Is the hype worth it?

As Sunday’s church bulletin was given to me I could not ignore the front cover: an image from the new Narnia film. At that point I knew something was afoot. I already knew the sermon was going to be Narnia-related. That I have no problem with. Referring to and quoting Lewis, with his many insights into the Christian faith, can be helpful in bringing out a theological point. But with the publication of this bulletin, our church (and I suspect many others) has officially become an arm of the marketing division of the Walt Disney Corporation. The copyright on the back cover (in small print) tells it all. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Is the effort to hype this film as a ‘Christian story’ missing the point? Hard to say. In the book The Pilgrim’s Guide, Christopher Mitchell, theology professor at Wheaton College and director of the Marion Wade Center, writes:

“The vividness with which Lewis perceived the potential eternal destinies of every man and woman compelled him to direct a greater part of his energies toward the saving of souls. Lewis perceived evangelism to be his lay vocation, and the means by which he expressed this evangelistic impulse were his writing and speaking….Lewis said without qualification that ‘the salvation of a single soul is more important than the production or preservation of all the epics and tragedies in the world’….the idea struck him that the gospel could be ‘smuggled into people’s minds’ by means of fiction….in answer to the question…’Would you say that the aim of…your own writing is to bring about an encounter of the reader with Jesus Christ?’, he replied, ‘That is not my language yet it is the purpose I have in view.’” (pp.3-5)

So, at its core, Narnia seems to be evangelistic work. But, any subtlety that Lewis used in his fictional works is being obliterated by the campaign by churches to get non-Christian friends and relatives into the cineplex. The great thing about his fiction is the way that one could enjoy the story without being aware of the Christian themes in them. Some themes are obvious, some less so. Lewis probably cared more that a good story was being experienced, and if the reader could make a connection with the religious elements, then fine. If not, then too bad. I view all this preaching about the film to be similar to when a writer makes a point in poetry and then is forced to explain herself, in prose, what each line in the poem means. It’s all just so, well, obvious.

On the other hand, I guess one could say, “Who cares?”, or as the Apostle Paul might say, “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.”