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Emphasis Mine In Bible Verses
Introduction
C.S. Lewis, author of 30 books held academic positions in English Literature at Cambridge and Oxford
The Chronicles of Narnia is a series of seven fantasy novels for children written byhim between 1949 and 1954 and illustrated by Pauline Bayne. The order in which they were first published was The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician's Nephew and The Last Battle.
Considered classic of children's literature they are the author's best-known work having sold over 100 million copies in 41 languages. The Chronicles of Narnia have been adapted several times for radio, television, stage, and cinema - The first three made into three movies between 2005 and 2010.
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
The first book - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe achieved critical and box-office success reaching the Top 25 (by revenue) of all films released until that time. It tells the story of four ordinary children: Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie who during World War II are sent away for safekeeping into the English countryside to stay with an old professor until danger subsides at their home in London. During their stay they discover that a wardrobe in the professor’s house leads to the magical land of Narnia (a parallel universe) which was currently under the spell of a witch.
The four children fulfill an ancient, mysterious prophecy, which says that two sons of Adam and two daughters of Eve will come to challenge the curse of the evil white witch who, reigning over the kingdom of Narnia, kept it in perpetual winter for 100 years. The Pevensie children help the lion Aslan and his army save Narnia from eternal winter.
Many Christians saw a great deal of Christian symbolism in the books with parallels to Jesus and the Gospel. In fact, numerous Christian sites praised the book seeing it “as illustrious biblical metaphor” “filled with Biblical allegory and allusions”-
Plaudits
Here is what some Christian web sites had to say
ChristianAnswers.Net
A wonderful adventure. An illustrious biblical metaphor. A beautiful Christmas story. A captivating fantasy. From the very heart of renowned Christian apologetic C.S. Lewis is the story of four children… Lucy introduces her brothers and sister to a realm of make-believe that is more fun than any fantasy and more real than life and death. It is a world that provides friends and enemies, battles and betrayals, family unity and sacrifice, and a promise to become a king or queen. [01]
gotquestions.org
While it is true that the Chronicles of Narnia series includes evil witches and mystical spells, every book is filled with Biblical allegory and allusions. For instance, the hero of the "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" is a lion named Aslan (Jesus is called a lion in Revelation 5:5). Aslan created the world of Narnia with his voice which is very similar to the Genesis account of how God created the earth - "and God said, 'Let there be light'" (Genesis 1:3). In addition, Aslan dies in the place of a sinner, rises from the dead, and by doing so, defeats an age-old curse. Redemption is bestowed upon Narnia because of the death and resurrection of Aslan. [02]
Plugged In online [a registered trademark of Focus on the Family] gives us a “primer on Narnian allegory”:
Aslan serves the Emperor Beyond the Sea (God the Father) and yet is also creator of Narnia (compare Colossians 1:16). Even though Aslan clearly has power over the White Witch, he chooses to work through human beings to accomplish his will to free Narnia. And he offers his own innocent blood to pay for Edmund's sin (Romans 5:8). His "Gethsemane" is a forest glade. His "disciples" are Susan and Lucy. As he is led to the Stone Table to be killed, he is mocked and humiliated by the White Witch's evil cohort yet does not protest or fight back (read Isaiah 53:4-7 and the gospel accounts of Christ's scourging and crucifixion).
Most important, he rises from the dead and the atonement is complete (Colossians 1:13-14). Aslan tells Edmund's siblings not to bring up their brother's betrayal again: "What's done is done," he explains (Psalm 103:12; 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Hebrews 10:17). As he presents Edmund to the court at the castle Cair Paravel, he calls him "Edmund the Just" (see Romans 5:19). [03]
Paganism OR Christian Allegory (Symbolic Representation)
All of the above said in spite of the fact that pagan mythology pervades the book from almost cover to cover.
C.S. Lewis himself said that his book was not a “Christian” book. In his words,
Some people seem to think that I began by asking myself how I could say something about Christianity to children; then fixed on the fairy tale as an instrument; then collected information about child-psychology and decided what age-group I’d write for; then drew up a list of basic Christian truths and hammered out “allegories” to embody them.
This is all pure moonshine. I couldn't write in that way at all. Everything began with images; a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent lion. At first there wasn't even anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord. It was part of the bubbling.# [C. S. Lewis on Writing the Chronicles of Narnia. https://www.epm.org/resources/2002/Oct/28/c-s-lewis-writing-chronicles-narnia/]
With regard to the origin of the Narnia series, Lewis wrote:
“All my seven Narnian books . . . began with seeing pictures in my head. At first they were not a story, just pictures. The Lion all began with a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood. This picture had been in my mind since I was about sixteen. Then one day, when I was about forty, I said to myself: “Let’s try to make a story about it.” At first I had very little idea how the story would go. But then suddenly Aslan came bounding into it. I think I had been having a good many dreams of lions about that time. Apart from that, I don’t know where the lion came from or why He came. But once He was there he pulled the whole story together, and soon He pulled the six other Narnian stories in after Him.” (Of Other Worlds)# [As Quoted in C.S Lewis. https://newchristiancourse.com/c-s-lewis/
Pagan Elements
Lewis’ statement that the Christian element “pushed itself in of its own accord” and “was part of the bubbling” is very rather suspect inasmuch as I have to wonder if just enough resemblance to the Biblical story ‘crept’ in so as to render the book acceptable - even appealing to Christians everywhere - distracting them from the fact that the Chronicles of Narnia draws so very much from pagan mythology.
The magical world of Narnia is inhabited almost exclusively by minotaurs, centaurs and unicorns. Satyrs, fauns, and nymphs cavort among the pages accompanied by cyclopes, dwarfs, griffins and giants. Add tree-spirits and river-gods to this curious mixture and you have quite a wide spectrum of mythological creatures derived from Greek, Roman and Norse mythology.
And that is not all
Not only did the characters like Greek god Bacchus, the Maenads and Mr. Tumnus peacefully coexist with Aslan (The supposed figure of Christ), they were actually portrayed in a positive light.
All of which is extremely troubling simply because the Bible warns us that without holiness no one will see the Lord (Hebrews 12:14) and defines the core meaning of holiness not as "good" but rather "set apart" - thus good. Holiness or separation from the world and it's standards is NOT a virtue, it is the commandment of God, and anyone who professes Christianity without holiness is as phony as the proverbial three dollar bill. See What is Holiness?
As Paul asked the Corinthians
"...what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell among them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the lord. "and do not touch what is unclean; And I will welcome you. (2 Corinthians 6:16 NASB)
Here are some of the positively unchristian characters you will find in the Chronicles of Narnia
River-god
The book contains and account of an animistic "River god" [Emphasis Added]
They turned a little to the right, raced down a steep hill and found the long bridge of Beruna in front of them. Before they had begun to cross it, however, up out of the water came a great wet bearded head, larger than an man's, crowned with rushes. It looked at Aslan and out of it's mouth a deep voice came.
"Hail, Lord" it said. "loose my chains"
"Who on earth is that?" whispered Susan.
"I think it's the river-god, but hush" said Lucy.
"Bacchus" said Aslan. "Deliver him from his chains.”# [Prince Caspian, Harper Collins 1994. Chapter 14 Page 211]
Silenus
In one scene Lucy whispers to Susan...
The boy with the wild face is Bacchus and the old one on the donkey is Silenus. Don't you remember Mr Tumnus telling us about them long ago?"
To which Susan replies that she does remember, but that she would not have "felt safe with Bacchus and all his wild girls" if they had met them without Aslan". # [Chronicles of Narnia. Prince Caspian, Harper Collins 1994. Page 169. Emphasis Added].
So who is Silenus? (Information from various sources)
Silenus usually portrayed as a plump jovial old man with a long beard and puck like nose, bald and with a horse's tail was the teacher and faithful companion of the wine-god Dionysus. Initially Dionysus’ foster father he eventually became a follower of Dionysus and his cult thus becoming inextricably linked with the wine god.
Like Dionysus he was known for orgiastic rituals and excessive wine drinking. Silenus is associated with musical creativity, ecstatic dance, drunkeness which is probably why he is often depicted as being supported by satyrs or carried by a donkey. He is reputed to have much wisdom and can reveal important secrets if captured by mortals .
When the Phrygian king Midas befriended Silenus, he was handsomely reward by Dionysus for his hospitality.
Dionysus
is the Greek god of wine, orchards and fruit, wine making, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, fertility, and theater. Born of Zeus and the mortal Semele he also represents the outstanding features of mystery religions... ecstasy, personal delivery from the daily world through physical or spiritual intoxication, and initiation into secret rites.
The mysteries of the Greek god Dionysius, were celebrated with orgiastic rituals and drunkenness. His Roman counterpart Bacchus was worshipped by women with wild and excessive behavior. The origins of the festival of Mardi Gras, marked by several days of partying, parading, chaos, and most importantly… drinking, is often attributed to the Festival of Dionysus in Greece, since the three groups that followed him, the Sileni, Satyrs, and Maenads, indulge in exuberant drunken binges that often got violent..
Bacchus
Here is a scene as described in Prince Caspian. (Emphasis Added)
“The crowd and dance round Aslan (for it had become a dance once more) grew so thick and rapid that Lucy was confused. She never saw where certain other people came from who were soon capering among the trees. One was a youth, dressed only in a fawn skin, with vine leaves wreathed in his curly hair. His face would have been almost too pretty for a boy’s, if it had not looked so extremely wild.
You felt, as Edmund said when he saw him a few days later, ‘There’s a chap who might do anything, absolutely anything.’ He seemed to have a great many names – Bromios, Bassareus, and the Ram were three of them. There were a lot of girls with him, as wild as he. There was even, unexpectedly, someone on a donkey. And everybody was laughing: and everyone was shouting out, ‘EUAN, EUAN, EU-oi-oi-oi.’ # [The Chronicles of Narnia. Prince Caspian. Harper Collins 1994. Page 167. Emphasis Added].
Bacchus a surname or epithet of Dionysus is another name for Bassareus derived from bassara or bassaris, the long robe which the god himself and the Maenads (below) used to wear in Thrace. The Maenads themselves are often called Bassarae or Bassarides”.# [Encyclopedia Mythica. Bassareus. https://pantheon.org/articles/b/bassareus.html]
The name Bacchus originated in the fifth century BCE and refers to the loud cries with which Dionysus was worshiped at the Dionysiac mysteries, the so-called orgia. This form of worship turned into occasions for licentiousness and intoxication and became popular in Rome around 200 BCE #[Encyclopedia Mythica. Bacchushttps://pantheon.org/articles/b/bacchus.html
The Maenads
In Narnia, the Maenads, portrayed as wild, rambunctious young girls are called Bacchus’ “fierce madcap girls”.
“Then the whole party moved off – Aslan leading. Bacchus and his Maenads leaping, rushing and turning somersaults, the beasts brushing round them, and Silenus and his donkey bringing up the rear. [The Chronicles of Narnia. Prince Caspian Page 211. Emphasis Added]
In Greek mythology, Maenads were the inspired and frenzied female worshippers of Dionysus, the Greek god of mystery, wine, and intoxication… the Roman god Bacchus (above). Their name literally translates as "raving ones".
The Chronicles of Narnia pictures a scene where the Maenads dance with Silenus and Bacchus.
Then three or four Red Dwarfs came forward with their tinder boxes and set light to the pile, which first crackled, and then blazed, and finally roared as a woodland bonfire on midsummer night ought to do. And every-one sat down in a wide circle around it. Then Bacchus and Silenus and the Maenads began a dance, far wilder than the dance of the trees, not merely a dance for fun and beauty (though it was that too), but a magic dance of plenty, and where their hands touched, and where their feet fell, the feast came into existence. Sides of roasted meat that filled the grove with delicious smell, and wheaten cakes and oaten cakes…” [The Chronicles of Narnia. Pages 413-414. Emphasis Added] # [The Chronicles of Narnia. Prince Caspian. Harper Collins 1994. Page 225. Emphasis Added].
Which is an extremely sanitized version of what the Maenads were really about…
They were known as wild, insane women who could not be reasoned with. The mysteries of Dionysus inspired the women to ecstatic frenzy; they indulged in copious amounts of violence, bloodletting, sexual activity, self-intoxication, and mutilation. They were usually pictured as crowned with vine leaves, clothed in fawn skins and carrying the thyrsus, and dancing with wild abandon….
In Greek vase-painting, the frolicking of Maenads and Dionysus is often a theme depicted on Greek kraters, used to mix water and wine. These scenes show the Maenads in their frenzy running in the forests, often tearing to pieces any animal they happen to come across. [Wikipedia]
“For the mystically inclined, maenadism gave women a chance to touch the divine. "The bacchante pays no attention to the silenus who grabs at her in his lust," Otto quotes Plutarch; "the image of Dionysos, whom she loves, stands alive before her soul, and she sees him even though he is far away from her; for the glances of the bacchante sweep up high into the aether and yet are filled with the spirit of love." Her state of frenzy is blessed. She goes beyond the intoxication of wine, the characteristic maenad dance with thrown-back head of vase paintings, to the pure madness and ecstasy of a spirit wedding [to] the god.
The core ritual associated with the worship of Dionysus among the Greeks was orgiastic, meaning that it involved states of trance-like ecstasy, “outside-of-one selfness,” merging with and possession by the god. It was celebrated every two years, at mid-winter near the time of the solstice, on barren mountain tops, especially Mt. Parnassus overlooking Delphi…. [6]
Also
“In depictions of Mænads on 28 of the existent Mænadic vase paintings, the heads of the women show a strong backward bend. The same is true of entranced voodoo dancers, which one researcher has described as 'their heads are thrown weirdly back as if their necks were broken.' # [M. Isidora Forrest. Notes on the Mænads and Ecstatic Dance.
http://www.hermeticfellowship.org/Dionysion/Maenads.html]
Returning to the depiction of the dance around Aslan - the supposed Christ figure... (Emphasis Added)
There were a lot of girls with him, as wild as he. There was even, unexpectedly, someone on a donkey. And everybody was laughing: and everyone was shouting out, ‘EUAN, EUAN, EU-oi-oi-oi.’ # [The Chronicles of Narnia. Prince Caspian. Harper Collins 1994. Page 167. Emphasis Added].
The ancient rites were described by Greek writers such as Euripides who referred to the followers of Dionysus as the "Bacchants of Hades" whose ecstatic cry was Euoi
"Following the torches as they dipped and swayed in the darkness, they climbed mountain paths with head thrown back and eyes glazed, dancing to the beat of the drum which stirred their blood' [or 'staggered drunkenly with what was known as the Dionysos gait']. 'In this state of ekstasis or enthusiasmos, they abandoned themselves, dancing wildly and shouting 'Euoi!' [the god's name] and at that moment of intense rapture became identified with the god himself. They became filled with his spirit and acquired divine powers" # [Peter Hoyle, Delphi (London: 1967), p. 76. As quoted in Mardi Gras & Carnival Goers Feel Call Of Ancient Deity? By Thomas R. Horn. Emphasis Added].
Which brings us to yet another character... Mr. Tumnus.
Mr. Tumnus
This is especially concerning because C.S. Lewis stated how all seven Narnian books began with him seeing pictures in his head. They were not a story, just pictures beginning with “a picture of a Faun carrying an umbrella and parcels in a snowy wood” that he had a mental image of since he was sixteen. Fi.Finally he decided to “try to make a story about it.”
In other words, Tumnus was the initial inspiration for all of the Narnia stories.
Tumnus, described by Lewis as having reddish skin, curly hair, a short pointed beard, horns on his forehead, cloven hooves, shiny black goat legs, and a long goat's tail is the first person Lucy meets in Narnia.
He features prominently in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and again makes his appearance in The Horse and His Boy and The Last Battle.
Mr. Tumnus bears an disconcerting similarity to the Greco/Roman fertility deity Pan, usually represented as a satyr - a creature half-man and half-goat. One plays a flute (Tumnus), the other is known for his trademark  pipes and both live in the forest and party at night.
In Roman mythology, Pan and his counterpart Faunus were both Horned God deities. Pan, popular among many Neo-pagans and occult groups has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat and is recognized as the god of fields, groves, and wooded glens.
It is common knowledge that Pan and Herne are popular names for Satan. Page 144 of Anton Szandor LaVey’s The Satanic Bible lists Pan as one of the Infernal Names of Satan.
He is also connected to fertility and season of spring. Ever-lecherous, Pan was known for his unquenchable sex drive and fearful presence and was involved in numerous love affairs with the “nymphs,” especially Echo, Syrinx, and Pithys. Worshipers of Pan were known for their wild parties.
Note the words of the 1929 Hymn to Pan by Satanist Aleister Crowley [Emphasis Added]
“I rave; and I rape and I rip and I rend
Everlasting world without end!
Mannikin, maiden, maenad, man,
In the might of Pan.”
However incorrectly the popular depictions of Satan are derived from mythological sources.
Half human and half goat, Pan remains one of the most enduring and compelling symbols for the anti-Christ. The significance of the symbolism of the goat comes from Matthew 25:33, 41..
And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left." v. 33
Then He will also say to those on the left hand, 'Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels . . ." vs. 41
A short time before His crucifixion Jesus brought the disciples to Caesarea Philippi, which is not somewhere you get to by accident. From ancient times the place was the site of worship of pagan nature gods, first Ba'al & then Pan, notorious for it’s evil practices and atrociously immoral pagan rites.
It was here that Jesus told His disciples that “upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it”. The rock He was referring to was the cliff where people had carved niches for their idols. The shrines to Ba’al and Pan were the ‘gates of hell’. [Read Article]
The Master Musicians of Joujouka
As an aside .. In thes outh of the Rif in Northern Morocco exists a group that still practices, in a literal sense, the Rites of Pan. "The Master Musicians of Joujouka", as they are called, inhabit a mystical world where music is the key that unlocks the supernatural.
As said on their site
The Masters’ performances feature a dancer dressed as Bou Jeloud, a Pan-like figure half goat half man. Although the character of Bou Jeloud is found all over Morocco, it takes on different form in Joujouka. In Joujouka, Bou Jeloud gave an Attar ancestor the gift of flute music and bestowed fertility on the village every spring when he danced. The music relating to this is the Masters at their most mind-blowingly powerful. #[https://www.joujouka.org/about/]
Brian Jones Presents the Pipes of Pan at Joujouka, was a 1968 album produced by Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones. The album was a recording of the Moroccan group the Master Musicians of Joujouka, in performance in their village, Jajouka [spelled "Joujouka" on the original album]. Jones called the tracks "a specially chosen representation" of music played in the village during the annual week-long Rites of Pan Festival described by rock artist and writer, Robert Palmer in his article in Rolling Stone Magazine.
"When the music and energy were at their height, the tribesmen milled in ecstatic trances, their eyes rolled back in their heads, screaming like a great rending of the heavens.... Pan himself was there. Several times I witnessed the instant when the current began to surge in earnest and coursed through the quivering frame of a local shepherd...
When the power came down, the shepherd suddenly wasn't there and Someone Else was looking out of eyes that abruptly began to glow like ruby lasers. One night he came and jerked me out of the crowd, and I ran with him. He leaped through a bonfire, and then I was in the bonfire, surrounded by flames but unharmed. Then I was spinning like a top, spinning into darkness. 'We have seen you through the music,' they (the Pan-worshipers) told me, 'Now you are one of us.'"# [Rolling Stone Magazine, March 23, 1989, p. 106].
Conclusion
Films like Narnia in which Pan appears friendly and even benign are doing their bit to changing the historically mythical Pan’s notorious reputation. In the words of Ruthanne Prioreschi in Hercules, Narnia, and Pan’s Labyrinth
“Media depictions of the mythical creature Pan has illustrated the creature benevolently despite his sexually horrific past… The positive image of Pan is a definitive example of how the media powerfully encrypts and shapes perceptions of even the most offensive creature”.
And while the media is entitled to portray Pan in a positive light and C.S. Lewis was entitled to write whatever he wanted, it is mind boggling how Christians can once again be fooled.
Since the story bears a vague resemblance to the Gospel inasmuch as Aslan created Narnia, chose to work through human beings to accomplish his will, offered his own innocent blood and rose from the dead, Christians have all but ignored the serious element insidiously introduced... the blurring of the distinction between good and evil.
See What is Holiness?
Aslan frolics with characters like Bacchus, the Maenads and the mirror image of Pan, all of whom Jesus would have had nothing to do with, but would have cast out. While on the one hand the white witch - a fantasy character - is portrayed as evil, the other very dangerous creatures based on ancient mythology and depictions of Satan himself peacefully co-exist with Aslan in tolerance, mutual respect and cooperation.
Call The Chronicles of Narnia a fantasy adventure. Call it a classic of children's literature, if you must.
But please DO NOT call it a Christian allegory.
End Notes
[01] The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. Reviewed by Chris Monroe Christian Answers
www.christiananswers.net/spotlight/movies/2005/thechroniclesofnarniathelionthewitchandthewardrobe2005.html
[02] Should a Christian read the Chronicles of Narnia series or see the movies?
www.gotquestions.org/Chronicles-of-Narnia.html
[03]The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe.
https://www.pluggedin.com/movie-reviews/chroniclesofnarniathelionthewitchandthewardrobe/
[04] www.pantheon.org/articles/s/silenus.html
[5] Greek Myth Index http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0479.html
[6] http://www.carnaval.com/maenads/ Emphasis Added
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