Myths and Truths

I like star wars and the lord of the rings but i'm not crazy about them. on the other hand, i was (as far as i can remember) and still am absolutely hysterical about Narnia ... I've been watching BBC's Chronicles of Narnia that were released from 1988-1990. only 4 of the 7 part series of the chronicles were filmed.. and.. they're episodic, not movies. I LOVE C.S LEWIS and his legendary series!! its been read by millions of people over 3-4 generations!! lewis wrote the chronicles over a few years - 1951-1956. His 7 part series is based strongly on christianity (though some might beg to differ) but he carefully informs readers that Narnia is not an allegory of the bible.

"I did not say to myself 'Let us represent Jesus as He really is in our world by a Lion in Narnia'; I said, 'Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as he became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen.'" - lewis

Here's a brief description through Narnia's History and how the books are centered on the Bible:
The Magician's Nephew - Creation and how evil entered Narnia,
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - the Crucifixion and Resurrection,
Prince Caspian - restoration of the true religion after a corruption,
The Horse and His Boy - the calling and conversion of the heathen,
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader - the spiritual life (especially in Reepicheep),
The Silver Chair - the continuing war against the powers of darkness,
The Last Battle - the coming of Antichrist (the ape). The end of the world and the last judgement."

there's a whole lot of talk going on about how narnia, potter and LOTR shouldn't be allowed in christian homes but i can't be bothered to put it down here. something for another time perhaps... btw, lewis' conversion to christianity was aided by good friend & sometimes rival J.R.R Tolkien, a devout roman catholic, during their academic career in oxford.

I'm so looking forward to the release of 'The Lion, The Witch & The Wardrobe' in december this year!!! The trailer looks absolutely fantastic, excellent effects, elaborate costumes and all.. the cinematography is also brilliant - all thanks to the award-winning production crew. And for those who are interested to view the trailer (again or for the 1st time), u're welcome to click on the publicity poster to link up. =)



There are truths, Tolkien said, that are beyond us, transcendent truths, about beauty, truth, honour, etc. There are truths that man knows exist, but they cannot be seen - they are immaterial, but no less real, to us. It is only through the language of myth that we can speak of these truths. We have come from God, Tolkien said, and only through myth, through story telling, can we aspire to the life we were made for with God. To write and/or read myth, Tolkien believed, was to meditate on the most important truths of life.

so profound, so deep, so true.
my attempted parallel (??) : imagine an electron or nanoparticles for that matter (known existence) whose effects are extensive but cannot be seen by the naked eye. through knowledge, understanding of the world around us, scientific discovery, establishing of theories etc, we seek to explain natural phenomena. (Note: theories (the language of myth?)are NOT facts, they are only a current representation of knowledge and are constantly improved on/renewed) The only definite truths are those of beauty, freedom, love, honour etc (please don't mention relativity; extremist views are irrelevant). All things were from God. Scientific discovery (not creation science, not the unnecessary polarisation between science and religion or any extremist views) should propel us towards eternity with him (by grace) - and in fact, it does =) [note: myths are not lies]

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"It is only through the language of myth that we can speak of these truths" - the language of myth, the bible; that we can know the definite truths of eternity. We have come from God and only through the bible, through the understanding of parables (story-telling) that we can run the race. "To write and/or read myth, Tolkien believed, was to meditate on the most important truths of life" - myth: the bible, the 'true accounting of truth', written by God's people. reading myth: meditation on His word, the truth of life.

All the other myths of the world, Tolkien said, are a mixture of truth and error - truth because they are written by those made by and for God - error because written by those alienated by/from God. But the Bible is the one true myth. It is a true accounting of truth, while everything else we do is mimicking.

Btw, tolkien's take on myths was decisive in lewis' conversion to christianity.

.:: The Chronicles of Narnia - Aslan ::.

Allegory (in today's loose terminology) of the Lord Jesus Christ