ABC on Narnia
Each year during Holy Week the Archbishop of Canterbury gives a series of lectures. This year he discussed Narnia:
In previous Holy Week lectures, Dr Williams has explored the creeds, the Bible, prayer, the role of the saints in spiritual growth and looked in depth at Mark’s Gospel story of Jesus’ life.This year, Dr Williams, a Narnia fan, will turn his attention to the Christian themes found in the Narnia novels. Dr Williams explained: “The Narnia books of C.S. Lewis continue to intrigue and inspire many, and the recent very successful films have shown that they still have wide appeal. Lewis certainly intended them to be vehicles of Christian teaching. But in an age less familiar with Christian images and ideas than his, how can we best draw out these themes?”
Speaking about the pertinence of the novels to the Easter story of resurrection, Dr Williams commented: “These lectures will look at some of the most important themes in the novels and ask how far Lewis succeeds in giving new life to traditional Christian ideas about sacrifice, forgiveness and resurrection, doubt and faith, the divine presence in Jesus and the final goals of human life."
In past years these lectures have shown Williams at his best - the teacher and theologian and a man of deep faith.
Links to all 3 lectures are here.
