Chronicles of Narnia

I recently finished reading the Chronicles of Narnia. I read the first two books in high school, and have grown up watching different versions of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." I really enjoyed the first two, and never got a chance to read the rest of it.

CS Lewis is one of my favorite authors, both in areas of fiction and non-fiction. He, along with Tolkien of course, opened the doors for the fantasy genre. At the same time, Lewis was, and still is, a leader in philosophically explaining the Christian faith.

With that said, I have great respect for Lewis and his writings. i enjoyed all of the books of the series, some more than others. I must say that my least favorite was "The Horse and His Boy" which is the book that follows "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." Other than that, I
enjoyed each of the books.

I look forward to seeing the next movie in the Chronicles of Nanria movies, which is going to be "Prince Caspian" (book four). Of the last five books of the series, that was probably my favorite and so I have high expectations for it.

Although I have high respects for Lewis and his Narnia stories, I do have several complaints.
First, the books were written more for children than for adults. They remind me of "the Hobbit" by Tolkien. And, as you can imagine, I was somewhat disappointed with the writing.

But, at the same time, I must say that Lewis has written some of the best stories for children ever. It is not by accident that even adults still read the series. Although they are at times simple, they are still interesting. Lewis is able to paint Narnia inside your mind to make you feel that you are there.

The second thing I must complain about it the theology of the series. My main concern here is in the last book, "the Last Battle." The conclusion of the book consist of essencially the day of Judgment. In the book, several character come before Aslan expecting Judgment from him believing that they will not be in Aslans heaven.

One of the characters, as he stands before Aslan, admits that during his life he was a follower of Tash and worshiped him, and not Aslan. After talking for sometime, Aslan essentially says that although he was worshiping Tash, he was really worshiping Aslan.

From there, another character gets the same treatment from Aslan after he admits to be a false Aslan. He, too, enters into the heaven-like state.

Lewis is essentially a inclusiveness; one who believes that people of other beliefs will be in heaven. The Narnia series is not the only place he unveils this theological viewpoint. He makes it very clear in his infamous book, "Mere Christianity."

With all of this aside, the series as a whole is very well done. For the most part, each book leads to the next. It is a great read and I encourage every believer and every fantasy lover to read the series and enjoy one of the greatest writers tell you a great story.