prixmium | (Reply)

Your post reminds me a little of the Christianity Today article "CS Lewis Superstar," talking about how some evangelicals behave as if Narnia was a modern-day addition to Christian canon and end up substituting its messages for "actual" Christian belief (granted, the writer is writing as an evangelical and I feel like they specifically criticized the Calormene salvation scene as being "too universalist" and contrary to "what Christians actually believe" about salvation. Unfortunately, it's been years since I read the article, and it has since disappeared behind a paywall).

As for Narnia-the-books versus Narnia-the-movies, I love them both but I agree they're very different. They have different rhetorical concerns so make different rhetorical choices (the psychological realism that the movie endows the Pevensies with makes for more appealing drama, for example).

It's also kind of funny how much even the hardcore Protestants adore Lewis, for all that the man believed in purgatory and prayers for the dead, and spoke about the Eucharist as if the Real Presence inhabited the bread and wine. I grew up Methodist and was in and out of churches of all Protestant stripes (mainline Congregationalist/United Church of Christ, Southern Baptist, evangelical) my whole life, and nearly every church library could be counted on to have at least one Narnia or CS Lewis book.

I have heard really interesting things about Planet Narnia, although I've not yet read it. I saved the video to watch when I have more free time.