orthodox. These groups have different beliefs about Jesus and His teachings. But all consider Jesus central to their religion. Most Christians believe God sent Jesus into the world as the Savior. Christianity teaches that humanity can achieve salvation through Jesus.