Christianity and Narnia Essay

Christianity is a religion that more than half of our world believes in. It is the belief that Jesus was the Son of God who saved humanity from sin. That Mary the redeemer said yes to God. Christianity is made up of many different parts. The Paschal Mystery which means the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, the Son of God is what sets Christianity apart from other religions. Christianity has many denominations, for example Mormons, Anglicans, Presbyterian. Christians believe that Jesus lived for humanity, died for humanity, and resurrected for humanity. Christ is percepted in many different ways; he is depicted as the Son of God who died for humans on the cross. Over one third of the world is Christians, but nearly 75% of the world celebrates traditions which only Christians believe in. An example of this would be Easter. Easter is when Jesus died for humans on the cross, but nowadays non-believers celebrate it and is treated as a public holiday. This shows how important Christianity is to humans, and also to the world. In the Bible, Jesus was first mentioned in the book of Isaiah in the Old Testament. He was depicted as the son of God. Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign:  The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son,  and will call him Immanuel. ’Jesus’s name was not mentioned. Isaiah’s prophecy was then fulfilled in the gospel of Luke. ‘Was born of a virgin named Mary’ (Luke 1:26-31). Also Jesus had performed many great miracles. Jesus performed the changing of the water to win at the wedding at Cana. ‘7  Jesus said to the servants  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Fill the jars with water†; so they filled them to the brim. 8  then he told them,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet. † This is the gospel of John 2:7-8. Christians believe Jesus was fully divine and human. Which was why when Jesus was nailed to the cross, the pain he felt was the pain humans would have felt as well. Jesus was crucified on the cross because it was the common way to die. Christians pray and sing hymns praising the Lord. They commonly sing the song ‘I say Yes’ This has the meaning of Mary saying yes to the angel Gabriel to be the mother of Jesus Christ. In the song it has the phrase ‘To the God who cannot die’. This is interpreted in the meaning that God will always be there. He is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. During church, before epiclesis when transubstantion has not yet occurred. The Memorial Acclamation is read to show what Jesus had given up before he was crucified and to show how important the epiclesis is. ‘To do this in the memory of him’. Every year in the month of May, Christians read the Angelus because it is the month of Mary. In the angelus, the Hail Mary is read. A verse in that passage is ‘Pray for us’. That Mary, our redeemer will continue to look over us as she had once done with Jesus. A perfect example of how Christians have continued to spread the word of God and believed is C.S Lewis. He had written a series of books which relate to the belief of Jesus. A quote he had once said was ‘I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else. ’This is a very strong quote because he had continued to live and carry out God’s mission. In the Catechism, CCC 600 it states ‘Lamb of God takes away the Sin of the world’ this is how the Roman Church interpreted Jesus and his teachings. The Lamb of God is Jesus because Jesus is commonly interpreted and depicted as a lamb. Through this Christians carry out acts which follow these teachings. This helps people understand how important Christianity is to the world. It shows what Christians believe and how they show this through their actions. There are many stories and movies which have been written to portray the life of Jesus and the belief of Christianity. One of the many is Narnia by C. S Lewis. This movie and book series stands out because it has many subtle and prominent links between Christianity and Narnia. C. S Lewis was inspired to write the Narnia book series after his ‘mental religious wars’. He converted from a protestant to an atheist then to a Christian (catholic) and is now known as one of the most inspirational theologists. C. S Lewis slipped in and added many subtle symbols. For example, during the scene when Susan and Peter went into the Professor’s study, the notebook on his table was in the shape of an apple. This symbolises Original Sin. The apple shows the relationship between God and Humanity. How evil had come into the world. Narnia is a story with 4 main characters Edmund, Susan, Lily and Peter. C. S Lewis used the characters of Susan and Lily as Eve, and Edmund and Peter as the Sons of Adam. When the children had first gone into the Land of Narnia, we are first introduced to them being as the sons and daughters of Eve and Adam. There are three types of sins in the world, Original Sin, Social Sin and Personal Sin. Social Sin is depicted in Narnia through the White Witch. Narnia is set in a land where it is winter. It is depicted as the season of winter because it symbolises dark and evil. Because of the White Which. In the shots where Aslan is present, the land of Narnia is spring. It is as if Narnia Is released and freed from evil. Personal Sin is depicted in Narnia through Edmund. Aslan, the lion performed many miracles in the series of Narnia. When the White Witch had frozen the thorns and people to stone, Aslan blew on them to unfreeze them. This is a very big miracle of him. Jesus had also performed many miracles in his lifetime. ,  6  After saying this, he spit  on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. 7  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Go,†Ã‚  he told him,  Ã¢â‚¬Å"wash in the Pool of Siloam†. So the man went and washed, and came home seeing. This is the gospel of John 9:6-7. Jesus too also performed strange and powerful miracles to help others. In the book Narnia, C.S Lewis quotes from Aslan as King ‘Aslan as everywhere’ to ‘He will be back’. C. S Lewis had many inspirations to write the book. One of the many was when his wife was cured of cancer but then later died. Despite her dying, he had continued on the write the books. In the book of Catechism, CCC 977, it says that Christ who died for our sin and rose for us so we may walk in the fullness of life. This is what the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church believes what Christ is and what human life is about. In CCC 1708, ‘by his Passion, Christ delivered us from Satan and from sin. He merited for us the new life in the Holy Spirit. His grace restores what sin had damaged in us. ’ These are what they Catholics believe what Christ did and how it affected humanity as a whole and how sin had damaged us. Christians can follow and learn about the life and times of Jesus Christ and the origins of Christianity through reading the books and watching the movies of Narnia. This is relevant to the religion Christianity because the book and film Narnia had incorporated many symbols to show Catholicism. This helps Christians understand their religion and how it had started.