For those who are not sure what I'm talking about, "The Chronicles of Narnia" is a series of 7 fantasy books which C.S.Lewis wrote specifically for children. Incorporated in these 7 books are many allusions to Christian ideas and aspects of Christian living. But instead of calling them allegorical, C.S.Lewis prefers to address the Christians aspects of these books as "suppositional". Whatever the case, as a Christian reading these books after many years, I was indeed refreshed by both the mystical and wonderful world of Narnia, as well as the lessons learnt from each individual book.
If you haven't read the books before, I suggest starting out with "The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe" first. Why? 2 reasons... (1) Disney is releasing the movie version this December, and (2) C.S.Lewis intended it to be read as the first book as it introduces the most important aspect of the world of Narnia... and ours as ell.
Anyway, I'm now at the "Silver Chair" and the plot, in a nutshell, is about 2 children on a task to save a prince under the spell of an evil witch.
Without overspiritualising anything, I think I've picked up on one of the aspects of Christian living that C.S.Lewis wrote about. In the book, Aslan (an image of Christ) sent Jill Pole on the mission with these words: "But, first, remember, remember, rememeber the Signs. Say them to yourself when you wake up in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night. And whatever strange things may happen to you, let nothing turn your mind from following the Signs. " The Signs were 4 guiding points that Aslan gave Jill to help her in the quest of searching for the lost Prince of Narnia. (the heir to the throne) Predictably however, Jill lost the habit of repeating these Signs to herself. (due largely to both her personal pride and the many distractions on her journey) One of those distractions was simply the temptation of creature comforts, namely warm beds and hot soup. (this was a real temptation as their journey was filled with bland food and hard ground where they slept on)
Isn't Jill a lot like us? Where the guiding points in life are all mentioned in the Word of God, the Bible, and instead of meditating on it day and night (as we all must do) we forget and grow lazy. Coming up with excuses like, "Oh, due to mitigating circumstances.... blah, blah, blah..." Yes, we know that the Christian Walk is not an easy one but Christ, in all His grace and sovereignty, has already given us his word that He is always with us (Matt 28:20) and his word of instruction, the Bible.
So...
"[9] How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.
[10] With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!
[11] I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.
[12] Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes!
[13] With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.
[14] In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.
[15] I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.
[16] I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word."
Psalm 119:9-16 (ESV)
6 comments:
Well said...
Just wondering why is it suppositional? Did he give any reasons for calling it that way?
I've never read The Chronicles of Narnia. Maybe it's time to do so...
Well, certainly would be a lot easier to read as compared to Gospel and Kingdom ;)
Unless you intend to inspect that book detail by detail... =S
Yo Ray,
Well, C.S.Lewis kept to a strict meaning of an allegory and this is what he wrote to a young fan...
"If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity in the same way in which Giant Despair represents despair, he would be an allegorical figure. In reality however he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, ‘What might Christ become like, if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?’ This is not allegory at all"
In another letter, C.S.Lewis wrote:
"I did not say to myself 'Let us represent Jesus as He really is in our world by a Lion in Narnia'; I said, 'Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as he became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen"
As to why he chose to make the Chronicles of Narnia suppositional in nature, I'm not too sure.
However, there is some loose allegory in the Chronicles. Once again, I quote from another letter to a fan...
"The Magician's Nephew tells the Creation and how evil entered Narnia,
The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe - the Crucifixion and Resurrection,
The Horse and His Boy - the calling and conversion of the heathen,
Prince Caspian - restoration of the true religion after a corruption,
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - the spiritual life (especially in Reepicheep),
The Silver Chair - the continuing war against the powers of darkness,
The Last Battle - the coming of Antichrist (the ape). The end of the world and the last judgement."
And Sernkhoon, I agree with Ray that its a lot easier to read as compared to Gospel & Kingdom :p Lacks the theological directness, but in my view, more fun to read ;)
Oh, I would like to add also that one thing I loved about the series is the picture C.S Lewis paints of Aslan (Jesus)... many points that I can bring up but in a nutshell, Aslan is the centre character in each of the 7 books. In all of them, Aslan is the dominant character and one just holds his breath in anticipation of what Aslan's gonna do next. This is so much so that though the thrust of the stories begin with a handful of children, one sees clearly that not only is Aslan the main central character, he is also the sustainer of Narnia herself.
Thanks for sharing bro ;)
The first and last time I read the books was when I was in secondary school, maybe I'll take it up again for a leisurely read sometime.
And btw, who's Ray? *looks around*
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