Forum

Share:
Notifications
Clear all

General question about Narnia (1)

kidSpain
(@kidspain)
NarniaWeb Newbie

Maybe these are silly questions but I would like to ask two things about Narnia:

1. - "What is Narnia?" --> What is the meaning of this Kingdom for a Christian?

ReplyQuote
Topic starter Posted : July 6, 2019 8:34 pm
SirVincentofNarnia
(@sirvincentofnarnia)
NarniaWeb Regular

I looked around for a bit, I couldn’t really find anything on word meaning, but for a Christian is a different story. Being a Christian myself I know full well CS Lewis and his beliefs. Lewis wrote Narnia with a lot of different Christian themes as did his friend Tolkien in LoTR. Like Aslan dying and coming back has certain connotations. There are other references that would probably take up a few pages but you also must understand is that this is also fantasy, while there are definitely real world connotations and meanings, Lewis wrote this to be a great and fun story. :)

Let us go on and take the adventure that shall fall to us
-Queen Susan
The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

People are quick to judge but slow to correct themselves
-Ezio Auditore, Assassin's Creed Brotherhood

ReplyQuote
Posted : August 5, 2019 5:42 pm
Jasmine liked
Lindsaydoering
(@lindsaydoering)
NarniaWeb Regular

Narnia is the ancient name of Narni - a town about half way between Assisi and Rome. 

ReplyQuote
Posted : July 26, 2021 2:14 pm
Courtenay liked
Jasmine
(@jasmine_tarkheena)
NarniaWeb Guru

CS Lewis may have gotten the name Narnia from a town in Italy. There was a legend of "Blessed Lucy of Narnia" (it may have been the inspiration of Lucy Pevensie, the first child of the four children to discover Narnia).

As for the Kingdom for Christians, some arguments could be made. CS Lewis never intended Narnia to be allegory. He actually said this-

"What might Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?"

In the Focus On The Family Radio Theatre, in the prologue of The Last Battle, Douglas Gresham states-

"Where The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe gives a promise, The Last Battle sees that promised fulfilled."

You could argue that the Chronological order of the Chronicles is like Genesis-Revelation. Edmund is Judas and Barabbas (Edmund was supposed to die on the stone table, like Barabbas was supposed to be the one crucified); Eustace is Paul (Saul going blind and Eustace turning into a dragon made them realize how they've mistreated others); Lucy has the faith of a child, being the youngest of four children; Peter is the apostle Peter (Peter Pevensie was chosen to be the High King, like the Apostle Peter was chosen to be leader of the church); Aravis and Emeth are represented of how God accepts all people, no matter their racial backgrounds. Aravis could be like Rahab and Ruth, who were both Gentiles and accepted into the Jewish family; Emeth has often be viewed as the Ethiopian Eunuch in Acts.

"And this is the marvel of marvels, that he called me beloved."
(Emeth, The Last Battle)
https://escapetoreality.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/aslan-and-emeth2.jpg

ReplyQuote
Posted : October 16, 2021 1:29 pm
coracle
(@coracle)
NarniaWeb's Auntie Moderator

@jasminetarkheena  you could, but it would be wrong. You would be closer if you said they reminded us of those Bible characters. 

There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself.
"...when a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards."

ReplyQuote
Posted : October 16, 2021 5:59 pm
Courtenay and Jasmine liked
Jasmine
(@jasmine_tarkheena)
NarniaWeb Guru

@coracle That, too.

I think that in The Last Battle, where Shift would say, "This is what Aslan wants you to do", it's kind of like if we say "This is what God wants me to do" or "It is God's will", but in reality, it's not the case.

I suppose that Rishda and Emeth could be viewed as the Pharisee and the Tax Collector- Rishda demonstrates arrogance, like the Pharisee, and Emeth demonstrates humility, like the Tax Collector.

"And this is the marvel of marvels, that he called me beloved."
(Emeth, The Last Battle)
https://escapetoreality.files.wordpress.com/2010/03/aslan-and-emeth2.jpg

ReplyQuote
Posted : October 17, 2021 3:14 pm
coracle liked
WishingThereWasMore
(@wishingtherewasmore)
NarniaWeb Newbie

As other's have discussed, the series does have references to the Judeo-Christian Bible that C.S. Lewis believed in.

What is the meaning of this Kingdom for a Christian?

I too am a Christian, and would suggest looking into the Bible itself for an explanation as to what the Kingdom is. In the years that Jesus walked the earth, he often said he was here to bring the "Kingdom of God" or "Kingdom of Heaven." In the New Testament, we see these two mentions of the Kingdom over 80 times. The primary books they're found in are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.

ReplyQuote
Posted : October 27, 2021 8:20 pm
Col Klink liked
Cyberlucy
(@cyberlucy)
Member Friend of NarniaWeb

I think you have to be careful about making direct corollaries to anything in the Christian Bible because Lewis shaped a lot of what he wrote in the Chronicles from the things other than it.  Lewis himself warned people that you can't make it into strict allegory.  That's because a lot of what is written in the Chronicles isn't strictly from Christian theology.   Lewis was a scholar who was well aware of other myths, legends, and spiritual practices and drew from them.  There is also a healthy dose of psychology and an understanding of children in it.    

I've always felt that Narnia provided a place where the Pevensies could freely explore what was within them as people and to learn about themselves.   They were given trials where they could see what they were able to do, and their opinions would be heard by adults and taken into account.   It was a place were they could experience the adult world in a way that was less threatening than it was on Earth.  Even when I read this as a child I remember thinking how cool it was that children near my own age where given the opportunity to do adult things and have support from beings like Aslan in doing them.  

These are only shadows of the real world

ReplyQuote
Posted : November 7, 2021 8:20 pm
Courtenay liked
Share: