Apparently it all started with a picture of a faun carrying packages in the middle of a snowy wood. I've heard that this image, which miraculously popped into the head of C. S. Lewis was the origin of his book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Ironically it is also this image that is part of my earliest memory of that same book--this book which has become the most dearly loved fiction work of my acquaintance.
My daycare teacher, Mrs. Eastman, had begun reading to us from The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe one day after school. I remember her writing the word "faun" on the chalkboard (I must say, there is something greatly comforting about an old-school chalkboard) as she explained how this half-goat, half-man creature was different from a "fawn."
Then suddenly a strange magic began filling the room, the magic of Narnia. I found myself deliciously lost in another world; and I joined Lucy in the wonder of discovering such a beautiful place. Physically I may have been sitting at a desk in a typical classroom on a warm Spring day, but in reality I was surrounded by soundless snow falling in a microcosmic forest.
As much as I try to find new words to describe how resonant this event was to me, I keep returning to the same ones, words like "magic" and "wonder;" "awe" and "excitement." It was unlike anything I had ever known before. And, strangely, it was like that world, that story, was created just for me. Like I had finally discovered a piece of who I really was, something that I had never known (or acknowledged) about myself before. Something that I had repressed, because I was afraid it meant that I was evil.
You must understand that I had been raised in a Christian environment, and a somewhat religious one that didn't quite approve of anything that might involve "magic" or most forms of the supernatural. However, I had always been drawn to fairy tales--stories about good and evil and supernatural ways that they were expressed. Stories with terrible villains, and heroes that overcame insurmountable odds. Where love can conquer all--including the grave.
But I was told that stories like these were dangerous, that they were evil and encouraged an unhealthy fascination with the supernatural. So I was afraid of what I loved, afraid, because I so wanted to be good. I truly loved Jesus and wanted to do what was right. So I felt guilty for every fairy tale I read, for every fantasy story I saw on TV.
And then I met C. S. Lewis. And he was a Christian! Not just any old believer, but one of the most respected theologians and apologists of our century. And he loved myths and fairy tales too--he even wrote some himself! What could this possibly mean? It was like Someone had finally told me it was OK to be who I really was inside.
Truly, it makes no sense at all--what I had been taught as a child. What really is magic but another name for the supernatural or the spiritual? The supernatural can be either good or evil, and this is judged by its fruit. Fruit indicates the source of the supernatural power (Heaven, Hell, or the soul). As Matthew 7:18 says "A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit."
So this is the real issue--not the existence of the supernatural in stories, but do the stories endorse good or evil? Is good shown to be the ultimate winner? Is it kindness, goodness, and love that is promoted or is it manipulation, control, and lust? What is the worldview exhibited by the story?
There are few genres out there that address these themes so directly as fantasy--themes that I've already mentioned: good vs. evil, love conquering all, sacrifice, perseverance, and others that are an integral part of the Christian life. Fantasy provides a medium for these themes to be expressed through metaphor. This is why most fantasies are reminiscent of true allegory.
And this is why I read fantasy. And yes, I do have a fascination with the supernatural--I long to see the day when the body of Christ is walking in signs and wonders like they did in Acts. I'm a firm believer in the power of the Holy Spirit to heal, resurrect, cast out demons, cleanse lepers, and the like. Somehow, though, even with all the fantasy books I've read, I'm still a Christian, I still love Jesus, now more than ever; and have no intention to turn my back on Him to follow other gods.
So why do many Christians easily dismiss fantasy literature as bad or evil? My first theory is that few have ever really taken the time to find out what these stories are really about. It is easy to make a snap decision about a book as soon as one hears such buzzwords as "magic," "fairy," "witch," "dragon," "elf," or "wizard." As much as I love words, I understand their limitations. These labels may carry negative connotations, but the real test is what the words actually refer to. To know that, one must dig deeper. Mormons use the word "Jesus" but most of us would agree that they are talking about someone very different from the Jesus of the Bible. To make a true judgment about these things takes effort in discovering the reality behind the word.
My second theory is that the Western church has become subtly influenced by the Greek mindset and the so-called "Age of Enlightenment." We have traded the spiritual for the material. Reason and logic have overruled the supernatural. The rest of the world acknowledges the existence of the supernatural (though unless they have been reached with the Gospel, their only experience is with the demonic). It is only the Western world that is backwards on this subject. Unfortunately the world has influenced the church and we have agreed with materialism by rejecting (consciously or unconsciously) the supernatural in any of its forms. This was not the Hebrew mindset, which relied on the direction of the Spirit of God above intellectualism.
Sorry for getting so preachy, I felt that I had to define why I do what I do from the beginning. I will end by returning to my original subject, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It is a book that means so much more to me than just a story. It was my first glimpse at the possibility that "fantasy" and "Christian" are not mutually exclusive. To me, it meant freedom to embrace that part of who I was created to be. A reader who loves a good story, and a writer who hopefully writes a good story too.
So, if you have nothing else to read right now, I recommend The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Not only is it a good story, but also a good Christmas story, and quite possibly, like me, you could use a little more freedom in your life. I wish you a Merry Narnian Christmas!
PS-here is a list of other Christian fantasy authors, just to prove that me & C. S. are not the only crazies out there ;0).
J. R. R. Tolkein
George MacDonald
Charles Williams
G. K. Chesterton
Madeline L'Engle (though her books seem to indicate something of a universalist mindset that I don't agree with)
Stephen Lawhead
