Becky and I went to see “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” with our kids on Friday. Our church actually rented out the movie theater and we went with other church members and their familes. The Fandango website at Chronicles of Narnia describes the movie as follows:
“Four London children discover a wardrobe that transports them to the land of Narnia. Narnia is ruled by a cruel witch, who keeps the land in a perpetual state of winter and turns all who cross her into stone. The children join forces with the lion Aslan. Together, they use their strengths to battle the witch, sparking a great battle between good and evil.”
The Review
The classic book by Christian author C.S. Lewis that sold over 100 million copies has finally come to life on the big screen. With the release of this film there has been a great deal of discussion about whether or not this is just a fantasy world created by C.S. Lewis or if he buried the Gospel message of redemption into the popular children’s book.
I saw his stepson claim on Nightline that “Jack” (C.S. Lewis name among friends) didn’t have the intention of using the book to tell the Gospel story. My comment would be that even if that was not Lewis’s intention when he wrote it, the fact that he had God’s Holy Spirit living within him being a gifted minister of the Gospel (even if he claimed to be a layman), that’s what happened. Anyone who has read Screwtape Letters or Mere Christianity knows that C.S. Lewis had an intimate relationship with Christ.
Let me illustrate a couple of examples and you will see what I mean.
The Wardrobe: The world of Narnia is an unseen realm that can only be entered into through a large unique wardrobe. A child cannot just imagine themselves into Narnia, they must enter into it for real by the act of going physically through the door and past the coats. In the same way, a person cannot intellectually understand the Bible with their mind. They must enter the spirit world of Almighty by the conscious act of being born again through faith in Christ. Only then does the spiritual realm and the word of God become a reality. Narnia exists, the spirit world exists, but only those who enter the wardrobe may partake in the adventure and engage with the inhabitants.
The Witch: Once inside Narnia the children discover a witch who is descended from Lilith and the giants. She isn’t human, but claims to be the rightful Queen of Narnia. This is significant because Lilith, in Jewish mythology, was Adam’s first wife. She left him as a rebellion and the legend says that she was created from dust just as Adam was, and she argued why she should be treated as his equal. After she abandoned Adam, God created Eve from Adam’s own rib, so that Eve would be inherently subservient to Adam.
This doesn’t come out in the movie, which I felt was too bad because it shows what Lewis was thinking in bringing the world of Narnia and Earth together. It better explains why the prophecy and the importance of destroying the son’s of Adam and daughter’s of Eve are significant. I’m sure that since Lilith is a myth in Judaism and not considered a Biblical fact it was elected to be left out, so as not to confuse the audience, which was too bad.
In the book of Genesis we find that the serpent (Satan) decieved Eve is given a prophecy by God that her and Adam’s decendent will destroy his authority over the world bringing about his destruction. This same type of prophecy has been given to the witch about the decendants of Adam and Eve. When you see the movie, watch for these similarities.
The Lion: In scripture the Messiah is referred to as “The Lion of the tribe of Judah”. We know from history that Jesus was also called the “Lamb of God” who would take away the sins of the world through his own sacrificial gift. He was that son of Adam (Son of Man) who fulfilled the prophecies given by God to destroy Satan’s authority. We are also informed that had Satan known that by killing the Son of God he would have brought about his own destruction, he would have never allowed the atonement to take place. In the movie we see something similar transpire with Aslan the King making a choice that only he could make.
We also see that Aslan the King lion has supreme authority that the witch cannot undermine. We discover in the story that the witch doesn’t know what the king knows nor can she use her powers against him like the other creatures of Narnia. In fact, she comes before him and meets with him knowing that he will not harm her. She demands blood for the sins of the son of Adam. This is extremely significant to anyone who studies the Bible since we know from the book of Job that Satan appears before God to bring accusation against mankind. We also know that Satan continually attempted to use God’s word against him and demanded payment for the sins of men. In addition, we know that without the shedding of blood there can be no remission for sins, which again is shown in the world of Narnia as well.
The Animals: Christians believe that there will come a day when Christ returns that Satan will be locked up and that the lion will lie down with the lamb and eat grass as the ox. At that time, a child will be able to pick up a poisonous snake without fear of being killed by it. What a great picture of a world that has been redeemed from the consequence of sin and an illustration of true peace on earth. It’s pretty cool that in Narnia when Aslan returns and the witch is destroyed that Winter will end and there will be peace among all the creatures.
It’s also interesting that the animals can talk since we find in the Bible that there is a prophet called Balaam who was rebuked by his donkey for disobeying God. The donkey actually speaks to him as a man when he smacks his donkey for saving his life. Everyone also knows the story of Adam and Eve and that there was a time when animals could talk before the Earth became cursed, since the serpent spoke to Eve to decieve her. I have to believe that C.S. Lewis knew this and brought the concept of animals having the ability to speak into the world of Narnia from his knowledge of the Bible.
in conclusion, this is a great movie because it’s a fantastic story of redemption and salvation. Whether or not you are a Christian, you and your family should really enjoy this story and be greatly entertained. It’s a classic story of good verses evil and makind’s reluctance to think outside the box.
We all loved it and recommend that you don’t miss it. Especially, if you’re a fan of the mythological creatures of Middle Earth found in The Lord of the Rings.
John – **** Don’t Miss It
Becky – **** Don’t Miss it
The Kids Review
Conroy – **** Don’t Miss It
Corban – **** Don’t Miss It
Bianca – *** Don’t Miss It
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