Post by Emma on Mar 3, 2010 11:11:14 GMT -5
So I just finished re-reading The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis and decided to go on GoodReads to see what other people thought. I love it, but it's still interesting. Then I found the following hilarity:
Someone quite rightly replied:
And this woman came back with:
I feel so sorry for these kids who aren't even allowed to read fucking Narnia because it has magic in. Her daughter sounds about 8. What happened to informed opinions?! Rachel, I think Skullet would like this woman
I read this book and the next in the series to my daughter. I have decided to not continue the series due to theological concerns. Although the stories are interesting and fun and captivating, there is a big emphasis on magic used both by the evil witch (black magic) and by Aslan (presumably "good magic"). Tessneem (WHO CALLS THEIR KID TESSNEEM???) and I discussed these issues and I found she hadn't noticed them but seemed to understand when I pointed them out. But I don't want to worry about the subconscious effects and there are a lot of good books on our shelf that we look forward to reading instead.
Someone quite rightly replied:
I think you're missing the point entirely. Lewis was a devout Christian, and he intended this story as a Christian fable.
And this woman came back with:
Yes, I realize that. But regardless of his intentions, that is not how it comes across to me.
Islamic theology is much more cautious about deification of anything but God Almighty alone. So from a Muslim perspective, I still find all the issues I mentioned previously to be potentially problematic.
Even in a fable, a Muslim should not swear by anything but God, not by any of his creation. Similarly, God's Oneness and His Role as Creator should never be undermined.
So the fact that Lewis was a devout Christian makes it even more curious to me why he would write in that style.
Anyhow, that is why I'd rather read something else to my child.
Islamic theology is much more cautious about deification of anything but God Almighty alone. So from a Muslim perspective, I still find all the issues I mentioned previously to be potentially problematic.
Even in a fable, a Muslim should not swear by anything but God, not by any of his creation. Similarly, God's Oneness and His Role as Creator should never be undermined.
So the fact that Lewis was a devout Christian makes it even more curious to me why he would write in that style.
Anyhow, that is why I'd rather read something else to my child.
I feel so sorry for these kids who aren't even allowed to read fucking Narnia because it has magic in. Her daughter sounds about 8. What happened to informed opinions?! Rachel, I think Skullet would like this woman