Bible Study tools to accompany Chronicles of Narnia?

Ditto Dr. Bob

 

I agree it would be awesome to see some Narnia Bible study tools. I can't wait for this film to come out!

 

I have heard and read that Lewis said Narnia was not a Christian story. I also heard he said it was pre-Christian, whatever that may mean.

I wish I could get straight info on this.

 

Narnia in itself while not overtly presenting the Gospel was actually an attempt by CS Lewis - to present the Gospel in a different format - a lot of his books do so

Bob - I guess you never took a modern Christian literature course

 

When I read it many years ago I felt it to be an obvious allegory depicting Christ's sacrifice.

 

A few things you should know about C. S. Lewis. He had his Christianity affirmed by Dr. Bob Jones but questioned by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones. He lived in the same house for thirty years with a woman to whom he wasn’t married. He believed, for instance, that Scripture is in some sense the Word of God, but he questioned its inerrancy. He also believed in the existence of purgatory, though he did not consider it to be a place of punishment. Lewis, rather, believed saved people were purified of their sins in purgatory before entering heaven itself. Another controversial belief he held was that a person could belong to Jesus Christ and be saved without necessarily knowing Him specifically. This is not exactly universalism, but it goes beyond the clear teaching of Scripture.

In the children’s Narnia series, the lion Aslan is Lewis’s Christ-figure. In The Last Battle deceivers say: “[The god] Tash and Aslan are only two different names for You Know Who.” Later they use the hybrid or compound name Tashlan to make their point. At the end of this last book in the Narnia series one of the outsiders, a Calorman named Emeth (which is the transliteration of the Hebrew word for “truth”), who has been a life-long worshiper of Tash, approaches Aslan. To this Tash-server Aslan says, “Son, thou art welcome.” Emeth counters, “I am no son of Thine but a servant of Tash.” Aslan rejoins: “ALL THE SERVICE THOU HAST DONE TO TASH, I ACCOUNT AS SERVICE DONE TO ME.” This is a clear indicator that for Lewis the non Christ-worshiper may be received into heaven.

Lewis was not a universalist; nevertheless, his description of salvation lacks biblical support. Lewis said that salvation is through Jesus Christ our Lord but also asserted that a person might belong to Christ without realizing it or explicitly knowing Him. The only way to the Father is through the Son, but “we do not know that only those who know Him can be saved through Him.” In other words, there can be anonymous Christians. In my assessment, I would call Lewis a neo-orthodox.

 

Watching a Disney version of Narnia is one thing---getting together and studying the subject as part of Sunday School or as a preaching series is quiet another.

Of course, then again---some half hearted churches still think that studying Andy Griffith series is good for one's spiritual health!!!

Having a study on Narnia at church does about as much good with finding a spiritual bearing for the soul as Disney's Captain Jack Sparrow's compass failing to point North!!!

 

But just because Lewis is "neo-orthodox" doesn't mean we can't use his story to present the gospel. Allegory is never a perfect representation of the truth, but that doesn't make it useless. I say use the movies (and more importantly the books themselves) as an opportunity to present the biblical Christ to this world that we live in. The "errors" in the allegory open doors for questions and witnessing opportunities, so don't throw the baby out with the bathwater.

Also, you said,

If you believe in age of accountability, then you, in turn, hold this view. That means that your view of salvation, as you say, "goes beyond the clear teaching of Scripture". Does this make you "neo-orthodox"?

 

Yes, I've heard this but where is the evidence for this? Did Lewis ever say this? If so, where?

 

You are right about Lewis on his beliefs on the Bible (he thought most of the OT was like an allegory or myth) and he believed in purgatory. I've also heard from others he was neo-orthodox.

What you describe in your last paragraph here is similar to inclusivism -- that others can be saved by knowing Christ through other beliefs without specifically knowing the historical Jesus Christ. This view is increasing in the evangelical church. This past summer, I started a thread on it here on the BB.

 

I wouldn't say there's a clear teaching of Scripture concerning the age of accountability. However, there's quite a difference between a child not of the age of accountability and someone that is.

What's wrong with the pure, unadulterated Word of God? Why do we have to use fiction, movies, and sitcoms to spread the Gospel? Is the Gospel that Paul preached, which he received by revelation from Jesus Christ not sufficient enough that we must use worldly means to try and reach the lost? I've heard of youth groups using the Napoleon Dynamite movie as a means to present the Gospel. Where has the Church and the Gospel gone? Am I the only one who sees the Gospel being watered down so we can pump up our numbers?

We are to distance ourselves from those in 2 Timothy 3:5 that will maintain the outward appearance of religion but will have repudiated its power. Paul warns us in 2 Timothy 4:4 that they (church people) will turn away from hearing the TRUTH , but on the other hand they (church people) will turn aside to MYTHS.

I recommend reading John MacArthur's "Ashamed of the Gospel"

 

I have seen such tools referenced in the past. They pick up on cetain biblical themes found the The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, then they direct the readers to the Scriptures to read firsthand what the Bible has to say about that particular issue/theme.

It seems that this would be a great way to get people (who would normally have no interest) interested in reading the Bible. However, I can't recall a link to any such materials on-line off the top of my head. Have you tried a google search?

 

Allegory doesn't water down the gospel, it makes it accessible. When we preach sermons, and use a story to enhance our point, isn't that the same thing? Yes. We use stories and allegories to teach truths that otherwise may be hard to grasp. Nowhere in Scripture are stories and allegories condemned. In fact, Jesus used stories as the way He did the majority of His teaching.

To answer the question of the original post, though, there is a book out called ROAR, which is a family guide to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe that I would recommend checking out.

 

You could try your local LifeWay Christian Bookstore. They may have a resource.

 

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The movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, based on the 1950s literary masterpiece written by C.S. Lewis is scheduled for worldwide release on December 9.

To help parents make the most of their children's interest in the highly-publicized Narnia story, author Michael Pritchard of Memphis, Tennessee, is offering a companion workbook titled Lessons from the Lion: Your Family's Guide to "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

Lessons from the Lion is a 33-page illustrated workbook designed to be an interactive learning guide for teaching biblical lessons and fostering spiritual discussions based on the truths presented in Lewis' beloved story throughout which Christianity is embedded.

"The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is an amazing story about four siblings who enter a fantasy world and experience adventures beyond their imagination," Pritchard explains. "They encounter talking animals, an evil queen and a majestic lion as they journey throughout the land of Narnia. During their adventures, the children come face to face with temptation and fear which, in the end, help them to grasp a true understanding of forgiveness and salvation."

The workbook provides thought-provoking questions to help parents stimulate discussion with their children as the whole family is challenged to think deeper about the story.

"There's no better time for someone to learn about Christ than when he's young and more open to Christ's teachings," says Pritchard, a former youth worker at Bellevue Baptist Church of which the late Dr. Adrian Rogers was pastor for 32 years. "This workbook is a way for parents to nurture the spiritual growth of their children."

The workbook is targeted at elementary-age children and is available at an introductory price of $4.99 as a downloadable PDF file at LessonsfromtheLion.com or through links at the website for American Family Association. Several buying options are available, some of which include a teacher's edition with additional activities, teaching tips and reproducible activities as well as a special hardback, read-aloud version of C.S. Lewis' beloved story.