In this podcast we look at The Narnia Code, a very interesting book and companion DVD that describes the overall plan or logic that C. S. Lewis may have used when he wrote “The Chronicles of Narnia“.  I used the word “may” because not all Lewis scholars are in agreement with the findings of this book.  However, it’s theory seems to solve at least two literary problems in the Chronicles and has considerable evidence to back it up.  In addition, studying the book and applying its principles to the stories in the Chronicles will significantly increase your enjoyment and understanding of the depth of Jack’s work.

Briefly stated, Michael Ward, the author of The Narnia Code (and also the larger volume Planet Narnia) believes that he has found the plan to Chronicles, a plan that was deliberately hidden by Jack as a prank or practical joke.  Lewis was a medieval scholar for all of his life, and he knew and appreciated the medieval view of the cosmos.  In this view, there are seven heavenly bodies that circle around the earth, and each body has certain characteristics or spirits that influence life on earth.  Each of the books in the Chronicles were written to illustrate the influences or spirits of one of the medieval heavenly bodies.  They are as follows:

1. Jupiter, the King of the planets – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
2. Mars, the bringer of war – Prince Caspian
3. The Sun, the source of light – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
4. Venus – The Magician’s Nephew
5. Mercury, the messenger – The Horse and His Boy
6. The Moon – The Silver Chair
7. Saturn – The Last Battle

More information can be found at the Narnia Code website

The Narnia Code

In this podcast we attempt an almost impossible task – listing the “essential” books that you should read to get a comprehensive view of C S Lewis and his writings.  This list is – of course – my opinion only, and others are welcome to put forth their own.  When you have an author who has written over 60 books plus hundreds of essays and letters, there is such a wide field for disagreement.

I decided to restrict myself to three books of fiction, three of non-fiction, and three about C S Lewis or his writings, making a total of nine entries.  I have tried to give a short description of each book and why I think it belongs in the list, as well as comments on other books that other C S Lewis fans may think should replace my choices.   Emails and comments are always welcome, of course.

Here is my recommended essential C S Lewis reading list

Fiction

1. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe
2. The Screwtape Letters
3. The Magician’s Nephew

Non-Fiction

1. Mere Christianity
2. The Problem Of Pain
3. Miracles

Books about or related to C S Lewis

1. Jack; A Life Of C S Lewis, by George Sayer
2. Yours, Jack. edited by Paul F. Ford
3. The Joyful Christian, published by Collier Books
   

I hope you enjoy reading them

This is the second of two podcasts on The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis.  This book is the last in the Chronicles of Narnia and tells of the end of Narnia and the discovery of the real Narnia in Aslan’s country, Heaven.  From a theological point of view we cover the Last Judgment, Salvation, and Heaven as described by Lewis in this book.   The tale contains some of his most beautiful writing as well as some of his best insights about human nature and God.  Ultimately it is a message of renewal and hope.  Nevertheless, we have to concede that it is unflinching in its insistence that all countries except God’s own must come to an end someday, and that everyone must undergo the experience of death.

The show looks at the forebodings of the end, the examples of treachery and betrayal in the tale, how beings are chosen to enter Heaven, and  the salvation of a noble, God-seeking heathen who does not know Aslan.

In this book Lewis brings the story of Narnia to a fitting end.  It is both a story of treachery, bravery, and battle, and a book that deals with the themes of good, evil, the meaning of language, and the final judgment and afterlife.  Lewis answers the questions of what a Narnian heaven will be like and how Narnians and persons from our world enter that  heaven.

All of the main characters from the previous books appear, except for one person.  We also meet the last King of Narnia, a talking Ape, a talking Donkey and a band of renegade dwarfs.

This podcast focuses on the relationship between Good and God as well as looking at four different paths that lead to evil

He wrote The Last Battle and The Magician’s Nephew at the same time, but finished The Last Battle (the book that tells of the end of Narnia) first.  Since the completion of the two books was only 6 months apart, The Magician’s Nephew (hereafter abbreviated The MN) was published first in May of 1955.

The MN is set in the time of Victoria n England, the England of Sherlock Holmes.  It introduces a new hero (Digory) and heroine (Pol ly) and tells how the comings and going between Narnia started, among other things.   Digory’s uncle Andrew provides Digory and Polly with a way (magic rings) to travel between worlds.  They go exploring and enter the dying world of Charn, awaken the last Queen of Charn, who is a witch, and unfortunately bring her back to London with them.  They then take her (and several other folk) out of England and into Narnia (using the rings) and they are present at the Creation of that world.  However, their  act allows evil to enter Aslan’s Good Creation in the form of the witch.  Aslan arranges for a Tree of Protection to be planted to keep the witch out of Narnia proper as long as it lives.  To do this, he asks Digory to bring him a magic apple from a special garden without tasting of it or eating another apple.  Digory is tempted by the witch Jadis to take the apple back home and give it to his mother who is dying of cancer.  He overcomes this temptation and brings the apple back to Narnia.  As to what happens to Digory, Polly, Uncle Andrew and the Witch – you’ll have to read the book

Lewis wants to communicate to us what evil and good look like, and what the results of our moral choices may be.  He does this by showing a dying word ruled (and destroyed) by an evil witch and a new world, freshly created, sung into existence by Aslan.  Jack shows us the continuity between an evil man in this world (an evil magican named Andrew who is Digory’s uncle) and the last Queen of Narnia, Jadis.  Jadis represents what Uncle Andrew will become – they are both walking the same wrong path and Jadis is further along than Andrew.  Jack also shows us what our response should be to the beauties of Nature, and explores the difficulty of making the right moral choices in this story.

If you haven’t done so, please complete a short, anonymous survey to provide me some feedback about these podcasts.  The survey is linked below.  I always welcome comments and suggestions via email, and I respond to every one I receive.

The first book we’ll cover is “Yours, Jack“, edited by Paul Ford. This book helps us get to know Jack (C S Lewis) better by using some of his personal letters to give us an insight into his personality, wit, and spirituality. Mr. Ford has done an excellent job in selecting letters that give us an insight into Lewis over the years that can, in a real sense,  provide us spiritual advice from Jack .

The second book we cover is “Reading With the Heart; The Way Into Narnia” by Peter Schakel. Mr. Schakel is a Professor of English at Hope College and an acknowledged expert on C S Lewis.  He provides some helpful guidance from a literary perspective to reading,  understanding, and appreciating the Chronicles of Narnia.  Professor Schakel discusses the techniques that Jack used and  the archetypes or basic patterns that apply to the Chronicles.  He shows how these both “set the ground rules” for the way the stories are written and assure that stories will appeal to us.

More information about each book is found in the show notes, linked at the tope of this page.

Also, if you wish, you can join the Facebook  group “All About C. S. Lewis”.  We’d love to have you join us and post there.

Finally, I would really appreciate it if you could complete a short, anonymous survey to provide me some feedback about these podcasts.  The survey is linked below.  I always welcome comments and suggestions via email, and I respond to every one I receive.

We begin with a brief look at Narnia geography in order to help the listeners understand the story and then say a few words about how Lewis found God revealed in both Nature and Reason.

This story is not a quest tale like The Silver Chair or a “journey” tale, like The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  Rather, it is the story of a race and a rescue.  Briefly told, Narnia is in danger of being invaded and conquered by a surprise attack from one of the lands to the south.  Aslan chooses an unlikely rescue party of two Narnian talking horses, Bree and Hwin, and a young boy (Shasta) and Calormene girl (Aravis).  They must race the invaders across a desert to deliver their warning in time.

The main themes that drive the story are the search for identity by the 4 heroes and the idea of Providence, that is, the idea that God controls the events in the world to achieve God’s own purposes.  Or, as it is said in the story, Aslan is at the back of all the stories that happen.

This post covers The Silver Chair, the fourth book (using the order that they were originally published) in the Chronicles of Narnia.  At the start we cover some news about an exhibition on the Chronicles of Narnia that may be coming to a city near you soon.  In addition, we take a look at what was going on in Jack’s life while he wrote these tales and what he thought about some modern educational trends.

The Silver Chair features Eustace from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader as one hero and introduces us to two new ones, Jill Pole (Eustace’s fellow student at Experiment House) and Puddleglum the Marshwriggle, one of the most liked Narnia characters created by Lewis.

The tale is a “quest” narrative in that Eustace and Jill are given a task by Aslan and must travel to many strange lands to accomplish it.  Puddleglum acts as their guide.  Aslan gives Jill four signs to guide them in their mission, and the book’s question is “Will the heroes follow the signs or not?”.  The book also raises questions about devotion and obedience to God and whether God and Heaven are just fantasies, just the wish-fulfillment of dreams, or are they something that really exist.

Today’s post is about the Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the third book that C S Lewis wrote in the Chronicles of Narnia.

We start with some news about the Prince Caspian film and the progress Disney is making on filming The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.  Then we look at the importance Jack (Lewis’ nickname was Jack) places upon dreams and imagination vs. reasons and facts.

The story features two of our old friends, Lucy and Edmund, who are in Narnia for their last time, as well as Caspian and Reepicheep from the Prince Caspian tale.  The Voyage introduces new character Eustace who is important in the Dawn Treader’s story as well as another one of the Chronicles of Narnia, and  we spend some time looking at some of the ways Lewis highlights the use of imagination in this story.

Welcome friends

In honor of July 4th, this show starts with a review of C. S. Lewis’ service in the British Army, including combat in the trenches in France in WW I.  It covers some of the consequences of that experience, both good and bad, and how they affected his life.  Next, we take a look at Prince Caspian, the second book in the Chronicles of Narnia. We’ll review how the themes of Desire and Faith play out in this book by looking at some of the important characters that we meet.