Finding God in the Land of Narnia (Saltriver) by Kurt Bruner, Jim Ware
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.13 You Save: $9.86 (76%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Finding God in the Land of Narnia (Saltriver)
Book Review: Offers Some New Thoughts
Summary: 3 Stars
I enjoyed this book (although it disappointed me in some ways). FOLLOWING ASLAN by Kenneth McIntosh is a very similar book, except his is written for young children. Both authors do a good job of tying Narnia, the Bible, and our everyday lives together in a way that makes us realize that there are no lines between the spiritual, the ordinary, and the world of the imagination. Both books make excellent daily devotionals for families. A family with young children could use Bruner's book without too much effort--and although McIntosh's book is written for young children, as an adult, I found spiritual truths there that challenged me. In Bruner's book, I was just hoping he would lead me a little "further up and further in" than he did!Book Review: The Chronicles of Narnia is an excellent series.
Summary: 1 Stars
The Chronicles of Narnia is an excellent series.
That being said, it is quite unfortunate that some religious groups have taken it up as a banner for further attempts to force their views onto people who have no interest in them and impose beliefs places where they were not originally intended. If you ignore the supposed 'christian theological concepts' and supposed 'christian allegories' some want to
hammer in as the only reason for this series existence, then you can freely enjoy the series. Bear in mind that all reputable retailers keep this series in the 'Fantasy' or 'Science Fiction' section, not the 'religion' or 'religious fiction' section. If you want a good christian thematic series with strong christian overtones and message, look elsewhere. This is a good Fantasy and Science Fiction series-and nothing more. Fiction should be read or watched as enjoyment, not used as a teaching tool or religion tool or political tool.
From C.S Lewis's own written words come his opinion on the imposition of christian theological concepts and allegories:
"Although he did not set out to do so, in the process of writing his fantasy works, Lewis (an adult convert to Christianity) found himself incorporating Christian theological concepts into his stories. As he wrote in Of Other Worlds:
'Some people seem to think that I began by asking myself how I could say something about Christianity to children; then fixed on the fairy tale as an instrument, then collected information about child psychology and decided what age group I'd write for; then drew up a list of basic Christian truths and hammered out 'allegories' to embody them. This is all pure moonshine. I couldn't write in that way. It all began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion. At first there wasn't anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord.'
Lewis, an expert on the subject of allegory and the author of The Allegory of Love, maintained that the books were not allegory, and preferred to call the Christian aspects of them "suppositional". This indicates Lewis' view of Narnia as a fictional parallel universe. As Lewis wrote in a letter to a Mrs Hook in December 1958:
'If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity in the same way in which Giant Despair [a character in The Pilgrim's Progress] represents despair, he would be an allegorical figure. In reality, however, he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, 'What might Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia, and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?' This is not allegory at all.' "
The Chronicles of Narnia is an excellent Science Fiction or Fantasy series.
If you want a good christian thematic series with strong christian overtones and message, look elsewhere.
This is a good Fantasy and Science Fiction series-and nothing more.
Fiction should be read or watched as enjoyment, not used as a teaching tool or religion tool or political tool.
This review may only legally be shown directly on Amazon.com
More Customer Reviews:
1 2
1 2