The Chronicles of Narnia

The first installment of C.S. Lewis’ beloved fantasy series The Chronicles of Narnia has arrived on the big screen. Opening to the tune of over 65 million dollar on its first weekend, this blockbuster film is garnering mixed reviews from Christians and non-Christians alike. A brief check of popular search engines will reveal this fact.

The movie is rated PG but one could easily argue that a PG-13 rating would be a better fit due to some intense battlefield sequences. Nevertheless, I do not recall seeing much blood in the film so while the battles may be intense they are not gory. The film is visually stunning. It contains gorgeous scenery and computer-animated characters that are second-to-none in terms of believability.

Anyone familiar with the storyline understands the obvious ties to Christianity. Aslan the lion lays down his life for young Edmund who has chosen to serve the White Witch. His sacrificial death was the only way to save Edmund who, according to the laws of Narnia, must die for his transgression. There are many other parallels between the movie’s theology and the Christian faith yet one must be cautious to accept the movie as sound biblical theology. For example, some believers (like myself) may be uneasy at the film’s reference to “the deep magic” when talking about the God of creation.[1] Even so, it would be quite simple to use this story to explain Jesus’ vicarious death and subsequent resurrection to an unbeliever.

One important point that caught my attention during this film was the terminology used to describe the human characters. They boys, Peter and Edmund, were referred to as “sons of Adam” and the girls, Suzy and Lucy, were called “daughters of Eve.” This, of course, hearkens back to the creation account in Genesis. Moreover, these names highlight an important theological point – only descendants of Adam can be saved since Christ came as the Last Adam to redeem descendants of the first Adam.

As with any movie, I would exercise discernment when watching it. Also, the intense battles may be a bit too much for young viewers. I certainly was surprised that Disney did not squelch the obvious parallels to the Gospel message. They seemed to stick pretty close to the book; however, I am sure if you are a Narnia aficionado (which I am not) you will find numerous discrepancies.

[1] It would be easy to point out numerous unorthodox teachings if one were to closely examine all the parallels. At the same time, Lewis claimed that these books were not intended to be allegories to the Christian faith.