As a child, did the "Chronicles of Narnia" strike you as particularly

[qnr]

religious? It was just a fun read to me.

Just curious.

[rucky]

1. not a bit.

and even still it's a good story first, allegory second.

[qnr]

4. Yes, I agree.

[Blue-Jay]

2. I didn't read it until I was an adult.

Still didn't think it was "preachy" by any stretch.

[BBradley]

3. I never finished reading it. It was too boring.

[BigMcLargehuge]

12. I'm with you there

I think my lifelong dislike of Fantasy lit started there, Tolkein stamped out any lingering interest in the genre.

[BBradley]

14. I read the first book of Narnia in 4th grade, didn't like it.

Then I read the Hobbit in 5th grade, and then the entire LoTR trilogy that summer. Tolkien made me like fantasy.

[BigMcLargehuge]

16. the only Tolkein book I ever enjoyed

was his biography.

[Az]

5. Its perhaps too allegorical for children to get

Also the symbology is not the same today as it was back then. The connections would be more readily present in the past than these days.

It is a well crafted story and weaves its message into its context very well.

[salvorhardin]

6. I agree with everyone else

It's a wonderful story and the Christian symbolism is pretty much benign. Even so, I think it represents everything that is great about Christianity -- this coming from an atheist.

On edit: 'benign' sounds wrong in there. not sure what word I'm looking for. I should have been in bed two hours ago. :-)

[qnr]

7. I agree with that.

[Commie Pinko Dirtbag]

10. Harmless, maybe? (nt)

[vixengrl]

8. I saw the religious stuff here and there in the stories--

but I was a weird little kid. I *got* that Aslan was God in Narnia, but it wasn't really a big deal until the last book. I had read some mythology and Bible stories before and was like--"Hey, Narnia's getting ready for a Ragnarok." It didn't blow the fantasy for me.

[tngledwebb]

9. No, but a little scary, and

as an adult the books seemed so strange that I wouldn't want to push them on my children.

[salvorhardin]

11. What aspects of the Narnia stories

make them so strange that you wouldn't want your children to read them?

Not picking a fight here -- everyone has their own opinions on what's best for their kids -- just wondering.

How about Madeline L'Engle's books (A Wrinkle In Time, A Wind In The Door, A Swiftly Tilting Planet, etc.)? These are also great children's literature that have an overtly Christian subtext.

[tngledwebb]

18. I woudn't censor or stop anyone from reading them,

it's just my response on my last look. Maybe I'll have another go.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

13. They were written to bring Christian morality to children. That was the

point.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

15. "In the Narnia Chronicles, Lewis retells the story of Jesus Christ ...

using the character of Aslan the lion as His analog; Lewis does this in language that children find easy to understand, but at the same time the language is not so simple as to make the series unenjoyable for adults. Lewis’s Christianity never intrudes. The Chronicles aren’t a dull retelling of Bible stories or a boring Sunday-school lesson; like everything written by Lewis, the books are eminently readable and while there are great lessons to be learned from them, those lessons are couched in terms of fantasy and adventure that attract and please the reader of whatever age."

http://www.lewrockwell.com/elkins/elkins44.html
 

[gollygee]

17. I've never been religous - and as a child I read the books and loved them

I had no idea they had any relationship to a religious story until I got older.

[Krupskaya]

19. My son loves them.

We read right through all of them last year. He just turned six.

[redqueen]

20. Not at all.

I need to get that series for my kids.

[ContraBass Black]

21. Not until Aslan skinned Eustace.

I see the allegory in all of them now.

[Aristus]

22. I never got the allegory as a kid. Someone pointed it out to me.

I like the books very much, although not as much as LotR and The Hobbit, by Tolkien.

C.S. Lewis is the kind of Christian writer we really need these days. He is benign, loving, and in "The Screwtape Letters", very funny.

It's sad that the foul "Left Behind" crap is what passes for 'Christian' literature these days.

[liontamer]

23. not at all

and when i read his other work when i was a teenager, I was surprised at how non religious the narnia books were. Then I reread them :dunce:

[kiraboo]

24. I knew it had spiritual overtones

though I didn't get the Christian angle despite the fact that I was an avide reader of my children's bible at the time. This is proof, to my mind, that children cannot generally understand the subtleties of the Christian message or any religious message and religious training (if desired) should not begin until a person is old enough to recognize the differences between fact and fiction. IMHO

[progmom]

25. I LOVED those books when I was a child.

Read them all in 2nd and 3rd grade, and had no idea that there were Christian overtones initially. By the time I got to the last book, I did ask my mom if Aslan was supposed to be God.
I got into Madeleine L'Engle by 4th grade, and once again had no idea that this was supposed to have Christian overtones.

I'll tell you, Madeleine L'Engle and CS Lewis had a huge impact on my life, and I wish there were more like them. Real people with a sense of humor who aren't afraid to talk about how it's ok to question and struggle with your faith.

[fishwax]

26. Parents complained when my mom used the 1st in her 5th gr class

but not parents who objected because the book was, on one level, religious, as she half-expected. Instead, it was conservative christian parents who complained about the idolatry, and insisted that their child be allowed to read an alternate assignment (which my mom accommodated).

As a kid, I knew they were religious b/c my brother got the whole set for a confirmation gift when I was 7, but I didn't really get the allegory. Mom's experience just shows that some adult conservative christian minds aren't ready for allegory either.

[TheMightyFavog]

27. I like how all the right wing fundies fawn over C.S. Lewis.

Not knowing that he was an avowed socailist and would definitley not approve of Bush.