// archives

Alan Jacobs’s The Narnian: The Life and Imagination of C. S. Lewis

The Narnian gives the reader a sense of the development and scope of Lewis’s intellectual and emotional life—often in relation to the more “factual” events of that life. Entertaining and accessible, Jacobs’s biography is ideal for the reader who has encountered the Chronicles of Narnia and wants to know how they relate to Lewis’s other writings, especially his apologetic works like Mere Christianity.

Podcast #25: Speaking of Narnia…

After having seen the latest installment in the Narnia series, Ben and Rich have a round-up discussion about its merits as a movie, as an adaptation of the book and as a spiritual allegory. They also count down their top 5 Stories that Sparked Our Imagination! You don’t want to miss it!

Why Christian Critics Hated/Loved Prince Caspian

Carissa Smith examines the varied responses to the latest Narnia installment and finds that the reactions have a lot to do with the modernist/postmodernist struggle.

The Chronicles of Narnia… Read First!

When I was 5 or 6, my dad began reading The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe to me. Night after night, I begged for the next chapter, and then the next book, and then the next. I was captivated by the mystery of it all; the beautiful landscapes, the colorful characters, the heroic acts.

Aslan: The Grandfatherly God

Alan Noble kicks off Narnia-Week with a lament of the portrayal of Aslan in film.

Forgiving Willoughby

The recent Masterpiece Theatre version of Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility gave the harshest portrayal I’ve ever seen of the character Willoughby, who seduces, impregnates, and abandons a young girl. This leads me to ponder two things: (1) Why, in our era of “tolerance,” does Willoughby suddenly get the shaft?; and (2) Is it important for us, as Christians, to forgive fictional characters?

Enjoying Culture without Being Consumed, Part 2

Alan Noble concludes a two-part series on how we can keep from getting carried away by this whole Pop Culture thing.

Trouble in Narnia

The more I hear about the upcoming Prince Caspian film (to be released May 16), the more worried I am about it. First, there was director Andrew Adamson’s promise (clearly supposed to excite us) that the movie would be “battles all the way through.” Then there was the screenwriters’ post on the official film blog indicating that they would be exploring the psychological difficulties faced by the Pevensie children as they deal with the transition from being Kings and Queens in Narnia to being schoolchildren in England. Blech.

What’s So Great About 2008?

Even though Christ and Pop Culture is only a few months old, we’ve already had some wonderful conversations about popular culture and how we as believers should interact with it. To start off the year, I thought I would give my list of the pop culture events that I am looking forward to most in 2008. Over the next 12 months I hope to revisit each of these events as they unfold and as we continue to explore the way our faith speaks to every aspect of our lives–even pop culture.

Why We Can Neither Boycott nor Ignore “The Golden Compass”

Dr. Francis Schaeffer was the prophetic voice of the 20th Century. He forewarned the Christian community of both postmodernity (before it was called postmodernity) and the real issues behind secular humanism. He was a brilliant man whose wisdom, epistemological skills, and grasp of the history of philosophy made him an awesome asset to the Christian community. He was a noted speaker with a worldwide ministry until his death in 1984.