By Earl A. Clampett Jr.
I just saw the “Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
C.S. Lewis in allegorical fashion hits the cricket ball out of the ballpark in capturing the real essence of the Gospel story.
Christians who are exposed to these writings of Lewis are taught and understand the heavy use of symbolic references to the redemption account in the Bible. Jesus Christ is seen as the rescuing Messiah through the character of Aslan, the lion. The White Witch represents the illegitimate, rebellious ruler (Satan) of the fallen earth, Narnia, who stole the rightful rule of Narnia from mankind. Aspiring mankind is represented by the four children protagonists.
What is often missed by Christian critics of this work is that the interpretation of the Bible story by Lewis emphasizes not only the forgiveness dimension of the story, but also the redemption and restoration aspects as well.
In the beginning of the Bible account, man has it all. He has a relationship with God. He also has the role of ruler over the earth creation. He was designed for earth, having been given a body. However, man allowed a rebellion begun in the heavens to invade and contaminate the earth, causing man to lose his relationship with God and his position of rulership over the earth.
We learn in the movie that the arrival of the children in Narnia creates a furor of fear in the White Witch kingdom as she and her minions try to prevent the children from learning and attaining their destiny to reclaim their crowns and thrones of authority and power over Narnia.
