Trinity Presbyterian Church
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Through the Wardrobe: Is Narnia Safe?
However, I do have hope. C. S. Lewis’ Narnia series is a set of really good stories–and that’s the way that many of us, myself included, first encountered them as children. But it doesn’t take too many re-readings to realize that Lewis, with a wonderful God-given gift of imagination, contrasts a world that centers around a Lion with the pedestrian "real" world in which too many people see nothing more important than themselves. If the contrast was sharp when Lewis wrote, it is even more acute today.
Do I agree with Lewis at every point? Of course not. Sometimes he seems to be influenced more than I care for by Plato’s philosophy. But if the movie does for some viewers what reading the books did for me–make me much more aware of the awesome presence of the one who is properly called the Lion–I’ll be thankful for the production.
We invite you to worship with us, and to get to know the King better. There are risks involved–he isn’t safe. But he is good! He is the King. John W. Mahaffy
No, Narnia is not safe! No, Narnia is not safe - - but like the Lion, it is good. At least that’s my reaction after viewing the movie the other day (December 22, 2005), along with several family members. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe translates well to the big screen. My earlier fears that Hollywood and Disney would mangle the book can be laid to rest. Of course there are differences between the book and the movie. They are separate media. Those familiar with the book may grieve at some of the lines which were dropped out, but the move has maintained a remarkable faithfulness to the book. My guess would be that a number of those in the theater with us were not familiar with the book. During the night event at the Stone Table, there was audible throat-clearing. And gasps of surprised delight greeted the event there at sunrise. (I’m not spoiling the plot, if you have not read or seen the story - - but if you have, you know what I mean.) If you expect the movie to be a Christian tract, it is not. The movie, like Lewis’ book, draws widely on Greek and Roman mythology, as well as northern European sources. Lewis wrote a story, not an essay or an evangelistic tract. But it might be worth observing that the distinctive thing that Lewis saw about the events in the Christian story, is that they are true. That makes a profound difference. No, I won’t be preaching any sermons using the Narnia tales as the text. But I delight in exploring the story that is so basic to what Lewis wrote. And I invite you to join in exploring it - - with the caution that there are risks involved. One cannot encounter the true Lion, and remain unchanged. Oh yes, the movie did retain the line about the Lion not being safe but good, even though it was moved from the home of Mr. and Mrs. Beaver to later in the story. I welcome your reaction to the movie or the book. mahaffy.1 at opc dot org
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Will The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe survive in the movie? What
Hollywood and Disney could do with a good book makes me apprehensive as I write
this a couple of weeks before the release. (
Perhaps the true story in the Book which underlies Lewis’ world-view is so
unfamiliar that some today have difficulty seeing what he is showing them. But
it is a story that is worth reading, seeing, and understanding. And I’m
hopeful that The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe will help renew an
interest in that story.
