That time of year?

Question

Is it time for the yearly, three hundred post where Christians and non Christians argue? Just in time for the holidays!On the same note, I had a funny experience recently. Someone gave my wife passes to go and see Narnia. When we arrived at the theatre we realized it had been rented by a church to premier this "Christian" film. While we were waiting for the movie to start, Pastor Ricky came out to talk to the crowd. He introduced a film critic who writes for a Christian newspaper which I hadn't heard of and he and the film critic went on to have a conversation about how Hollywood needed to recognize the commercial potential of Christian films with Christian themes.

The two of them shared a laugh over the fact that "In Hollywood, you can't underestimate the power of the dollar." Okay. Then they talked about the fact that, with the success of another Christian trilogy, The Lord of the Rings, it was clear that there was a deep hunger for Christian material with Christian themes.
So, I certainly get that CS Lewis wrote something that had a Christ metaphor around sacrifice and rebirth, but aren't there non Christians who also embrace the notion of sacrifice? Also, it seems that Narnia embraces pre-Christian mythology as much as it does Christianity.

Finally, I wasn't aware that LOTR was a "Christian" movie. Is this how people perceive this story? I was under the impression that it was about World War One as much as it was about anything, and that JRR Tolkien's experience of horrifying warfare informed the material at least as much as any religious convictions he must have held.

On the flip side, I'm glad to see that the Christian Right is finally embracing Jewish themes and ideals such as Family, Self Sacrifice, and Honesty. I can't wait for the day that they begin to embrace Surfer ideals such as Honesty, Clean Living, and Generosity.

G

Usenet · Accepted Answer

LOTR was not a Christian movie, but Tolkien was famously Roman Catholic, and converted his atheist/ agnostic friend CS Lewis to the faith, and Lewis went on to be a loud lay Christian. During WW2 Lewis had an inspirational radio show, and he also taught at Oxford (Cambridge? Spacing here) and wrote many books, my fave is The Screwtape Letters, which was published in weekly installment in The Guardian.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]He introduced a film critic who writes for a Christian newspaper which I hadn't heard of and he and the ... The Lord of the Rings, it was clear that there was a deep hunger for Christian material with Christian themes.[/nq]
Sigh!
There is no particular commercial potential in Christian films on Christian themes any more than for humanistic films on humanistic themes, or even pagan films on pagan themes.
Yes, you can always make money on a good life of Christ film, even one like "The Last Temptation of Christ" that was picketed by fundamentalists. After all, the basic story of Jesus, considered just as a story, is an excellent one. But not every life of Christ film suceeds. And you can make money from a story which includes a virtuous and inspirational priest or minister or nun. You can make a good film about Joan of Arc or a film from the novel Ben Hur . But not every such film succeeds.
And you can make a successful film about fantastic superheroes. But again, not every such film succeeds.
The Lord of the Rings and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe were certainly written by self-called Christian authors to whom their religion was very important and who attempted to write tales compatible with their Christian views. But both works are mostly free of open religiosity, are free of any organized church of supposed true believers, free of hymn singing and shows of Christian piety. And the themes in them are far from being merely Christian. It is dubious that such Christian underpinnings as appear in these books are the main reason for their popular success.
There is a moral underpinning in the tales but not one the is not only or merely Christian. The authors of both works well knew that common morality was not peculiar to Christianity. Indeed C.S. Lewis in his writings referred to this common morality as the Tao, quite sensibly adopting this Chinese term.
That these two books have attracted so many is not especially because they are Christian, otherwise how can many aetheists and Jews and neo-pagans read them with delight? They succeed because they are otherwise good books, telling highly imaginative tales and describing senuously and lovingly the fantasy worlds they reveal, worlds that readers would love to inhabit themselves.
Of course films based on such books cannot help but suceed, it they are done well enough to come close to presenting what made the books themselves attractive. Of course, these books say nothing whatsoever about preaching some kind of gospel, giving one's money to the poor and following Christ or healing the sick. I've encountered one short review by a Christian who saw LWW on the recommendation of a minister as being a very Christian film, and he was puzzled because he thought it wasn't.

Quite so.
If fauns, talking animals, sword and shield, a vicious witch queen, and a lion who leaps over tall walls in a single bound excite you, you won't find that in Christian religious tradition or Jewish religious tradition. But isn't that what one reads the book for, and for Aslan who, if is an alternate world version of the second person of the trinity, seems to be the kind of Son who would indeed have driven out the Romans.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Is it time for the yearly, three hundred post where Christians and non Christians argue? Just in time for the ... Tolkien's experience of horrifying warfare informed the material at least as much as any religious convictions he must have held.[/nq]
Too bad that this "critic" was too shallow to actually study something about J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. "The Chronicles of Narnia" are intentionally Christian allegory. Tolkien didn't like allegory and from all I've read this dislike even extended to the "The Chronicles of Narnia", even though they were written by his good friend.

Tolkien was always irritated that people found "allegory" in the "Lord of the Rings". He was Catholic and I think I read somewhere that he removed some rituals from the "Lord of the Rings" that could have been perceived as pagan. (In fact I think he cut out all the rituals.) But he didn't intentionally try to write a "Christian" mythology.

And if that "critic" thinks that "Christianity" is what he saw when he watched "The Lord of the Rings", he's deluding himself.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]And if that "critic" thinks that "Christianity" is what he saw when he watched "The Lord of the Rings", he's deluding himself.[/nq]
So you're saying that Gollum isn't Judas?

Usenet · Answer

@reader2.panix.com:
[nq:2]And if that "critic" thinks that "Christianity" is what he saw when he watched "The Lord of the Rings", he's deluding himself.[/nq]
[nq:1]So you're saying that Gollum isn't Judas?[/nq]
Maybe Judas is just a stock traitor. Standard storytelling.
jaybee

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]So, I certainly get that CS Lewis wrote something that had a Christ metaphor around sacrifice and rebirth, but aren't there non Christians who also embrace the notion of sacrifice? Also, it seems that Narnia embraces pre-Christian mythology as much as it does Christianity.[/nq]
Lewis liked metaphor. He set out to purposely write Narnia and his SF trilogy as Christian metaphor.
[nq:1]Finally, I wasn't aware that LOTR was a "Christian" movie. Is this how people perceive this story? I was under ... Tolkien's experience of horrifying warfare informed the material at least as much as any religious convictions he must have held.[/nq]
JRR Tolkien hated metaphor and allegory in fiction (and he disliked the "Chronicles of Narnia," BTW). Any Christian message in his books was not there by design. He hated that kind of control which is why his fiction is so much better than Lewis' (in my opinion).
[nq:1]On the flip side, I'm glad to see that the Christian Right is finally embracing Jewish themes and ideals such ... I can't wait for the day that they begin to embrace Surfer ideals such as Honesty, Clean Living, and Generosity.[/nq]
I think Christians have been embracing the ideals of family, honesty and self-sacrifice for quite a few centuries as have good people (religious or otherwise) in cultures all over the world.

RonB
"There's a story there...somewhere"

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]LOTR was not a Christian movie, but Tolkien was famously Roman Catholic, and converted his atheist/ agnostic friend CS Lewis ... here) and wrote many books, my fave is The Screwtape Letters, which was published in weekly installment in The Guardian.[/nq]
It should be mentioned that C.S. Lewis did not become a Catholic, Tolkien considered it an "incomplete conversion." The really weird one in their group was Charles Williams. Have you ever read of any of his stuff? Dark and weird.
BTW, I liked the "Screwtape Letters" and, I enjoyed "Narnia" well enough when I was a kid (nowhere near on a LOTR level though), but I could never could get into his SF trilogy (weird it appears to have been influenced by some of Charles Williams' stuff).

RonB
"There's a story there...somewhere"

That time of year?

Top answer

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

Related Questions