Chronicles of Narnia & Lor of the Rings

Carla - posted on 08/22/2012

MaryEllen's original question was to explain the difference between the magic in Narnia and Harry Potter. In Harry Potter, he goes to wizard school (witchcraft) and casts 'white' or good magic. Having been involved in this for a very brief time, I can tell you quite emphatically that white magic is the stepping stone to black magic. It looks all cutsy, but very quickly becomes boring. Then comes 'the good stuff'. It took me a long time to get all that stuff out of my head and heart.

I don't care if Harry IS trying to overcome 'evil' with 'good'. Casting spells is witchcraft, pure and simple. And, as Christians we know that Satan cannot cast out Satan, nor would he WANT to!

Everyone here has their own free will. But, if we are claiming the Name of Jesus, we need to be very careful what we are dabbling in. If you NEED to read something, go to the Bible Book Store and find one of the hundreds of books lifting up Christian morals and Godly living. Remember, garbage in, garbage out.

God bless

Angela - posted on 08/22/2012

OK - C.S. Lewis's Narnia Chronicles were loosely based on Biblical ideals - written as an allegory of the Christian message. I didn't know that when I first read them at the age of 11. I just enjoyed the books! I still think they're great stories and have enjoyed the movies as well.

J.R.R. Tolkien's books about Middle Earth were nowhere near as easy to read and enjoy as Lewis's Narnia books! Apparently Tolkien and Lewis were friends when at Cambridge University and both were Christians - Lewis converted to Christianity from Tolkien's influence.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ch/news...

I managed to read The Hobbit but gave up on Lord Of The Rings when I was a couple of hundred pages into the first book. My husband has the movies of the entire Lord Of The Rings trilogy - I couldn't be bothered to read the books, nor can I be bothered to watch the DVD's!

Tolkien's books by his own admission are NOT allegories of the Christian faith and message. Both men set out to write the kind of books they would've loved to read, I believe most authors do this. Both men had an interest in fables, mythology and fantasy. They brought that interest to their literature.

Now I've not read any JK Rowling. She says she's a Christian - and I quote here - ""I go to church myself", she says, "I don't take any responsibility for the lunatic fringes of my own religion". She once said, "I believe in God, not magic." Early on she felt that if readers knew of her Christian beliefs, they would be able to "guess what is coming in the books."

I'm not that keen on her books, they don't sound as though they're to my taste. But all respect to her for being a published author and succesful in her field.

If we say books that have "magic" in the story are unChristian and a satanic influence, what can we say about the rest of fiction?

Science Fiction? Also a fantasy genre - perhaps it's not pleasing to God that we read these books.
Crime novels? Usually have at least one murder in them. Hardly uplifting!
Romance? Pure escapism and things like that don't happen in real life ....
Travel books? Breed dissatisfaction in the reader, they come to feel less than content with their home & hearth!
Westerns? Violence and misogynistic macho images.
Horror? Glorifies evil, the occult ...

For me, every one of these genres is just fiction. Made-up stories.

Let's not lose sight of that. There is more going on in this world than to make a big deal about story books.

Lauren - posted on 08/21/2012

@Heather - I totally agree! Sure, there are movies and books that have actions that go against the Bible...so does every single day in the world around us. Our children need to learn how to be imaginative at a young age...this begins before they are even remotely able to identify with any sort of God figure. And while I am choosing not to read "50 Shades of Gray," it's not JUST because it's all sexual. It's also poorly written and there are tons of other books that make my must-read list first.

As parents, it's our job to help our children not only learn what's right but decipher between what's right and wrong. I will not take my child to a strip club or tell him to try drugs in order to learn those things, but I'd rather them always feel they can ask me about what they encounter. If I portray myself as thinking nearly everything is bad and should be avoided, my kids will 1) not open up to/ask me about things they encounter and 2) potentially rebel against what I teach them, feeling they are too restricted from enjoying life. I think we have to find a balance...porn=never good; books w/magic=good to read, not to do. Both of my kids--when age-appropriate--can watch mostly any movies and read mostly any book...and then we'll discuss the good and bad of each. We need to be careful about what we limit while still being parents and not just friends. It's a happy balance between being their advocate and letting them learn and defend what they believe for themselves.

To look at it another way, we can best defend our stance by being fully informed. I am adamently pro-life, but I won't win an argument with my extremely liberal friend by pleading about my feelings; i need to understand why she has her opinion and present facts to counter those stances. Similarly, we defend our beliefs as Christians best by understanding what makes us similar and different from others (i.e. - Catholics restrict communion to baptized Catholics because they believe it is the real body and blood of Jesus, not a symbol; most other denominations believe it a symbol so anyone can participate in communion). If we never take the time to expose our children (and ourselves)...always within logical reason and safety to things that are different, we are teaching our children that having unique qualities and opinions is a bad thing.

What kind of society would we be if we rejected each new idea? We wouldn't have great food, great entertainment, great art, great books...or even bad things to dislike. And frankly, we'd be really really bored. This life is meant to help us prepare for Heaven, but God still wants us to enjoy the gifts we have and the great things we can accomplish with those gifts.

Anna Del C - posted on 08/19/2012

It isn't that one is acceptable and the other is not. All has to do with our own perception of values. Values can change from one person to the next and because of that is why some people like it and some don't. That is perfectly OK. I keep telling to the people I talk to as an author, "The reason why there is so many authors is because there is so many different kind of taste in the readers." If we all liked the same author what would happen in the world of writing?
It is just peoples opinion nothing else. I think all three movies are awesome in their own way. My books were inspire by Tolkien's Lord of the Rings and I love those books. And I claim the right to like them or not just like anyone else.
Anna del C. Dye
for clean tales of Elfs & Romance
http://www.annadelc.com

Krislyn - posted on 07/24/2011

first of all if you at statistics most of America claims to be christians but if you see what they truly value and how moral decay is apparent you know it"s only a statistic with not much truth behind it. I mean our own president claimed to be one and just a few months ago said how great same sex married is in new york is so that tells you how easy people may say they are but the actions and fruit they produce say different. I don't like any of these movies and about the whole good versus evil these people are still using "good magic" which coming from a back round where i use to full around with magic and had satanic friends prior to being a christian I know what to look for from those who never have. Most witches believe what they are doing is not bad and some refer to it as white magic but in reality there is no such thing magic is magic and portraying it as anything good is far from the truth!!!! Also in Narinia the first character in the first movie the man who is half human and half horse is a pegan god and it goes on from there. when it comes to harry potter I can't even begin to list all the things that real witches do to this day that are portrayed in that movie and bottom line would suggest you keep your kids from all these movies!

Love♥My♥Kids - posted on 07/21/2011

I know that C.S. Lewis based the Chronicles of Narnia off of biblical principles. Aslan stood for deity - God/Jesus/Holy Spirit. I know that the White Witch was comparable to Satan... I don't remember a lot about what I was taught in relation to the Bible and Narnia. I do know that we were taught it was based off of the Bible...
Harry Potter - yes, it is the battle between good and evil. Good prevails. It is a great fantasy and I do not think that people need to judge it at all. If Harry Potter would have come out when I was say, in Middle School, my mom would not have allowed me to watch it at all! I was like 16 when I first got to watch Dirty Dancing, and still had to "cover my eyes" during the sexual scenes. My mom had to explain abortion to me.
I grew up sheltered and in what I call "The Church Bubble". I do not force much in the way of religion on my children. In fact, although I grew up Christian, I do not regularly practice any religious beliefs or activities. My children do attend church services with my sister and mother at times. They go to VBS, and went to church at a methodist preschool. So, they learn about God and the Bible.
They love Harry Potter and Twilight! And, I do not see anything wrong with allowing them to watch these films. They know it is fantasy.

Evon - posted on 05/19/2010

I don't think neither movies are acceptable

Vanessa - posted on 05/19/2010

The books and the movies are not evil, but they are ushers. They are not sins but they can show you how to sin. I believe it is a matter of what is appropriate to your family, what influences you allow in your household, and how you deal with them. Children are very impressionable and you may tell them that witchcraft, magic, or whatever is wrong and the stories are fictional but the stories show your young children that its okay to be amongs things and tolerate people committing sin as long as they are a decent person. This is the same issue of secular music/video games/ and television. Your creating a very thin line for your children to lean against. As a Christian mother, comprimise with sin, is something I chose to stay away from. Ephesians 5:11 says "have no fellowship with the unfuitful works of darkness, but rather expose them for what they are." 2pet 3:17 says "...beware lest u be led away with the error of the wcked." I am not saying anyone here has the issue, but the decision usually has to do with what mom and dad r willing to give up exposure to as well

Heather - posted on 05/18/2010

Deuteronomy also says that women should ONLY wear skirts, NEVER cut their hair, that all people should wear tassels on the 4 corners of ALL garments of their clothing, certain meats should never be consumed, and that two types of fabric should never be mixed in an item of clothing- yet I highly doubt that you follow all of those rules. Do you?

Furthermore, the passage you quoted speaks about the PRACTICE of such things- says nothing about reading a book about FICTIONAL characters who do. I believe Christ is in me, and my faith strong enough, not to be swayed by a work of fiction into practices that are not pleasing to God (I do agree with you on that point). I also trust my parenting skills, and those of my husband, to teach proper values to my children, so that they, too, have a faith strong enough to separate fiction from reality and understand holy practices vs. those that are not.

Personally, I think it's "much ado about nothing". They are stories, not something Satan himself concocted to woo people to witchcraft.

Jill - posted on 05/18/2010

Jesus was good but you didn't see him using magic or sorcery....

Deut. 18:10-12 there shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through fire or who uses divination or is a soothsayer or an augur or a sorcerer.
or a charmer or a medium or a wizard or a necromancer
for all who do these things ARE AN ABOMINATION TO THE LORD and it is because of these ABOMINABLE PRACTICES that the Lord your God is driving them out before you.

i don't know alot but i would say this is very specific about this subject.... but your the only one who will have to answer to God...Opening the doors for Satan to come through in your life is detrimental to your children....

Heather - posted on 05/18/2010

I have to say, I am personally deeply offended by the implication that reading/enjoying Harry Potter and similar stories makes me Un-Christian. And we wonder why non-believers say we are hypocrits and judges. Puh-lease!

First of all, CS Lewis was a Christian author, yes, but DID NOT claim that the Chronicles of Narnia was an allegory. That's an assumption we make b/c he was a Christian author and there are parallels. You can draw parallels w/Lord of the Rings, as well, but Tolkien has explicitly stated that any parallels were completely unintentional, as Tolkien is NOT infusing religion into the stories. All 3 stories contain elements of magic being used both for good and evil. It is parental responsibility to teach our children the difference between fantasy/fiction and reality. They are GREAT stories, FICTIONAL stories- great for dialog, entertainment and growing a child's imagination. I would challenge anyone to find even one person who says they became Wiccan or tried to fly with a broom because they read Harry Potter as a child.

You can find evil in anything, if you look hard enough. Perhaps instead of seeking it out all the time, we should start to look for the GOOD in things instead, enjoy them for what they are, and not expect books to teach our children how to find God- that's our job as parents.

Vanessa - posted on 05/15/2010

Okay, My thoughts: We have to be VERY careful of what we expose our chidren to. What we as christians fail to realize that what doors we open in our childs life can be very difficult to close later. We are living in an age where satanism is running rampant He is the father of lies and if something is not the whole truth, it is a lie. The bible is very specific in regard to witchcraft, divination, fortune telling, envocation of spirits, and creating images of God. I used to love Harry Potter until I watched my 6 year old nephew run around trying to cast spells. I bought all the Narnia books and read some of it to my step children until they began to constantly compare Jesus to Aslan. Lord of the rings is a fictional sory to me and in no way seems like a comparison to the bible but, for exposure purposes, movies and books are age appropriate. We do not let the children watch it. Rmember that when a child is used to seeing certain things, they become desensitized and the next time something similar shows its face, the shock value is gone and want should be foreign to our children are now beginning to be normal. One of my Coworkers who professess to be a Christian ststed that she allows her kids to watch/read the twilight series because it teaches her children about love as a teenager. When I replied that it is a Vampire story but the Vampires are good Vampires, I explained to her that they are evil creatures, regardless. The bible teaches to flee from the very prescence of evil. Satan is very cunning and sneaky and if he can get in the minds of our children he has won the next generation. I don't know the different author's beleifs but but I know we have to be very careful in what we approve for our children

Jill - posted on 05/12/2010

any one can say they are a Christian ... are they living by God's commands though? magic and sorcery are totally against the bible... even if it is in a book...

Cara - posted on 05/06/2010

Just my take... I am reading Narnia right now with my girls. I know it is an allegory, and overall, maybe I am missing the magic? I know they go through a 'portal' into Narnia. I see the characters tht represent God, Jesus and Satan.
I don't really see any similarity to Harry Potter. We chose not to read Harry Potter, basically because he is a wizard. I do object to witchcraft being supposedly 'good'. A witch/wizard is a servant of satan, so... I just wasn't interested. I really can't comment on it. My girls weren't interested, so ...
Lord of the Rings... I thought it was an allegory, until I read the notes at the beginning of my copy of... one of them. The author said in his notes tht were included that it wasn't intended as such... hmmm. We were just getting ready to read the next one. I do see it as a battle between good and evil, but, again, I don't like wizards being treated as 'on the side of good'. I had friends get caught up in the occult because of getting drawn into 'white magic'.

MaryEllen - posted on 03/28/2010

"watch"?? We've read the books. Yes, for all of those series. The Narnia series is my favorite as far as imagery and over-all fantasy feel. Harry Potter has the most well developed characters (the central character are well developed a few are seriously lacking depth), LotR was the driest to me. It relied too heavily on battle scenes for my taste. It's my husband's favorite, though. Both kids pefer Harry Potter, although the little one hasn't read the books yet and has only seen the movies on TV -- I do think they'd be too overwhelming for her in a theater.

Aside from a great story, the first Harry Potter book isn't very well written. A few passages are clunky and the grammar is a bit off in places. The second is better written and the rest seem completely professional. The storytelling in each book and for the entire story arc is excellent, though.

Christa - posted on 03/28/2010

I do want to add that I keep hearing that Narnia's magic is ok because it's portrayed as evil. I've been thinking more about that and that's really not true. The "good guys" get to Narnia via a magic wardrobe or a picture on the wall then while in Narnia they age, but when they return they haven't aged a bit. Plus in Lion, the witch and the wardrobe Lucy is given the magic potion that cures people. So there is magic from the good guys, in my eyes it is no different then Harry Potter, except HP obviously has more.

Christa - posted on 03/28/2010

Sharon, to fully understand Harry Potter and see all the themes you have to go through all 7 books. The first one only barely starts to set things up. I really enjoy them, but there are differing opinons from Christians because of the magic element.

Sharon - posted on 03/28/2010

I can seewhy nardi is. I tried to watch Harry Potter, but did not get the connection even in the first one. so I did not watch any of them. do you recommend it?

Tracey - posted on 03/27/2010

I personally love a story that I can get lost in...each one of these people is a very talented author! And I have the liberty to enjoy them all!

MaryEllen - posted on 03/27/2010

Tracey, you state it well. Ultimately we all need to change the way we respond to the things that do not affect salvation. "It is not acceptable to me because god told me so."

One of the points I was trying to make is that there is no difference in the themes of these stories. Friendship is forged in a core group that *chooses* to fight evil. They suffer the death of their mentor, face betrayal. There's a bit of in-fighting that gets resolved before the end where good triumphs over evil. And, life goes on - normal everyday life.

Tracey - posted on 03/27/2010

We all have personal favorites and personal convictions that so often we try to turn into new commandments and laws for other christians to follow. Jesus told peter "never mind the other guy and what I tell him to do, you follow me!" (okay, we all know that was my paraphrased version) We should all remember this advice when issues like these arise. The Holy Ghost is personally indwelling each one of us to guide us into all truth...if we follow the spirit we sill not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. We are no longer under law, but have the abundance of grace. Just be certain that you are in faith...for whatever is not faith is sin. My personal convictions are just that...they are between my Lord and I. So often we forget that this is not a religion with a set of rules and regulations...this is a relationship with a spouse and his bride; a father and his child. Ask and He will tell you what you should do...and don;t feel compelled to force everyone into the same mold. So in answer to the question what is the difference and why is one acceptable and no the other?...it is personal conscience. For one they may have a "check" in their spirit that says no! For others they may embrace all! And some, like me have even felt that the Left Behind series is so far off the mark that God made it repulsive to me to read and there have been many other "acceptable" books and authors that I have felt for me to read would have been a mistake. Let us not forget the liberty of conscience that Christ died to give us and to share with others.

Melissa - posted on 03/26/2010

My personal view is that your responsible for your childrens knowledege of witchcraft.
I have let my children watch all three series. then if they have questions on the contentI explain it to them.Better me than there friends that might not go to church.but i dont see a difference.in the movies. good verse evil. GOD verse the devil.

Christa - posted on 03/26/2010

Here's an interview back in 2000 where she point blankly says she is not a witch. It's about half way down in the interview, right above PART 2.

http://www.angelfire.com/mi3/cookarama/e...

MaryEllen - posted on 03/26/2010

Marcia, did you hear her claim to be a witch? I've seen and heard many an interview with her and never have I heard that. I have heard her speak about her church and about being a Christian (and being attacked by other Christians).

Christa - posted on 03/26/2010

I agree MaryEllen! I think people turn a blind eye to the supernatural powers in Narnia, specifically, because it's Christian. And Harry Potter people hear wizard and immediately ban it. If you wanted to make biblical parallels to HP you could, even if that wasn't the authors intention. The whole series is a fight over the world, good vs evil. If Lord Voldemort isn't a parallel to what Satan tries to do to our world I don't know what is. I do believe children need to have a certain level of maturity before they see/read HP, but once they are old enough it's a great story of good vs. evil. In my eyes no different then Narnia or LOTR, which I also love.

Marcia - posted on 03/26/2010

Personally, I think all the books mentioned are fine for children to read. I do see why some will object to Harry Potter and not the others. My children have read all these books and have seen the movies. The only one they tried to act out was Harry Potter. Pretending to be wizards. I quickly put a stop to that. We sat down and discussed why I didn't think that even pretending to practice witch craft was appropriate. We then talked about how the books were alike and how they were different. I think the reason most people object to Harry Potter is that the focus is more on the study of witch craft and less on the battles between good and evil. That and the fact that the author claims to be a witch herself.

Amy - posted on 03/26/2010

JK Rowlings is a Christian? I'm pretty sure she wouldn't confess herself as a born-again. Though I won't profess to know what's between her and God.



CS Lewis is one of the most brilliant philosophers in the history of man. No lie, no exaggeration. His series "the chronicles of narnia" are a metaphor about Christian Life and heaven. The people in his books don't have any "special powers" but the other characters do, in a way... but those characters represent God, Jesus, and Satan.



I'm not familiar enough with Tolkein's works to speak intelligently about them, but I understand those books are also metaphors about Christianity...



Personally, I don't think the Harry Potter series is unacceptable, but I do see the difference among the authors and the storylines.