'Narnia made me Pagan'
Starhawk's essay on BeliefNet discusses how C.S. Lewis's Narnia books contributed to her becoming Pagan.
But Lewis is a mystic, and Aslan is a deity who bursts out of the confines of any dogma. His sensibility is as Pagan as his theology is Christian. The book is steeped in the imagery of nature, and while the Christian mythology is covert, the Greek mythology is front and center, with fauns, naiads, dryads, and centaurs playing starring roles. God is a great lion you can romp with--what a powerful image of deity-in-nature!
I suspect that she is right about their paganizing influence, despite the claims of some culture-warriors.
I did not read the Narnia books until I was a college freshman. My girlfriend was a big Narnia fan; she even had an India-print bedspread with a lion motif hanging above her bed. Obviously I had to read the books. By that time, of course, I was sophisticated enough to see how Aslan could be a "Christ figure," but I could also see that one could read the books and miss that motif entirely.
UPDATE: More on Narnia from the wackier wing of Protestant Christianity.
When I saw the release date of this new movie, I was not surprised. December 9th is the 13th day before the witches’ quarter-sabat of Yule.
Got that?
Tag: Narnia
Starhawk's essay on BeliefNet discusses how C.S. Lewis's Narnia books contributed to her becoming Pagan.
But Lewis is a mystic, and Aslan is a deity who bursts out of the confines of any dogma. His sensibility is as Pagan as his theology is Christian. The book is steeped in the imagery of nature, and while the Christian mythology is covert, the Greek mythology is front and center, with fauns, naiads, dryads, and centaurs playing starring roles. God is a great lion you can romp with--what a powerful image of deity-in-nature!
I suspect that she is right about their paganizing influence, despite the claims of some culture-warriors.
I did not read the Narnia books until I was a college freshman. My girlfriend was a big Narnia fan; she even had an India-print bedspread with a lion motif hanging above her bed. Obviously I had to read the books. By that time, of course, I was sophisticated enough to see how Aslan could be a "Christ figure," but I could also see that one could read the books and miss that motif entirely.
UPDATE: More on Narnia from the wackier wing of Protestant Christianity.
When I saw the release date of this new movie, I was not surprised. December 9th is the 13th day before the witches’ quarter-sabat of Yule.
Got that?
Tag: Narnia
posted by Chas S. Clifton at 8:08 PM Permalink
1 Comments:
It's good to find a scholarly blog on Paganism. I'll direct my good friend, Susannah Ravenswing to your site and visit often as well. Keep writing.
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