Sunday, December 4, 2005

Well, according to C.S. Lewis's stepson, the Narnia books aren't Christian:

He has just flown in from Hollywood, where he is co-producer of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He has just seen the finished cut, which he says left him feeling "that no time has passed and suddenly it's two hours later - like Narnia-time in reverse".

The film is a triumph for Gresham, who charmed the movie industry into filming Lewis's first Narnia book; the other six will follow if the audience figures are good. But then he has enormous reserves of charm - though liberals and feminists who encounter the gale force of his born-again Christianity may disagree.

Paradoxically, Gresham has not joined the Christian bandwagon gearing up around the film. Won't it at least impart a subliminal Christian message to young audiences, I ask?

"I sincerely hope not," he snorts. "Because - and this is what people always get wrong - it's not a Christian film and the Narnia books aren't Christian novels."

This will come as news to the thousands of churches across Britain and America that are endorsing The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe because of its Christian message - and to the Disney organisation which, to the fury of liberal commentators, has appointed a Christian "outreach" organisation to promote the movie to British congregations (see breakout).

"Jack didn't intend the Narnia books to be an evangelistic fantasy," explains Gresham. "The myths of Narnia are partly those of the great man-made religions - Norse mythology, Hindu mythology, as well as the true myth of Christ. Exposure to man's myths will make young viewers ask questions about themselves - and only later will the seed of faith take root."

This is a man who knows he speaks with a special authority. He was responsible for ensuring the script stayed faithful to Lewis's vision - "and that meant resisting the temptation to insert my own Christianity into it".


Maybe he's wrong. But since people can distort anything to try and prove it espouses their faith (like my step-brother does, or those blockheads with The March of the Penguins) I'm rather more willing to believe him than not.

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