I Have An Inkling

0 Narnia Nostalgia Part 11: Radio Plays Part 7

2010-07-31T06:16:00.000-07:00

The following article reviews both Radio play versions of The Last Battle. “RT” indicates the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre version, and “BBC” the British Radio 4 version.

Warning: Spoilers

The previous reviews in the Narnia Nostalgia series have compared and contrasted the RT and BBC versions of the radio plays, considering their relative production quality and how they compare to the C S Lewis books from which they were adapted. The comments made in those reviews generally apply to The Last Battle, so instead of a detailed commentary on the strengths and weaknesses of the plays, this article will concentrate on one particular scene that is included in both plays.

The Last Battle deals with Narnian Eschatology—a twenty-five cent word theologians toss around which just means teachings about “last things.” Christian Eschatology deals with the end of the world as we know it, and the beginning of a new heaven and new earth. Narnia Eschatology deals with the end of Narnia as the Pevencies and other characters had known it, and the beginning of a new Narnia—what Lewis called the “real” Narnia, of which the old Narnia was only a picture.

As the old Narnia comes to an end, we meet the Calormene, Emeth, who has had an encounter with Aslan. He had been a faithful follower of the Calormen god Tash (so he believes), and after finding himself in the “pleasant country” inside the Stable, expects to meet him. Instead, he meets Aslan, who speaks words to him which have perplexed many Christians who have read the book.

Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me. …if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath’s sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted. [Chapter 15]

Some have thought that Lewis was teaching Univeralism—that all roads lead to the same destination. The context of the passage and the book as a whole indicate otherwise. Contrary to what the Ape and others were trying to teach, there is no Tashlan – Aslan and Tash are not the same. Throughout the book the differences – and the separateness – of Aslan and Tash are emphasized over and over. The atrocities done in the name of Aslan through the deviousness of the Ape are the result of Narnians believing lies instead of trusting their instincts that Aslan would not require such things as the destruction of the dryad’s forest.

In our search for truth, it must be remembered that the words we use are not nearly as important as the meaning we attach to them. Through the ages there have been people who have done horrific things in the name of Christ. But C S Lewis would say that they actually were serving demons. And there are many who have done works of honor and charity in (what many Christians would consider) demonic names who are much nearer the truth than many who claim the name of Christ.

This concludes the Narnia Nostalgia series. In the coming months leading up to the release of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader movie on December 10, reviews are being planned for the following books about The Chronicles of Narnia: The Hidden Story of Narnia by Will Vaus, newly published by Winged Lion Press; and the three books in the Inside Narnia series by Devin Brown – Inside Narnia (2005), Inside Prince Caspian (2008), and Inside the Voyage of the Dawn Treader (due out in October).

Narnia Nostalgia Part 10: Radio Plays Part 6

2010-06-27T16:55:00.000-07:00

The following article reviews both Radio play versions of The Silver Chair. “RT” indicates the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre version, and “BBC” the British Radio 4 version.

Warning: Mild Spoilers

In Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader we had Reepicheep. In The Silver Chair, Puddleglum. Fans of C S Lewis’s Narnia books very often name these two as favorites, despite the sharp contrast between the two characters. The Mouse has an optimistic exuberance, while the Marsh-wiggle displays an outward pessimism about life. Both, however, surprise the reader by often showing an uncanny, yet down-to-earth wisdom.

In the Prologue to the RT adaptation, C S Lewis step-son Douglas Gresham gives a little insight into the character Puddleglum, who was based on Fred Paxford, the gardener of the Kilns, Lewis’s Oxford home. “Puddleglum” also is a reference to a sixteenth-century poem by John Studley, who described the River Styx from Greek mythology as a “puddle glum.” [Into the Wardrobe: C.S. Lewis and the Narnia Chronicles by David C. Downing, p. 132] (Imagery related to the Styx is also seen toward the end of the story in the ship ride across the underground inland sea.)

Puddleglum would tell you that his fellow Marsh-wiggles thought he did not take life seriously enough, but Eustace Scrubb (introduced to us in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader) and his schoolmate, Jill Pole, think of him – at least at first – as a wet blanket. Although pessimists and rivers in Hades are not exactly encouraging, they do remind us that life does have a more serious side, and that the road we must take to accomplish our quest often is filled more with drudgery than excitement.

The quest assigned Eustace and Jill by Aslan has to do with Prince Rilian, the son of King Caspian and Ramadu’s daughter. Although the back story of how Rilian came up missing is related by the owls after the children find themselves in Narnia, the BBC play gives the details up front. In a conversation not found in the book, Eustace is talking with Edmund and Lucy about Narnia, and speculating about what King Caspian would have done after they left.

The dialog fades out and we hear Caspian proposing marriage to Ramandu’s daughter. We are then given details of how Prince Rilian was born, the Queen is killed, and the prince disappears. Interjected are comments by the children back in England about Caspian getting older and older while time most likely moves much more slowly here.

As with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, BBC Playwright Brian Sibley has again chosen to advance the dramatization without a narrator. His apparent desire to link the three children with what is happening in Narnia creates some incongruity. When Eustace arrives in Narnia, he doesn’t recognize Caspian because he has grown old. He says he has not really thought about the time difference – directly contradicting the conversation Sibley has added.

The lack of narration also is awkward in scenes where the characters must be called upon to describe what is happening. Paul McCusker’s RT version avoids such embarrassing dialog, but, as with the Dawn Treader, the narration becomes unnecessarily tedious at times.

Both versions do a good job of capturing the importance of “remembering the signs” given by Aslan (See a previous article on the BBC-TV adaptation.), arguably Lewis’s most important theme in the story. However, the BBC had to do some major editing to fit a time frame about two-thirds that of the RT, and one glaring omission stands out. When Jill is left on the cliff and sees Aslan, there is a protracted dialog between them. Aslan, in words reminiscent of Isaiah 55:1 and John 7:37, invites Jill to drink from the stream. Jill, frightened by Aslan’s appearance and not-so-reassuring words, asks if he would leave while she drank, or if there is another stream. Lewis is emphasizing that God is the only source to quench our spiritual thirst, and we must come to him on his terms.

While RT elects to include the details of this scene, it does miss a seemingly minor detail that Lewis uses to make a point about education in his day. The impersonal use of last names at the “experimental school” is avoided. In the book, Eustace and Jill usually call each other “Scrubb” and “Pole.” RT uses only their first names in dialog between the two. Lewis was emphasizing that allowing the students to do basically whatever they want and treating bullies as merely “interesting psychological studies” has depersonalized the students.

If Reepicheep and Puddleglum have last names, we are not told what they are. In simpler times, last names were descriptive in order to distinguish two people with the same given name from each other – John the Smith and John the Miller. Many of us remember a time in the mid-twentieth century when school children called each other by their last names. Fortunately, the popularity of that “tradition” seems to be dying out.

Let’s hope the popularity of two of Lewis’s most lovable characters never dies. They may have their flaws, but they still have something to teach us. While you’re waiting for the Dawn Treader movie to come out this December, pop in a CD and listen to their advice.

From Chapter 12 of the book:

Rilian: “The blessing of Aslan upon this honest Marsh-wiggle.”

Eustace: “Good for your, Puddleglum! You’re the only one of us with any sense, I do believe.”

Narnia Nostalgia Part 9: Radio Plays Part 5

2010-05-31T08:41:00.000-07:00

The following article reviews both Radio play versions of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. “RT” indicates the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre version, and “BBC” the British Radio 4 version.

Warning: Mild Spoilers

“You don’t suppose I’d have left my kingdom and put out to sea unless all was well.”
- King Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C S Lewis, chapter 2

As this review is being written, details of the Walden Media adaptation of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader are a bit sketchy. However, the official press release from back in July of 2009, as well as subsequent reports, seem to indicate that in the upcoming movie version not all is well in Narnia. The description of the film seems to indicate the voyage was embarked upon to save Narnia “from an unfathomable fate.”

As was mentioned earlier in this series, adapting a book as a screenplay or radio drama can be challenging. (See especially Narnia Nostalgia Part 3 and Narnia Nostolgia Part 5.) The biggest difficulty is often maintaining the spirit of the story intended by the author. It remains to be seen how well Walden version will capture C S Lewis’s vision.

The Radio adaptations of Dawn Treader follow the book very closely (both include King Caspian’s words that “all is well”), but do make minor changes. While the the RT version uses much of Lewis’s narrative, the BBC radio play does not use a narrator at all. Even the setting of the story is established with a conversation between Edmund, Lucy, and their cousin Eustace. This works fairly well through most of the play, but there are points where those unfamiliar with the story could probably use a bit of narrative explanation.

The narration in the RT version, however, is rather tedious at times. And, unlike previous episodes in the series, the splendid musical accompaniment occasionally overwhelms the narration and dialogue. While still a quality work, RT’s Dawn Treader falls a little under the creative bar set by their first four Narnia dramas.

The two main characters Lewis uses in the book to convey important themes are Lucy and Eustace, who is introduced to the reader in this book. Eustace is presented as annoying and self-centered, which contrasts to the bravery he demonstrates later in the book. RT does an excellent job creating a picture of the boy, taking the time to fully develop his character. The BBC drama omits too much and tires to take shortcuts. Twice Lucy and Edmund react to their cousin’s droning by saying, “Eustace, shut up!” – a phrase which, although it conveys his tendency to be annoying, does not seem in keeping with a King and Queen of Narnia, children though they be. BBC also omits the water stealing incident and rushes through the account of his “undragoning.”

The chapter in the story which gives us the most insight into Lucy is “The Magician’s Book.” Lucy has already demonstrated her courage by being willing to go to the room with the book and say the spell to make the Dufflepuds visible. But there is a flaw in her character which Aslan wants to work on. This is shown in Lucy’s reaction to the pages containing the beautification spell and the spell “which would let you know what your friends thought of you.” The growling face of Aslan in the book keeps her from saying the first spell, but saying the second spell enables her to hear a conversation between her schoolmates back in England – a conversation which was not very flattering to Lucy.

The RT adaption dramatizes both pages from the Magician’s Book, and includes the part where Lucy sees her sister Susan. Aslan’s rebuke to Lucy for eavesdropping on her friends is also left in. The BBC version omits the second spell, and the fact the image of Susan appears in the book. When Aslan appears, he has no rebuke at all, only joyous greetings. Because of these omissions, the importance of what is happening with Lucy is completely lost.

Lewis is conveying, through Lucy’s reaction to the spells, that she is developing a problem with vanity, a fault her sister Susan will be overcome with by the end of the Chronicles. In Lewis’s nonfiction, he distinguishes between the pride of vanity and a more diabolical pride where the person does not care what people think. (See “The Great Sin,” Chapter 8 of CHRISTIAN BEHAVIOUR - Section 3 of Mere Christianity.)

Although Susan will get caught up in vanity, given what the author wrote in Mere Christianity, it appears he was indicating that she had not slipped into “the real black, diabolical Pride [that] comes when you look down on others so much that you do not care what they think of you.” Lucy would apparently overcome her tendency to vanity, and there will still be hope for Susan.

The self-centered pride Eustace was beginning to sink into needed to be dealt with more severely, but Aslan still was able to help him “change his skin.” RT captured the importance of these confrontations with Aslan well. Hopefully Walden Media will, too.

Narnia Nostalgia Part 8: Radio Plays Part 4

2010-05-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

The following article reviews both Radio play versions of Prince Caspian. “RT” indicates the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre version, and “BBC” the British Radio 4 version.

Warning: Mild Spoilers

The Walden/Disney movie of Prince Caspian begins with an agonizing cry and the birth of a child. Those who had seen the first movie, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, must have been scratching their heads at that point. It is a full eight minutes into the film before we see any of the characters from the first film.

When Prince Caspian was published in 1951, it was the second book* in the series and was better known by its subtitle, Return to Narnia. As C S Lewis step-son Douglas Gresham reminds us in his introduction to the RT version, the author wasted no time in getting the Pevensies back.

Those who have adapted Prince Caspian for the stage, TV, movies, or radio, have had to decide how to deal with the story within a story. (Chapters four through seven in the book are the telling of the life of Prince Caspian to the point when the Pevensies arrive in Narnia.) Walden chose to begin with Caspian fleeing, while the BBC TV version begins with Caspian in the courtyard of King Miraz. In contrast to the their video counterparts, both Radio Play versions reference Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy immediately.

The BBC version begins with Caspian’s nurse telling him the story of the King Peter, Queen Susan, King Edmund, and Queen Lucy – a sort of reversal of what happens in the book, where the Pevensies are told Caspian’s story. Scriptwriter Brian Sibley decided to deal with the “story within a story” by alternating between the two story lines.

Since the Pevensies are not called to Narnia until late in Caspian’s story, switching back and forth between story lines causes the story to be unbalanced. The Walden movie solved this by putting the call to Narnia near the beginning of the story. The BBC Radio version adds an additional scene at the professor’s home, but most of the story is about Caspian until the Pevensies show up in Narnia half way through the production.

Paul McCusker, who wrote the script and directed the RT production, decided to buck the trend and used the story line as it is laid out in the book. The children are immediately returned to Narnia, and the details about the prince are added when they meet up with Trumpkin, the Dwarf. This actually works very well, and is much easier to follow. Perhaps Lewis knew what he was doing after all.

The RT running time of three hours and twenty minutes also allows time for some details that are missing in all the other recorded dramatizations of the book. Lewis, perhaps mindful of the criticism that his first book did not explain how foodstuffs were provided in a Narnia where it was always winter, was careful to include how food was obtained for the Pevensies’ trip to Aslan’s How. RT includes the apples and the bear meat.

Lewis’s theme of joy also comes through in the RT version by including the celebrations. As in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, they are not afraid to mention Bacchus and Silenus.

Both Radio versions do a fabulous job of portraying Lucy’s first meeting with Aslan. The importance of following what is right despite what others think is an important theme, and both productions give this scene the weight it deserves.

For comments on the relative production quality of the plays, please refer to the last two articles in this series below.

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*For why Prince Caspian is now numbered as book 4, see the Examiner.com article, The order of the Narnia chronicles.

Narnia Nostalgia Part 7: Radio Plays Part 3

2010-03-28T04:10:00.000-07:00

The following article reviews both Radio play versions of The Horse and His Boy. “RT” indicates the Focus on the Family Radio Theatre version, and “BBC” the British Radio 4 version.

Warning: Spoilers

Breehy-hinny-brinny-hoohy-hah.

Vocalizing the full name of the first title character (The Horse) is a challenge to both the imagination and one’s articulation skills. Nick Burnell (RT) and Martin Jarvis (BBC) were both up to the task of imagining and imitating a talking horse.

As indicated in the last review in this series, the sound effects in the Radio Theatre adaptation are far superior to the BBC version. However, after a six year hiatus, the BBC version of The Horse and His Boy did make some progress compared to their version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. The laughable imitations of animal sounds have virtually disappeared. Even Aslan’s roar is much better.

Both portrayals do a good job of staying true to the story C. S. Lewis wrote. However, the BBC version still uses synthesized music, and the overall effect of the RT production, with the full orchestration, is still much superior.

RT also does a better job at the part of the story when Shasta (the other title character – (His Boy) and his traveling companion, Aravis, become separated in Tashbaan, the capital of Calormen, a country to the south of Narnia. When prominent characters become separated, there is always the problem of dealing with how to covey both parts of the story.

C S Lewis’s friend and colleague JRR Tolkien faced this challenge in writing The Lord of the Rings. He dealt with the situation of the separation of the members of the Fellowship primarily by adopting three separate story lines – a few chapters for Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas, a few for Merry and Pippin, and a few for Frodo and Sam, etc. He also uses the device of one character telling his story to another character in order to fill in the details.

The Horse and His Boy is not nearly so complicated as The Lord of the Rings, but dealing with a divided story was still a challenge. Much like Tolkien, Lewis devotes comparatively long passages to what is happening to Shasta, and then to what is going on with Aravis.

The BBC version uses a different tact. The scene cuts back and forth from one character to the other several times. While the playwright, Brian Sibley, does a great job of tying the cuts together using common themes, the overall effect is rather distracting and at times a bit hard to follow.

The RT adaptation basically follows Lewis’s tact. The text first follows the adventures of Shasta, and then of Aravis. This allows some suspense to build as Shasta (and the first-time reader) does not know what is happening to Aravis and if she will make it to their arranged meeting place. In the BBC production, this tension is lost.

As indicated above, both dramatizations do a great job of presenting Lewis’s story and capturing its spirit. One of the main themes of the book is how God is working behind the scenes in our lives, even when we don’t know him or recognize him.

When Shasta talks to Aslan in the wilderness, the Lion tells him,

I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you.

Shasta asks why the Lion wounded Aravis. As he does so often in the Chronicles, Aslan responds that he “tells no one any story but his own.”

God has a story for you. You may not like the details, and may wonder about the details of the story belonging to someone else. But, God is only interested in telling you your own story – if you will listen – not debating with you about the details, or telling you why he has dealt with others the way he has.

…Peter… asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “…what is that to you? You must follow me.” (John 21:21-22 NIV)

Narnia Nostolgia Part 6: Radio Plays Part 2

2010-02-27T13:37:00.000-08:00

The following are reviews of both Radio play versions of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (BBC Radio 4 version)

So, do mothballs falling on a wardrobe floor really sound like marbles being dumped out on a Formica counter-top? That’s just one of the sound effects in this presentation which interferes with the suspension of unbelief. But it is certainly not the worst.

While the story itself is well written, the performance suffers from skimping on the technical aspects of the audio. And it’s not like the effects people are not capable. The sounds used to enhance the spring thaw are quite well done. They must have recorded actual birds singing, and, with headphones on, the buzzing bee sounds like it is flying around your head.

But the talking animal noises were created by the actors themselves. The snarls of the wolves are quite unbelievable, and the hoots and howls of the evil beasts and ghouls at the Stone Table make it difficult to take the scene seriously.

The roar of Aslan is just plain lame. After Aslan roars, he says, “My, but that was good.” But most listeners will be thinking, or even saying out loud, “No, it wasn’t.” Would it have been so difficult to include the roar of a real lion and blend it in with the actor’s voice?

With all these annoyances, it is surprising how well the actors are able to convey the story. Credit must be given again to Brian Sibley for a good script, and to the actors for being able to “get into” their roles.

Devoted fans will also appreciate the little details that are included. For example, the video versions of the story (See Narnia Nostalgia: Part 1 and Part 2.) omit the Robin which leads the Pevensies from Tumnus’ home to Mr. Beaver. The Focus on the Family Radio Theater version (See below.) also omits it. The Robin is author C. S. Lewis’s first hint that the eternal winter has been broken and that spring is on the way. But the BBC Radio play is the only dramatized recording that includes the bird.

What is missed, though, is the sense of joy and wonder that is found in the book. The Radio Theater version may be missing the bird, but it captures that sense.

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (The Focus on the Family Radio Theater version)

The FotF presentation combines a great script (arguably even better than the BBC version) with good acting and absolutely brilliant sound effects. It also emphasizes the joy and wonder of the book. Not only can you sense Lucy’s awe of Narnia as she visits it for the first time, but the joy of the place before the Witch took control, and after Aslan returns, is accentuated better than in any of the dramatizations (audio or video) of the work from the other studios.

Tumnus’ description of the feasting and bliss of Narnia before the White Witch imprisoned it in perpetual winter is superb. And he is not afraid to mention Silvanus and Bacchus – characters which the other presentations avoid. (See this review of the book Prince Caspian for the characters’ significance: Divine Revelers.) There is also an obvious joy in Aslan’s camp at the Stone Table when the three children are brought there.

The creators of the Walden/Disney movie missed the joy and wonder by interjecting the thought that the Pevencies would have needed to be convinced to stay. In the book, Lewis assumes the children would be caught up in the magic and excitement of Narnia, their predilection for adventure having already been established. (They are excited about exploring outdoors, and resort to exploring the house when it rains.)

In the movie, the adventures they get caught in often seem more inspired by a video game (i.e. riding ice in the river) than any “magic” based on what Lewis wrote. The spirit captured by the FotF production is much to be preferred to any action/adventure presented on the big screen.

The climax of this Radio Theater episode is the sacrifice of Aslan on the Stone Table and his subsequent resurrection. The use of Lewis’s narrative, enhanced with sound effects and dramatic music, is “spot on” in capturing the significance of the scene.

In his excellent review of this dramatization, Greg Wright of Hollywood Jesus concludes that the prolonged death scene is not exactly “family friendly.” However, following FotF’s guidelines (“Not Recommended for children Under the Age of 8″ ) parents should not have to worry.

Another inventive touch comes at the end of the movie when the children re-immerge from the wardrobe back in England – but that should be saved as a surprise for the first-time listener.

Narnia Nostolgia 5: The Radio Plays Part 1

2010-01-30T12:23:00.000-08:00

BBC Radio 4 aired The Magician’s Nephew and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in 1988. A few years passed until the series was taken up again in 1994 with The Horse and His Boy, and finished in 1997 with The Last Battle. These were produced originally under the series title “Tales of Narnia.”
Focus on the Family Radio Theatre began their series with the more popular Lion, the Witch in 1998, but went back “to the beginning” with Magician’s Nephew in 1999. The series was completed in chronological order with The Last Battle being aired in 2002. (CD sets of the Focus series are numbered in chronological order, beginning with Magician’s Nephew.)*

The following is an introduction to the radio plays, and a review of both versions of The Magician’s Nephew.

Different mediums require different methods and stratagems. As the old saying goes, “A picture is worth a thousand words,” so it is only natural that differences will arise among the original books, the radio plays, and the videos. Both the books and the radio plays revolve around words – but not words exclusively. A book may also add maps, illustrations, and pictures; a radio play adds voice inflection and sound effects. In a movie, you can have relatively long periods of silence where pictures are conveying the story, but in a radio play, “dead air” kills the story.

An advantage of both the written medium and radio is that it leaves much to the reader’s (or listener’s) imagination. For film, writers and directors must work out the details (usually with a large team of prop designers, special effects people, etc.) of how every detail should look. Instead of hearing descriptions of what everything is like, the viewer sees it.

The difficulty of an audio play is, then, that it must accomplish much in words, while not just feeling like a “reading” of the text – for then it would be just an audio book. Since there are so many words involved, radio plays are usually read directly from the script instead of being memorized. This often results in a rather stilted presentation. Both radio versions of The Magician’s Nephew suffer from this, but the actors in the Focus on the Family version do a much better job of sounding like they are actually “in” the story.

The acting in the Focus version is much better, and the story is helped by appropriate music and sound effects. While the BBC Radio 4 version uses (sparingly) what sounds like synthesized music, the Focus dramatization is backed by a full orchestra. The sound effects in the British version are often poorly done, while those in the Radio Theatre production are excellent. For example, when the children and the Witch are fleeing the ruins of Charn, you mostly hear slow footsteps in the BBC adaptation, while you hear running footsteps and crumbling buildings in the Focus version. This is enhanced further with dramatic music.

An added bonus to the Radio Theatre version is that Douglas Gresham, step-son of Narnia author C S Lewis, shares a few insights at the beginning and end of the story. These short sound bites are almost worth the price of the CD’s by themselves.

A word of appreciation must be given to the writers who adapted the books for these dramatizations. Brian Sibley (BBC) and Paul McCuster (Focus) have faithfully followed the books and should be praised for their fine work as playwrights. McCuster was not afraid to embellish a bit to emphasize a theme in the book. (For example, the scene with Digory and his mother in her room before he ends up in Narnia is added to strike home his desire to see her recover from her illness.) And Sibley’s addition of a grown-up Digory as the storyteller helps to make the narrator’s voice more personal (although Lewis often uses the narrator in later books to let the reader in on things Digory would not have known about).

If you would like to familiarize (or re-familiarize) yourself with The Chronicles of Narnia, either radio drama would do well for that purpose. Focus on the Family does not recommend the Radio Theatre series for those under eight years of age, and that, perhaps, is a good recommendation for the books and videos as well.

The Radio Theatre production can be purchased online through the usual American outlets. For those in the United States, the BBC Radio adaptation may be hard to come by, and usually must be imported from Great Britain (which is rather expensive). There are copies available on the Amazon UK website amazon.co.uk.

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*For a discussion of the “proper” order of the stories, see The order of the Narnia chronicles.

Narnia nostalgia part 4 – The Silver Chair on BBC TV

2009-12-26T17:59:00.000-08:00

In November and December of 1990, BBC TV released The Silver Chair in 6 weekly half-hour episodes. These were later edited into a feature-length film on VHS, and later, DVD (now available online in secondary markets like eBay and Amazon Marketplace). The teleplay was written by Australian playwright Alan Seymour.

Those who only have knowledge of The Chronicles of Narnia through the two Walden/Disney movies will not be familiar with Eustace Scrubb, the main character linking The Silver Chair with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Eustace is a cousin to the Pevensie children, and was pulled into Narnia along with Lucy and Edmund in the previous story

Eustace attends a “progressive” boarding school, and has befriended Jill Pole. He confides in her about his adventures in the other world. Both are brought to Narnia by Aslan, who has a quest for them to accomplish. They are to find the lost Prince Rillian, the only son of the now very old King Caspian.

There are two main themes in the book which are also emphasized in the series. These are the importance of following the four signs which Aslan gives, and learning to overcome deception.

Aslan gives Jill four signs which she is to repeat to herself every day. These signs are important for the quest. This is reminiscent of the instructions God has given about the importance of scripture, such as the words to Joshua after he takes the leadership mantle of Israel upon Moses’ death.

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. (Joshua 1:8 NKJV)

Throughout the story, we see how the children get off track whenever they do not follow the signs. They are also much more easily deceived.

Though a series of events, and with the help of the pessimistic but lovable Puddleglum, they eventually find their way to the Underworld, which is ruled by the Lady of the Green Kirtle. She is the Green Witch who has Prince Rillian under a spell.

As the trio are about to escape with the Prince, the Green Witch finds them, and tries to convince them using her enchantments that there is no Narnia to escape to – that only her world is real. Many see in this a parallel to Plato’s Parable of the Cave, which is an allegory about the nature of reality.

Puddleglum’s logic and quick thinking help them break free from the Witch’s deception, and they eventually make their way back to the surface where Rillian is gladly received as Prince.

The movie follows the book very closely, editing mostly for time and updating of idioms in the dialogue. There is one strange inclusion of a dragon not mentioned in the book, and the “deeper kingdom” of Bism (admittedly a rather confusing interpolation) is left out.

Although the film continues to suffer from special effects antiquated by today’s standards,* the acting is much improved. The three main protagonists, Eustace Scrubb, Jill Pole, and Puddleglum, are especially well played by David Thwaites, Camilla Power, and Tom Baker.

While we are waiting for Walden, partnered now with Fox, to release The Voyage of the Dawn Treader a year from now, the BBC versions of Dawn Treader and Silver Chair are the only videos of those two stories available. The BBC captured the major themes, but the costuming and special effects can be distracting, to say the least. But, for young children, these videos are not a bad way to introduce your children or grandchildren to this part of the series.

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*See Narnia nostalgia part 2 - lion, witch, and wardrobe on BBC TV, including note 2 at the end of the article, for a few words about the limitations of the special effects in the BBC movies.

Narnia nostalgia part 3: Prince Caspian and Dawn Treader on BBC TV

2009-12-18T11:59:00.000-08:00

In November and December of 1989, BBC TV released Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 6 weekly half-hour episodes. These were later edited into a feature-length film on VHS, and later, DVD (now available online in secondary markets like eBay and Amazon Marketplace). The teleplay was written by Australian playwright Alan Seymour.

As with the Walden Media productions, a decision had to be made about the order in which to make the adaptations of the C S Lewis books. While The Magician’s Nephew is the first book chronologically, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the first published and the most popular. It was a given that that book should be made first. However, a more difficult decision was what to do about a second production.

Although Prince Caspian was the second book published, and naturally follows the first book, it is one of the least popular. It is also needed to bridge the gap between The Lion and Dawn Treader. Walden attempted to deal with this dilemma by making the story a bit darker and more exciting, trying to appeal to a broader audience. This attempt had mixed results. (See Will the Australian Rating Hurt or Help Caspian? and Mark Johnson Admits Caspian Mistakes.)

The BBC solution was to devote only two 30-minute episodes to Prince Caspian, and the remaining four to The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. The year (England time) between the two books is ignored, and some of the joy of returning to Narnia at the beginning of Prince Caspian is diluted by cutting out the scene when the Pevensies splash in the ocean. The story is moved along more quickly, but important elements of both stories are missed.

The trick in editing a story is to know what details are can be cut so the finished product retains the essence of the original. The scriptwriter must also be conscious of important elements in the narrative not conveyed by the dialogue. Although the script may contain the exact, or nearly exact, words used by the characters, editing for length can completely change the meaning intended by the author.

When Reepicheep gives his speech to Aslan about losing his tail in the battle, Aslan is “conquered” to restore it not by his words, but by the proposed actions of his fellow mice. In the movie, Aslan responds immediately when Reepicheep explains that he will be made fun of if his tail is not restored. But in the book, his associate Peepicheep explains that all the mice are willing to cut off their own tails if their Chief’s honor is not restored. This affects the meaning of Alan’s words:

You have conquered me. … Not for the sake of your dignity, Reepicheep, but for the love that is between you and your people, and still more for the kindness your people showed me long ago when you ate away the cord that bound me on the Stone Table… you shall have your tail again.

Although the screenplay contains some unfortunate editing, it does do a good job of conveying one of the main principles that is repeated throughout the two books. There are dangers and challenges that the voyagers must learn to face, and each must do his part. But, as it is in this world, there are some things that are beyond us, and beyond our control. These may be unyielding storms, trials, or temptations; the books are replete with all three. It is then that Aslan steps in and does what only he can do.

When Lucy is tempted by vanity to use magic to become more outwardly beautiful, Aslan’s appearance in the magician’s book helps her overcome that temptation. When the Dawn Treader is lost near the Dark Island, Caspian cries out to Aslan. An albatross appears and directs them back to the light. Many more instances when the Lion intervenes could be delineated.

Although God expects us to do what we can, he is always there to step in when we need him. That is not the only lesson of the books, but it is an important one, and it is well conveyed in the movie.

Without a doubt, Walden Media’s adaptation of Dawn Treader will have better special effects and will not cut out so many of the details. (See Narnia nostalgia part 2 - lion, witch, and wardrobe on BBC TV, including note 2 at the end of the article, for a few words about the limitations of the special effect in the BBC movies.) Hopefully it will do at least as well at conveying the import themes of the book. About a year from now we will find out.

Narnia nostalgia Part 2 - Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe on BBC TV

2009-10-25T16:19:00.000-07:00

In November and December of 1988, BBC TV released The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 6 weekly half-hour episodes. These were later edited into a feature-length film on VHS, and later, DVD (now available online in secondary markets like eBay and Amazon Marketplace). The teleplay was written by Australian playwright Alan Seymour.

Like the American animated version from 1979, the script is very faithful to the book by C S Lewis. Unlike the animated version, the BBC adaptation does not update the characters, but firmly places the setting in World War 2.

In Narnia Nostalgia Part 1, it was asserted that the omissions from the animated film reveal more about it than its overall faithfulness to the book. For the BBC version, the additions to the story are the most revealing.

Warning: Spoilers

Lewis is very brief in his description of the circumstances surrounding the Pevencies stay in the professor’s home, so it is only natural that a video version of the story would need to add some dialogue. The personalities of the children are portrayed in their conversation on the train,¹ perhaps painting Lucy as a bit more fearful, and Edmund as more adventurous, than Lewis intended. But the conversation does set the scene and let the viewer know the reason for situation.

In the book, Lewis introduces the housekeeper and servants, but gives no details except their names, saying that “they do not come into the story much.” In the video, the housekeeper is portrayed as a stereotypical British highbrow who insists on putting the servants “in their place.” One wonders if Lewis’s Digory Kirk would have allowed his household staff to be so treated.

Another addition to the story has to do with the Pevensies attitude toward the coats in the wardrobe. In the book, neither Lucy nor Edmund think to take coats into Narnia during the first two visits. The fact that they are cold and coatless is a factor in their reactions to what they discover there. In the video, both don the coats the very first time they enter. The comments from the book about not taking the coats out of the wardrobe are strangely transferred to the boots Susan has found when they all find themselves in Narnia. If they are worried about taking the boots, why weren’t they worried about taking the coats?

When Edmund first meets the White Witch, she invites him into the sledge and puts her mantle around him. We do not get the same cozy picture in the video as he does not even sit next to her. He already has a coat, so her offer to put a mantle around him is not exactly tempting. An important visual has been inexplicably lost – not exactly what you should want to do when adapting a book to a visual media!

The Witch also displays powers which are not attributed to her in the book. When the package of Turkish Delight is created, the Witch causes it to float in the air to Edmund and untie itself of it own accord. She also creates a tent out of thin air in which they continue their chat. The magic displayed in the book is used as a snare to hold Edmund captive to the designs of the White Witch. The sudden appearance of a tent seems rather gratuitous and purposeless to what Lewis was trying to convey.

Magical abilities are also bestowed upon Aslan which are not included in the book. In the film, the untame lion, with the girls on his back, flies from the Stone Table to the Witch’s Castle, while the book he merely runs while carrying the girls, although he is able to jump over the castle wall. The reason for this probably has more to do with the limitations of the animatronics and other special effects² available and affordable at the time than anything else.

While the resurrected Son of the Emperor of the Sea may have more Supermanian abilities than just being able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, the ability to fly is never used by Aslan himself in the books. As the deity of Christ was veiled while on earth, Aslan’s true nature is somewhat hidden when he visits Narnia.

Another disappointing addition has to do with how the appearance of Father Christmas is handled. In the book, his coming, representing the beginning of the end of the Witch’s power, is very subtle. A first-time reader may easily miss the clue Lewis gives when the Witch tells her Dwarf to get the sledge ready using the harness without bells. In the movie, this detail is repeatedly articulated by the Witch so that it can not be missed. She intends to sneak up on the children unheard.

Ironically, when the beavers and the three children hear a sledge coming, no bells are heard. Perhaps in order to fool the viewer, the director decided to keep the bells unheard until Father Christmas is actually seen, but this is a cheat. The point in the book is that when they hear the bells the group (and the unobservant reader) will assume the Witch is upon them. The film insults the viewer, while Lewis intends for the reader to discover subtle clues, perhaps upon a second reading.

One welcome addition is the children on the beach splashing in the ocean after they have been installed as Kings and Queens. This is, of course, a nod to a scene in Prince Caspian, which the next BBC movie, Prince Caspian and the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, will not take the time to include. More on this next time.

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¹See Memorable quotes for “The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe” Episode #1.1 at IMDb.com.
²Other scenes affected by the limits of the special effects used were the knighting of Peter and Edmund and the crowning of the children at Cair Paraevel. The problem of Aslan using a sword in the ceremony is overcome (somewhat to the viewer’s dissatisfaction) by the lion touching his chin to their shoulders. And, since the stuffed lion used in the video could not be manipulated to hold a crown, special effects are used to show the crowns appearing out of nowhere and descending upon their heads. The limits of special effects may also be the reason for the strange means of the Witch’s death, who falls off a ledge instead of being killed by Aslan hurling himself upon her.

Narnia Nostalgia Part 1 - The CTW Animated Version

2009-09-26T22:08:00.000-07:00

On Sunday April 1, 1979 and the following day, CBS aired an animated version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe in two parts. The show was produced by the Children’s Television Workshop (Sesame Street, The Electric Company), Episcopal Radio-TV Foundation, and others. An animated version of The Hobbit by Rankin/Bass (Frosty the Snowman) had aired just a year and a half earlier on NBC.

Both adaptations followed the books rather faithfully, except that the animation in The Hobbit was rather goofy at times, to say the least. (See Getting Tolkien Wrong.) The animation for the Narnia book was much better–the creatures are drawn pretty much as you would expect them to look. The CTW version is also the only video version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe to get the girls’ hair color right,* although the Pevencies are given a much more modern look. (The World War 2 setting is not used.)

The dialog in the show also follows that of the book, usually verbatim. The differences are usually due to changing some Briticisms, updating expressions, and abridging for time. The scriptwriter generally makes wise choices on what to cut, and what to leave in.

While it can be assumed that the filmmakers’ faithfulness to the book shows their respect for the abilities of C S Lewis, the parts that are removed reveal more about the film than what is preserved.

The first obvious omission is the setting of the story. It is never explained why the children are in the Professor’s house. The story begins with Lucy coming out of the Wardrobe for the first time and announcing “I’m back.” While beginning the story this way is not ineffective, the details of how the children come to be in the home are never explored. Perhaps the writers felt the target audience of young children would not be able to relate.

Another change is the impression the Professor leaves with the two older children when they come to him about Lucy’s “delusions.” The explanation of why Lucy’s story is believable is left intact, but he does not end with the statement that “everyone should mind his own business.” Instead, he responds that he does not know what they should do, and the next scene shows them immediately going into the wardrobe. The writers apparently do this to speed up the story, but this is incongruous with what the Professor will tell the children at the end of the story about not “trying” to go to Narnia. Narnia does not come when you are looking for it.

The next noticeable absence (to devoted fans, anyway) is the Robin. The Robin is important in the book because it is Lewis’s first hint of the return of spring. This is perhaps not an essential element to the story, but it is missed, and no air time is actually saved by leaving it out, since Mr. Beaver is merely introduced sooner.

The same goes for the children (minus Edmund, of course) meeting Father Christmas. They do hear the sleigh bells, but by the time they get out of the Beavers’ hiding place, he is gone. (The Christmas gifts are given to the children later by Aslan himself.) Unlike the book, the children meet the Fox’s party near the hiding place, and are told Father Christmas had been there. When the White Witch comes upon the scene later, one of the young ones lets it slip they have seen the children and the beavers. After turning the festive group into stone, the Witch redoubles her efforts to catch the children.

Obviously it was decided that the story needed some excitement at this point, which apparently is why the changes were made. The chase scene is intensified as the Witch actually sees the children just before the sledge begins to get stuck in the melting snow.

Excitement is also created by showing the battle with the Witch before Aslan arrives. All of the video versions of the story do this. They all include a scene (mentioned after the fact in the book) of Edmund destroying the Witch’s wand and Edmund being injured. While later versions make the Witch the instrument of Edmund’s wound, in the CTW version he is wounded by someone else. The book does not make it clear how he was hurt.

All three films also show Peter going after the Witch after Edmund is wounded, which is not specified in the book. But, of course, it is Aslan who saves the day. (How the Witch dies in the BBC version is a bit peculiar, but we will save that for another day.)

All in all, the Children’s Television Workshop animated version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe is a commendable rendition of the book, especially considering the time period in which it was made and the target audience of young children. Not at all a bad way to introduce your child to the series.
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* In the last chapter of the book, it is mentioned that when they grow up in Narnia, Susan has “black hair that fell almost to her feet,” and Lucy was “golden-haired.” In the BBC live action version, the characters’ hair color is reversed. Susan is known for her better looks, so perhaps the BBC filmmakers, consciously or unconsciously, were influenced by modern stereotypes in choosing the actors for the roles. Of course, in the Walden version both girls have black hair, perhaps avoiding the stereotypes. Could the description in the book reveal Lewis’s own preferences?

The Children’s Workshop animated version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was released on VHS in 1991 and DVD in 2005. The video is available in secondary markets such as eBay and Amazon Marketplace.

9-11: Remembering the Two Towers

2009-09-11T12:12:00.000-07:00

Eight years ago today, America was attacked by terrorists. It was a day not only characterized by barbarism, but also by heroism. Radical Jihadists were motivated to sacrifice themselves because of their belief that Islam will someday rule the world, and to kill others because of their hatred of the infidel. Passengers were willing to give their lives because of their belief in freedom and save others because of their love of country.

In the days after 9-11, “United We Stand” signs began appearing everywhere as Americans of different backgrounds and political beliefs came together. There were a few fringe elements that preferred to believe in conspiracy theories instead of a real threat to our country, but most joined with our President to do whatever they could to fight terrorism.

People were so sensitive at that time that there was even a petition drawn up on PetitionOnline.com to change the name of the second Lord of the Rings movie, The Two Towers. Peter Jackson was even accused of trying to exploit the fall of The Twin Towers in New York City. Never mind that the second book of The Lord of the Rings was published as The Two Towers in 1954. (The petition was removed in May of 2004 due to inactivity.)

Reviewers (for example, The Return of the King: "Fellowship" by Martin L. Cowen III) had already made a connection between the first movie and 9/11 in Gandalf’s words to Frodo in Moria. Frodo wishes out loud that the Ring had not come to him and that “none of this had ever happened.” Gandalf replies:

So do all who live to see such times, but that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.

The Fellowship also illustrates the ability of free peoples who have a past of mistrusting each other to come together when there is a need. The three free peoples of Middle-earth, Men, Elves, and Dwarves, have a history of squabbles. The past must be put aside in order for the Quest to be accomplished.

We see the repercussions of this history in The Hobbit in the way the Dwarves are mistreated by the Wood Elves and how the Dwarves refuse the requests of the Men of Dale after Smaug is slain. The old prejudices are exacerbated by greed and pride. What a lesson for today where greed has contributed to the devastation of our economy and pride is keeping many politicians from honest debate of the important issues of the day.

Our pride also causes us to forget that Providence is still at work. The Gandalf quote above presents our personal responsibility. But Gandalf does not stop there.

There are other forces at work in this world, Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring, in which case you also were meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.

September 11, 2001 did not take God by surprise. As Frodo could count on the fact that his burden came to him not without purpose, so we can be confident that God has a purpose in the challenges we face as a nation, and as individuals. The question is what we will do “with the time that is given to us.”

Dawn Treader Stars and the Perseid Showers

2009-08-12T06:56:00.000-07:00

If you use Google as your search engine, you can't help but notice that the Perseid Meteor Showers are back. This time of year the earth moves through a section of space containing small particles. Some of these are pulled by the earth's gravity enough to fall into our atmosphere and be burned up in a blaze of glory.

Since I am off from my "real" job this week, I was able to sit outside and observe some of these "shooting stars." I live in a community outside of town, so the "light pollution" is still a problem, but I was able to, with patience, see some of the "big ones." (To give you an idea, on this very clear night I was able to see all the stars of the Big Dipper, and, if I strained hard, sometimes I could make out all the stars of the Little Dipper after my eyes had adjusted.) I did not have the spectacular views of those lucky enough to be farther away from city lights, but was privileged to see some of the marvelous display before the moon appeared over the trees in the east.

I can imagine those in ancient times, before telescopes and the modern equipment we take for granted, wondering what these streaks of light were, and what they might portend. Even in our modern world we use the term "shooting star." Meteors do look like stars, and the ancient sometimes described them as "falling" or "wandering" stars.

The Bible takes up this concept, based upon what humans could empirically observe at that point in history, and uses it as metaphors for fallen angels (Isaiah 14:12; Revelation 12:4) and apostates (Jude 1:13). The phrase "wandering stars" in Jude is a translation of the Greek asteres planetai, and the word for "wandering" (planetai) is a form of the Greek word from which we get the English word "planet." The Greeks thought of planets as wandering stars, since they do not fit the fixed pattern of the stars as seen from earth.

So, what does this have to do with The Voyage of the Dawn Treader?

In Chapter Fourteen, King Caspian and those with him meet Ramadu, who discloses that he is a "retired" star. Eustace comments that "In our world, a star is a huge ball of flaming gas." To which Ramadu replies, "Even in your world, my son, that is not what a star is but only what it is made of."

For the ancients, it did not matter what stars were "made of," but what they meant. In Genesis 1:13, God tells us that the stars were put in place to "serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years." [NIV] Humans eventually learned to steer ships by the stars. You don't have to have a modern perspective on the universe in order for the stars to have meaning–and a very practical meaning at that!

In the passage where Ramadu reveals he is a star, he also points out they have already met another star, Coriakin, the Magician who was given charge of the Dufflepuds. It seems that Cariakin was given this responsibility as a "punishment" for something he had done. Neither star in the book seem to correspond well to the metaphors in the Bible, but Narnia is unlike our world in many respects. But C. S. Lewis never meant his books to be straight allegory.

Note to those who follow my Blog: Since I last posted here a month ago, some exciting things have been going on for me personally. I have begun writing for an online news service, Exmainer.com, as the national Hobbits, Narnia & Spirituality Examiner. That, along with my duties as the "Fantasy Editor" for Hollywood Jesus, is keeping me busy. To keep up with all I am doing, may I suggest that you follow me on Twitter? Here is my Twitter link: InklingBlogger. If you do not have a Twitter account and do not care to start one, you can view my recent "tweets" in the column to the right just under the Voyage of the Dawn Treader count-down.

The Inconvenient Adventures of Uncle Chestnut: Great Introduction to G. K. Chesterton

2009-07-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

Author and freelance writer Paul Nowak has begun a new publishing company, Eternal Revolution. The name is based upon a quote from G. K. Chesterton (more about him below) from the book Orthodoxy:

To the orthodox there must always be a case for revolution; for in the hearts of men God has been put under the feet of Satan. In the upper world hell once rebelled against heaven. But in this world heaven is rebelling against hell. For the orthodox there can always be a revolution; for a revolution is a restoration. At any instant you may strike a blow for the perfection which no man has seen since Adam. No unchanging custom, no changing evolution can make the original good any thing but good.

As the "Fantasy Editor" for Hollywood Jesus, I focus most of my effort on authors JRR Tolkien (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) and C S Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia). G K Chesterton was part of the generation just prior to Tolkien and Lewis, both of whom name him as a significant influence. Chesterton was a prolific author and conservative Catholic apologist, who is probably best known as the creator of the Father Brown detective series.

Nowak recently published The Inconvenient Adventures of Uncle Chestnut, a book written on the sixth grade level based on the life and works of Chesterton. "Uncle Chestnut" was a nickname given by to the real Chesterton by a neighborhood child. The book contains fictionalized accounts of a young boy named "Jack" and what he learns from Uncle Chestnut. Nowak intends to write other accounts for an Uncle Chestnut series.

This is a great book to introduce children to G K Chesterton, who was able to use everyday events to teach about life. Adults who are unfamiliar with his writing will also find this a good introduction to the author. I know it has piqued my interest in exploring Chesterton's writings.

The Inconvenient Adventures of Uncle Chestnut is available online through Amazon.com or BarnesnandNoble.com.

Follow me on Twitter: InklingBlogger

Reading Between the Narnian Lines: Spewing Vile, or Finding Hope?

2009-06-03T11:39:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, while looking for Narnia News, I found a blog post on TalkingPointsMemo.com about an anthology of short stories written by Neil Gaiman, comic book author, fantasy novelist, and the head script writer for the movie Beowulf. The blogger, know as "Doc Nebula," apparently enjoyed all but one story, saying it was "unconscionably vile."

If you love THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA even a tiny little bit, even the merest fraction of how much I love THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA, then you mustn't read this story, because if you do, you will want to find Neil Gaiman and trap him in an aquarium slowly filling with overused motor oil while hitting him over the head again and again and again with a large hammer. Or, better, a small hammer; one just large enough to hurt quite a lot without actually knocking him unconscious or killing him. That way he stays alive in constant pain until the distilled petroleum product slowly fills his lungs and he drowns horribly with much the same smell in his nostrils and taste in his throat as dinosaurs floundering down into tar pits did... I have never really understood, on an emotional level, the concept of 'blasphemy' until I read this story, and now, I can also understand the Spanish Inquisition, and not the one with the comfy chair, either.

Wow. Tell us what you really think, Doc.

Well, I was convinced. I needed to read this short story to see if it was really that bad. It seemed providential that NarniaWeb had just posted the second part of Devin Brown's Keynote Address from this year's annual Inklings Society Conference. This part of “Are the Chronicles of Narnia Sexist and Racist?” is titled "Susan—No Longer a Friend of Narnia," and Gaiman's short story is "The Problem with Susan."

Actually, the story isn't badly written. But the worn-out fallacies about God relishing our suffering and death, and the bestiality in the dream sequences, are certainly not endearing. I do not condone Doc Nebula's proposed punishment, but I do understand the sentiment.

Why is it that so much vile has been spewed against this part of The Chronicles of Narnia? I can understand it when it comes from those who despise Lewis and his Christianity. But this was from someone who spoke as the Guest of Honor at the Mythopoetic Society's Mythcon in 2004 and claims to love the Chronicles. The problem seems to be an assumption about Lewis's views of sexuality and growing up—presumed views that certainly do not come out of the text.

Susan's absence from Narnia in The Last Battle is not because she has grown up and developed the natural interests of girls her age. It is because of the sins of vanity and unbelief. She talks of Narnia as a child's fairy-tale, and is only interested in superficial things. Whether this vanity and unbelief will become enduring traits is yet to be determined. She has not been permanently excluded from Heaven; she has not yet died. As Brown puts it in his address:

At the end of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, when Lucy asks Aslan, “Will you tell us how to get into your country from our world?” he promises, “I shall be telling you all the time” (247). From this we may conclude that after the last chapter of The Last Battle, Aslan will continue to tell Susan and the other characters still in England the way they can reach his country.

What is not clear is whether she will listen. But Aslan is speaking even through the accident. One thing that Gaiman touches on in the short story is that Susan would have had to identify the bodies of her siblings and parents. This is a part of life, and certainly Lewis did not gloat over it—he does not even mention it. Aslan is certainly not gloating over Susan's loss.

Death is real, and needs to be faced. In our society where someone besides family members prepare bodies for burial, we have learned to avoid death's reality all too well. Most of us have nothing to do even with the death or butchering of our own food. We understand little of what it means for another living thing to give its life for us to live. In those rare times when the reality of death does pierce through society-erected barriers, it is God's gift to us to help us think about what is truly important. The bitterness toward God that the retired professor (who is, or represents, Susan) expresses in the story is unjustified. God is not gloating over Susan's pain, but is seeking to reach her.

A little over a year ago, I suggested that a little "spark" between Susan and Caspian might be a good thing. After all, "the problem with Susan" is not that she is attracted to boys—that is a natural part of life.

Adamson has said that one of the prevailing themes in the movie is “the passage into adulthood.” Part of growing up is learning to relate to the opposite sex. It has been reported that in the movie, Caspian and Susan flirt with each other. The reaction by fans of the book seems to be overwhelmingly negative to these reports. “This can’t be; it doesn’t line up with what happens in the other books.” I happen to disagree. Although there is no hint of flirting in the book, I think this might be a good thing. Let me try to explain.

As I’ve indicated before, Lewis does not provide much detail, so it seems appropriate to “read between the lines.” I think this is a good read. Here is an exiled prince (at the height of puberty) with no human companionship except the four Pevensies. Among them is an attractive girl about his age who is obviously cultured and refined. It only seems natural to me that there would be some kind of “spark” between them. ...

We do know that Susan is left behind in this world in The Last Battle, but we do not know her final fate. She has put her social life (lipstick and nylons and invitations) above her belief in Narnia, but what effect will the death of her siblings have on her? Will she be restored much as Narnia is restored in Prince Caspian? I suspect we will still be left hanging when the movie series is completed—unless they decide to read between the lines…

Unlike so many of the detractors, I prefer to find hope between the lines.

"The Problem with Susan" was first published in 2004 in Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy (ROC, an imprint of The New American Library, Penguin Books). It is also in Fragile Things: Short Fictions and Wonders by Neil Gaiman (2006 William Morrow).

Links updated 4November, 2009

The Last Earth Day: How will this planet end?

2009-04-22T00:05:00.000-07:00

Today is Administrative Professionals Day (I remember it as Secretary's Day.) in the United States. It is also Earth Day around the world. The former was created to help us remember the importance of Administrative Professionals. The latter was founded by the late Wisconsin Senator Gaylord Nelson to help us remember the importance of treating our planet properly.

There have been a flood of movies released lately that emphasize the importance of taking care of our planet, from the humorous Wall-E to the suspenseful The Day the Earth Stood Still. Although I believe much of the hype about catastrophic climate change is most likely greatly inflated, we certainly do have a responsibility to care for the earth.

In The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), the alien Klaatu says that it is more important for the Earth to survive than it is for human-kind to survive. There are few planets that can sustain complex life, he says, and it would be better to destroy humanity and let the earth have a fresh start than to let humanity turn the world into an uninhabitable rock. It must be decided whether humans are capable of improving to the point that they are not a threat.

Some time back, I wrote an article about an essay by C. S. Lewis from Christian Reflections titled “The Funeral of the Great Myth." The "Great Myth" for him was the idea that humankind is progressing and gradually becoming better and better. Develpmentalism is not a new Hope that has just shown up recently. It has been popularized in science fiction for decades. Somehow we will overcome our proclivity for destroying ourselves-whether by war or by pollution. Peace will reign on Earth, and we will take our place among the stars.

C. S. Lewis wrote an article in 1958 for the Christian Herald titled "Will We Lose God in Outer Space?" (Published as "Religion and Rocketry" in the C. S. Lewis anthology The World's Last Night--1960, still available as a reprint.) While logically explaining why life on other planets would not preclude God or Christianity, he wonders whether God would allow us to venture out with the possibility of contaminating unfallen races. (A subject which, of course, he delves into in his Space Trilogy.) Lewis did not believe that we would progress to a point where we would no longer be a threat to hypothetical worlds.

In the 1951 version of The Day the Earth Stood Still, the reason for Klaatu coming to Earth was not to save it from us, but to save the other planets from us. The concern was not what we were doing to our own species or our own planet, but what we might do if we were to travel to other worlds. Klaatu explains how these worlds have solved the problem of hostility and war not through progressing beyond it, but by controlling it. Robots have been programmed to take action against any aggression. The peace is maintained by the threat of force.

Lewis believed that the final peace will come by force. In 1952, he wrote "The Christian Hope--Its Meaning for Today" for Religion in Life (titled "The World's Last Night" in the above anthology). He believed the Second Coming of Christ would be apocalyptic in nature. No gradual "bringing in" of the Kingdom, but a sudden, forceful take-over. He presents sound theological reasons for supporting such a Coming, and uses the same arguments against Develpmentalism that he used in “The Funeral of the Great Myth."

Lewis does remind us that Christ said no one knows the day or hour of His Coming--He did not even know it Himself (one of the great mysteries of the incarnation). But we should live with the reflection that it could be at any moment, and that He will come in Judgment.

We cannot always be excited [about His Coming]. We can, perhaps, train ourselves to ask more and more often how the thing which we are saying or doing (or failing to do) at each moment will look when the irresistible light streams on it; that light which is so different from the light of this world--and yet, we know just enough of it to take it into account.

Tolkien's Bio: The Carpenter Benchmark

2009-04-05T01:05:00.000-07:00

JRR Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, expected to live beyond the 81 year he was given. His ancestors had lived much longer. But although death surprised him in September of 1973, he had long since prepared to hand over his literary legacy to his son. Christopher, who had long collaborated with his father about his mythology, spent the next few years editing The Silmarillion for publication.

It is also evident that Tolkien knew that a biography would be forthcoming, and he prepared "a few pages of recollections" and made notations on a number of old letters. Humphrey Carpenter, a friend of Tolkien's children, was given access to the family's private papers, and interviewed family, friends, and Tolkien himself. This biography has been the standard since it was published in 1977, and has been the basis for virtually every Tolkien biography that has been written since. Not until John Garth's Tolkien and the Great War (2003) was much added to the general knowledge of his life history. (I hope to review Garth's book in the coming months.)

Tolkien himself did not think that much could be learned about an author's writing by looking at his life. But it is evident that his life and interests had an influence upon his imagination. Three details jumped out at me as I re-read this book: Tolkien's faith, his affection, and his perfectionism. Each of these affected how his imagination was put down on paper.

While Tolkien's works are not overtly Christian, they are framed with the Christian worldview, and based on Christian morality and ethics. The God behind Middle-earth is clouded from our view in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but is a little more obvious in The Silmarillion. Middle-earth is not about his faith, but his faith certainly is ingrained within it.

Tolkien had a genuine affection for people. Companionship is a recurring theme in Middle-earth. In The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, there is the camaraderie of friends and companions. His deep love for his wife is seen in The Silmarillion's story about Beren and Lúthien.

Tolkien's perfectionism helped create what he would call the verisimilitude of the story. The painstaking detail he went through to make sure the details have continuity is extraordinary. This desire to get every bit of minutia just right was many times a hindrance to completing the task, but we who read are blessed with the "suspension of disbelief."

And we are blessed that Humphrey Carpenter was able to take up the task of writing about Tolkien's life. There is something for everyone in this volume. The Tolkien novice will find the text easy to follow, while experienced aficionados will find an opulence of detail, including background on some of Tolkien's more obscure works. There are also helpful appendices with a genealogical table, chronology of events and bibliography of Tolkien's published works.

The Authorized Biography is a valuable resource that every Tolkien fan should have in their personal library.

News from Narnia and Middle-earth

2009-03-28T11:00:00.000-07:00

It's been almost two months since I've made an entry to this Blog. I've been busy.

Last week I did an interview with a new movie director. Reclaiming the Blade, a documentry about the history of the swoard, will definitely be of interest to fans of Middle Earth and Narnia. The bonus features include an interview with Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), who talked at length about Eärendil and The Flame of the West—Narsil, the sword that was re-forged. For information and links t my coverage, see The Interview and the Bonus Features.

I thought I'd also give you a glimpse at the News Blogs I am responsible for keeping at Hollywood Jesus. (I also contribute other articles there as well.) Here are the latest from The Hobbit ... Whole and the Narnia News Blog.

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What is Your Narnia?

There has been very little news to report about the Chronicles of Narnia movies lately. As I have reported, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader is now scheduled for the end of 2010, and most of the filming is apparently going to take place beginning in a few months in Australia. Please peruse Narnia News for all my recent reports.
As I search the Internet daily for new reports, I have been struck by how the term “Narnia” is used in our society, becoming synonymous for an idyllic place or “dreamland.” Of course, people’s ideas of what their Narnia is differ dramatically. Two recent stories come to mind.
In today’s online version of UK’s The Guardian, actress Juliet Stevenson gives some biographical background to explain her “family values.” She equates the Buckinghamshire cottage in which she lived as a young girl with the Narnia she was reading about at the time.
In stark contrast, there is the report out of NYU of a dorm room that had been transformed into a haven for sex and drugs that was called Narnia. I suppose that some would say that the NYU dorm room was a place where Freshmen could find a home and live a bit of a fantasy life. But, at what cost?
C S Lewis did not create Narnia as a mere escape. Our journey to “dreamland” should help us to appreciate, and live in, the real world.
Sources: Guarian.co.uk • Washington Square News

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What if Disney Produced The Hobbit?

Cinematical has a fan’s conception of what a Disney version of The Lord of the Rings would have looked like. According to The Animated Movie Guide and other sources, Disney held the movie rights until they were sold to United Artists in 1968. But there is apparently no hard proof that Disney ever held these rights. It is well known that Tolkien despised Disney, and did not want his characters “Disnified” (Tokien’s spelling). As I contend in another place, Bakshi came close enough in the Warner Brothers 1977 animated release of The Hobbit.
Sources: Cinematical.com • 2719 Hyperion Blog • The Letters of J R R Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin 1981 Edition, pp. 17, 119

The Hobbit: Graphic Novel Edition - Painting There and Back Again

2009-02-01T09:10:00.000-08:00

When J R R Tolkien first imagined Bilbo Baggins, little did he realize what a huge franchise would grow from this little fellow. Editions of The Hobbit are available from the cheapest paperback, to an exquisite leather deluxe edition. It is even available in a comic book!

In 1989 and 1990, this graphic novel version was published by Eclipse Books in three parts. The illustrator was David Wenzel, and the story was adapted by Charles Dixon and lettered by Sean Deming. In 1990, a combined edition was published by Ballantine Books in the United States, and Uniwin Paperbacks in the UK. In 2001, the Ballantine label Del Rey edition was first published with, inexplicably, a cover with artwork by Donato Giancola, who also did the artwork for the dust jackets on the Science Fiction Book Club editons of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. In 2006, HarperCollins published a revised version with added material. This version is not available in the United States.

The Hobbit was not new to Wenzel. In 1977 Centaur Books had published Middle Earth: The World of Tolkien Illustrated, which was basically a series of paintings depicting scenes from The Hobbit with a brief summary of each scene by Lin Carter. By comparison, the artwork for the older book was not nearly as rich, and it is well that that early publication was supplanted by the graphic novel.

Charles Dixon stayed very true to the book, incorporating every important plot twist, which should delight Tolkien purists. Tolkien's narrative voice is missed when Dixon has to edit for space, but the overall vision is not missed. This is a huge improvement over the 1977 Rankin/Bass film version.

The artwork is also a dramatic improvement. No "Disney-fied" dwarfes or amphibian-looking Wood Elves like in the animated movie. Wenzel captures the splendor of Middle Earth with plenty of detail and vivid colors.

If your children (or you) are into comic books, this might be just the trick to get them "into" Middle Earth without losing much of Tolkien's magic or his moral compass. Bilbo certainly is not perfect. But his down-to-earth insights ("as my father used to say...") and courage in spite of himself are characteristics that we can emulate today.

The Magician's Book: Narnia from a Skeptic's View

2008-12-29T21:02:00.000-08:00

When I began to see reviews of The Magician's Book online, it looked like another attempt by a non-believer to discredit Christianity. But the more I read about it, the more I was intrigued. I was not disappointed.

As a child, Laura Miller found herself enchanted by The Chronicles of Narnia. But she became disenchanted upon finding out that there are many Christian symbols throughout the books. Subtitled "A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia," The Magician's Book is based on the author's relationship with the Chronicles throughout her life.

The book is divided into three sections. "Songs of Innocence" corresponds to her early days. It describes the relationship of children to fantasy. "Trouble in Paradise" talks about her rejection of the Chronicles after she finds out about their Christian source. It brings up the subject of Lewis's prejudices and personal life. "Songs of Experience" is about her study of Lewis's academic writings in relationship to the Chronicles.

The title, The Magician's Book, is a reference to the book that Lucy uses in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader to make the Dufllepods visible. The book contains a story that cannot be re-read, and that Lucy cannot remember later. However, the story has made such an impression that when she reads certain other stories in the future, they reminds her of the story in the Magician's book. For Miller, the Chronicles have become a book that will never be the same as it was when she first read it. But she does recognize the same feelings it evoked when she reads certain stories now.

Fans of Lewis may bristle as the writer reminds us of some of Lewis's prejudices. He was certainly not a perfect man, and although he lived in another time, we must wrestle with his views on other races and women. But I will not attempt to tackle that subject here. While Miller certainly makes her views against Christianity known, she does not resort to ad homien attacks. There is much that believers can profit from if they will empathize a little with her views.

Toward the end of the book, there is a chapter titled "The Third Road." It recounts an old Scottish ballad. There is a narrow road beset with thorns and briers--the path to righteousness. And there is the broad road lined with lilies--the path to wickedness. But there is also a third road, a beautiful road twisting through fern-covered hillsides--the road to Elfland. This road, says Miller

leads neither to heaven nor to hell, and it promises a place where the relentless moral weighing that Christianity imposes upon every action in this world simply doesn't apply.

This is apparently how the author is able to reconcile herself to her love for Narnia. The otherworldliness of Narnia can be enjoyed, and the references to Christianity ignored. Miller talks about the writings of Lewis and JRR Tolkien on mythology, and does an admirable job explaining their views. But what she does not wrestle with is their assertion that all myths point to Christ.

The Chronicles end in The Last Battle with a description of a New Narnia that is "more real" than anything they have yet experienced. Miller finds the perfection of this place boring. She contends that the lack of trouble and conflict means an end of stories. She would rather have the imperfections and the never-ending stories. But, just because we have yet to experience perfection does not mean it will be a time and place where nothing happens. A story without any tension is beyond what I can comprehend, but that is part of why it is so intriguing. Certainly the God who created us, and knows us better than we know ourselves, will have things for us to do that will be more enjoyable than any experience or story we have yet to encounter.

But what about the here and now? When Christ talked about the Broad Way and the Narrow Way, He never said that the Narrow Way was "beset with thorns and briers" and that the Broad way was lined with lilies. Whatever road we choose, there will hardship along the way. But Christ said that He came that we might have "life more abundantly." Believers not only have Heaven to look forward to, but a perspective on life that is a reason for enjoying Earth, too. Certainly that's also what Lewis was trying to convey in the Chronicles. But I'll have to leave that for another day.

The Christmas Perpective on Winter

2008-12-20T05:16:00.000-08:00

Winter begins, officially, Sunday. But many of us have been experiencing winter weather already for quite some time. Places which normally have a comparatively mild December, such as Portland and Seattle on the west coast, have already seen more winter than they normally do all year. The inconveniences and irritations of winter are, I'm sure, especially poignant to those who have thought they had escaped it by moving to a more moderate climate.

Even for us who are used to cold, snowy winters, the phrase by C S Lewis in his first Narnia book, "always winter and never Christmas," takes on new meaning when we take the snow brush and ice scraper to the windshield one more time. I even found myself in my Facebook status wishing "out loud" that I lived much further south.

This all seems incongruous when we start hearing Christmas songs like "I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" or "Let It Snow." What is so wondrous about this Winter Wonderland when you are shoveling out your driveway? But it seems that the nostalgic connection of Christmas with snow overcomes our irritations. Perhaps that is part of what Lewis meant--that Christmas makes winter "worth it."

The ancient pagans celebrated the "Yule-tide" this time of year because of the winter solstice. The sun had retreated to it farthest point south, and this was the time it would begin its return north. Thus the promise of returned warmth even during the coming months when the world they knew was at its coldest. Lewis quickly captures this aspect of the coming of Christmas. Just after Father Christmas arrives, things begin to thaw, and spring soon arrives.

With Christmas comes not only the promise of spring, and the rejuvenation of everything around us, but also the promise of New Life to each individual. Jesus called it being "born again." That is why He came--to give His life so that we might have a rejuvenation of the soul. That does not mean everything will immediately "thaw" like it does in Narnia. As long as we are in these mortal bodies we will not taste the fullness of spring that awaits. But we can experience a springtime in the soul as we allow God to melt our hearts.

Getting Tolkien Wrong ...while being faithful to him

2008-11-30T15:11:00.000-08:00

Thirty-one years ago this month, a made-for-TV animated version of JRR Tolkien's The Hobbit made its debut on NBC.

After watching the 1977 animated version of The Hobbit this weekend, I am glad that Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro are making two movies. Much was lost by trying to squeeze the film into an hour-and-a-half (minus commercials) time slot. And, although Arthur Rankin Jr. and Jules Bass should be commended for their ground-breaking work as the first to attempt to put Middle-earth on screen, some of Tolkien's worst fears came true.

In a letter to his publisher in 1946 [Letters of JRR Tolkien, #107, p. 199], Tolkien complained about proposed illustrations for a German translation of The Hobbit. The illustrations were too "Disnified" for his taste. Little did he know what would be done to his characters when, not Disney, but the makers of Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman got a hold of them.

The teleplay by Romeo Muller was not bad; it won the Peabody award in 1978. It is faithful to the book, and uses much of the same wording Tolkien uses. But the interpretation of Tolkien by the animators leaves little to be desired. Bilbo is not badly represented, but the almost "Snow White" appearance of the Dwarves is not helpful. The Elves are much worse. The strange lighting surrounding Elrond's head is silly enough, but the portrayal of the wood elves as some sort of blue amphibian-like creatures makes no sense at all. And why does the Elvish King sound like he has an Austrian accent?

The use of song throughout the film was perhaps a good idea for its time, and it works as well as it does in previous Rankin/Bass TV productions, if you can get by Glenn Yarbrough's vibrato. The biggest problem seems to be that, although many of the lyrics seem to be taken right out of the book, the whole tone of the music, and the movie itself, is much more gloomy than the book. I miss the lightheartedness of the elves and Biblo's humorous taunting of the spiders.

In his review of the Rankin/Bass version of The Return of the King, Greg Wright pointed out that, despite its shortcomings, that movie does a good job conveying moral lessons to children. I do not have the same praise for The Hobbit. In fact, perhaps the greatest lesson of all in the book revolves around the Arkenstone, which is not even mentioned in the movie. The importance of doing what is right, even if it means standing up to your companions, is lost. There is only a comment by Bilbo that he does not understand war.

Even worse, the movie makes it appear (unintentionally or not) that Bilbo had run away from the fighting, which does not happen in the book. Bilbo is knocked unconscious in the book, but the movie makes it appear he just uses this as an excuse, and actually had abandoned his fellows and hidden from the battle. So much for conveying good lessons to your children.

My suggestion: Get yourself a copy of the book and spend time reading it to your children and grandchildren. You will all profit from that experience more than watching the movie together. We'll see how much profit the next version of the story will bring in 2010.

Two Jacks Remembered

2008-11-22T17:18:00.000-08:00

November 22, 1963--45 years ago today. Two Jacks passed on into eternity. One was known for the fantasy world he created; the other for the fantasy world created around him by his public image. Most of us know more about Narnia and "Camelot" than we do about the men behind their fantasy worlds.

Behind the legends were men who made a difference in the world. C S "Jack" Lewis left a profound influence on religion, and John "Jack" F. Kennedy left a profound influence on politics, although some of their ideas are now seen as outdated.

May God send us another pair of Jacks for such a time as this.

Change: Calculating for the Dragon

2008-11-15T17:08:00.000-08:00

Last week I ruminated a bit about a comment Nikabrik the Dwarf made in Prince Caspian. “To speak plainly, your wallet’s empty, your eggs addled, your fish uncaught, your promises broken. Stand aside then and let others work.” This week I was reminded of a comment made by JRR Tolkien in The Hobbit. It seems that conservative political writers know their C S Lewis and JRR Tolkien!

The scene is in chapter 12, "Inside Information." Bilbo has just taken a "two-handled cup" from the hoard of Smaug the Dragon. The Dwaves are enjoying the moment when the narrator gives a foreboding observation: "It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him."

It is relatively easy to grab a trophy and run, but it is not easy dealing with the dragon. It was far too easy for Congress to come up with a "Bailout" plan, but it will be far more difficult to deal with the economic Dragon that has lain hidden for many years. The powers that be, including Congress, the Administration and Wall Street, did nothing while the Dragon of predatory lending and other shady dealings was left to slumber until the day of its awakening.

The Dwarves were fortunate that Providence was on their side, and Bilbo turned out to be a shrewd negotiator in the end. As Gandalf says at the end of the book:

You don't really suppose, do you, that all your adventures and escapes were managed by mere luck, just for your sole benefit? You are a very fine person, Mr. Baggins, and I am very fond of you; but you are only quite a little fellow in a wide world after all!

Bilbo agrees, saying, "Thank goodness!" I think perhaps Tolkien intended more in those two words than just a common expression of relief.

I wonder how much Providence will continue to tolerate our excesses. And I wonder if we shall ever find a leader with the quality and humility of Bilbo.

Change: Nikabrik's Empty Wallet Speech

2008-11-08T05:18:00.000-08:00

In the book Prince Caspian, Nikabrik the Dwarf sums up his assessment of the Narnian's situation with this judgment: "To speak plainly, your wallet's empty, your eggs addled, your fish uncaught, your promises broken. Stand aside then and let others work." This seems to capture the mood of our country as we approached the 2008 election.

The tide of politics has its ebb and flow, and, depending on your point of view, the tide has now either flowed or ebbed for the good or the bad. The majority of voters, although not the predicted landslide, have apparently decided to have the audacity to hope. But many conservatives are wondering if Nikabrik and his comrades have conjured up the White Witch.

I was reminded of Nikabrik's words in an article in Worldmag.com about the life of Joseph. As we approach the Thanksgiving season in the midst of economic turmoil, what do we have to be thankful for? Joseph's life certainly had turmoil, but Andrée Seu's article reminds us to be thankful in every situation. God is working out everything for good.

As we approach Thanksgiving, many are hurting. Jobs are being lost every day. What is God trying to teach us? Will Obama be able to step up to the plate and guide us to a better future? Will our congressional leaders be able to resist corruption and stand for the American people? I do not know the answers to these questions. But I do know that God is in control, and have the audacity to hope that He, at least, knows what He's doing.

Dramatizing Christ: How it All Started

2008-11-01T05:33:00.000-07:00

Dorothy L. Sayers. An enigmatic woman to say the least. Probably most famous for her Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series, Miss Sayers was also a writer of "religious" plays and other works with theological themes. In a time and place where representing any member of the Trinity on stage had been illegal, The Man Born to Be King was groundbreaking, to say the least.

Sayers' "Play-Cycle" was presented on BBC radio during World War Two from December 1941 through October 1942. The series was so popular that a book of the plays, including all the director's notes, was published in 1943. In the Foreword to that book, J. W. Welch, the Director of Religious Broadcasting of the B.B.C., commented (page 12)

The minimum duty of religious broadcasting to those outside the churches is to say: "Listen: This is the truth about the world, and life, and you". But how were we to say it so people would listen? Conventional church services and religious talks were of little avail. Obviously, something new was needed.

The archaic language of the Authorized King James version was a hindrance to people understanding the reality of which it speaks. While using the King James verbage in the introductory narratives, Sayers put the dialogue in the language of mid-20th-century England. Although criticized by much of the religious community for the "liberties" she took, she connected with the people.

Before there were books, Truth was spread by word of mouth. After the invention of writing, God instructed His followers to record his teachings in The Book. We are now in a time when communication had come to the point where video can be transported around the world in an instant by satellite and the Internet. Certainly God is using these means to reveal Himself to the world.

That is not to say that movies about the life of Christ have the same weight as the inspired scriptures. The Bible is the final authority. But the Truth of scripture is not dead dogma. It is "alive and powerful," and must be presented as such to the world. Christ came into the world (in a sense) as a dramatization of deity. As we seek to dramatize the deity through modern technology, we must remember to present Truth in love. Part of that love is conveying Christ in a language and manner that will resonate with the common man, woman and child.

The Man Born to be King was published as recently as 1990 by Ignatius Press. Used copies are available on Amazon.com and other online resources. It is said that C S Lewis read the book every Easter.

Remembering C S Lewis

2008-08-16T06:21:00.000-07:00

If you have yet to read C.S. Lewis Remembered (2006 Zondervan), you are missing some great insights into the enigmatic author of such diverse books as The Chronicles of Narnia series, Mere Christianity, and English Literature in the Sixteenth Century excluding Drama. Remembered is a compilation of interviews with and essays by those who had contact with Lewis through the years as colleague, student, acquaintance or friend. It also includes a reprint of an interview on Science Fiction Lewis did for SFHorizons Magazine shortly before his death.

The picture that emerges of "Jack," as his friends called him, is of a highly intelligent scholar relentless in the pursuit of truth, yet winsomely jovial and generous to a fault. The contributors for this book do not all share Lewis's faith, but they are all admirers. Those who are believers are not all of the same "stripe" of Christianity. Many comment how Lewis, while living out his Faith, did not try to "ram it down their throats."

In the 1950's Dorothy L. Sayers*, author of the play The Man Born to Be King, wrote an essay for the magazine World Theater (Winter 1955-56) titled "Playwrights are not Evangelists." Her argument was that Christian playwrights should above all strive to produce good plays, rather than merely seek to evangelize. "A drama (or any other work of art) will not by itself make anybody a Christian. It can provoke attention and stir the heart..." but not convert the soul.

What Sayers wrote about playwrights applies equally to the works of Lewis, including his so-called theological works. When he set out to write a novel, I do not think he was thinking of the best way to manipulate people in order to turn them to God. He was seeking to write a good story. Nor did he assume that his non-fiction would create Christians. Certainly his desire was to be convincing, but he knew that intellectual persuasion and emotional manipulation are not the same as conversion. Salvation comes by the Word of God through the power of the Spirit of God. (1 Peter 1:23, Romans 10:17, Titus 3:5)

Perhaps the most persuasive argument for Christianity is a life well lived. C. S. Lewis lived his faith, as testified by those who knew him. Christians should strive to be the best they can be in whatever vocation in which they find themselves. If you are a playwright, be the best playwright you can be. If you are a novelist, be the best novelist you can be. I make my living as a welder. Living the Christian life, for me, means being the best welder I can be. Good craftsmanship will not convert the soul. but hopefully it will "provoke interest" so that I can be an influence. Whether my writing "provokes interest" I leave to you to decide.

*Sayers was an Oxford graduate who was friend of Lewis, mostly through written correspondence, and admirer of Charles Williams, a member of the Inklings--a writers group that included Lewis and JRR Tolkien. She is famous for her "religious" plays performed during World War 2, and her earlier Lord Peter Wimsey detective stories.

Narnia.mobi: Birthday Present or Cybersquatting?

2008-08-04T04:34:00.000-07:00

Wow! It's hard to believe that it's been a month since I made a Blog entry here. For those of you who follow my Narnia News Blog on Hollywood Jesus, you will know about the complaint that was filed by the C S Lewis Company against a Scottish couple who purchased the domain name Narnia.mobi. I will not go into all the details here. You can read about it yourself on HJ by going to these articles: Birthday Present Leads to Web Dispute, Narnia.mobi Decision Due Tomorrow, Narnia Domain Name Decision. Be sure to read the comments attached to the articles, as these were used to update the information.

When the news first came out about the decision of the C S Lewis Company to file a complaint against the Scottish couple who bought the domain name Narnia.mobi, I was rather indignant. To take action against someone for wanting to provide an extra-special birthday gift for their child seemed rather uncalled for.

But as Proverbs 18:17 reminds us: "The first speech in a court case is always convincing—until the cross-examination starts!" [The Message Bible] It seems that the Saville-Smiths were not exactly forthcoming with all the significant details when they were interviewed by the Press. In fact, it appears that the story about wanting to give their son a birthday present was just that--a story. The conclusion by the experts at IPKat was that

...their actual motives had very little to do with simply getting a nice birthday present for their son. Instead, their acts of registering so many domain names now makes them appear like classic cybersquatters, but perhaps with a particular talent for tales of fantasy.

Jesus told His followers that we are to be "wise as serpents, and harmless as doves." [Matthew 10:16] Rather than this being a case of The Man oppressing the little guy, as this has been presented in much of the Press, perhaps it would be much more accurate to portray this as discerning followers of Christ practicing wisdom. Let's look at a couple facts.

First of all, the testimony presented in this case overwhelmingly shows that the Saville-Smiths' intent was to make money off a protected trademark, not to buy their son a birthday present. It is true that while C S Lewis was alive he gave most of the proceeds from his Narnia works to charity, but this is certainly different than allowing someone to steal copyrighted material. The Saville-Smiths certainly are not a charity case!

Secondly, the C S Lewis Company is not in the habit of filing litigation against those who use the "Narnia" name. Those who follow the law, and use the name for a legitimate non-commercial purpose, have been left alone. A quick search of the Internet bears this out. Here are some examples: NarniaWeb.com, NarniaFans.com, NarniaStory.com, Narnia.org and Narnia.Freeservers.com.

So, where are all the royalties that are paid to the Lewis estate going? That seems to be a bit of a mystery. Besides lawyer's fees, apparently the money is put in trust. (See this article in the November 6, 2005 Sunday Times.) What the money is being used for seems to be a mystery. I certainly hope that Lewis's interest in helping the needy is being carried forward.

The Chronicles of the Inklings

2008-07-04T05:58:00.000-07:00

I suppose that the title I have chosen for this article is a spoiler for the book I am about to review. But, I am wondering why anyone would bother reading Here, There Be Dragons (Book 1 of The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica, by James A. Owen; Simon & Schuster) unless they knew that it was about the fictional adventures of the three most famous Inklings: JRR Tolkien, CS Lewis and Charles Williams. Award-winning Science Fiction writer and political activist Orson Scott Card is quoted on the the back of the book's dust jacket:

Is there anyone who wouldn't enjoy reading Here, There Be Dragons? If there is such a person, I haven't met him, and I doubt that I would like him if I did. I am only disappointed that, because this book is so new, I'll have to wait too long to read the sequels.

Well, Mr. Card has not met me. Would he like me? I guess he would have reason to doubt it. I found Dragons an interesting read, but not enjoyable. I was interested enough to plow through to the end, but I did not enjoy the plowing very much. Owen tries to be clever and original; but I found him to be rather annoying and predictable. And his research and grasp of vocabulary is a bit pathetic.

The book begins by bringing the main players together in 1917 due to the death of an Oxford professor. I suppose Owen thinks himself surreptitious by using only first names and not fully identifying the Inklings until the end of the book. While correctly identifying CS Lewis with the name Jack, at the end of the book he mistakenly attributes the source of the nickname to WH Lewis, Lewis's brother. Lewis chose the name "Jack" or "Jacksie" for himself--it did not originate with his brother.

Even worse, JRR Tolkien is identified as "John." Although this is Tolkien's correct first name, he was always called by his second name, "Ronald." His friends knew him as "Ron," "Ronnie" or "Tollers"--never "John." Owen does correctly convey that "John" has been in the hospital, but incorrectly assumes that a young man suffering with Trench Fever would be able to participate in strenuous adventures. On page 6, he indicates that the disease, pyrexia, was just the body reacting to the stresses of war "and manifested its protest with a general weakness of the limbs and constant fever." But Trench Fever is not a reaction to stress. It is a serious disease transmitted by lice. The only cure at the time was rest--something "John" do not get much of in this story.

Not only is the research lacking, but some of his vocabulary is inaccurate. For example, on page 275, Owen incorrectlly equates the word "casualties" with only those killed in the battle. However, "casualties," by definition, includes the wounded, not just the dead.

I suppose I could have gotten by these annoyances if the story itself was at all captivating. It was not. Tolkien, and especially Lewis, have been criticized for the hodgepodge nature of their fiction. Dragons is much worse. The premise of the book is that the fiction of the Inklings and other writers were based on their adventures in the lands of the Imaginarium Geographica. But the book results in a poorly sown patchwork quilt rather than what could be taken for materials that could be used to create Narnia, Middle-earth, and other lands of the imagination. It reminds me of what Glumpuddle says to the Witch in The Silver Chair when she tries to enchant them into believing there is no land of Narnia above.

Suppose we have only dreamed, or made up, all those things – trees and grass and sun and moon and stars and Aslan himself. Suppose we have. Then all I can say is that, in that case, the made-up things seem a good deal more important than the real ones. Suppose this black pit of a kingdom of yours is the only world. Well, it strikes me as a pretty poor one. And that’s a funny thing, when you come to think of it. We’re just babies making up a game, if you’re right. But four babies playing a game can make a play-world which licks your real world hollow. That’s why I’m going to stand by the play world. I’m on Aslan’s side even if their isn’t any Aslan to lead it. I’m going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn’t any Narnia. So, thanking you kindly for our supper, if these two gentlemen and the young lady are ready, we’re leaving your court at once and setting out in the dark to spend our lives looking for Overland. Not that our lives will be very long, I should think; but that’s small
loss if the world’s as dull a place as you say.

Lewis believed that the world to come would be like this world, only more real. Narnia was written to help us appreciate the glimpses of that reality that are mirrored in our own world. Unfortunately, Dragons only creates a duller world than we have around us. I know I have profited from visiting Narnia and Middle-earth. I do not feel the same about Owen's Imaginarium Geographica.

James A. Owen's The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica series includes Here, There Be Dragons (Oct. 2006) and The Search for the Red Dragon (Jan. 2008). The third book of the trilogy, The Indigo King, is slated for publication this October, 2008.

A Mid-Summer Night's Dream for Venezuela

2008-06-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

Summer Solstice. What they used to call Mid-Summer. This Mid-Summer night, the latest Chronicles of Narnia Walden/Disney film, Prince Caspian, opens in cines throughout Venezuela. Mid-Summer is mentioned in the book (in the middle of Chapter 15), but not in the movie.

The Christmas Season certainly was appropriate for The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. Some have thought that summer was the wrong season for Prince Caspian, but perhaps it is a bit of providence that it is playing this time of year. Michael Ward, the author of Planet Narnia, may have been incorrect when he suggested that the month "Greenroof" was equivalent to our month of March. It seems to me that June, the time when the trees are completing their Green Roof over the forests, is probably the correct seting for the book. Plus, early apples might be found in June, but never in March. (Of course, this one small objection does not negate all the fine work Ward has done.)

Some have suggested that Lewis's reference to Mid-Summer is somehow Satanic. This is despite the fact that Chapter Twelve ("Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance") is obviously an admonishment against occult practices. (For my view on Bacchus, see Divine Revelers: The god of wine helps awaken Narnia.)

God Himself is the One who gave us Mid-Summer. This goes back to the beginning when he created everything. Genesis 1: 14-18 (NKJV) declares:

Then God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens to
divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs and seasons, and for
days and years; "and let them be for lights in the firmament of the
heavens to give light on the earth"; and it was so. Then God made two great
lights: the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the
night. He made the stars also. God set them in the firmament of the heavens
to give light on the earth, and to rule over the day and over the
night, and to divide the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was
good.

The placement of the Sun and Moon and Stars is God's idea. Recognizing the cycle of the seasons is (or should be) recognizing Him.

Happy Mid-Summer!

Prince Caspian Resources

2008-06-10T13:12:00.000-07:00

I found a British web site that has some great resources for discussing the lessons found in Prince Caspian.

Prince Caspian is Here!

2008-05-24T06:09:00.000-07:00

The long-anticipated Prince Caspian is now playing in theaters. If you would like to read my coverage of the movie on Holywood Jesus, please visit Narnia News. For my review of the movie, follow this link: The Pirates of Narnia.

I have also been posting transcripts from interviews with the film's cast and writers. The interviews were conducted by a panel of reporters in New York City on May 3. The interviews, as well as other Feature articles, can be found in Hollywood Jesus' Narnia Features.

I hope you come by Hollywood Jesus and pay me a visit this Memorial Day weekend. Have a great holiday.

Divine Revelers: The god of wine helps awaken Narnia

2008-05-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

Note: This Blog entry was published earlier as a book review on Hollywood Jesus in a slightly altered form.

There is a painting by Pauline Baynes that graced the front of the paperback version of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe for years in Great Britain. (This cover was not available on American editions until recently.) The scene is just after Aslan is resurrected and Lucy and Susan are dancing with him.

This passage in The Lion (near the end of Chapter 15) is reminiscent of the New Testament account of the resurrection, as well as other events in the life of Jesus Christ. The loud cracking of the Stone Table is like the earthquake and splitting of the Veil in the Temple. After realizing Aslan is real, Lucy and Susan “flung themselves upon him and covered him with kisses.” On Easter morning, Mary clings to Jesus when she realizes He is not just the gardener. (John 20:17 NKJV, NASB) In Luke 17 a woman anoints Christ’s feet and keeps kissing His feet.

After Aslan tells the girls about the Deeper Magic, the “romp” begins. Chasing, leaping, scrambling–”whether it was more like playing with a thunderstorm or playing with a kitten Lucy could never make up her mind.” The romp only takes up one paragraph, but it would have taken up a few minutes on film, if the writers of the Walden/Disney adaptation of the book had chosen to put it into the movie. I am sure they felt that the film needed to move on at that point. After all, a battle is going on, and Aslan has work to do. So the movie bypasses the Romp and goes straight to the Roar.

Aslan’s Romp in Prince Caspian takes up much more than one paragraph, although it begins after the Roar. Strangely, after the trees are awakened, Aslan is is joined (in the book) by a exotic group led by a young boy with a wild face, who is followed by “wild girls” and a fat man on a donkey. Lucy and Susan soon recognize that the boy is Bacchus, whom they had learned about from Mr. Tumnus long ago. The fat man is Silenus. (If you have seen the original version [1940] of the Disney movie Fantasia, you may recall the scene of the fat man on a donkey during Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony. Disney morphs Bacchus and Silenus into one person.) Why is Lewis introducing the Greek god of wine and his drunken teacher into the story?

At the very end of Chapter 11, Susan makes the comments that she “wouldn’t have felt safe with Bacchus and all his wild girls if we’d met them without Aslan.” The inclusion of Bacchus was an attempt at “redeeming” the pagan myths, as Lewis often did in his fictional works. As he explains in his autobiographical book, Surprised by Joy, mythology was one of the things that awakened a sense of Joy in Lewis during his early life. Lewis defines this “Joy” in Chapter 1 as “an unsatisfied desire which is itself more desirable than any other satisfaction.” It is a desire for something other and outer, that he later finds only to be fulfilled in a relationship with God.

Prince Caspian is perhaps the most personal of the Chronicles for Lewis. Devin Brown asks in the title of a recent article for Christianity Today Movies, “Is Caspian Really C. S. Lewis?” The parallels between Lewis and Caspian are striking. The relationship of Lewis and his nurse, who told him Irish folktales, mirrors Caspian’s nurse, who told the Prince of the Old Days of Narnia.
When we leave Lucy and Susan at the end of Chapter 11, we follow the boys and Trumpkin to Aslan’s How. “The Sorcery” must be dealt with. Lewis believed that sin was trying to fulfill legitimate desire in an illegitimate way. The desire for restoration of enchantment to Narnia was a good thing. But will the Narnians trust Aslan and wait for him, or seek power elsewhere? Lewis had a fascination for the Occult, which he had to deal with in his personal life. The Specter of the White Witch must be dealt with at Aslan’s How.

Lewis was also concerned that the ideals of chivalry had been lost in the modern world. Thus we have Peter’s challenge to Miraz to monomachy– a fight to the death to establish who will be the rightful king. Peter demonstrates the chivalrous attitude throughout the fight, but the Telmarines are intent on treachery. They did not count on the awakened trees, however, and are soundly defeated. They have to throw down their arms as they try to flee back across the river and find the Bridge of Bernuna has disappeared.

The last half of Chapter 14 tells about how Bacchus helps destroy the bridge and then goes on another romp through the town. As people join them, the group is described by Lewis as “divine revelers.” This is not the drunken debauchery usually associated with Bacchus, but a celebration of the liberation of Narnia from an oppressive regime. The freedom extends even to the schools in town. Students are freed from the “sort of ‘History’ that was taught in Narnia under Miraz’s rule [which] was duller than the truest history you ever read and less true than the most exciting adventure story.”

A girl from one of the schools join the group, and they “helped her take off some of the unnecessary and uncomfortable clothes she was wearing.” Lewis is not here promoting lasciviousness, like Bacchus of old would have. The girl is not being lewd, but is breaking free from the stuffy uniform that was worn by students in that day, including “ugly tight collars round their necks and thick tickly stockings on their legs.” In Chapter 2 of Surprised by Joy (”Concentration Camp”), Lewis describes what a school uniform was like for the boys.

Now I am choking and sweating, itching too, in thick dark stuff, throttled by an
Eton collar, my feet already aching with unaccustomed boots. I am wearing
knickerbockers that button at the knee. Every might … I am able to see the red,
smarting imprint of those buttons in my flesh when I undress. Worst of all is
the bowler hat, apparently made of iron, which grasps my head.

Part of what Lewis is trying to convey, I think, is that committed Christians can have fun without having to be drunk–or worse. But you don’t have to be a “stuffed shirt” in order to follow Christ. There is a liberation that Christians know which allows us to celebrate life. Unfortunately, many who call themselves Christians have not discovered that freedom in Christ. With all that Christ has done for us, the Christian life should be one of celebration. We could all use a little redeemed Bacchus in our lives.

Time Flies When You're Having Fun in Narnia

2008-05-09T20:49:00.001-07:00

Has it really been three weeks since my last post? Sorry about that. I have, to say the least, been very busy. Last weekend was the "Press Junket" for the latest Chronicles of Narnia move, Prince Caspian. This was my first time in New York, and the first time I was able to participate in interviewing cast members and writers of a movie! To read about my experience, check out these entries in the Narnia News Blog I write at Hollywood Jesus.

Live from the New York Press Screening

The New York Experience

Interviews and Contemplation

My review of the movie is scheduled to appear on Hollywood Jesus on May 16. I am also writing a Feature article on the book, which I hope to have published this Sunday. So stay tuned!

Here are some pictures I took in New York of Central Park and the Hotel where I stayed.

Expelled from Narnia: Is Intelligent Design just another fairy tale?

2008-04-19T06:54:00.000-07:00

"That's all nonsense, for babies... Only fit for babies, do you hear?"

"Who has been telling you all this nonsense?"

"Who has been telling you this pack of lies?"

"And never let me catch you talking -- or thinking either -- about all those silly stories again. ... do you hear?"

Prince Caspian has been telling his uncle, Miraz the usurper, about Aslan and the Old Days of Narnia when animals could talk. Miraz' response sounds like the reaction of many to those who believe God, or some Intelligence, had something to do with life as we know it today. Agnostic academics, such as Richard Dawkins and P.Z. Meyers, clearly want God left out of science. Miraz expels Caspian's Nurse from the Knigdom, and if the movie Expelled can at all be believed, biologists who even mention the fairy tale of "Design" are being expelled from the Academic Kingdom.

Of course, detractors of the film claim that the "expelled" were not removed from their jobs because they questioned whether unaided and unguided evolution was enough to give us the complexity of life (and in lifeforms) that we have today. But the "expelled" in the film at least perceive that this was the reason. It does seem evident to me, just from reaction to the balanced coverage Greg Wright has been doing on the movie, that opposition to the concept of Design is fierce. So it is not hard to deduce that there must be something to this.

But what of Intelligent Design? Is the concept credible? Or is it just Creationist Fable? The movie, as well as I.D. opponents, seem to lump Creationists and I.D.-ers into one basket. Stein, et al., are a bit inconsistent, at one point trying to show their differences, but, ultimately, failing to differentiate the two at all. The film, especially the closer we get to the end, seems to be about contrasting the agnostic approach with any approach that includes God. Theistic Evolutionists included.

Is it really so incredible to include God in science? Or do we need to push Him as far out of the debate as possible to avoid the conflict of Church and State? Or is pushing Him out of the debate an affront to our freedoms, as Stein asserts? There certainly seem to be political agendas on both sides.

I like what the Webmaster at Hollywood Jesus, David Bruce, had to say about all this:

Nearly everyone believes there is something more behind creation of the
universe than just mere chance. Is it any surprise that most evolutionists
believe in God? The big question is not evolution, but rather what are we
doing to connect with both the creation and the creator?

This article also appears on Hollywood Jesus, in a slightly altered from.

Prince Caspian: Anticipation is keeping me ... speculating

2008-04-07T18:11:00.000-07:00

Four weeks from this coming Friday, I am scheduled to take flight (in an airplane--although I expect to be flying high emotionally, too) to New York to see a pre-screening of the new Chronicles of Narnia film, Prince Caspian. I plan to write a preview article the early part of May, and then a more complete review the weekend the movie is released across the U.S. (Prince Caspian hits theaters May 16.)

In light of rumors about the film (some apparently well-substantiated), I thought a preview before the preview was in order. The movie is not going to be exactly like the book, to say the least. This is unsettling to many Narnia fans, but apparently necessary. I reported in Hollywood Jesus' Narnia News Blog in February that NariaFans.com had posted an exclusive interview with Douglas Gresham, C.S. Lewis’s step-son and co-producer of the Chronicles of Narnia movies. Here are his comments about the changes:

Well we did have a bit of a problem with making Prince Caspian the book into
Prince Caspian the movie. You see, its largely a book of walking and talking.
The kids arrive in Narnia and then Trumpkin arrives and they all sit down and he
tells them the story of Prince Caspian. So if we had stuck to the book half the
movie would be four kids and a dwarf sitting round a camp fire talking. And then
they all get up and go for a nice long walk in the woods, arrive at the other
end and there’s a battle. Now this all works very well in the book, but it would
make a very poor movie. What we needed to do was to find a way of making the
story of Prince Caspian integral to that of the four Pevensies and carry both
through the whole movie. The raid is a part of that process. Its never as easy
as you think.

The "Night Raid" was one of the first "changes" to the book that hit the Internet rumor mills. This is as good a place to start as any.
Warning: The balance of this article will contain spoilers and speculations about the movie.

The Night Raid
In a recent Disney Insider, director/producer/co-writer Andrew Adamson gave some insights into the ideas he incorporated into the movie. “I thought it would be interesting if mythological creatures like the Narnians invaded Miraz’s medieval castle. It’s an image I’ve never seen before.” This is apparently the Night Raid that has been talked about on the Internet since at least last September. It is hard to imagine how this is going to fit, as it happens (according to Rpin Suwannath, previsualization supervisor for the movie) "only halfway through the story." I hope that this sequence is not all about the Narnian creatures taking revenge on the Telemarines. I am concerned by what Quint from Ain't It Cool News said in his report about the 45-minute preview he saw: "...these young teens and CG creatures [were] wantonly killing hundreds of soldiers." How this reconciles with Andrew Adamson's statement to MSM that the movie is "more intense, but it’s not bloody or gory," I'm not sure. Anyway, accoring to Quint, the "Raid" does not go well, and humbles Peter, who planned the attack.

Conflict between Caspian and Peter
The impression I get from the reports I've seen over the past several months is that Prince Caspian meets up with the Pevensies much earlier in the film (perhaps at Cair Paravel) than in the book. This gives more time to develop the tense relationship between Caspian and Peter. In the Disney Insider interview, Adamson remarks that "at one point Caspian’s consumed with vengeance, further escalating the conflict between him and Peter." I think this could be a good thing. Caspian has gone though the crucible, and it will be good to see the inevitable emotions worked through and resolved.

Reepicheep's Size
This might seem a very minor point, but it was important enough to C S Lewis that he described Reepicheep's size more than once, and Lewis is not big on details. From the small amount of footage (in trailers and commercials) I have seen, it looks that Reepicheep might appear on screen as a regular-size mouse. He is almost two feet in the book. I can't find it right now, but Lewis says somewhere in the books that the smaller talking animals are bigger than "normal," and the bigger ones are smaller than their non-speaking counterparts.

The White Witch
Narnia fans have been perplexed about the appearance of The White Witch in Prince Caspian. Isn't she dead? I think what the film creators are trying to do is to reproduce in a visual way the intensity of the scene in Chapter 12, "Sorcery and Sudden Vengeance." Talking about conjuring up her ghost works for the book. Visualizing her "in ice" might just work better on film.

The Relationship Between Caspian and Susan
Adamson has said that one of the prevailing themes in the movie is "the passage into adulthood." Part of growing up is learning to relate to the opposite sex. It has been reported that in the movie, Caspian and Susan flirt with each other. The reaction by fans of the book seems to be overwhelmingly negative to these reports. "This can't be; it doesn't line up with what happens in the other books." I happen to disagree. Although there is no hint of flirting in the book, I think this might be a good thing. Let me try to explain.
As I've indicated before, Lewis does not provide much detail, so it seems appropriate to "read between the lines." I think this is a good read. Here is an exiled prince (at the hight of puberty) with no human companionship except the four Pevensies. Among them is an attractive girl about his age who is obviously cultured and refined. It only seems natural to me that there would be some kind of "spark" between them. Of course, this cannot become serious (especially if Walden and Disney are indeed serious about completing the series), but I see no problem with a bit of flirting.
We do know that Susan is left behind in this world in The Last Battle, but we do not know her final fate. She has put her social life (lipstick and nylons and invitations) above her belief in Narnia, but what affect will the death of her siblings have on her? Will she be restored much as Narnia is restored in Prince Caspian? I suspect we will still be left hanging when the movie series is completed--unless they decide to read between the lines...

This post also appears as an article at Hollywood Jesus.

Review of Michael Ward's "Planet Narnia"

2008-03-29T12:43:00.000-07:00

Last November I learned that a new scholarly work on The Chronicles of Narnia was coming out. Michael Ward had written an article promoting his book, Planet Narnia, in the December 2007 Touchstone Magazine. (The book was released in January of 2008.) I came across the article online while searching for news articles about the coming Prince Caspian movie. I was immediately intrigued, and wrote up a report for the Narnia News Blog I write for HollywoodJesus.com. (For more on the premise of Planet Narnia, see by Blog report and Ward's web site.)

One reason I was so intrigued is that scholarly works on The Chronicles of Narnia are few and far between. Ever since Walden and Disney announced they were working on the movie The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, there has been no shortage of books written about Narnia, but few of them would qualify, in my estimation, as scholarly. Certainly, these books have their place, and I'm sure many readers are grateful for the help they have received. But Planet Narnia portended to go deeper, beyond the fluff and quickly recognizable "lessons" that can be learned by the books. (Not that we don't need to be "hit over the head" with the obvious once in awhile.)

Don't let Ward's "deepness" intimidate you, though. As should be obvious to anyone who has ever read any of my articles, I am a person of not much more than average intelligence, yet I was able to follow the book very adequately. I do admit that some of the literary references were a bit over my head, and Ward's vocabulary is much more advanced than my own. But I was not more lost than I imagine an American motorist touring in Paris would be--the words on the street signs might be difficult, but the International symbols would be enough to give direction. He paints a vivid enough picture that you can figure out the "foreign" words--especially if you have a good dictionary handy. Armand M. Nichol put it this way in his endorsement of the book (from the back of the dust jacket):

Michael Ward presents an absorbing learned analysis of C. S. Lewis's best-selling and beloved series, The Chronicles of Narnia. Readily accessible to the average reader, Ward's book reads so much like a detective story that it's difficult to put down.

I had exactly that experience when I read the book. Having recently re-read the Chronicles myself, my reaction on page after page was "Yes. I see. I understand exactly what you mean. That makes so much sense."

The other reason that the book intrigued me is that it included a part of Lewis's life we do not hear much about. There have been books after books written about C. S. Lewis's Christianity, but little about his great love of poetry and medieval literature. The book centers around Lewis's fascination with the medieval concept of the Heavens. His poetry is filled with the Seven Planets, and his science fiction space trilogy (especially the last book, That Hideous Strength) is filled with medieval Planet imagery. How Lewis imaginatively integrated this love for the medieval cosmic understanding with his Christian beliefs is nothing short of amazing. It gives me a sense of what a genius he really was.

Not all Lewis fans are thrilled with Planet Narnia. In an interview Douglas Greshem, Lewis's step-son, did for Family Christian Stores, he called the idea that the Chronicles are based on The Seven Heavens "nonsense." Unfortunately, Greshem's objections seem to be based on a misimpression of what Ward is saying. I sincerely doubt that Greshem could have read the book. Ward does not believe that the books are "based" on the Seven Heavens, or Seven Planets, but that the Planets are purposefully hidden elements in the books. They provide atmosphere without being explicit.

Devin Brown, author of Inside Narnia and Inside Prince Caspian, apparently does not agree with Ward's premise at all. In an audio interview available from The Christian Studies Center at the University of Kentucky, Brown ridicules the "hidden element" concept. He likens this to someone noticing that The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe uses W's repeatedly and concluding that Lewis intentionally used W's as some sort of literary device to write his story. This seems to me to be a pile of straw. Ward's conclusions about Lewis's "imaginative strategy" (Ward's words from page 4 of the book) were based on Lewis's interests and writings, not just on patterns found in the 7 Chronicles. Lewis was not interested in something as insipid as basing a book on words beginning with W. He was definitely interested in medieval astronomy and hidden elements in Romance literature. I must conclude that Brown's reactions are based on an incomplete knowledge of Ward's book.

If you are interested in learning more about C. S. Lewis from someone who has studied his works much of his life, this book may be just what you are looking for. You will want to find a nice quiet place to read with no distractions, as this one will make you think. And it will make you appreciate the creator of Narnia more than you could have imagined.

Prince Caspian Preview in New York City

2008-03-19T18:15:00.000-07:00

This May I will be heading for New York city for a Press-only preview of the film Prince Caspian. I am told that this will be one of the first showings of the film after its "final cut." The screening of the film is scheduled for Friday evening, May 2, and there is supposed to be a time for interviewing those involved with the film the next day. See my previous post for information about my work with Hollywood Jesus.

Long Overdue Update!

2008-03-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

Thank you for visiting my Blog. Due to a recent death in the family, illness, and just plain busy-ness, I have not been able to update my Blog for quite awhile.

Notice: The domain name of my eBay Bookstore is not currently working due to some miscommunication with the host of that domain. IHaveanInklingBooks.com will not take you to my Store at this time. Please use http://stores.ebay.com/iHaveAnInkling Thank you.

Update, 19March, 2008 -- The problems with iHaveAnInklingBooks.com have been resolved. You should now be able to use that link. Sorry for any inconvenience.

I have been continuing the News Blog for Prince Caspian at Hollywood Jesus. You can view that Blog at http://live.hollywoodjesus.com/?cat=24

Recently I wrote an article for Hollywood Jesus about the ABC-TV series LOST. I examined the possible infuence C. S. Lewis might be having on the show. If you are interested, please visit http://live.hollywoodjesus.com/?p=1608

New Prince Caspian Widget!

2008-02-28T12:25:00.001-08:00

This is the new Prince Caspian Widget for the United States.

ABC's Lost's Narnia Connection Confirmed

2008-02-26T17:00:00.000-08:00

This blog entry (in a slightly altered form) first appeared as a "Narnia News Blog Update" on Hollywood Jesus 02/16/08.

As I reported last week, ABC's TV series "Lost" has a new character named Charlotte Staples Lewis. The name is obviously derived from Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis, the author of The Chronicles of Narnia series of seven children's books. Disney released the movie The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe in 2005 based on the first published book in the series. Prince Caspian, the second book to be published, will premiere as a Disney movie this May.

C.S. Lewis was called "Jack" by his friends, and it has been speculated that the character Jack in "Lost" somewhat represents C.S. Lewis's journey from Atheism (man of science) to Christianity (man of faith).

The first episode of Season 4 ("Confirmed Dead") was aired on February 7, and was rebroadcast February 14 in an "enhanced" version with clues and tidbits added to the bottom of the screen. This enhanced version is available online. (See below.) Starting at 23:56 in the episode, we receive confirmation that Lost's C.S. Lewis is indeed related to both the author and his books:

This is Charlotte Staples Lewis... she is an anthropologist. Her name is inspired by C.S. Lewis... author of The Chronicles of Narnia... a story of an unlikely passage... to a most unusual place.

Charlotte is seen in a flashback in a desert in Tunisia. She has learned about an archaeological dig there, and identifies some bones as that of a polar bear.

We've seen polar bears on the island... now here's evidence of the furry creatures... in another unlikely location.

Charlotte does some digging through the sand near the bones and finds a leather strap.

A DHARMA logo form the Hydra Station... the discovery is very important to Charlotte.

Polar Bears also come into play in Lewis's first Narnia book, pulling the White Witch's sleigh. It is also interesting to note that another of the "rescuers" is named Miles Straume*, which is a reference to "Maelstrom." "Maelstrom" originally referred to the tidal waters around Norway, and is important in their mythology. (In English, Maelstrom can refer to any Whirlpool-like phenomenon. The Asteroid Belt, which was thought by some scientists to be impassible, is often referred to by that name.) I mention this because the Disney Epcot Center ride "Maelstrom" in the Norway exhibit also has polar bears. Another inspiration?

To view the enhanced version of "Confirmed Dead" online click here, then select either 'Lost Season 4" or 'Lost Season 4 in HD Streaming" from the left-hand menu. Then click 'watch now" for "Confirmed Dead-Enhanced 02/15/08." (The date refers to when the episode was put online.)

*I am told Straume is also the name of a town in Norway.

Special "Super Tuesday" Edition: What DO We Want Changed?

2008-02-04T19:12:00.000-08:00

There are some mistakes which humanity has made and repented so often that there is now really no excuse for making them again. One of these is the injustice which every age does to its predecessor; for example, the ignorant contempt which the Humanists (even good Humanists like Sir Thomas More) felt for medieval philosophy or Romantics (even good Romantics like Keats) felt for eighteenth-century poetry. ... Why should we not give our predecessors a fair and filial dismissal?

So C. S. Lewis began "The Funeral of a Great Myth" (published posthumously in the anthology Christian Reflections, as I mentioned in a recent Blog entry). Lewis realized the wisdom in taking the good from those who have gone before us while we seek to improve and expand our knowledge today. We must be cautious of "throwing the baby out with the bathwater" as they used to say.

As we arrive at "Super Tuesday," it seems that every candidate is claiming to be the "Candidate of Change." America seems ripe for "change," and perhaps rightly so. But we must beware of change for change sake.

Jesus was certainly a catalyst for change, but even He said, "Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill." [Matthew 5:17 NKJV] "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old." [Luke 13:52] As we seek new and better ways of running government, we must not forget the old foundations.

We must also beware of the tendency of politicians to--how shall I put this politely--exaggerate to try to make a point about their opponent. This has been going as long on as our country has had elections. James Madison, in the Federalist No. 55, 15 February 1788, commented on the mudslinging going on even then:

As there is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust: So there are other qualities in human nature, which justify a certain portion of esteem and confidence. Republican government presupposes the existence of these qualities in a higher degree than any other form. Were the pictures which have been drawn by the political jealousy of some among us, faithful likenesses of the human character, the inference would be that there is not sufficient virtue among men for self-government; and that nothing less than
the chains of despotism can restrain them from destroying and devouring one another.

As we seek change, we need to not only be aware of the good of the past, but we must seek the truth in the present. Don't take what your favorite candidate says as the unvarnished truth--do some digging. When Jesus said, "The Truth shall set you free," He was speaking primarily of the truth about Himself. But the principle applies to other areas of life, not the least of which is politics. In this case, we may lose political freedoms if we are not careful to seek the truth. How often lies have led nations into slavery. With much freedom comes much responsibility. Choose wisely.

Will the Real Misogynist Please Stand Up?

2008-02-03T11:57:00.000-08:00

C. S. Lewis has frequently been criticized for his supposed prejudices. I have always had a hard time understanding this. Even while he was alive, Lewis was accused of being a misogynist--of having a prejudice against or hatred of women. Kathryn Lindskoog, who wrote several books about Lewis, had been told in the 1950's (by Dr. Clyde Kilby, no less) that Lewis was a woman-hater. Her meeting with him on July 20, 1956, while she was taking a summer graduate course at the University of London, showed otherwise. Unlike his portrayal in the 1994 movie Shadowlands, Lewis was not a "shy, socially inept man." He had a a fabulous sense of humor (He has been called the personification of "jovial."), and Lindskoog describes him as "the kindest man I have ever met."

Some have criticized Lewis's attitude of women in warfare. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Susan and Lucy are told to stay out of the battle because, as Father Christmas says, "battles are ugly when women fight." However, in The Last Battle, Jill Pole does play a major role in the fighting. In fact, the women (or girls) in The Chronicles are strong, important characters, not just window dressing. In A Horse and His Boy, Aravis runs away from her home country to escape an arranged marriage. Susan is praised when she rejects her betrothed after she finds out what he is really like. In The Last Battle, Susan is (indirectly) criticized, not for acting like a woman, but for her vanity (which men can be just as guilty of).

The women in Philip Pullman's trilogy His Dark Materials are also strong, important characters, but they also tend to be a bit stereotypical. The witches in the trilogy seduce men, but would rather really live apart from them. There are no male witches. There seems to be a parallel between the White Witch in The Chronicles, who uses her charms to bewitch (or try to bewitch) young men to her side.

Lyra is portrayed as a strong, independent woman in The Golden Compass, but there is a subtle change in the second book, The Subtle Knife. The leadership role is very much transferred from Lyra to Will. Lyra sees him as someone she can depend on when the Aletheometer tells her that he is a murderer. At this point Lyra sounds like a subject for Dr. Laura's 10 Stupid Mistakes Women Make to Mess Up Their Lives. I can just hear it: "Bad boys and the women who love them--next time on Montell Williams." To be fair to Will, he has killed in self-defense without intending to, but the Aletheometer does not make that distinction. Lyra is not setting an example here that I would want my daughter or granddaughter to follow.

Perhaps Pullman is trying to contrast Lyra with Mary Malone, a main character in The Amber Spyglass. Mary's name (M-alone), as well as the title to Chapter 7 ("Mary, Alone"), imply an independent spirit. Here is the ultimate strong woman of science who goes off by herself to save the world. Pullman often uses aloneness as a theme. Lyra and Will, although they have each other, at a critical point realize they have no one else to help them. They are like Frodo and Sam--if the "quest" is to be done, they will have to do it. Of course, in both tales there are those behind the scenes working to assist their success, but for their task, they are on their own.

The difference in The Chronicles is that Aslan is there, even when he cannot be seen. Pullman's universe has "Dust" to tell them what to do, but after that they are on their own. In Pullman's universe, Hope is in man. For C. S. Lewis, the Hope is in Aslan--in the Son of the Emperor Over the Sea--the Son of God.

Some helpful links:

2005 Article at GotReligion.org on criticism of C. S. Lewis be for the release of the first Narnia movie; see also the comments, especially #53

Kathryn Lindskoog article about meeting C. S. Lewis

Review of Surprised by Laughter: The Comic World of C.S. Lewis

Will the Republic of Heaven be Better?

2008-01-26T13:03:00.000-08:00

In the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Prince Caspian tells the Governor of the Lone Islands that the slave trade must stop. Governor Gumpas is flabbergasted. Price Caspian just doesn't understand the economics involved, he says.

"But that would be putting the clock back," gasped the governor. "Have you no idea of progress, of development?"

I have seen them both in an egg, said Caspian. "We call it 'Going Bad' in Narnia. This trade must stop."

A couple weeks ago I wrote a bit about what C. S. Lewis thought of Developmentalism--the idea that mankind is getting better and better all the time. Many think that if we were just not tied down with so many "unnecessary" restrictions, our Development would be faster. Philip Pullman seems to be calling for such a lifting of restrictions in his Dark Materials trilogy. Rather than being dominated by "The Kingdom of Heaven," Pullman calls for the creation of "The Republic of Heaven."

We in the United States know what it is to live in a Republic. The idea is to put power into the hands of the people rather than into a monarch or small group. The framers of the Constitution wanted the government to have as little power as possible--just enough to protect the People from invasion and from themselves. For this concept to work, for the People to rule themselves, the People must be "under God."

To grant that there is a supreme intelligence who rules the world and has established laws to regulate the actions of his creatures; and still to assert that man, in a state of nature, may be considered as perfectly free from all restraints of law and government, appears to a common understanding altogether irreconcilable. Good and wise men, in all ages, have embraced a very dissimilar theory. They have supposed that the deity, from the relations we stand in to himself and to each other, has constituted an eternal and immutable law, which is indispensably obligatory upon all mankind, prior to any human institution whatever. This is what is called the law of nature....Upon this law depend the natural rights of mankind. --Alexander Hamilton in The Farmer Refuted, 1775, quoted in the Founders Quote Database

The Founding Fathers talked about the truths which are "self-evident." They were speaking about the law of nature when they declared that "All men are created equal." (Unfortunately, not all the Founding Fathers were uninfluenced by the supposed dictates of "progress" and economic "necessity," and it took nearly 100 more years for our practice to catch up with our rhetoric.) Freedom was an inherent right given by God, not granted by governments.

In The Amber Spyglass, the final book of the His Dark Materials trilogy, after the Regent has died, someone says that it will only be a matter of time before someone takes his place. A power vacuum always seeks to be filled. People naturally desire someone or something to follow. We see this in history with "Republics" that have denied God. Communist Russia practically deified Lenin and Stalin. China did the same with Mao. Countries that do not believe that there is a God who has given us rights usually end up with governments that grant very few.

C. S. Lewis wrote about the Law of Nature in such works as Mere Christianity and The Abolition of Man. He points out that societies that never had contact with each other have similar moral codes and ethical structures. As Alex McFarland points out in the book Unshakable Faith, "That’s not to say that humans always do what is morally right; Lewis and others assert that all cultures, intuitively know what is right." There are self-evident truths that have, to one degree or another, affected cultures around the world. Murder, theft and adultery are taboo, while heroism, self-denial and honesty are applauded.

The same is true even in the cultures in His Dark Materials that have rejected the Magisterium. Pullman emphasizes over and over that although Will and Mr. Scoresby will kill to defend themselves or others, they abhor it. Will insists on leaving a gold coin whenever they have to take anything they need. The Witches seduce men, and one witch even kills a man who rejected her. But the point is made that at least his wife can be comforted knowing he was faithful. Many characters are praised for their heroism and self-denial, and even Lyra comes to realize that her lying ("the only thing I'm good at") will not avail in the end.

The Amber Spyglass, the last book in the series, ends with Lyra telling Pan that they were to build The Republic of Heaven now that The Kingdom of Heaven was over. The rule of the Magisterium certainly was oppressive. But will the Republic be any better? I have my doubts.

C. S. Lewis in Praise of Evolution

2008-01-13T19:15:00.000-08:00

Did you know that Phlip Pullman's His Dark Materials (the trilogy of which The Golden Compass is the first book) is actually based upon an idea that C. S. Lewis praised? It's true. In an essay posthumously published first in the anthology Christian Reflections, Lewis had this to say about what he termed "Popular Evolution or Developmentalism":

Not merely terrestrial organisms but everything is moving 'upwards and onwards'. Reason has 'evolved' out of instinct, virtue out of complexes, poetry out of erotic howls and grunts, civilization out of savagery, the organic out of inorganic, the solar system out of some sidereal soup or traffic block. And conversely, reason, virtue, art and civilization as we know them are only crude or embryonic beginnings of far better things--perhaps Deity itself--in the remote future. ... nothing seems more normal, more natural, more plausible, than that chaos should turn into order, death into life, ignorance into knowledge. ... It is one of the most satisfying dramas which have ever been imagined.

"Imagined." Lewis asserts that the popular view of Evolution, although a thrilling idea, is an imagined "Myth." In fact, this essay is entitled "The Funeral of the Great Myth." Popular Evolution or Developmentalism, Lewis says, must be kept separate from the Theory of Evolution as taught by "modern scientists."

I do not mean that the doctrine of Evolution as held by practising biologists is
a Myth. It may be shown, by later biologists*, to be a less satisfactory
hypothesis than was hoped fifty years ago [the beginning of the twentieth
century]. But that does not amount to being a Myth.

I assume that this essay was written in the early 1960's shortly before Lewis's death. His "funeral oration" for Popular Evolution seems rather premature. (Perhaps this is one reason the essay was not published while he was still alive.) But he does seem to be correct about the mythical nature of popularized Evolution. He asserts that Popular Evolution is different than Evolutionary Theory because it pre-dates Darwin, and because it differs in content from the "scientific theory." Lewis reminds us that the writings of Keats and Wagner were inspiration for the idea of Delelopmentalism, and pre-date The Origin of Species. Scientific Evolution is a biological theorem. Popular Evolution, with much of its emphasis on Man's improvement, tends to be rather metaphysical. As has been popularized especially in science fiction, it asserts that the next stage of our evolution will be upward, even though the scientist recognizes that changes in species for the better are the exception rather than the rule.

I have been reading Pullman's trilogy, and have made it about half way through the third book. What the series apparently is about is humanity reaching toward its next phase in the evolutionary process. In this version of the Myth, god is trying to keep us from evolving. He wants to keep us under control lest we take his place. In the Dark Materials universe(s), god himself has evolved from matter, but has lied saying he created all other creatures. The lie is perpetrated so he can gain permanent control over everything. Dust, which is composed of conscious elementary particles (Think of the midi-chlorians in Star Wars, only smaller.), stand in his way. They are the repository of Truth; god is a liar.

For Lewis, the next stage of our evolution will come about when God changes us into something better than we are now, not when we when we get rid of God and "develop" on our own. God desires to lead us into all Truth, not keep it from us. His Truth will set us free to be all we were meant to be, not some evolutionary process.

__________________________________

*There are stirrings in the scientific world that some "later biologists" are beginning to doubt the validity of traditional evolutionary theory. And this is not just from the Creation Science domain. As early as 1986, Michael Denton's Evolution: A Theory in Crisis, pointed out that research in microbiology and other fields shows that the complexity involved in living cells is a huge hurdle that evolutionary theory has a very difficult time jumping over. Michael Behe's Darwin's Black Box is another book on the subject, with an updated version published in 2006. These books have not been well received in the scientific community, however, and the controversy over the Theory continues.

Merry Christmas from Middle-earth! The Spirit of Christmas Exemplified in Frodo Baggins

2007-12-24T03:25:00.000-08:00

As I mentioned in my last I Have An Inkling Blog entry, there is no Christmas in Middle-earth because the stories pre-date the coming of Christ. However, there are some events which take place which seem (at least to me) to foreshadow what Christ would do. As Tolkien and C. S. Lewis would remind us, mythology often pictures Christian ideas and events. For example, there is the recurring theme of a god who dies and is resurrected. Of course, Gandalf the White is often seen as an obvious picture of the resurrected Christ.

For the Christian, the Jewish scriptures often foreshadow Christ in what some have called Types. (This Truth for Today page has a good synopsis of this Theological view.) Jonah in the Great Fish for three days is seen as a Type of Christ's death and resurrection. Abraham's offering of Isaac on Mount Moriah is also seen as a picture of Christ's death and resurrection. As the writer of the book of Hebrews in the New Testament writes:

By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had
received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it
was said, "In Isaac your seed shall be called," concluding that God
was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received
him in a figurative sense. [11:17-19 NKJV]

Moses, Joseph and others have also been referenced as picturing Christ in certain ways.

I think there is a picture of Christ in The Lord of the Rings that has been overlooked. Whether Tolkien intended it or not, I have always thought it was no accident that Frodo leaves Rivendell on December 25, and that the Ring is destroyed near the end of March, which would be some time around Easter. (See "Appendix B" of The Return of the King.) Frodo began his journey from the safety of Rivendell on December 25. In our western culture, Christians celebrate Christ leaving Heaven to be born in Bethlehem on that same date.

There are many ideas of what the "spirit of Christmas" is. The way many of us "celebrate" the holiday here in the United States, I wonder if we think the spirit of Christmas is materialism and overindulgence. Forty-some years ago, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" helped us to remember that Christmas is about more than receiving presents, but does the Story of the Christ-Child give us any help in how Christians should live today?

The true "spirit of Christmas," I believe, is found in the book of Philippians in the New Testament. The believers in Philippi were becoming rather arrogant and bickering among themselves. The Apostle Paul writes to remind them:

If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means
anything to you, if you have a heart, if you care— then do me a favor: Agree
with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. Don't push your way
to the front; don't sweet-talk your way to the top. Put yourself aside, and help
others get ahead. Don't be obsessed with getting your own advantage. Forget
yourselves long enough to lend a helping hand.
Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn't think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the
privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having
become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn't
claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then
died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a
crucifixion. [The Message 2:1-8]

The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of giving. Not giving expensive presents that we cannot afford, but giving of ourselves for others. It is thinking about others and their needs rather than our own. This is what Frodo did when he stood up in front of the Council of Elrond and said, "I will take the Ring to Mordor." No one was requiring him to do it, but Frodo realized that he was the only one who could accomplish the mission, if anyone could. He willingly gave up the comforts of The Shire and the House of Elrond to make the journey to Mordor, which, as far as he knew, would mean his death. As Abraham figuratively received Isaac back from the dead, so Frodo is figuratively raised from certain death when he is rescued by the Eagles.

Frodo exemplifies the spirit of Christmas by his selfless willingness to go to Mordor for the benefit of others. May the same spirit be seen in us this Christmas and throughout the year.

No "Merry Christmas" in Middle-earth! Ban on Tolkien Sure to be Announced

2007-12-21T12:02:00.000-08:00

Did you realize that in Middle-earth they did not celebrate Christmas? Even worse, the midwinter holiday in The Shire lasted two days and was called by that pagan name "Yule". I even heard they had Yule logs and said to each other "Have a cool Yule," instead of "Merry Christmas". Just wait until Donald Wildmon and Go Fish* find out about this.

Seriously, Tolkien's Middle-earth is supposed to pre-date Christ. Ian McKellen, who played Gandalf in the movies, made a big deal out of the fact that there are no churches in The Shire. But the reason there are no churches in Middle-earth is because the stories pre-date the Church, not because Tolkien's beliefs are completely hidden or excluded. But we are in the Church Age; what should our attitude be about "Christmas"?

Go Fish has a rather in-you-face song titled "It's called Christmas." The chorus goes like this:

It’s called Christmas, what more can I say?
It’s about the birth of Christ and you can’t take that away.
You can call it something else, but that’s not what it will be.
It’s called Christmas with a capital "C."

The song begins with a bit of spoken diatribe against those who say "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas." Don't get me wrong. I make a conscious effort to say "Merry Christmas" to people when it is appropriate. But using the phrase "Happy Holidays" does not necessarily mean the well-wisher is consciously avoiding the term "Christmas." The generic greeting is, first and foremost, shorthand for "Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year." And when we talk about the "Holiday Season" in today's culture we are usually including Thanksgiving as well. Not everyone who says "Happy Holidays" or "Holiday Season" has insidious motives, as some might have us to believe! I remember when I worked at a job where I completed transactions with customers. This time of year I would mix up my closing remarks to avoid sounding stilted: "Merry Christmas" or "Happy Holidays" or even "Have a great evening." With the attitude of some today, I'm almost afraid to say "Happy Holidays" lest someone think I am a Heathen!

On the other hand, some of the nonsense from the other side of the issue is just ridiculous. Calling a Christmas tree a "Holiday tree". Silly. One ad even went so far as to say that their item would cause joy when it was unwrapped on "Holiday morning." Come on. Have we really come that far in this culture that we are afraid to call things what they are lest we offend anyone?

I remember in the 1960's and 70's (Man, am I old!) that the big deal was X-mas. Don't put X-mas on your store signs--that's blasphemy! That's X-ing Christ out of Christmas. It wasn't until later that I discovered that Christians have been using "X" for Christ since the First Century. The letter X looks exactly like the Greek letter Chi (pronounced khee), which is the first letter in Christos--Christ. (Most students who went to a Christan College know that Xian and Xnty are the quick way to write "Christian" and "Christianity" while taking notes.)

A ladies singing trio from the late 50's and early 60's calledThe White Sisters sang a song titled "Keep Christ in Christmas." I don't know if the whole X-mas controversy "inspired" the song or not. I don't remember all the lyrics, but part of it talks about letting "Christ have first place" at this time of year. It does not seem to me that Christ is having First Place in most of the complaining about and campaigning against "Happy Holidays". When Wildmon sends out his e-mail newsletter saying "Send me money because I'm getting Christmas back into the stores," is Christ getting First Place? I wonder. When the average person sees "Christmas Tree" instead of "Holiday Tree" is he more likely to think of the "true meaning of Christmas"? I wonder.

Christmas is about giving, not winning. Christ Himself was the first Christmas gift. If Wildmon and others spent as much time giving themselves to feed the poor, visit the sick and generally spread goodwill among men, as they do organizing boycotts and sending threatening e-mails, I think we would be better off.

Some time in the next couple days: The Christmas Spirit as exemplified in Frodo Baggins.

*Note, for those who might not know: Donald Wildmon is the founder of the American Family Association and has called for boycotts of stores that use "Holiday" instead of "Christmas" in their advertisements. Go Fish is a contemporary Christian Band that sings "It's Called Christmas." Read more about the song in the article above.

New Line Cinema's New Movie is NOT The Hobbit -- or is it?

2007-12-08T22:04:00.000-08:00

An unlikely hero is chosen for a quest to unknown wild regions and obtains a golden object which helps assure success. No, I am not talking about Bilbo Baggins, but Lyra Belacqua. Lord of the Rings fans had been hoping that we would be seeing a film titled The Hobbit from New Line Cinema by now. Instead, this holiday season New Line released The Golden Compass, based on Philip Pullman's book originally titled Northern Lights (re-titled The Golden Compass for the U.S. Edition). The Hobbit it is not, but there are some interesting parallels.

Despite the fact that The Golden Compass is based on a novel by an avowed atheist, it takes on pretty much the same framework as most heroic quest stories. The reluctant hero finds himself involved in circumstances beyond his control and it is discovered that he has special abilities that are needed for the Quest. Bilbo was purposefully chosen by Gandalf to help the Dwarves recover their treasure because he saw traits in the Hobbit that even Bilbo did not know he had. Lyra was chosen for her quest because of her special ability to use the Alethiometer (The Golden Compass). Along the way both heroes learn lessons of courage that they will need later in the Quest.

I have not read the Pullman books, so I can't really comment on most of the controversy that has arisen. If the books did not exist, the movie would play like any other fantasy or science fiction movie because most of the religious themes have been subdued. Like Star Wars or The Lord of the Rings, the movie comes off as just another victory-for-the-little-guy-over-the-authoritarian-powers-bent-on-controlling-everyone story. In fact, the ending very much parallels the ending of the original Star Wars movie (Episode IV: A New Hope). Good triumphs over Evil; what more can we ask for in a Fantasy/Adventure Film?

Finding Meaning Niggling in Obscurity

2007-12-02T17:45:00.000-08:00

Frederick Sweatman, Sidney Herrtage, Herbert Ruthven, Alfred Erlebach, Charles Balk, Wilfred Lewis, Hereward Thimley Price, Lawrenceson Fitroy Powell, Father Henry Rope, J. R. R. Tolkien. Except perhaps for the last name in this list, I doubt even the best Champion on TV's "Jeopardy" would recognize these as assistant editors for the Oxford English Dictionary (often referred to as the "OED"). Even James Murray, Editor-in-Chief for a half a century while the First Edition of the Dictionary was being completed, is not a "household name." Simon Winchester gives us some insight into what it took to produce the massive OED in The Meaning of Everything: The Story of the Oxford English Dictionary. (Winchester is also the author of The New York Times Bestseller The Professor and the Madman, which is about Dr. William Chester Minor, the insane surgeon who contributed myriads of example sentences for the Dictionary.)

In 1919, when Tolkien got on board to help complete the OED, he was assigned words beginning in "W" including Warm, Wasp, Water and Winter. Tolkien had recently been released from the hospital after fighting "trench fever" contracted during World War 1 in France. Tolkien certainly did not become famous for his work on the OED. However, Winchester comments that Tolkien said later in life that he "learned more [while working on the OED] ... than in any equal period of my life." (p. 208)

While the Oxford English Dictionary gives us "the meaning of everything," we struggle with more basic issues. Even beyond "What is the meaning of life?" (which the Dictionary only answers academically), we struggle with "What is the meaning of MY life?" The vast majority of us live on in obscurity, wondering if our lives make a difference at all. What contribution are we making in this world?

Tolkien's short story "Leaf by Niggle" (usually found with the essay "On Fairy Stories" in anthologies, such as The Tolkien Reader) talks about an artist who seems to be niggling his life away. ("Niggle" means to be occupied with trivial things.) He is trying to complete his one great painting, but is constantly interrupted by his neighbor's problems and other trivial matters. He eventually takes a trip (an obvious reference to death) and find himself in a hospital (apparently the first stage of Purgatory*). Eventually he is released and discovers that the artwork that he had been working on was actually a glimpse of spiritual reality.

Tolkien's story seems a bit obscure, but it seems to me he is trying to make at least two points. First of all, the things we view as niggling are often actually the more important things in life. Helping others, while it may seem to be an annoyance that keeps us away from doing what seem to be "the important things," is actually part of helping others to glimpse spiritual truth. "Ministers of the Gospel," whether clergy or lay people, often forget that. Secondly, the art we create (whether a painting or a story) can give people a glimpse of spiritual reality. If the artist is vitally connected with spiritual truth, both his life and his work should provide glimpses of that truth to those who interact with the artist and/or his art.

What is the meaning of of MY life? What impact am I having on this world? We may never have a "household name" or even be part of something as big as the Oxford English Dictionary. But if we will keep doing what we know is right, God will give us opportunities to make a difference in people's lives. We can provide glimpses of spiritual truth to our world.

______________________
*Note: As a Roman Catholic, Purgatory was part of Tolkien's belief system. I personally do not believe in Purgatory after death. God purges us in this life.

Enchanted: Fairy-Land Meets New York

2007-11-22T22:22:00.000-08:00

When Fairy Tales and the "Real World" meet, it is usually a person from our world who takes the trip to Faery. JRR Tolkien's Smith of Wootton Major is once such story. Some of George MacDonald's (19th Century) fantasies (such as Phantastes and Lilith) were also written in this vein. A story in which Faery comes to the "Real World" is a bit more uncommon.

Disney's new film (just released in theaters) Enchanted is not the first motion picture about Fairy Tale creatures coming to New York City. The TV Mini-Series The 10th Kingdom also toyed with the idea of what it would be like if inhabitants of the "Perilous Realm" found themselves here. In both these productions, the collision of the two worlds has some interesting effects.

In Enchanted, Giselle (Amy Adams) is sent by her wicked step-mother to New York City--"the place where Happily Ever After never happens." Her idealism has an effect on those she meets, especially Robert (Patrick Dempsey--Grey's Anatomy's "Dr. Dreamy"). But Reality also begins to have an effect on her, and she experiences anger for the first time. This is perhaps a picture of how it should be. Stories with a happy ending should give us hope. But Reality experienced by the story writer should infuse the "Happily Ever After" with a good dose of realism.

In a rarely-published poem,* JRR Tolkien speculated what it would be like if a Dragon visited modern England. After being pursued by the Fire Brigade, the dragon smashes and burns the town, and begins to eat the inhabitants. However, he discovers that people here are not very palatable ("Mister Higgins was tough, and as for Box just like his name he tasted."), so he decides to "bury the hatchet." Tolkien's poem has a somewhat confusing ending:

He [the dragon] saw the peaks far over the sea
round his own land ranging;
And he mused on men and how strange they be,
and the old order changing.
"None of them now have the wit to admire
a dragon's song or colour,
Nor the nerve with steel to meet his fire -
the world is getting duller!"
He spread his wings to depart;
but just as he was rising
Miss Biggins stabbed him to the heart,
and that he found surprising.

"I regret this very much," she said.
"You're a very splendid creature,
And your voice is quite remarkable
for one who has no teacher;

But wanton damage I will not have,
I really had to end it."
The dragon sighed before he died:
"At least she called me splendid."

The dragon comes from his own land in order to find "food and sport," but finds the sport is just not the same and the food not to his liking. He feels that he is not even appreciated for his glory, and that no one is bold enough to meet him with a blade. It turns out he is wrong. Miss Biggins, while appreciating his splendor, does not appreciate her world being disrupted, which is enough to give her courage enough to slay him.

Fairy Tales do not begin with "Happily Ever After." If they did, there wouldn't be a Story. Just like the real world, there is always a challenge--something that has gone wrong--something evil to face. Fairy Stories not only are able to give us a vision of splendor, but the courage to face evil with conviction that the happy ending is, at least to some degree in this life, possible. For the Christian, who has read "the back of the Book" and knows how it will turn out, there is even more reason to go on courageously.

1 Corinthians 15:57 [NKJV] But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Revelation 21:4 [NKJV] And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

*"The Dragon's Visit," first published on February 4th, 1937 within The Oxford Magazine, Vol. 55. No. 11. It was reprinted in Douglas A. Anderson's The Annotated Hobbit in 1988 and a revised form (used above) can be found in Winter's Tales for Children I (Macmillan 1965), and The Young Magicians (Ballantine Books 1969).

C. S. Lewis on Scripture.

2007-10-21T18:45:00.000-07:00

It is not every day that a young graduate student gets a recommendation from Owen Barfield (a friend of C S Lewis and fellow Inkling), AND Clyde S. Kilby (recognized authority on C S Lewis). But this is what happened to Michael J. Christensen in 1979. The book C. S. Lewis on Scripture came about as a result of a research project of Christensen's during his Senior year at Point Loma College. His professors encouraged him to seek publication, and Barfield and Kilby provided the Foreword and Introduction. (Christensen has now written a total of nine published books, as well as numerous articles and contributions to reference books and other volumes.)

I have been wanting to read this book for quite some time. A review on the Hollywood Jesus web site about the documentary film "For the Bible Tells Me So" rekindled my interest in the interpretation of Scripture, and prompted my reading. The movie is about Christian parents dealing with gay children. It apparently seeks to discredit the traditional interpretation of the scriptures which deal with the issue, and groups like "Focus on the Family" which seek to lead gays into "reparative therapy." For further comments on this issue, see my new Blog: "Tentative Thoughts on Theology."

C S Lewis is difficult to classify. He often admitted that he was not a Theologian, but a "translator--one turning Christian doctrine ... into the vernacular." "If the real theologians had tackled this laborious work of translation about a hundred years ago, when they began to lose touch with the people (for whom Christ died) ... there would have been no place for me." (God in the Dock, cited by Christensen, p. 23-34.) Conservative theologians have classified him as liberal, liberal theologians have classified his as conservative. The truth is somewhere in the middle. As a conservative myself, I have found myself disagreeing with Lewis on more than one occasion. But this is perhaps how it should be. God has chosen (for some strange reason hidden from me) to use imperfect human beings to show Himself to the world. It is only natural that imperfect people will disagree. I think God intends that we should learn to learn from each other, rather than using our differences as an excuse to build walls between us.

Lewis spoke about the mythical nature of the Bible. By this he did not mean that the Bible was untrue, but that is has a certain quality that is found in "pagan" mythology. He believed that God used mythology to reveal Himself to the pagan world before Christ. As Christensen explains:

All the pagan myths were merely premonitions of "Nature's Original," as
Lewis calls Christ. When the Word became flesh, when God became man in Jesus
Christ, the process of myth was actualized and revelation was complete. Pagan
myths, motifs, and rituals were noble yet inadequate vehicles of divine
revelation--distorted reflections of the real thing. ... "Myth became Fact," ...
God's progressive revelation, which appeared only faintly in the great
myths, had culminated in historic fact. [p.75-76]

Realizing that the modern conception of "myth" is far from what Lewis meant, Christensen suggest the term "literary inspiration" for Lewis's view of the way the Bible is inspired. "The Bible is to be approached as inspired literature. Its literary element--images, symbols, myths and metaphors--are actual embodiments of spiritual reality, vehicles of divine revelation." This does not mean that the significance of a passage should be dismissed. As Lewis wrote:

Some people when they say that a thing is meant "metaphorically" conclude from
this that is is hardly meant at all. They rightly think that Christ spoke
metaphorically when he told us to carry the cross: they wrongly conclude that
carrying the cross means nothing more than leading a respectable life and
subscribing moderately to charities. They reasonably think hell "fire" is a
metaphor--and unwisely conclude that it means nothing more serious than remorse.
They say the story of the Fall in Genesis is not literal; and then go
on to say ... that it was really a fall upwards--which is like saying that
because "My heart is broken" contains a metaphor, it therefore means "I feel very
cheerful." This mode of interpretation I regard, frankly, as nonsense. [Miracles, cited by Christensen, p. 77-78]

Liberals often claim that the Bible is not the Word of God in itself, but becomes the Word of God when God speaks to the individual through it. This subjective approach Lewis apparently rejected. The Bible must be accepted at "face value" just as any other piece of literature. Some Conservatives, on the other hand, ignore the fact that the Bible is literature, and should be read as such. The vast majority of scripture is in Story form. God did not dictate to us a systematic theology textbook, but truth conveyed through narrative and poetry. There are exceptions, such as the Epistles and the Laws given to Israel. These direct statements help us to keep us from coming to the wrong conclusions about what is being taught in the narrative passages. But the narratives connect the doctrinal teachings to our life and emotions, giving flesh to the dry bones of Theology.

God has spoken. Are we listening?

Marred Arda and Tolkien's Hope for the Future Part 3

2007-10-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

Those of the "Old Hope" ... say that the One will will himself enter into Arda, and heal Men and all the Marring from the beginning to the end. This they say also, or
they feign, is a rumour that has come down through years uncounted, even from
the days of our undoing. [Morgoth's Ring (Houghton Mifflin 1993), p. 321]

These are the words of Anreth, Wise-woman of Men, to the Elf Finrod. She apparently does not believe the prophesy herself, but the words begin to give Finrod a new Hope.

"Athrabeth Finrod Ah Andreth" (The Debate of Finrod and Andreth) apparently was planned as an Appendix to The Silmarillion. [ibid., p.329] In it Finrod, "the wisest of the exiled Noldor," [p.305] discusses the nature and future of Men and Elves with the Wise-woman Andreth. It is the days of the Long Peace during the First Age, while Morgoth has been under siege in Angband. [p.305] Even in this time of Peace, Andreth holds little, if any, hope that the marring of Arda by Morgoth would ever be healed.

The Elves have two words for Hope: Amdir and Estel. Amdir is "an expectation of good, which though uncertain has some foundation in what is known." Andreth sees no foundation for any Hope. But Finrod talks of a Hope that is "founded deeper":

Estel we call it, that is "trust". It is not defeated by the ways of
the world, for it does not come from experience, but from our nature and first
being. If we are indeed the Eruhin, the Children of the One, then He
will not suffer [allow] himself to be deprived of His own, not by any Enemy,
not even ourselves. This is the last foundation of Estel, which we keep
even when we contemplate the End: of all His designs the issue must be for His
Children's joy. [p. 320]

The Hope of the Elves was that the One would somehow bring the Consolation—the eucatastrophe, if you will. Somehow He would heal the marring of Arda. This Hope was based on their Trust (Estel) in His love for them. (You many remember that Aragorn's Elvish name was Estel.) The Elves did not know the reason for their Hope, but they Trusted anyway. Men knew that reason for Hope, but many despaired, losing their Trust through the influence of Morgoth.

During the Years of Peace, many joined the ranks of the "Old Hope" thinking that Morgoth had been defied. But their Hope was misplaced: "For it was not on the might of Men, or any of the peoples of Arda, the the old hope was grounded." [p.321]

I am conservative by nature. My theology and politics are what most would call Conservative. I am not afraid to voice my opinion to my elected officials on the issues. But I think perhaps too many who share my Conservatism put their Trust in what can be accomplished by numbers. And often their negativity is counter-productive. The marring of America--the marring of the world--will not be healed by political agendas, whether Conservative or Liberal. Our marring can only be healed by the One who entered this world and defeated our Enemy forever.

Marred Arda and Tolkien's Hope for the Future Part 2

2007-09-30T18:28:00.000-07:00

If you have ever had a parent or other relative who had Alzheimer's, you must know how frustrating it can be for the family. Last week I mentioned that my mother has the disease. Often I wonder why God would let her go through this. But, if I am honest, my frustration is not with what she is going through, but what I am going through.

Could it be that is what Tolkien had in mind when Aragorn says goodbye to Arwen and voluntarily gives up his life? Is he thinking about what Arwen would have to go through as he ages?

Take counsel with yourself, beloved, and ask whether you would indeed have me wait until I wither and fall from my high seat unmanned and witless. Nay, lady, I am the last of the Númenoreans and the latest King of the Elder Days; and to
me has been given not only a span thrice that of Men of Middle-earth, but also
the grace to go at my will, and give back the gift. Now, therefore, I will sleep.

There is only One I know of Who gave up His life voluntarily for completely unselfish motives--Jesus Christ. No one took His life from Him; He laid it down voluntarily. (John 10:18) As I implied last week, I feel much better with life and death decisions in God's hands than my own. I would surely make a mess of things (more than even "Bruce Almighty" ever did!).

I do know that this whole ordeal with my mother, and the other events I mentioned last week, help me to remember what is important. It it very easy to get distracted with things, when our focus in life should be people. Hopefully this is one lesson I am learning.

Things are only temporary; people are forever. That is what gave Aragorn hope as he gave up his life:

In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound to the
circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory. Farewell!

In Tolkien's famous essay "On Fairy-Stories," (which can be found in found in Tree and Leaf, The Tolkien Reader or A Tolkien Miscellany) he asserts that the highest function of the Fairy Tale is to bring Consolation through the "Happy Ending." He coins the term "eucatastrophe" meaning a "sudden joyous turn" or "sudden and miraculous grace."

It does not deny the existence of dyscatastrophe, of sorrow and failure: the possibility of these is necessary to the joy of deliverance; it
denies (in face of much evidence, if you will) universal final defeat and in so
far is evangelium, giving a fleeting glimpse of Joy, Joy beyond the walls of the world, poignant as grief.

The Consolation in Fairy Stories is a picture of the Gospel--the evangelium--the Good News about what Christ has done for us. For some reason Tolkien believed that his stories, rather than be overtly Christian, should point to our Consolation in much more subtle ways. This is, of course, in contrast to C S Lewis's more overt pictures of Christianity in The Chronicles of Narnia. In Middle-earth, the Hope of Life beyond "the circle of this world" is mostly relegated to a short passage in an Appendix.

Next time we will consider Tolkien's apparent plans to include a more overt picture of Christianity in an Appendix to The Silmarillion.

Marred Arda and Tolkien's Hope for the Future

2007-09-23T17:47:00.000-07:00

Incomparably greater than the power of Sauron, concentrated in the One Ring, Morgoth's power (Tolkien wrote) was dispersed into the very matter of Arda: "the whole of Middle-earth was Morgoth's Ring." [Dust Jacket of Morgoth's Ring, Houghton Mifflin, 1993]

For those of you who are not familiar with Morgoth, he is very much to Arda (the physical world, of which Middle-earth is a part) what Satan is (in the Christian Concept) to Earth. Without going into too much detail, Morgoth (The Enemy) was a "god" (somewhat similar to the concept of an archangel in Christianity) that rebelled against the will of the One (Eru, also called Illúvatar). As Satan is responsible for introducing evil into this world, so Morgoth was responsible for introducing evil into Arda.

In Christianity, the relationship between evil (sin) and death is clearly stated: "through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned ... For the wages of sin is death ..." [Romans 5:12; 6:23] Because Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, sinned, sin and death became the inheritance passed on to every generation since. Not only were human beings affected, but everything in the world: "the creation was subjected to futility ... the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs ... [Romans 8:20, 22]

In Middle-earth, death is often seen as the "gift of Eru." The Elves are forever tied to Arda; Men are not. They are meant to spend eternity not in Arda, but beyond it. This matches the Christian concept that we are "not of this world" but have our "citizenship in Heaven" and are waiting for the Heavenly City where we will dwell forever in bodies designed for the celestial, rather than the terrestrial realm. (See John 17:14-16; Philippians 3:20 and 1 Corinthians 15:40.) It could be debated whether this "gift" of death was "God's original Plan" or an "unfortunate necessity," but such matters are (thankfully) beyond the scope of this Blog entry. I leave that to the Theologians to debate.

"Half-Elves" such as Aragorn were apparently allowed to choose the gift of death, and were even allowed to die at will. Arwen was also given this gift. In Appendix A (I--v) of The Lord of the Rings, Aragorn lays down and dies of his own accord. Awen does the same shortly after. The reasoning Aragorn gives Arwen for laying down his life at that point is (to me at least) troublesome:

Take counsel with yourself, beloved, and ask whether you would indeed have
me wait until I wither and fall from my high seat unmanned and witless. Nay,
lady, I am the last of the Númenoreans and the latest King of the Elder Days;
and to me has been given not only a span thrice that of Men of Middle-earth, but
also the grace to go at my will, and give back the gift. Now, therefore, I will
sleep.

Is Aragorn saying that a life is worthless once you lose your virility and intellect in old age? Is not human life precious even if the mind and body have lost their strength?

I have been thinking about life and death recently. Friday was the 79th anniversary of my Father's birth. He died in 1992 at the age of 63. My granddaughter, who had been born prematurely, had her first birthday Saturday. My father for many years was required by his employer to have an extensive annual physical. Modern technology never discovered any indication that he had any trouble that would have led to the sudden massive stroke which killed him. However, modern technology probably saved the life of my granddaughter.

Last December, my mother-in-law had a massive hear attack. Her husband gave her CPR, and they finally restored her heart rhythm at the hospital. However, too much damage had already been done, and she died several days later. Watching her slowly slip away was not a pleasant experience for the family.

When my mother was born in 1933, she weighed less than three pounds. Her twin brother was quite a bit bigger, but he died. Most modern technology did not exist, but she lived.

A few weeks back my mother fell and broke her hip. Because of her heart condition and previous reactions to general anesthesia, surgery was problematic. However, the alternative of letting her suffer in excruciating pain for the rest of her life was not an option. Several times we thought we were going to loose her, but she is still alive. She is extremely week, and her Alzheimer's has apparently been exacerbated by what she has gone through, but she is still with us.

We humans do not have the power to will our own deaths as Aragorn, any more than we have the power to extend our lives beyond the limit He has set. I do not know why God has allowed my mother to live, graced us with a beautiful grandchild or took my Father Home at such a (relatively) young age. But I trust Him that he knows what He is doing. I would not want the power to choose death for myself or anyone else--I am not wise enough.

As Aragorn (whose Elvish name Estel means "hope") says goodbye to Arwen, he gives these words of hope:

In sorrow we must go, but not in despair. Behold! we are not bound to the
circles of the world, and beyond them is more than memory. Farewell!

More on the concept of Hope in Middle-earth next time.

C. S. Lewis in a Time of War: Learning from Lewis's Work Ethic

2007-09-09T18:01:00.000-07:00

How do you distinguish between working too hard and being lazy?

C. S. Lewis had to make that choice during World War Two. Besides his duties as an Oxford professor, Lewis also kept busy giving talks at various RAF (Royal Air Force) bases throughout the country. The invitation by the BBC to give Radio Talks was inconvenient and would put more pressure on his time, but Lewis could not turn down the opportunity. So Justin Phillips tells us in C. S. Lewis in a Time of War (HarperCollins 2002).

Lewis turned out to be a captivating broadcaster, and the "Broadcast Talks" kept Britain riveted to their radios when he was on the air. These Talks became Mere Christianity, perhaps Lewis's best-known non-fiction book. There might have been more of these talks, but Lewis knew he had limit, despite pressure from the BBC to do more. (Phillips speculates that this may have been a good thing. Lewis might have gained celebrity status and actually weakened his influence in the process. We will never know.)

Phillips mentions that Lewis had confided in a friend that he was naturally lazy (p.63). But Lewis certainly did not have a lazy mind, and was willing to work, especially on projects where he would have a positive influence. And I am sure he believed his work ethic was as much a part of his spiritual life as going to church on Sunday. It is so easy to not take advantage of opportunities God gives us by making the excuse that we are "too busy." Certainly we need to be aware of our physical limitations. But, perhaps it is more often closer to the truth that we are just "too lazy."

The C. S. Lewis Hoax: Searching for Truth in a Positive Way

2007-09-02T09:38:00.000-07:00

Finally a book that looks at the facts without resorting to ad hominem attacks.

Why is it that we are so fascinated by conspiracy theories? From speculation about who really killed JFK (or assertions that he is still alive) -- to UFO's -- to the President Bush's supposed lying about what he knew to get us into a war with Iraq -- books and "documentaries" and Blogs abound trying to "prove" that what really happened is being "covered up." Certainly it is one of the founding principles of this country that we have the right to "get to the truth." Sam Adams wrote, "The public cannot be too curious concerning the characters of public men."¹

But there is a difference between "muck-raking" (actively looking for the worst to report) and honest reporting of the truth. One begins with negative ad hominem assumptions and attempts to prove those assumptions. The other seeks the truth and (as much as humanly possible) reports the findings without prejudice. There is a difference in stating someone is evil and trying to prove it and reporting the facts and letting the reader decide.

That is why Kathryn Lindskoog's book, The C. S. Lewis Hoax (1988, Multnomah Press), was unexpectedly refreshing. Rather than make assumptions about the character of Walter Hooper (and others assigned to the stewardship of Lewis's work after his death), Lindskoog simply presents the facts that she has discovered and leaves the conclusions (mostly) to the reader. This is one book any serious student of Lewis cannot be without.

Kathryn Lindskoog was a Lewis scholar from 1954, when she was an undergraduate student at the University of Redlands in California, until her death from MS in 2003. Her biography, C. S. Lewis: Mere Christian, was first published in 1973, which is probably her most famous book. She has written several other volumes about C. S. Lewis, prose versions of Dante's Divine Comedy, and a series of classic fiction edited for young readers. There is a web site with more information on her life and works: http://www.lindentree.org/.

¹http://patriotpost.us/fqd/quotes.asp

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George MacDonald, Tolkien and Silliness

2007-08-19T17:06:00.000-07:00

This afternoon I happened across the movie A Bird on a Wire as I was channel surfing. I was not riveted to the movie, but I did watch much of it. Here is your typical Romantic Comedy/Action Adventure film made to appeal to the usual tastes of both men and women--the perfect date movie. I am afraid I was mostly amused by how absurd the chase scenes were. It seems that the "bad guys" are incapable of hitting a target with their automatic weapons, and when they do, the "good guy" keeps fighting as if he were never hit. In terms that Tolkien would use, the movie ends with a eucatastrophe but lacks the verisimilitude.

I never got the same feeling of absurdity while watching what some would call the ridiculous action scenes in the original Star Wars trilogy or the Indiana Jones movies. The difference is the underlying premise that something or Someone is working behind the scenes ordering things for good. Yes, in movies like A Bird on a Wire we feel the "good guys" should win, but there is no implication of a "higher power" causing things to work out. Tolkien has been criticised¹ for his Romanticism or Sentimentality and lack of "seriousness" in passages such as the "Tom Bombadil" appearances in The Fellowship of the Ring. But perhaps an aversion to Romanticism and Silliness is due to the fact that the these critics of Tolkien have a different view of the world than he did.

Actually, Tom Bombadil and his silliness pre-date the writing of The Lord of the Rings (The poetry was written originally to amuse his children.), and Tolkien apparently thought he was the perfect character to demonstrate a certain attitude important to the story.

The story is cast in terms of a good side, and a bad side, beauty against
ruthless ugliness, tyranny against kingship, moderated freedom with consent
against compulsion that has long lost any object save more power, and so on; but
both sides in some degree, conservative or destructive, want a measure of
control. But if you have, as it were taken 'a vow of poverty', renounced
control, and take your delight in things for themselves without reference to
yourself, watching, observing, and to some extent knowing, then the questions of
the rights and wrongs of power and control might become utterly meaningless to
you, and the means of power quite valueless. It is a natural pacifist view,
which always arises in the mind when there is a war. But the view of Rivendell
seems to be that it is an excellent thing to have represented, but that there
are in fact things with which it cannot cope; and upon which its existence
nonetheless depends. Ultimately only the victory of the West will allow Bombadil
to continue, or even to survive. Nothing would be left for him in the world of
Sauron.²

Bombadil lives in a "bubble" unaffected by the outside world because he has withdrawn from the world. He is like a separatist religious group not interested in power or influence (or responsibility) outside its own sphere. The description above from one of Tolkien's letters could well apply to the Shire, too. The Shire's bubble would burst before the end of the book, and the Hobbits returning at the end of the book must help in the "Scouring of the Shire"--ridding it of the outlaws and restoring the land to its beauty. It seems to me there is more a ring of truth than sentimentality in it all.

Bombaldil's silliness reminds me of the boy Diamond in George MacDonald's At the Back of the North Wind. Much like Bombadil, Diamond is not frightened of anything. He always has a positive outlook on things, and has a view of life that things will always work out. Diamond is partly responsible for saving two other children, Nanny and Jim, from the streets. Nanny and Jim constantly call him a "dear silly." Many think his attitude toward life is because he is not quite right in the head. But the fact is, Diamond only appears silly because he has insights into the world that others do not.

When the narrator of the story "meets" Diamond, he learns that his companions call him silly, and "could not help thinking of the old meaning of the word silly."³ The word in Old English was "sælig" meaning "fortunate" or "prosperous"--soon taking on the idea of "blessed." In Middle English the word took on the meaning of "innocent," and then "deserving of pity" or "helpless." The meaning further developed in modern times until it today indicates someone who is foolish or lacking intelligence.⁴ Where Nanny and Jim only saw silliness, the narrator, and others, were able to find an intelligence that was blessed to understand the world far beyond the capacity of the average person.

The difference between Diamond and Tom Bombadil is that Diamond did not retreat into a bubble. He lived in the "real world," but was not affected by its evil. But he also knew that sometimes he had to destroy snakes. For him this meant being involved in other people's lives and helping however he could.⁵ The snake of selfishness keeps us from being a positive influence in other people's lives far too often.

1 Corinthians 2:14; 2 Timothy 1:7

1 (for example, Colin Wilson's essay "Tree by Tolkien" first published in 1974, reprinted in A Tolkien Scrapbook 1978 and A Tolkien Treasury 1989)
2Letters of JRR Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin First Edition, pp.178-179
3George MacDonald, At the Back of the North Wind, in chapter 35 "I Make Diamond's Acquaintance"
4Margaret Scott, www.askoxford.com/worldofwords/wordfrom/silly/
5North Wind, see chapters 20-22

The Children of Húrin: Where's the Eucatastrophe?

2007-08-05T15:04:00.000-07:00

"In Middle-Earth, curses work."¹

So begins one review of the newest posthumous release of JRR Tolkien's work, edited by his son Christopher with the help of Adam Tolkien, Christopher's son.

The Children of Húrin is indeed about a curse. Christopher Tolkien tells us in the Introduction (p.18) that JRR Tolkien's proposed alternative title was Narn e-'Rach Morgoth, The Tale of the Curse of Morgoth. However, in making such a generalized statement ("In Middle-Earth, curses work."), the reviewer misses the point. The curse "works," not because of some quality within Middle-Earth. but because of who Morgoth is. "Morgoth is not 'invoking' evil or calamity on Húrin and his children, he is not 'calling on' a higher power to be the agent: for he,'Master of the fates of Arda' as he named himself to Húrin, intends to bring about the ruin of his enemy by force of his own gigantic will." (Ibid.)

The whole thing reminds me of Job. Much as Morgoth, the "Master of Arda," set his hatred on Húrin and his children, so Satan, the "god of this world,"² set his hatred upon Job and destroyed his children.³ In the book of Job, we get a glimpse into Heaven and and see that God was at work withholding Satan's worst, although certainly we can not comprehend fully God's purpose--which is one of the lessons of the Old Testament book. God is in charge, even when we can only see the hand of the enemy.

So it is with Morgoth in Tolkien's mythology. It looks as if Morgoth is "in charge" and can bend Arda, and everything in it, to do his will. But we know--from another part of Tolkien's mythology--that his will only helps accomplish the Will of Ilúvatar, the creator of the "gods" of Arda. In the "Ainulindalë"--The Music of the Ainur--Morgoth's discord in the Song only ends up adding to its beauty. When the song is finished, Ilúvatar rises and speaks:

Mighty are the Ainur,and mightiest among them is Melkor [Morgoth]; but now
that he may know, and all the Ainur, that I am Ilúvatar, those things that ye
have sung, I will show them forth, that ye may see that no theme may be played
that hath not it uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my
despite. for he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the
devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.⁴

God is Sovereign, even though He gives Free Will to His creatures. Even the evil they do can only work out to the fulfillment of His plans. Tolkien often uses this seeming contradiction. The evil intentions of Gollum culminate in the destruction of the Ring. The covetousness of the Orcs causes the distractions that allow the Hobbits to escape on at least two occasions. Túrin's tragic life allows him to be in a position to slay Glaurung. It is not that God is the Author of Evil, but He is able to turn the results of Evil to His own purposes. But my intention is not to explain the relationship of Sovereignty and Free Will. I leave that to the Theologians.

The lives of the Children of Húrin do end tragically, which may cause some Tolkien fans to ask "Where is the eucatastrophe? Where is the Recovery and Consolation Tolkien speaks of in "On Fair Stories"? The quick answer is that The Children of Húrin was not intended to be a Fairy Story. In his letter to his editor quoted in the Second Edition of The Silmarillion, Tolkien describes what was in his mythology. The story of Beren and Lúthien is, he says, a "heroic-fairy-romance," while The Children of Húrin is a "tragic tale," admitting that it is "derived from the elements in Sigurd the Volsung, Oedipus, and the Finnish Kullervo."⁵

When Tolkien spoke so positively about the Fairy Story, and the Consolation one feels by the "sudden miraculous grace" (eucatastrophe), he was not saying that all stories should be written that way. Life does not always give us joy; sometimes it is just the pits, as Jeremiah the Prophet quite literally discovered.⁶ Sometimes life ends, like it did for Adam and Eve, "outside the Garden" with the promise of the Deliverer unfulfilled.⁷ Sometimes people die in Exile, never to experience the promised return to the Land of Palestine.

But Tolkien would remind us that all stories are just a snapshot or painting -- a "fragment of the Seamless Web of Story."⁸ They do not show us the ending. Perhaps what is lacking in The Children of Húrin is not the eucatastrophe, but the promise of Grace and Consolation to come.

¹Tish Wells, McClatchy-Tribune News Service, sited in http://www.nextnc.com/content/view/14659/49/ and others.
²2 Corinthians 4:4
³Job 1:18-19
⁴The Silmarillion, Houghton Mifflin Second Edition, p.17
⁵The Silmarillion, p.xvii
⁶Jeremiah 38:6
⁷Genesis 3:15
⁸Tree and Leaf, Harper Collins 1988, p. 80

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JRR Tolkien, C S Lewis and Science Fiction

2007-07-29T19:14:00.000-07:00

It has always been interesting to me that many Bookstore Chains classify The Lord of the Rings as Science Fiction. On the other hand, The Chronicles of Narnia are usually not so classified. Which seems strange since Chronicles includes transportation to a "different dimension" so to speak, while the Lord of the Rings presents a supposed "history" without any such device. Tolkien seems to disdain the use of a "Time Machine" in his essay "Tree and Leaf," saying that the "enchantment of distance, especially of distant time, is weakened only by the preposterous and incredible Time Machine itself." (1988 Harper Collins Edition, p.13)

This is not to say, of course, that Tolkien did not value the use of "distant time." His entire mythology is set to appear as "distant time." I think what he disliked was any distraction that would lessen the verisimilitude of what he was creating. It was vital to create a "suspension of disbelief" or "secondary belief" as Tolkien called it. Unbelievable machines distract from the appearance of reality. C S Lewis was criticized for the technical aspects of his spacecraft in the "Ransom Trilogy." (Perelandra, etc.) However, Lewis argues (in "Of Other Worlds," I think -- am am unable to locate the passage at present) that this technical problem is not too much of a distraction. These minor "technical difficulties" are usually easily overcome if the main story is "believable." Take the "Star Trek" stories, for example. We all know that the chronology conflicts with what actually has happened as we have entered the 21st Century, but the "suspension of belief" still works well in many of the episodes/movies/books -- in some of the stories much better than in others.

On the other hand, SciFi shows such as "Lost in Space" prove to be no more that just a diversion rather than a serious challenge to our "suspension of belief." The fact that we were not even close to sending passengers to other star systems by the turn of the 21st Century is less of a distraction than the plot lines (or lack thereof)! I admit that "Lost in Space" (or "Batman", for that matter) held my attention as a child, but such shows are mere nostalgic amusement for me today. There is too little plot and too many "preposterous and incredible" technical distractions. As C S Lewis put it: "I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children's story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children's story. The good ones last." ("On Three Way of Writing for Children" reprinted in the One-Volume Harper Collins The Chronicles of Narnia 2001, p. 771)

The Chronicles of Narnia have met the test of time -- people who enjoyed them as children still do as adults -- at least those who have not gotten so cynical or self-absorbed that they now think the stories foolish. Or have decided like the Bookstores that they belong only in the children's section, and that they are "beyond that." But as Lewis points out ("Three Ways", p.772), growth does not necessarily mean that you give up what you previously enjoyed. "Grown up" books can be added to one's reading without giving up what was enjoyed in childhood. "To be concerned about being grown up ... to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. ... When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up." (p. 771)

Unlike The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings has been viewed as a more "adult" book, apparently "qualifying" it for the SciFi category. Which seems strange, given all the "juvenile" Science Fiction which has been written. But perhaps the designation is more of a "throw-back" to a time when "Fantasy" was not considered a category, especially for "grown up" books.

However you categorize the works of Tolkien and Lewis, what is the appeal of these "Other Worldly" stories? I think it is the appeal of most Fantasy and Science Fiction -- the desire for something "other." There is something in us that seeks beyond what we can see and touch and feel. Whether is is satisfied by a "historical narrative" (The Lord of the Rings), or through a mechanical (or magical) device (The Chronicles of Narnia and the Space Trilogy), or through a more "mystical" means (Smith of Wootton Major) does not seem to matter. We are transported through the suspension of belief into another world, which helps us (or can help us) to appreciate the world we live in every day. Some claim that such stories give us a false impression of the world. But the opposite seems to be more the truth:

[Fantasy] is accused of giving children a false impression of the world they live
in. But I think no literature that children could read gives them less of a
false impression. I think what profess to be realistic stories for children are
far more likely to deceive them. I never expected the real world to be like the
fairy tales. I think that I did expect school to be like the school stories. The
fantasies did not deceive me; the school stories did.

...

In a sense a child does not long for fairy land as a boy longs to be the hero of the first
eleven. Does anyone suppose he really longs for ... dragons in contemporary
England? I would be much truer to say that fairy land arouses him (to his
life-long enrichment) with the dim sense of something beyond his reach and, far
from dulling of emptying the actual world, gives it a new dimension of depth. He
does not despise real woods because he has read of enchanted woods: the reading
makes all woods enchanted. This is a special kind of longing. ... the boy reading a
fairy tale desires and is happy in the very fact of desiring. For his mind has
not been concentrated on himself, as it often is in the more realistic story. ("Three Ways" pp.774-75)

The use of fantasy and the "suspension of belief" can be very powerful, and dangerous in "the wrong hands." In Lewis's Introduction to his George MacDonald Anthology, he points to a time in his life where he was enamored with Romanticism and was in danger of floundering "into its darker and more evil forms." He sensed there was something different about MacDonald, but had no idea it was his Christianity coming through.

The quality which had enchanted me in his imaginative works turned out to be
the quality of the real universe, the divine, magical, terrifying and ecstatic
reality in which we all live. ...what I learned to love in Phantestes was goodness. But now that I know, I see there was no deception. The
deception is all the other way around--in that prosaic moralism which confines
goodness to the region of Law and Duty, which never lets us feel the sweet air
blowing form 'the land of righteousness' ... (reprinted in the 1962 Edition of Phantastes and Lilith, (Gollancz) pp. 10-11)

May God always turn your calamities into eucatastrophies,

Mark

Saving Western Civilization?

2007-07-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my Inklings Blog. I welcome your comments or suggestions. Please note that all comments are moderated, so it may take some time for your comments to appear. (I reserve the right not to post any inappropriate material.)

Although they were certainly far from perfect (Aren't we all?), I believe that God put The Inklings in England when He did for a reason. It was an age when War had disillusioned the academic world, with the resulting lack of faith. The writings of JRR Tolkien and C S Lewis were a breath of fresh air in this environment. Each in their own way, they brought hope to an age that seemed beyond hope.

I will keep this first Blog post brief. Hopefully I will be able to add to my Blog every week. If you have any ideas for topics to cover, let me know.

May God always turn your calamities into eucatastrophies,

Mark Sommer
Granger, Indiana