Conservative Christians and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

Conservative Christians response to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe book/movie has been mixed. Although it may seem like most Christians praise TLTWTW for its Christian elements, the truth is many Christians have also criticized TLTWTW in the same way that Harry Potter and The Lord of The Rings have been criticized. However, at least one conservative Christian church is clearly a friend of Narnia as the website SFGate.com reported a screening of the Chronicles of Narnia film at a conservative Christian ministry in Colorodo Springs on November 17, 2005. The website reports that "Some moviegoers said they see the story's themes of good vs. evil and sacrifice as important messages for Christians." In contrast the author of the website "The Washington Monthly" seems baffled by Christians reaction to TLTWTW:"...the Narnia books have no impact on acceptance of Christianity at all. But CS Lewis and many of his religious fans seem to disagree. I don't quite understand why." The author argues that the stories in the Bible are meant to be taken literally and that it is unlikely that children who read TLTWTW will make the connection between the two. He also argues that if children DO make the connection they will likely see Christ's miracles as very similiar to the magic of Narnia which is a made-up story. So according to his view, TLTWTW will either have a negative impact on children's views of christianity or no impact at all.

In contrast to that author's opinion is the opinion of Rev.Peter J. Marshall of the website Benny Hinn Ministries, who believes that the Chronicles of Narnia movie is "absolutely fabulous!". The states "In my view, the positive impact this movie is having on American society will cause it to be forever ranked with Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ on a list of the most spiritually powerful movies in memory." the Reverand also states his interesting perspective on the idea of magic:"...There is no Harry Potter-type confusion in this movie about good witches, or white magic. Evil is evil, and good is good, and they are locked in mortal combat. I am hoping that the fact that evil is portrayed as a white witch in Narnia will speak to the myriads of young people who have bought into the lie of white magic, which is that there can be such a thing as good magic. From God's perspective there is no good magic. The Bible expresses forbids us to dabble in magic of any kind." Rev.Marshall is apparently a Christian who dislikes Harry Potter because it teaches the idea of "white magic" and "black magic". He seems to like the idea of magic in Narnia being expressed as purely negative since the Bible considers all forms of magic to be evil. The Rev. also explains how much TLTWTW movie moved him: "To share with my readers the ways in which the Gospel of Christ is dramatically presented in Narnia would spoil the plot for those of you who have yet to see the movie, but it is presented so clearly that it brought me to tears. Surely, God was watching over the production of this film!".

In contrast to the Rev.Peter J. Marshall's review of TLTWTW is the review of Tom Ball from the website "Talk to Action:Reclaiming Citizenship, History, and Faith". He is annoyed by conservative Christians reaction to TLTWTW movie and insists that there are no real Christian messages in the film. Ball states that "...you drop a few keywords from the movie and you're left with a good ol' fashioned, simple-yet-compelling story of 'good vs. evil". However, Ball admits that he can understand why TLTWTW is believed to contain Christian messages. Ball states that "...not the least of which is that C. S. Lewis intended the story to be a 'Christian' Tale. There are also sporadic, if disjointed references to various biblical points. Fortunately, they're only momentarily in your face." Ball also seems to undermine the significance of Aslan's death and resurrection; "...I don't know if such a thing really singles out this story as a 'Christian' tale. I can think of a number of far less Christian-hyped movies that also involved a 'resurrection' of sorts: Jason in Friday the 13th, That little creature in Disney's The Sword and the Stone, the Alien in Alien Resurrection, and even the pseudo-resurrections of all those 'petrified' people in Harry Potter II -- the Chamber of Secrets. So that aspect doesn't really scream, "Hey, Check out this 'Christian movie." The author concludes by saying: "If there is a message about Jesus in this flick, it's that he was a caring, self-sacrificing, understanding, and tolerant being. In short, he fought against everything that today's conservative Christians seem to support." It seems that the author's dislike of conservative Christians has inspired him to write his review of TLTWTW in order to expose the movie as having no real Christian significance. However, I don't think he was very successful with his argument.

Another person who criticizes TLTWTW as being non-Christian is an author of the website "HS Treasues". She accuses TLTWTW of sending "wrong messages to our children" and criticizes the book for introducing children to "a world of magic, witchcraft and demonic creatures". She also dislikes the fact that TLTWTW is so popular among the secular: "The fact alone that this story is so popular and widely accepted by the secular market---should immediately present a "red flag" in the Christian parent's mind when choosing quality reading material for their children...The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe's acceptance as a Christian classic is surprising as it contains numerous new age teachings." The author mentions a specific scene in TLTWTW story which she dislikes. This scene involves the children asking Aslan if he will be with them in the upcoming battle and Aslan's reply is "I can give you no promise of that". The author states that "Jesus clearly says, I will be with you always and I will not leave you or forsake you...we as Christians have to deal with enough doubt, and doubt in the Lord's protection without help from reading material such as this." The author concludes by encouraging people to not so quickly accept what others consider to be acceptable reading. She also suggests alternative books to the Narnia books which she considers "worthy allegory that builds your faith". Her final thought is: "For your children's sake, please pray and ask God for yourself. Please reconsider if this is really the type of books or movies that you want your children exposed to. Your decision will result in spiritual consequences that you may not have ever thought about."

© 2006