C.S. Lewis, Latter-day Truths in Narnia

By Marianna Richardson, Christine Thackeray

Reviewed by Andrew Hamilton
On 3/2/2009

Cedar Fort, 2008 Paperback:
236 pages
ISBN-10: 1-59955-193-4
ISBN-13: 978-1-59955-193-7 Price: $15.99

By way of fairness I need to start with a disclaimer. It was a reading of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe in third grade that gave me my love for books. The first set of books I ever owned was a boxed set of “The Chronicles of Narnia” that I was given for Christmas that same year. They are probably the only books outside of the scriptures about which I can honestly say, “I have no idea how many times I have read them.” I am well aware of the flaws and inconsistencies in the series, but it still ranks among my all time favorites.

C. S. Lewis: Latter-Day Truths in Narnia is divided into three parts. The first fifty pages are a short biography on Lewis. For those who may not be familiar with Lewis’s background this section provides a great overview of his life, conversion to Christianity, his writings, and his motives. It covers his schooling, his involvement in the World Wars, his relationship with his father, brother, wife, and even his best friend’s mother, with whom he lived and took care of for many years. There will be nothing new here for those who have studied Lewis’s life or who have ever read a complete biography, but this is an excellent introduction for the casual Lewis reader or for Narnia fans who have read none of his other works.

Section Two, the longest, covers the Chronicles themselves. The authors discuss the books in chronological story order starting with The Magician’s Nephew, with each book in “The Chronicles” getting one chapter in this book. Some of the topics from The Magician’s Nephew that are covered include: “Garden of Eden Parallels,” the effect of “Small Sins,” “Facing the Consequences,” and “Giving up Something Good For Something Better.” One of the things that I thought that the authors did well in this book was used in several of these sections. Besides commenting on the theology in Narnia, they pulled in examples of the same ideas from Lewis’s other books. For example, the section on “Small Sins,” quotes from Screwtape Letters, tells the story of Ransom and Weston from Perelandra. In this chapter they also quote The Problem of Pain, The Great Divorce, and The Weight of Glory.

It would be unwieldy to try and discuss in this review the authors’ analysis of the theology in all seven of the books so I will hit on a few things that stuck out to me. Chapter eleven is called “Prince Caspian: Restoring Forgotten Truth.” This chapter annoyed me some. I thought that the authors tried to hard to link Caspian to the restoration of the gospel. On page 84 the authors state:

There are many parallels between Prince Caspian's story of restoration of the beliefs of Old Narnia and the restoration of the gospel of Jesus Christ on April 6, 1830. Lewis would not have seen or acknowledged these parallels, since he did not know of the Restoration by the Prophet Joseph Smith. Yet they are still interesting to observe. As previously cited, “There are pearls of great price not produced in our own oyster beds.” Lewis may not have believed in the restoration of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but the spiritual inspirations he received while writing and speaking often underscore our own beliefs in the restored truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

I realize that this book is being written by a Latter-day Saint for Latter-day Saints but I bet that people in numerous churches could make similar claims. Lewis has so many things he was trying to say in Caspian that can be inspirational to Latter-day Saints that I don’t think that we need to impose our worldview to find more.

One thing I found interesting about the Caspian chapter was that the authors completely omit any mention of the role of Bacchus in Caspian, despite the fact that he has several significant passages and interactions in the book, some of which they mention, but omitting his role in them. This could be because he was “The Roman god of wine and intoxication equated with the Greek Dionysus,” and “orgies in honor of Dionysus, were introduced in Rome around 200 BCE. These infamous celebrations, notorious for their sexual and criminal character, got so out of hand that they were forbidden by the Roman Senate in 186 BCE.” (Micha F. Lindemans http://www.pantheon.org/articles/b/bacchus.html accessed fall 2008) However despite this history, it would seem that Lewis’s inclusion of him possibly had a different connotation, as explained by Kurt Bruner and Jim Ware in their book Finding God In The Land Of Narnia:

Holy revelry. Divine revelry. Here is a concept that bland believers need desperately to rediscover. What might the church be like, what kind of impact could it have upon the watching world, if we were to recall, in deed as well as in word, that life in God's kingdom is supposed to be a celebration, a festival, a wedding feast? David danced with abandon before the Lord (2 Samuel 6:14). Imagine what would happen if Christians were to do the same! Nonbelievers could criticize and laugh as much as they like. They certainly couldn't accuse us of being dull…

It's not by accident that Bacchus... the Hellenic god of wine and conviviality, played a major role in this episode. To the ancient Greeks, Bacchus was a symbol of life in all its potency and fullness. Lewis imported him into the story and reworked him according to a Narnian design for a very good reason. He wanted to show us the wild and unpredictable side of grace. He was trying to give us a more vibrant appreciation of ‘energy, fertility, and urgency; the resource, the triumph, and even the insolence of things that grow.’ It's in this sense that the Narnian Bacchus became yet another symbol of the Savior who proclaimed, "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). (Finding God In The Land Of Narnia, Kurt Bruner & Jim Ware, pp 81-82)

Since this is a book by Mormons for Mormons one thing I would have liked to see them discuss from Voyage of the Dawn Treader is a possible reference to Mormonism. In the first chapter of Latter Day Truths the authors state:

“Officially, there is no record that Lewis had any contact with the Church but he did correspond regularly with a woman who lived in Salt Lake City. Although we do not have the original letter, Lewis's reply to her inquiry was as follows, ‘I am afraid I am not going to be much help about all the religious bodies mentioned in your letter of March 2nd. I have always in my books been concerned simply to put forward ‘mere’ Christianity, and am no guide on these (most regrettable) `interdenominational' questions. I do however strongly object to the tyrannic and unscriptural insolence of anything that calls itself a Church and makes teetotalism a condition of membership.’ (pp. 3-4)

In Dawn Treader he expresses a similar feeling on page one when describing the parents of Eustace Scrubb, “They were very up-to-date and advanced people. They were vegetarians, non-smokers and teetotalers and wore a special kind of underclothes.” Were the Scrubb’s supposed to be Mormons? We will never know, but in the context of this book and the quoted letter, it would have made for a fun discussion.

The third section of the book is called “Living Joyfully.” It “examines some of the most notable references to C. S. Lewis by modern apostles and prophets.” (131) The first chapter in this section is called “A New Voice among the Saints.” In it the authors state that the first time they can find that Lewis was quoted in an official Church capacity occurred in 1971 in:

“The first issue of the New Era, Neal A. Maxwell... wrote a response in a new column entitled ‘Questions and Answers’ that fielded gospel questions from teenagers and young adult members. The first inquiry was written by a college student... His question stated simply, ‘Do we still believe in the Second Coming?’ ...Maxwell stated that the Church is clearly committed to this belief and went on to tell of the attitude we need to have in facing it...

Pleading with the youth and all members of the Church alike, Elder Maxwell ends his article by reaffirming the importance of gaining a testimony of the reality of Christ’s return before it occurs. He closes with the words of C. S. Lewis, ‘When the author walks on to the stage, the play is over.’” (133)

It was six years after this, they state, that he was quoted for the first time in General Conference, the quotation being by Elder Paul Dunn. Since then “C. S. Lewis has been quoted approximately one hundred times in Church Magazines, almost one-third of these citations being from general conference. The majority of those references came from Neal A. Maxwell...”. In the remaining chapters in this section the authors quote and discuss a number of these articles, some by general authorities and also some by average Church members who had articles printed in the Ensign. The articles that are discussed are grouped into chapters according to the subjects of the quotes by Lewis. The other chapters in this section are, “Discipleship: Imagine Yourself a Living House,” “The Weight of Glory: Yearning for Home and Possible Gods and Goddesses,” “C. S. Lewis and Women,” “Pride: The Great Sin,” “Temptation and Repentance,” and “Loving My Neighbor and the Ultimate Joy.” Included at the end of the book are four appendixes that list C. S. Lewis Quotes in LDS sources by topic, by speaker/writer, in the Gospel Doctrine Manuals, and one that is a list of the major publications of C. S. Lewis.

When I first heard of this book I was afraid that the authors would try to hard to force LDS interpretations onto Lewis’s teachings. As I mentioned above they did do this in the Caspian chapter, but overall not only did they do a good job of avoiding this, they take time to point out that others have done this. At one point they say:

“Lewis stated, ‘It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible Gods and Goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship.’ Out of context this quote sounds incredibly reminiscent of Lorenzo Snow's couplet, ‘As man is, God once was, and as God is, man may become.’ Much to the chagrin of evangelical Christians, some Church members have presented it as such in their individual writings. In reading Lewis's essay in its entirety, however, it is clear this was not his intention. Still, great truths can be found throughout this beautiful sermon which has been quoted in part nine times in Church magazines, five of which were in general conference.” (149)

In the footnote that follows this section they further quote from Lewis to give the correct context for the “Gods and Goddesses” quote and further state that when quoted in General Conference it was used in its proper context. (see page 156)

Unfortunately there are a few of what I assume are editorial errors in the book that may turn off the hardcore Narnian fans. One of the titles of the King of Narnia is “Emperor of the Lone Islands.” In The Voyage of the Dawn Treader Prince Caspian, Edmund, Lucy, Eustace, and several Narnians visit these islands. This visit is discussed on pages 99 and 100, it even gets its own section heading. Unfortunately every reference to these islands in Latter-Day Truths calls them the “Lost Islands.” A second notable mistake is probably by the authors and occurs in the chapter on The Last Battle. In the The Last Battle Narnia is invaded by soldiers from the land of Calormen. The people of Calormen also show up in Dawn Treader and are a main part of The Horse and His Boy. In The Last Battle the captain of the Calormen forces is Rishda Tarkaan. In Calormen a Tarkaan is the title given to a great lord. Often they are rulers of cities or provinces. In Latter-Day Truths Rishda Tarkaan is called “Captain Tarkaan.” But Tarkaan is not part of his name, it is his title. Calling him “Captain Tarkaan” would be like calling a member of the Royal Family or a civic officer who was in the armed forces “Captain Prince,” or “Captain Lord,” or “Captain Mayor.” There are also several plot summaries of the “Chronicles” that are written poorly that will confuse readers that are less familiar with the series.

There are other problems as well. The authors mention and quote a letter said to be by Lewis that is supposed to explain his intent in writing the “Chronicles” without mentioning that some Lewis scholars consider it to be forgery. Several times they discusses President Ezra Taft Benson’s talk on pride and its connection to Lewis. They never mention that President Benson never cited Lewis and that there were some accusations of plagiarism with this talk. This is probably not important to most LDS readers, and I can understand why they would not mention it, but it could be problematic for some.

Over-all I found Latter-Day Truths to be a fun and an interesting book. I believe that it would be a great read for Latter-day Saints whose only acquaintance with Lewis are the “Chronicles,” especially if they have seen the recent movies but never read the books. This book would, I believe, serve as a great jumping off point to get them into the actual novels and Lewis’s other writings. Who knows, it may even help start a few people off on a life long love affair with books.


Copyright 2009