The Chronicles of Narnia: The Humanist, The Liberal and The Closet

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe has made quite an imprression on critics and audiences alike. Naturally, the evangellical community has been out in force, going so far as to call this movie The Passion for kids. And just as predictably, most of the secular media has been trying to shrug off the story's many Christian themes, perhaps hoping they'll simply go away. Unlike Harry Potter, the Narnia books are inescapably Christian allegories, so the secular entertainment world is forced to deal with that. Usually, however, they do so by making a short and simple reference to it, at or near the very beginning of the review, and then quickly they move on to the marvellous acting and grand visual effects, hoping that the reader will have forgotten all about the Christian aspect of the movie by the end of the review. Sadly, this is simply to be expected from the secularists that govern what we should know about pop culture.

That being said, leave it to the Los Angeles Times to go a step further. Their review of Narnia doesn't look much different from all the others; they mention that the movie has some similarities to Tolkien's trliogy, but that it is aimed at a younger audience. They praise the acting of the young stars of the film and the impressive visual effects, and ultimately give the movie a good rating. However, there is one major difference that I immediately noticed between this review and others that I have read. Cleverly and nonchalantly placed somewhere near the beggining of the review is the writer's interpretation of the supposedly "Christian" themes within the movie:

...the Christian allegory embedded at its chewy center serves less as evangelical cudgel than a primer on morality and the myths we create to explain it. The magical land of Narnia is a place where Western myths and religions (classical, Christian, Celtic, Norse, you name it) are jumbled together so that we may consider their similarities and uses. If it weren't for Lewis' stated intention to write a fantastical story to make the dogma go down, it might even come across as a liberal humanist parable about myth and its function in society, especially during times of trouble.

There you have it. If Lewis hadn't gone and told everyone about the Christian allegory, we could be inventing all sorts of other themes right now. Only the LA Times (and probably the NY Times, come to think of it) could take a story that is overtly Christian in nature and claim it to be a "liberal humanist parable" that serves only to reduce Christianity to mere myth. But wait, there's more! Here's the author's witty and compelling conclusion:

As the children gain ground against the witch, Narnia begins to thaw, and a pre-Coca-Cola St. Nick returns to hand out gifts — a sword for Peter, a bow and arrow for Susan, a dagger for Lucy. The story climaxes with a scary battle scene. No wonder that some might take it as religious instruction: It's a medieval vision of Christianity for another dark age, with the Christ figure as soldier and war as the way to make the world safe for Santa Claus. As a Christian primer, it's terrible. As a story, it's timeless.

Ok, the crack about the coca-cola Santa Claus was funny. The author's obvious disdain for Christianity quickly takes the laughter out of me. Did you also notice how she weaves her criticism of the Iraq War into the article? It's a movie review, for goodnees' sake! But yes, I guess the author is right, Christians think that violence and death are the only means to make the world safe, and our blindly Christian President is executing that belief with conviction. These people don't need a wardrobe, they're already living in a fantasy world.