Discomfort through the wardrobe -Nov 26, 2005
By Giles Fraser

"One of the most ugly and poisonous things I have ever read, with no shortage of nauseating drivel" - so says children's author Philip Pullman about Narnia. And he's not alone in hating C S Lewis's famous creation.

Many commentators regard it as Christian propaganda camouflaged by mountains of candyfloss. Yet set against these distinguished voices is the opinion of one Alice Fraser, aged 9. She sat up in bed reading, eyes twinkling with excitement: "Dad, it's brilliant." Millions agree with her and they'll be flocking to the cinema to see The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe when it opens next month.

C S Lewis explained his creation as a work of imagination in which the Son of God, instead of entering our world as a human being, entered the land of Narnia as a lion.

In this thought experiment, Christianity is forced through an enchanted wardrobe and into a children's fantasy of talking beavers and white witches. Temptation, betrayal, crucifixion, resurrection: all the great Christian themes are there.

So why am I also disconcerted by Narnian Christianity? In part, because there are many important and necessary things that just cannot be said in the land of Narnia. This for the same reason that it's almost impossible to preach a sermon about torture in Iraq or the global challenge of HIV and AIDS at the Christmas crib service. Sharp looks of parental disapproval would be immediate: these sorts of things are not to be mentioned in front of the kids.

Likewise, the family service is no place for an honest assessment of the failings of some Christian theology. Dressing religion up in children's clothes renders it immune from cross-examination. The land of Narnia is no place for difficult questions or uncomfortable realities.

Now that's fair enough on one level. After all, some discussions require a certain maturity. But there are far too many adults who shelter behind their kids and prefer a version of Christianity with all the questions and challenges subtracted. For such as these, children become an alibi enabling parents to be entertained by a fantasy religion as they might by Father Christmas.

This column was delivered on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day, 26 November 2005