The Lion of Judah in Never-Never land: The Theology of C. S. Lewis Expressed in his Fantasies for Children

by Kathryn Lindskoog

This was the very first celebration of the Chronicles of Narnia (begun in 1955, before the final volume was published), and is still the only one of its kind. Furthermore, it is the only book about himself and his writing that C. S. Lewis ever praised. The preface is by Walter Hooper. The introductory chapter is called Making Pictures. The three main chapters are Spoiled Lewiss Concept of Nature, The Coming of the Lewiss Concept of God, and Possible Gods and Lewiss Concept of Man. The concluding chapter is called Weaving a Spell. END

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction

141 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

Reviews

[Brenton · Rating 4 out of 5]

About 3.5 stars, perhaps, some very cool, punchy thing with long quotes and close reading.

[Juliet Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Would have liked more on The Lion, The Witch in particular. Deals with Lewis's ideas in all 7 of the Narnia books.

[Mark McDonnell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Seems like an accurate enough description of Lewis’ philosophy while highlighting so very many delightful passages across many of his works.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing notable to make it stand out from any of the other books about Narnia I've read. It quotes and references Lewis and Tolkien.

This paragraph from near the end of the book is a good summary:

Lewis’s credo, we have seen, can be divided into three major categories: his opinions about nature, God and humankind. These opinions establish Lewis’s position in the areas of philosophy, theology, psychology and sociology.

I read this because it was mentioned in Into the Wardrobe by David Downing.

[Jacob J · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book explores the connections between the Narnia series and the theology of C.S. Lewis found in his non-fiction. They are children's books with fairly transparent theology so there is only so much to be found, but she does a great job laying it out. This would seem to be especially good for a person who likes the Narnia series but has not read much of Lewis' non-fiction.

[Leila Bowers · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was originally written as a Master's Thesis, and upon reading it Lewis declared it one of the most comprehensive studies of the Chronicles. It is very accessible and provides good insight into the books (though not as complex or 'scholarly' as other texts on Lewis). It is one of my favorites!

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting book, but nothing very original. Anyone who is familiar with the Bible and Christianity and the Chronicles of Narnia can find the parallels that Lindskoog finds. There are definitely better books out there with more interesting insights into Lewis' writings.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent discussion of C. S. Lewis' writing and beliefs.