Narnia update

Just got back from seeing the new Narnia movie (our school took 300+ people to the 9:30 A.M. showing), and I thought I would blog a few lines. I must admit I have never read the Narnia books (strange, but true)...but after seeing the movie, and being assured by many who have read the books that the movie is a fairly close representation, I am boggled that anyone missed the the Christian implications of the books. My guess is that those did not get the obvious symbolism, were complete ignorant of basic theology.

Follow-up-December 10, 2005

We all have those people in our lives who push us, challenge us, and generally keep us in a state of flux. For me that is Joh Watson, resident sage at AVC. Jon has basically led a one man campaign at our school to develop a serious evaluation, by our students, of the issues of worldview and apologetics.

Despite having graduated from a pretty solid Christian college, and having spent my first two years there studying for a possible career in the ministry, I had almost zero experience with either worldview or apologetics. So enter Jon, who upset my very comfortable existence by forcing me to examine many of my core beliefs and seriously analyze why I believed as I did.

The journey continues, but because Jon has done all of this, yesterday's Narnia really hit home, and got me to thinking...but not just about the movie. Let me see if I can lay out how I have processed my thoughts on this.

I am becoming more and more aware of just how little knowledge most of us possess. Our knowledge of the Bible is waning, our grasp of theology is dwindling, and we are mostly adrift on issues like Philosophy and History. Many in our nation seem to think that we are dangerously approaching an abyss of a theocracy in America. I just do not see any danger of that any time soon....but I understand where the idea is coming from. In his article The Falseness of Anti-Americanism. Fouad Ajami stated...

"The United States lends itself to contradictory interpretations. To the Europeans, and to the French in particular, who are enamored of their laïcisme (secularism), the United States is unduly religious, almost embarrassingly so, its culture suffused with sacred symbolism."

To support that position Ajami cites these findings

"According to the June BBC survey, 78 percent of French polled identified the United States as a "religious" country"

To many in Europe, and a growing number of people here in the U.S., that "religious" nature is the problem. I was smacked hard with even more compelling evidence of the lack of real understanding our America's true nature when I read about the backlashand outrage that was emerging about the release and marketing of the Narnia movie.

A comment like

"Most British children will be utterly clueless about any message beyond the age-old mythic battle between good and evil. Most of the fairy story works as well as any Norse saga, pagan legend or modern fantasy, so only the minority who are familiar with Christian iconography will see Jesus in the lion. After all, 43% of people in Britain in a recent poll couldn't say what Easter celebrated."

raises a few simple questions...is that a good thing? If they do not have that knowlegde, what else do they not know? How can they intelligently discuss issues of faith, if they have no idea what Christian faith is based on?

Polly Toynbee continues...

"Of all the elements of Christianity, the most repugnant is the notion of the Christ who took our sins upon himself and sacrificed his body in agony to save our souls. Did we ask him to?"

...ummm...sorry, but did she say "repugnant?" Interesting choice of words. It appears that Ms. Toynbee might be among the 43%.

She goes on to state...

"Why? Because here in Narnia is the perfect Republican, muscular Christianity for America - that warped, distorted neo-fascist strain that thinks might is proof of right."

Did she see the movie? While I might admit that Mr. Beaver did have a certain likeness to Karl Rove...I find it difficult to link anything in the movie to Republicans....much less anything that appeared "warped, distorted neo-fascist."

"Muscular" Christianity is also an interesting term. Contrast that with the title of Lewis' pinnicle work, Mere Christianity. I have on many occasions run into this apparent lack of knowledge of what Christianity really is while discussing issues on various messge boards, and reading more and more of what is being written in media today.

So, what is my point in all of this
We are currently operating in a world that seems increasingly hostile to Christian Theology, and yet is increasingly ignorant as to what that theology is. Either we must do a better job getting out the truth, or we risk America becoming a nation of theologically ignorant citizens....