The Heart of the Chronicles of Narnia: Knowing God Here by Finding Him There

by Thomas Williams

In addition to being one of the best-loved books of all time, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrob e is sure to set box-office records when it releases in theatres Christmas 2005. Distributed by Disney, directed by Andrew Adamson (director of Shrek ), with special effects by the WETA Workshop ( The Lord of the Rings ), and backed by a $150 million dollar budget, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe will draw millions of eager viewers, Christian and non-Christian alike. After viewing the movie, Christians and Lewis fans will excitedly walk away with a renewed enthusiasm for this classic installment of The Chronicles of Narnia. Using exciting biblical parallels, this companion book will lead readers into a deeper understanding of Christ and will help them discover how these tales by C. S. Lewis beautifully expose a dynamic, joyful, loving God who wants his creatures to experience deep joy and delight.

Genres: Nonfiction, Christian

224 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2005

Reviews

[Lou Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Heart of the Chronicles of Narnia by Thomas Williams focuses on different Christian themes. The author uses the Narnia stories as metaphors or illustrations to back up the points he is making.

Some of the themes mentioned are God, creation, temptation and evil, death, faith, prayer, knowing God’s will and doing it, and Heaven.

The book jumps backwards and forwards between the Narnia stories. For this reason, I would advise reading this book after you have finished the Chronicles of Narnia.

Overall, I enjoyed it. It was written in a different style to the other two Narnia related books that I’ve read. I give this book 8.5 out of 10.

[Mark Kemen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and helpful. I felt like I was getting a guided tour in the museum of the books of Narnia by their best guide. I rarely read books for a second time, but this will be one I read again in the future.

[Chad · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of Christian lessons from all 7 of The Chronicles of Narnia. The lessons aren't especially deep or insightful. I didn’t learn much, but to be fair, I’ve read many books that draw lessons from Narnia.

Notes
Not A Tame Lion The Truth About God
Aslan is a "Christlike being" and "a type of Christ."

Romping With The Lion Fun, Happiness, And Joy
The Bible presents joy, fun, humor, and celebration as characteristics of God’s creatures.

Christ died so that we could escape the misery our enemy inflicted and live the joy he intended. To live in needless gloom is to reject a gift for which he paid a great price. We find our joy in being restored to Christ, and it is available in no other way. Each time we experience the delights of creation, our minds should travel up the beam to him as the Source, and we should shout our thankfulness and express it by being as joyful as he meant us to be.

The Blind Dwarfs Faith And Sight
Some truths can't be empirically verified, and we must operate on trust of documents, trust of witnesses, and common sense. This isn't the same as empty hope or wishful thinking. For example, we believe the deed to a house to be valid based on the title company's documents, and we believe bridges to be reliable without demanding empirical proof before crossing each one.

Christianity is strongly supported by credible testimony, reliable documents, historical corroboration, archaeological finds, and reason. Christians don't believe despite of evidence, but because of evidence. Blind faith isn't required or admired.

Longing For Aslan The Object Of All Desire

Rather than asking the tired old question, “Why is there so much evil in the world?” Narnia forces us to answer another question: “Why is there so much good in the world?” We can account for evil in the fact of our free will and the Fall. But if there is no God, how can we account for all the beauty, wonder, love, joy, and delight in the world?

[Miriam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does an excellent job of walking through some of the themes and messages in C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia series, without taking away any of the joy and pleasure that the stories give. I especially liked the fact that the author quotes extensively from the various books in the series, not just one book and not just once as a jumping off point for the chapter. He also makes good use of Lewis's other writings to clarify and explain what Lewis believed and how those beliefs are naturally embedded in the Narnia stories. One thing to note - this book does include an example from Perelandra (Lewis's 2nd Space Trilogy book) which gives away a fairly major plot point. But overall a really fun ride back through Narnia, catching up on all the beautiful hints and glimpses of real world truths hidden in the stories.

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. I found some parts engaging & enlightening, but others parts didn’t hold me or I didn’t agree with what he said. My favourite bit:

‘The sounding of the horn in Narnia is the same activity that we call prayer. All the answers come about in much the same way. Just as the horn in Narnia does not often bring Aslan himself, our prayers do not bring God himself, at least not in tangible form. God does much of his work in our world as Aslan does it in his. He sends others into our lives with the help we need.’

& referring to the blind dwarves in The Last Battle: ‘They will believe only what they can see, but they will see only what they believe.’

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall, a great read for any fans of Narnia. There were some chapters that felt a little shallow or like the author was reaching a little to make a point that probably wasn't there, and the occasional idea I disagreed with. But there were also many fantastic chapters drawing connections between aspects of Narnia and with theology I hadn't fully realised were there or phrasing Lewis' intention and/or impact very eloquently.

[Christina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this book will tug at your heart strings and make you remember that longing for something you can't quite describe. It reminds you of the longing you had when you read the Chronicles of Narnia. Words cannot do this book justice. All I can say is to read this book and you will understand what I am trying to describe.

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Theology and Christianity explained in a simple way using the stories of Narnia.

Spoiler alert - he gives away the ending of the Narnia stories. Read them before you read this book and you will understand the examples better.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of the theology was faulty, if I correctly understood what he was saying (God doesn't care that you worship another God if you do so with pure motives?!?), but for the most part, it was a good read that makes me want to read / re-read some C.S. Lewis books.

[Joeclapp · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this. I read the chronicles twice already and had always wanted to explore the deeper meanings of Christianity beyond my own thoughts. I sought taking a class in high school that was designed for this, but it was unfortunately canceled; thankfully, there are books to suffice. Whereas I thought this book would outline how the stories mirrored books from the Bible, it instead enriched my understanding of my faith and strengthened it.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great critique of the Chronicles of Narnia. I felt that the author was able to highlight major Christian themes very well.

[Mark Thomson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book, helps you understand the meaning of what is being said in C.S. Lewis's Narnia stories

[Jan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book helped me with some crises of faith. I recommend it highly.