C.S. Lewis – Narnia, Chronicles of Deception
C.S. Lewis’ Narnia – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader : Chronicles of Deception
Author: Olabode Ososami | June 21st, 2010
It seems comical for lack of aptitude to apprehend the literary “Christian” master C.S. Lewis – even as we stampede theatres to watch the next Christmas holiday “Money Spinner” milking (in the same genre as Harry Potter and Christmas Carol) the occult fantasy cow – supposedly packaged as Christian allegory to transfixed congregations. My prediction that this will be another chart-buster does not qualify me as a prophet.
Clive Staples Lewis was born in Ireland, the younger of two sons who claimed to have been converted to Christianity in 1931 and was, as he put it: “A very ordinary layman of The Church of England.” Undoubtedly a literary genius who authored 40-plus exceptional books which included poems, novels, children’s books, science fiction, theology, literary criticisms, educational philosophy, and an autobiography.
I did see the trailer of “Narnia – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” and with admittedly limited research/listening to related interviews and previews … the broad nice message of goodness over evil seemed inadequate to dispel my reservations. The strong inclination to spread the gospel of salvation by avoiding consecration and marketing the appeal of its other noble themes while also denying the Spirit is not new. What is novel (to me) is the deliberate heavy infusion of undisguised anti-Christian elements and bold sorcery…even as many leverage this unwholesome package for acclaim and perhaps many “converts”. Others, bored with simple exercises of devotion, engage in the dangerous pastime of uncovering hidden treasures in the vault of Holy Scriptures with spades of magic and shovels of mythology and spiritism…and foolishly expect no adverse consequence. A quote from C.S. Lewis … “I have the deepest respect for Pagan myths, still more for myths in the Holy Scriptures” (Problem of Pain, p.71)
What does the Bible say about fascination with the occult, fantasy, magic, paganism and other relatives in this family?
Acts 16 [16] And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: [17] The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. [18] And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
Many “Christian” leaders will say anything that sells Christ however indirectly is good – Paul disagrees. A good message/theme, the pointing out of Paul’s mission of salvation by this self-deceived damsel did not obscure the greater truth that only Paul could discern (despite the veil of fair words) that she spoke out of a polluted cistern.
Exodus 22 [18] Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live. Deuteronomy [10] There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch, [11] Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. [12] For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee.
Isaiah 5 [20] Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
Acts 8 [9] But there was a certain man, called Simon, which beforetime in the same city used sorcery, and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one: [10] To whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, This man is the great power of God. [11] And to him they had regard, because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. [12] But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. [13] Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done. [14] Now when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John: [15] Who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost: [16] (For as yet he was fallen upon none of them: only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) [17] Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. [18] And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, [19] Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. [20] But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. [21] Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. [22] Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. [23] For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity.
Galatians 5 [19] Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these ; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, [20] Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, [21] Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
Truly many say The Chronicles, which have been in continuous publication since 1954 and have sold over 100 million copies in 41 languages, is innocent marvellous entertainment …expecting more lucid arguments and references to prove otherwise that this film, rife with demonic imagery and occult paganism, is wicked and unhelpful to build true faith. If it is a marvel at all it is a commercial one. More accurately it is a piece in the agenda to captivate the next generation away from genuine biblical traditions by confusing magic with miracles and the Christian supernatural with occult fantasy/dark spiritism.
John 9 [40] And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? [41] Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
Discerning elders who see folly and blindness and act boldly on it by shunning this film and not encouraging their children to see it or be sucked into the flurry of related artefacts soon to be pushed in the market to indoctrinate innocent souls into witchcraft … will turn many back to a different path of deliverance. We need the elders to speak. Others will however say …we already see…leave us alone…also on a different voyage … only to reap through their children the coming harvest of a dreadful seed. We can of course ignore these intolerant “narrow-minded” warnings preferring to deal with the fruit of future deviant teen behaviour and strange desires and fancies.
2 Corinthians 6 [17] Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing ; and I will receive you, [18] And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.
A Prayer of David in Psalm 17 [11] They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth; [12] Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places. [13] Arise, O LORD, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword: [14] From men which are thy hand, O LORD, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure : they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes. [15] As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
Open our eyes, O Lord, give us discernment and save your children. Amen
source: www.christianpost.com/blogs/christianlife/2010/06/narnia-the-voyage-of-the-dawn-treader-chronicles-of-deception-21/
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C.S. Lewis – Taught Theistic Evolution
Lewis believed that God created the universe; but then men evolved from animals…
“… for we have good reason to believe that animals existed long before men… For long centuries God perfected the animal form which was to become the vehicle of humanity and the image of Himself … [Eventually,] God caused a new kind of consciousness to descend upon this organism” (The Problem of Pain, pp.133,77).
“…Man, the highest of the animals” (Mere Christianity, p.139)
“…but he (man) remains still a primate and an animal” (Reflections On The Psalms, pp.115,129)
“If … you mean simply that man is physically descended from animals, I have no objection” (The Problem of Pain, p.72)
“He made an earth at first ‘without form and void’ and brought it by degrees to its perfection” (Miracles, p.125)
Nature’s “pregnancy has been long and painful and anxious, but it has reached its climax” (Mere Christianity, p.172)
C.S. Lewis – Taught that Mankind is Inherently Good
As with most Modernists, Lewis saw mankind as inherently good…
“…when the consequence is drawn that, since we are totally depraved, our idea of good is worth simply nothing – may thus turn Christianity into a form of devil worship” (The Problem of Pain, pp.37-38).
The divine goodness differs…
“from ours not as white and black but as a perfect circle from a child’s first attempt to draw a wheel” (The Problem of Pain, p.39).
In other words, if we keep trying hard enough through human experience, we will attain divine perfection. Lewis likens God’s goodness as a perfect circle, and man’s imperfection as a distorted circle drawn by a child who is not very coordinated yet. Thus, as that child grows and develops, the circle eventually matches that of the divine circle. Folks, this is works salvation and New Age doctrine at its core. New Age teaches that man, through better education and rehabilitation, can “evolve” into a higher form of human culture. New Age boldly rejects the Biblical teaching that man’s heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all else (Jeremiah 17:9).
C.S. Lewis held that the Biblical Genesis account came from pagan and mythical sources…
“I have therefore no difficulty accepting, say, the view of those scholars who tell us that the account of Creation in Genesis is derived from earlier Semitic stories which were Pagan and mythical.” (Reflections On The Psalms, p.110).
How much more evidence do you need, to see that C.S. Lewis was an unsaved heretic. Lewis exploited the name of Jesus Christ, as do many Modernists today, to secure a profitable writing career. You had better get your doctrine from the Word of God; and not from the latest New York Times Bestseller! In John 5:39 Jesus said… SEARCH THE SCRIPTURES!
C.S. Lewis – Taught Baptismal Regeneration and Sacramental Salvation
Lewis believed that some people, devout members of false religions, were saved and didn’t even know it…
“There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it … For example a Buddhist of good will may be led to concentrate more and more on the Buddhist teaching about mercy and to leave in the background (though he might still say he believed) the Buddhist teaching on certain points. Many of the good Pagans long before Christ’s birth may have been in this position” (Mere Christianity, pp. 176-177).
Lewis also taught that water baptism and the sacraments were a means to obtaining salvation…
“There are three things that spread the Christ-life to us: baptism, belief, and that mysterious action which different Christians call by different names – Holy Communion, the Mass, the Lord’s Supper” (Mere Christianity, pp.62,63).
“…this new life is spread not only by purely mental acts like belief, but by bodily acts like baptism and Holy Communion.” (Mere Christianity, pp.62,63).
In the other world “there will be every occasion for being the sort of people that we can become only as the result of doing such acts here” (Mere Christianity, p.63).
C.S. Lewis – Became a Catholic Before his Death
Lewis indicates that shortly before his death he was turning toward the Catholic Church. Lewis termed himself “very Catholic” – his prayers for the dead, belief in purgatory, and rejection of the literal resurrection of the body are serious deviations from Biblical Christianity (C.S. Lewis: A Biography, p. 234). Lewis even went to a priest for regular confession (p. 198), and received the sacrament of extreme unction on 7/16/63 (p. 301). His contention that some pagans may “belong to Christ without knowing it” is a destructive heresy (Mere Christianity, pp. 176-177), as was his statement that “Christ fulfils both Paganism and Judaism…” (Reflections on the Psalms, p. 129).
C.S. Lewis – Taught Works Salvation
C.S. Lewis plainly stated that he believed a person has to work to keep salvation…
“There are people (a great many of them) who are slowly ceasing to be Christians…” (Mere Christianity, p.162).
“…a Christian can lose the Christ-life which has been put into him, and he has to make efforts to keep it” (Mere Christianity, p.49).
Lewis believed that morality and obeying God’s Law were a means to eventually being born-again…
“… ye must be born again. Till then, we have duty, morality, the Law. A schoolmaster, as St. Paul says… But the schooldays, please God, are numbered” (Letters to Malcolm, p.115).[emphasis added]
“The point is not that God will refuse you admission to His eternal world if you have not certain qualities of character: the point is that if people have not got at least the beginnings of those qualities inside them, then no possible external conditions could make a ‘Heaven’ for them …” (Mere Christianity, p.63).
In context, to be “born again,” for Lewis, is somewhere down the road yet (Mere Christianity, pp.59,60). Lewis taught that a life of self-righteousness was necessary to eventually become born-again. In sharp contrast, Jesus taught that being born-again was a second birth which BEGINS the believer’s life in Christ. Lewis was a very confused and doctrinally flawed man. As a consequence, Lewis is burning in Hell today and no doubt has led many people there too.
C.S. Lewis – Denied a Literal Heaven
“All the scriptural imagery (harps, crowns, gold, etc.) is, of course, a merely symbolical attempt to express the inexpressible. Musical instruments are mentioned because for many people (not all) music is the thing known in the present life which most strongly suggests ecstasy and infinity. Crowns are mentioned to suggest the fact that those who are united with God in eternity share His splendor and power and joy. Gold is mentioned to suggest the timelessness of heaven (gold does not rust) and the preciousness of it” (Mere Christianity, p.106).
C.S. Lewis – Denied a Literal Hell
Lewis never believed in a literal Hell, but instead believed hell is a state of mind one chooses to possess and become – he wrote:
“…every shutting-up of the creature within the dungeon of its own mind is, in the end, Hell” (The Great Divorce, p. 65)
C.S. Lewis – Claimed the Bible Contained Myths
Lewis believed the Book of Job is “unhistorical” (Reflections on the Psalms, pp. 110), and that the Bible contained “error” (pp. 110, 112) and is not divinely inspired (The Inklings, p. 175).
“I have the deepest respect for Pagan myths, still more for myths in the Holy Scriptures” (The Problem of Pain, p.71)
Conclusion
C.S. Lewis was an imposter, who corrupted the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and led multitudes of victims into Hellfire with his doctrines of devils. Lewis used profanities, told lewd stories, and frequently got drunk with his students (5/19/90, World magazine). Christians need to read more critically The Abolition of Man, The Problem of Pain, Miracles, The Great Divorce, and God in the Dock.
By the time of his death, Lewis had moved from Idealism (no idea of a personal God) to Pantheism (an impersonal God in everything) and then to Theism (the existence of God). Unfortunately, in Letters to Malcolm (p. 107), Lewis indicates that shortly before his death he was turning toward the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is NO church at all; but rather, is a prisonhouse of false religion.
J.D. Douglas, writing in Christianity Today, for December 20, 1963 (p. 27) reports the reservations of Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones of historic Westminster Chapel of London:
Dr. Lloyd Jones told Christianity Today that because C.S. Lewis was essentially a philosopher, his view of salvation was defective… Lewis was an opponent of the substitutionary and penal theory of the Atonement.
Dr. W. Wesley Shrader of the First Baptist Church of Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, wrote a letter to the editor in Christianity Today for February 28, 1964 (pp.34-35) in which he stated:
C.S. Lewis… would never embrace the (literal-infallible) view of the Bible. He would accept no theory of the “total depravity of man.” He rejected the “substitutionary theory” of the Atonement'” (F.B.F. News Bulletin, Fundamental Baptist Fellowship, March 4, 1984).
Every believer needs to shun the writings of C.S. Lewis and warn their friends and family about this wolf in sheep’s clothing (Matthew 7:15). It is sickening to hear so many professed Christians today praise and honor such a heretical man, who denied the literacy of the Scriptures and taught a bunch of wishy-washy nonsense. The writings of C.S. Lewis are nothing but a bunch of ramblings devoid of any meaningful Biblical substance. It’s a sure cure for insomnia.
The writings of C.S. Lewis are of the Devil.
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Deborah, thank you for posting this. The majority of professing Christians and pastors/leaders have bought into the works of Lewis and pass them along to their children. Now the movies that are a powerful influence. Parents who would never allow their children to partake of Harry Potter enthusiastically share the Narnia books and movies as family fare ignoring the darkness and calling them a Christian “allegory”. Naturally the children are going to be drawn to his adult writings later in life.
You will not win any popularity contests for exposing this, but it clearly needs to be done.
Hi Deb,
Thanks for the great article! I sent it off to focus on the family, just to obey the Lord in warning others who claim to belong to the Lord & to sound the alarm…do I think anyone there will take notice…it’s highly unlikely! Donna
Donna
Thank you!! I cheated on this one and used other writers. I’ve had a bit of a tough November, thinks just not going as planned LOL. Anyhowww, I hope it spreads here in SA, cos my word, people actually think this is A Christian movie 🙁
Burning Lamp
Hey me and popularity go hand in hand. It hates me, I hate it 😉
Hey me and popularity go hand in hand. It hates me, I hate it 😉
Yeah…what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world (especially popularity which has always been the driving force of man) and loses his own soul..??????
You aren’t running for homecoming queen :-)You are in good company – namely the Lord Jesus and His apostles – anyone who is “telling it like it is” will be hated by the world except for the minority who will listen and walk down that narrow road.
Let me confuse this matter even more,Dave Hunt is a one point Calvinist but for reasons “other” that what the Calvinist says. He also believes in the Perseverance of the saints and he is wrong . Listen to “What love is this” at [removed] and you will hear it out of his own mouth
Skyline – The Deception
The movie “Skyline” will be on the big screen on 11 December 2010 is most probably the biggest step taken by Hollywood to deceive this world in believing in the existince of aliens. Is there a bigger agenda behind this, in my opinion absolutely yes. The world are being prepared to believe this lie when the Biblical rapture eventually takes place. Is this how the unbeliever will be deceived that we (the true born again Christians) has been upducted by aliens?
This might seem as a far fetched idea but can you see the similarity within the movie trailer and what the Bible predicts. Remember that we as true born again Christian do have the Holy Spirit Living in us and deceptions like this is shown to us through the Holy Spirit. Talk to some unbelievers and you will realise how this “possibility” seems believable to them.
In this movie is says “don’t look up” and what does the Bible say “Always look up”. Will this be the explanation this unbelieving world will be using to explain the dissapearance of the true Christians, it start to look more and more as a possibility that will be used to explain the dissapearence of thousands op people (Christians)
Dear fellow Christian, the Biblical facts are simple. The are no “other” life on any other planet, we as human beings are the only living creatures and these other planets have been made by God Almighty simply to Glorify Him as the Creator. The only other living creatures is the Angels created by God Almighty, this includes the fallen angels known as demons who rebelled against God.
Are these “aliens” the people, governments etc claim to see not simply Satan who uses his demonic forces in the form of demons to deceive the people. We are in the last of the last days, make sure that Jesus Christ is your Saviour or you will be deceived.
Let the Bible be your Final Authority and do not be deceived.
Read more articles on Skyline and watch the trailor at [removed]
Tough to read this. When you’ve grown up with these books and learned to love them, and when you’ve viewed Lewis all along as a great Christian apologist.
All the more reason why we need to stick so closely to the Bible and ask God to give us discernment. So many that I have considered to be solid contenders for the faith have turned out not to be so.
Michael
Exactly.
NARNIA NIGHT!
A FREE EVENT FOR PASTORS AND THEIR CONGREGATIONS
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader program will inspire and enrich all who attend.
LOS ANGELES, CA—The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader opens in theatres worldwide on Friday, December 10th.
Pastors can take their congregations right now on a very special journey by hosting their very own NARNIA NIGHT! All the materials are FREE and located at:
http://www.narniafaith.com/engage/narnia-night/
As part of the worldwide release of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, 20th Century Fox and Walden Media have created an exclusive event just for churches—Narnia Night. This totally customizable event includes a multi-part documentary on renowned author and theologian C.S. Lewis, a behind-the-scenes look at how the filmmakers used a little Hollywood magic to make the bedroom flood with water, the popular “Undragon Your Life” testimony from Jim Burgen of Denver’s Flatirons Church, and an exclusive, never-before-seen look inside the new film!
All of these elements are available as fully downloadable hi-res files (all the visual materials can be previewed in low-res form). Everything is free so pastors can create their very own Narnia Night to engage their church as well as their community at large!
Aslan is indeed on the move!
About the film
THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE VOYAGE OF THE DAWN TREADER returns audiences to the hope and wonder of C.S. Lewis’ beloved world—via the fantastic Narnian ship, the Dawn Treader. For this Christmas motion picture event, Edmund and Lucy Pevensie, along with their cousin Eustace, are swallowed into a painting and transported back to Narnia and the magnificent ship the Dawn Treader. They join King Caspian and a warrior mouse named Reepicheep for a mission which holds the fate of Narnia itself. The courageous voyagers overcome their own greatest temptations, as they travel to mysterious islands; have fateful confrontations with magical creatures and sinister enemies; and reunite with their friend and protector, the “Great Lion” Aslan. The film opens in theaters everywhere December 10th.
BL
LOL @ homecomeing queen. I was thinking more on the lines of No bell Peace Prize.
Hilgard
Well I also believe in Perseverance of the saints but NOT because one is Chosen. However lately I am beginning to wonder about this one I must say… *give me time to ponder about it more*
Vern
I know, it’s tough and it’s heartbreaking sometimes. I just wish everyone would be as wise as you to see the truth immediately. Others even after reading this will turn their back on it and carry on down that WIDE path.
Hilgard, this isn’t a thread about Calvinism, but since you made the comment, I feel a need to respond. I have read Dave Hunt’s book What Love Is This and have read many of his comments on Calvinism. He absolutely does not subscribe to any of TULIP. He does believe in eternal security of the believer, but NOT in the way Calvinists believe. Completely different. I thank God for Dave and his courage to take this on. He has been roasted and toasted over this.
The movie poster tells us immediately the spirit behind this movie: it’s the eye of Horus.
Nice article (and I didn’t know Lewis had become Catholic to boot!).
Hi Deb
Here’s my email to Focus on the Family & then follows their reply which did not address anything that I wrote about…not the quotes by Lewis or the verse included in the email I sent & I am not surprised. BTW, I clicked on the little postie & now my posts are not going thru. Could you straighten that problem out for me? Thanks, Donna
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Please see the following link & read it in it’s entirety. Please do your research & if you are watching for the souls of others, then I dare say, you could not promote this movie or encourage people to see it if indeed your are biblical followers of Christ! Loving the truth, Donna
http://www.discerningtheworld.com/2010/12/05/c-s-lewis-narnia-chronicles-of-deception/
An Excerpt—
Narnia – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader : Chronicles of Deception
Author: Olabode Ososami | June 21st, 2010
It seems comical for lack of aptitude to apprehend the literary “Christian” master C.S. Lewis – even as we stampede theatres to watch the next Christmas holiday “Money Spinner” milking (in the same genre as Harry Potter and Christmas Carol) the occult fantasy cow – supposedly packaged as Christian allegory to transfixed congregations. My prediction that this will be another chart-buster does not qualify me as a prophet.
Clive Staples Lewis was born in Ireland, the younger of two sons who claimed to have been converted to Christianity in 1931 and was, as he put it: “A very ordinary layman of The Church of England.” Undoubtedly a literary genius who authored 40-plus exceptional books which included poems, novels, children’s books, science fiction, theology, literary criticisms, educational philosophy, and an autobiography.
I did see the trailer of “Narnia – The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” and with admittedly limited research/listening to related interviews and previews … the broad nice message of goodness over evil seemed inadequate to dispel my reservations. The strong inclination to spread the gospel of salvation by avoiding consecration and marketing the appeal of its other noble themes while also denying the Spirit is not new. What is novel (to me) is the deliberate heavy infusion of undisguised anti-Christian elements and bold sorcery…even as many leverage this unwholesome package for acclaim and perhaps many “converts”. Others, bored with simple exercises of devotion, engage in the dangerous pastime of uncovering hidden treasures in the vault of Holy Scriptures with spades of magic and shovels of mythology and spiritism…and foolishly expect no adverse consequence. A quote from C.S. Lewis … “I have the deepest respect for Pagan myths, still more for myths in the Holy Scriptures” (Problem of Pain, p.71)
What does the Bible say about fascination with the occult, fantasy, magic, paganism and other relatives in this family?
Acts 16 [16] And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: [17] The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. [18] And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
Many “Christian” leaders will say anything that sells Christ however indirectly is good – Paul disagrees. A good message/theme, the pointing out of Paul’s mission of salvation by this self-deceived damsel did not obscure the greater truth that only Paul could discern (despite the veil of fair words) that she spoke out of a polluted cistern.
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Narnia-The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Discussion Thread
Response Via Email (Ann Lawler) 12/06/2010 03:24 PM
Thanks for your e-mail, Donna.
It was good of you to pass along the article regarding C.S. Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia. We appreciate your willingness to share the link and your own thoughts on this topic. The feedback we receive is often very helpful, and we make sure such concerns are directed to the appropriate staff. In the meantime, it might be helpful for us to clarify our perspective.
Naturally, when it comes to the use of fantasy in literature, we believe there are aspects that should give Christian parents reason to pause. Magical characters — witches, wizards, ghosts, goblins, werewolves, poltergeists, and so on — fill the pages of some popular children’s books. It’s important to consider the effect these stories (though imaginary) might have on young, impressionable minds, particularly in light of the trend toward witchcraft and New Age ideology in the larger culture.
From a broader viewpoint, we believe it’s important for parents to pay close attention to the manner in which spiritual power is presented. It’s crucial to ask questions like, “Who is the source of this power? How is it portrayed? What are the results of its use?” Good spiritual power — for example, the power by which the apostles healed the sick and the lame in Jesus’ name — comes from God. He gives it to His people to accomplish His purposes, and it is always used for His glory. Occultic or evil spiritual power, on the other hand, serves the user’s own selfish interests. It is dangerous, destructive, and manipulative in nature.
In addition, we believe that there are many cases in which the powers exercised by fantasy and fairy tale characters have no spiritual significance. Such “magic” is simply a part of the make-believe world created by the storyteller — a world which operates according to principles of its own and suspends the rules of normal day-to-day reality.
The ability of Cinderella’s fairy-godmother to turn pumpkins into coaches, Mary Poppins’ talent for sliding up the banister, Peter Pan’s aeronautical skills, and Alice’s wild experiences with shape-altering mushrooms all belong to this category. We believe that some books by Christian authors from a Christian perspective — for example, C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and the fairy stories of George MacDonald — make use of this device, as well. Here again, parents must use discernment in determining which stories fit this description and which can be characterized as occultic in nature and intent.
In the end, we suggest the following rule of thumb for evaluating fairy tales, fantasies, and fictional stories of any kind. Any story that exhibits a tendency to romanticize the occult should be avoided. If, on the other hand, a work of fiction portrays the practice of witchcraft and wizardry in such a way as to highlight its evil nature and make it unattractive to the reader (as in the case of C. S. Lewis’s White Witch), then many Christians would find it acceptable.
Thanks, again, for writing. Grace and peace to you!
Ann Lawler
Focus on the Family
BL
Yip I agree. I listened to the book on mp3 and I agree, he does not agree with anything TULIP.
Followstheway
My goodness it is too.
This email reply from Focus on the Family is UNBELIEVABLE.
Focus on the Family believes…” that there are many cases in which the powers exercised by fantasy and fairy tale characters have no spiritual significance. Such “magic” is simply a part of the make-believe world created by the storyteller — a world which operates according to principles of its own and suspends the rules of normal day-to-day reality. And Narnia falls into that category.” Hmmm. I had no idea there was NEUTRAL magic. I wonder if Ann Lawler is the White Witch from Narnia.
Burning Lamp wrote:
Please do not get me wrong, I am also a strong supported of Dave Hunt and the Berean call, just thought it was worth mentioning that he has said that he is a “one point calvinist” in his video presentation regarding perseverance of the saints
It is so sad that so many Christians follow Focus on the Family even after James Dobson has retired. It has been proven over and over again they are not to be trusted and extremely ecumenical.
But many conservative Christians in the U.S. look to FoF for their stand on moral issues.
And if one even suggests anything negative about them you are likely to be drawn and quartered. Not really, but they get pretty testy.
Hilgard
Argh no, lol (I wanna move this conversation to it’s rightful place). Like I said, I am having serious discussions going on in my head regarding this topic for a while.
PS, I am not going to approve your other comments because I want you to move them over here: http://www.discerningtheworld.com/2010/05/03/eternal-security-genuinely-saved-always-saved/ please, then I will approve them.
Hi Deborah
Are u in South Africa.
This is probaly the best “Christian Informatory” website I have ever seen.
It is difficult and sad in this world to have to fight against
this worldly influences.
I have young children and I have a struggle ahead in the holidays to keep them away from such movies.
Please pray for us and others in this situation
Regards
—Hi Deb,
Here’s the email sent to me from FOF & my answers are preceded by — & ended w/ — b/c and appears in bold
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Thanks for your e-mail, Donna.
It was good of you to pass along the article regarding C.S. Lewis and The Chronicles of Narnia. We appreciate your willingness to share the link and your own thoughts on this topic. The feedback we receive is often very helpful, and we make sure such concerns are directed to the appropriate staff. In the meantime, it might be helpful for us to clarify our perspective.
Naturally, when it comes to the use of fantasy in literature, we believe there are aspects that should give Christian parents reason to pause. Magical characters — witches, wizards, ghosts, goblins, werewolves, poltergeists, and so on — fill the pages of some popular children’s books. It’s important to consider the effect these stories (though imaginary) might have on young, impressionable minds, particularly in light of the trend toward witchcraft and New Age ideology in the larger culture.— Exactly! That is what I am trying to show you w/ my information re CS Lewis & his writings & this new movie!—
From a broader viewpoint, we believe it’s important for parents to pay close attention to the manner in which spiritual power is presented. It’s crucial to ask questions like, “Who is the source of this power? How is it portrayed? What are the results of its use?” Good spiritual power — for example, the power by which the apostles healed the sick and the lame in Jesus’ name — comes from God. He gives it to His people to accomplish His purposes, and it is always used for His glory. Occultic or evil spiritual power, on the other hand, serves the user’s own selfish interests. It is dangerous, destructive, and manipulative in nature. —OK, so you have that right but you are blind re CS Lewis & his movies & this new movie which is produced by Disney & all of these movies have the occult in them along w/ occultic & sexual symbols!—
In addition, we believe that there are many cases in which the powers exercised by fantasy and fairy tale characters have no spiritual significance. This movie is NOT one of them! Such “magic” is simply a part of the make-believe world created by the storyteller — a world which operates according to principles of its own and suspends the rules of normal day-to-day reality.
The ability of Cinderella’s fairy-godmother to turn pumpkins into coaches, Mary Poppins’ talent for sliding up the banister, Peter Pan’s aeronautical skills, and Alice’s wild experiences with shape-altering mushrooms all belong to this category. We believe that some books by Christian authors from a Christian perspective — for example, C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia, J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and the fairy stories of George MacDonald — make use of this device, as well. Here again, parents must use discernment in determining which stories fit this description and which can be characterized as occultic in nature and intent. —Since your recommendations are looked upon as a guide by parents, then I say clearly that those from FOF who are recommending these types of moves are NOT being led of God’s HOLY SPIRIT! —
In the end, we suggest the following rule of thumb for evaluating fairy tales, fantasies, and fictional stories of any kind. Any story that exhibits a tendency to romanticize the occult should be avoided. If, on the other hand, a work of fiction portrays the practice of witchcraft and wizardry in such a way as to highlight its evil nature and make it unattractive to the reader (as in the case of C. S. Lewis’s White Witch), then many Christians would find it acceptable. —ACCEPTABLE?!
PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE which is really just the tip of the iceberg.—
Trouble in Narnia
The Occult Side of C. S. Lewis by Mary Ann Collins
February 2006
See C. S. Lewis Index – How mysticism is changing the Church
I’ve been uneasy about the enthusiasm for Narnia. Then one morning I woke up vividly remembering some things in the third Narnia book. And now I recognize the root of what has been troubling me.
I had read all of C.S. Lewis’ books, including his essays, his collections of letters, his science fiction, and the Narnia books. I read most of the books more than once, and I read the Narnia books many times. I also read all the books of Charles Williams because he was a close friend of Lewis’ and Lewis spoke so highly of his books. And I read all of George MacDonald’s books because Lewis admired him and spoke well of his books.”
“The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is the third book in the Narnia series. It directly promotes spells and magic.
Chapter 10 (“The Magician’s Book”) features a book of spells that is on an island inhabited by invisible creatures called Dufflepuds. Lucy works a spell to make the Dufflepuds visible. She goes through a spell book, and it is beautiful and fascinating. Then she finds the right spell and says the words and follows the instructions. And then the Dufflepuds (and Aslan) become visible. Her spell made Aslan visible, and he is pleased with what she did.
The book of spells is beautiful and fascinating. One spell is illustrated with pictures of bees that look as if they are really flying. In the world of C.S. Lewis’ day, this would not have caused practical problems. However, these days, kids can go to regular bookstores and buy spell books written by modern witches.
Many Christians are treating the Narnia books as being an allegory, with Aslan representing Jesus and the children representing Christians. If you do this with “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” then you portray Jesus as being pleased when Christians do magic and work spells. And you support the idea that that there are “good” spells and “good” magic. That belief is the basis for modern “white” witchcraft. However, the Bible clearly forbids any form of witchcraft:
“There shall not be found among you anyone who… practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the LORD.” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12)
In the book, the Dufflepuds are ruled by a wizard. He uses magic to rule the Dufflepuds because they aren’t yet mature enough to be ruled directly by Aslan. So there is good magic and a good wizard. This magic prepares people for relationship with Aslan. Again, if Aslan is taken as a symbol for Jesus, then magic prepares people to become Christians. In our modern culture, that would mean that Wicca is a way to get to know Jesus and become His follower.
Back when C.S. Lewis wrote the Narnia stories, Wicca did not exist. Kids who read the books couldn’t experiment with spells. But this is a different world today. Now kids are surrounded by movies and TV shows that promote witchcraft, and they may know kids at their school who dabble in it.
What will happen when Disney comes out with a movie of “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”? Christian kids may wind up feeling free to practice magic. And this could help break down the barrier between Christianity and Wicca. It could “Christianize” witchcraft in the eyes of some Christian kids.
There are some other problems with C.S. Lewis’ widespread influence. Blending God’s truth with occult tales, he laid an enticing foundation for apostasy.
For starters in understanding the man, here is a quotation from a letter that he wrote describing a trip that he and his wife Joy took to Greece in 1960. He wrote,
“I had some ado to prevent Joy and myself from relapsing into Paganism in Attica! At Daphni it was hard not to pray to Apollo the Healer. But somehow one didn’t feel it would have been very wrong”.
Lewis also said that “Christianity fulfilled paganism” and “paganism prefigured Christianity.”[1]
In his autobiography (Surprised by Joy), Lewis tells how at age 13 he abandoned his Anglican faith due to the influence of a school mistress who was involved with “Theosophy, Rosicrucianism, Spiritualism; the whole Anglo-American Occultist tradition.” And Lewis developed a “lust” for the occult that remained with him even after he returned to Anglicanism. He said,
“And that started in me something with which, on and off, I have had plenty of trouble since–the desire for the preternatural, simply as such, the passion for the Occult. Not everyone has this disease; those who have will know what I mean. I once tried to describe it in a novel. It is a spiritual lust; and like the lust of the body it has the fatal power of making everything else in the world seem uninteresting while it lasts.”[2]
Lewis said that he described that lust for the occult in a novel. It occurs in the third book of his science fiction trilogy. A man is in the process of being initiated into an inner ring of scientists who are occultists. They worship demons, which they call “macrobes” (huge, powerful invisible things, as opposed to microbes, which are tiny invisible things).
“Here, here surely at last (so his desire whispered to him) was the true inner circle of all, the circle whose centre was outside the human race–the ultimate secret, the supreme power, the last initiation. The fact that it was almost completely horrible did not in the least diminish its attraction.”[3]
“These creatures [demons]… breathed death on the human race and on all joy. Not despite this but because of this, the terrible gravitation sucked and tugged and fascinated him towards them. Never before had he known the fruitful strength of the movement opposite to Nature which now had him in its grip; the impulse to reverse all reluctances and to draw every circle anti-clockwise.” (“That Hideous Strength,” p. 269.)
Note that Lewis said that he had trouble with that lust for the occult ever since his encounter with the Matron in his boys’ school. He wrote that statement in 1955. By then, he had written all but three of his books.[4]
Lewis dedicated his autobiography (“Surprised by Joy”) to Bede Griffiths, a former student of his who became a long-time friend. Griffiths founded a “Christian ashram” in India. He said that Hindu temples are a “sacrament.” And he said, “No one can say in the proper sense that the Hindu, the Buddhist or the Muslim is an ‘unbeliever.’ I would say rather that we have to recognize him as our brother in Christ.”[5]
What Bede Griffiths did and said is the logical conclusion of a statement that C.S. Lewis made in “Mere Christianity.” He said,
“There are people in other religions who are being led by God’s secret influence to concentrate on those parts of their religion which are in agreement with Christianity, and who thus belong to Christ without knowing it. For example, a Buddhist of good will may be led to concentrate more and more on the Buddhist teaching about mercy and to leave in the background (though he might still say he believed) the Buddhist teaching on certain other points. Many of the good Pagans long before Christ’s birth may have been in this position.”[6]
Lewis said that he was strongly influenced by George MacDonald, who was a universalist. MacDonald’s book “Lilith” is based on an occult teaching that Adam was married to a demon named Lilith before he married Eve. By the end of MacDonald’s book, Lilith is redeemed, and Adam says that even the devil will eventually be redeemed.
This universalism shows up in some of Lewis’ fiction books. In “The Great Divorce,” Lewis is in Heaven. He speaks with George MacDonald and asks him about universalism, and MacDonald answers that Lewis cannot understand such things now. In the last of the Narnia books (“The Last Battle”), a pagan makes it to Heaven (“Aslan’s Land”) because of his good works and his good motives, in spite of the fact that he did not believe in Aslan and he worshipped Aslan’s enemy, a false god named Tash.
Lilith shows up in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.” Mr. Beaver tells the children that the White Witch is descended from Lilith, who is the “first wife” of Adam. This could cause confusion, especially for children. Although Mr. Beaver is a fictional character, he is speaking authoritatively about the real world–the real Adam and Eve of the Bible.
Lewis spoke very highly of Charles Williams and his books, so I read all of his books. They are novels that mix darkness and occultism with some insights about Christianity. In “The Greater Trumps,” the hero is a saintly woman who saves the day by doing magic with Tarot cards.
Williams was as much a mixture as his books were. He started out as a serious occultist. He believed Theosophy and other occult teachings, and he joined the Golden Dawn, a group that practices “sex magick,” which is ritual sex that is done for the purpose of getting occult power. (The notorious Satanist, Aleister Crowley, was a member of the Golden Dawn.) Williams left the Golden Dawn and joined the Anglican church, but he kept some of his Theosophical beliefs.
Lewis also had a close friend named Owen Barfield. He dedicated the Narnia books to him and named Lucy after Barfield’s daughter. Barfield was a philosopher who started out with Theosophy and developed his own version of it.
According to Theosophy, the God of the Bible is a tyrant, and Lucifer (the devil) came to rescue mankind from him. Even this dark view of God shows up in C.S. Lewis’ writings.
After his wife Joy died, Lewis wrote “A Grief Observed,” a book describing his thoughts and emotional struggles as a result of her death. The dark Theosophical view of God shows up in this book, as shown in the following quotations.
“Supposing the truth were ‘God always vivisects’?”[7]
“Is it rational to believe in a bad God? Anyway, in a God so bad as all that? The Cosmic Sadist, the spiteful imbecile?”[8]
Lewis didn’t stay there. He vacillated between despair and hope. But in his moments of agony and despair, the Theosophical view of God came back to haunt him.
There is another problem with his messages. I have read all of his books, and I do not recall any reference to the authority of God and to the timelessness of His ways. Lewis’ worldview seems to be based primarily on human feelings, wants and perceptions (including evolution and Freudian psychology). For example, in his last book, The Discarded Image, he tells us that nothing is permanent; everything changes — along with human thought, wants, and speculations:
“No Model is a catalogue of ultimate realities, and none is a mere fantasy. Each is a serious attempt to get in all the phenomena known at a given period…. But also, no less surely, each reflects the prevalent psychology of an age almost as much as it reflects the state of that age’s knowledge….”[5, page 222]
Lewis ends his book with this prediction:
“It is not impossible that our own Model [for many of us, that refers to the Biblical worldview] will die a violent death, ruthlessly smashed by an unprovoked assault of new facts — unprovoked as the nova of 1572. But I think it is more likely to change when, and because, far-reaching changes in the mental temper of our descendents demand that it should. The new Model will not be set up without evidence, but the evidence will turn up when the inner need for it becomes sufficiently great. It will be true evidence.'[5, pages 222-223]
That unbiblical conclusion could easily wipe out any lasting Christian certainty in the minds of his readers! Now compare that personal and subjective speculation with actual certainties of the God who is the sovereign, all-knowing, Creator of all:
“…in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons….” 1 Timothy 4:1
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:6-8
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body….” Philippians 3:20 Please see below.
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—AWAKENED CHRISTIANS realize that Disney is pro-gay & much of what they produce is sexual as well as occultic in nature. Please read:—
http://www.cuttingedge.org/news/n1095.cfm
NEWS BRIEF: “Baptists Expose The Real Disney”, by Don Feder, Boston Herald, Wednesday, June 25, 1997, p. 27.
“Bless the Southern Baptist Convention! For years, the Walt Disney Co., has extended its middle finger to Middle America. A reckoning is long overdue. At their Dallas convention last week, delegates voted overwhelmingly to urge the denomination’s 40,613 churches to boycott all Disney outlets, including its movies … theme parks, stores and affiliates like the ABC network. ”
“The nation’s largest Protestant denomination is disenchanted with Disney’s gay-friendly policies. In 1996, the organizers of ‘Gay and Lesbian Days at Walt Disney World’ used an emblem depicting Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck as ‘Birdcage’ buddies. Disney did not object.” [Note: Can you imagine the reaction of a Christian couple who had long ago planned their vacation with their impressionable young children, to tour Walt Disney World, only to discover that the park has the current theme of ‘Gay and Lesbian Days’!? And, can you also imagine the horror of seeing the lovable and innocent characters, Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck, whom the children have been preconditioned to accept, suddenly promoting the Gay lifestyle to your children?]
“At its convention a year ago, Southern Baptists asked the entertainment conglomerate to repent. Disney responded by sluicing sea water in a fresh wound with ABC’s coming-out episode of ‘Ellen’. [Note: Didn’t Disney also advertise an awful lot during this ‘coming-out’ episode? Truly, ‘Ellen’ broke a great deal of fresh ground in conditioning Americans to accept the Gay and Lesbian lifestyle. Of course, you knew that ABC TV is wholly owned by Walt Disney Company, didn’t you?]
“Disney also advertises in gay publications like ‘Out” magazine and helped underwrite a 1993 benefit for the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force. Chairman Michael Eisner sits on the board of ‘Hollywood Supports’, a group that conducts corporate brainwashing sessions on ‘sensitivity to sodomy’. [Note: These are Don Feder’s words, not mine. Whenever a company holds ‘Sensitivity’ sessions, they are always trying to convince you that the offensive behavior that is the subject of the session is perfectly fine and no one should have any objection to participating in it, or at least tolerating others who are participating in it!]
“Advancing alternative lifestyles isn’t Disney’s only sin. One of the ‘Magic Kink-dom’s’ major exports is violent and degenerate movies. Walt Disney’s successors push smut and slaughter slyly, through subsidiaries like Miramax and Hollywood Pictures. That way, the sludge doesn’t sully its reputation for family entertainment. ‘Pulp Fiction’ (Miramax) was as graphic as it gets. ‘The Color of Night’ was a feeble excuse to pack the maximum amount of full-frontal nudity into 120 minutes. At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Miramax paid $2 million for the distribution rights to ‘The House of Yes’, a ‘charming’ comedy about brother-sister incest.” [Note: So, Disney money and marketing clout are behind the most offensively immoral shows possible, conditioning countless numbers of Americans to accept the premise that “any behavior is perfectly all right”!! Incest is just about as low as you can get, yet Disney is promoting it to any American gullible enough to believe it. Why aren’t we outraged at shows like this, which depict Incest, and yet we are outraged whenever anyone actually commits Incest! Did you ever stop to think that, perhaps the perpetrator got the idea from movies like ‘The House of Yes’?]
“Disney (again through its fronts) attacks traditional religion with the zeal of the village atheist. The 1995 British film, ‘Priest’ (distributed in America by Miramax made the Church of Rome look like a group-therapy session. It featured five dysfunctional priests (one had a mistress, another was loony), all of whose problems were attributed to what Hollywood considers the cruelty of Catholic dogma,” [Note: All segments of Christianity have been under attack from Hollywood since World War II, with the hated Roman Catholic Church under attack the most often. We are most amazed, however, at the very rough treatment continually handed out to the Catholics, since the Vatican is slated to play such a critical role in the coming New World Order Religion! However, remember that every smear left upon Catholicism is considered a smear on all of Christianity by the average American on the street, because they do not distinguish between Catholicism on the one hand and Fundamental Protestants on the other hand. In their ignorance of the HUGE Biblical differences between us, they view us all as one big, homogenous “Christian” group. See NEWS1093, “Christianity Now Broadly Defined”, for full details.]
“When a Miramax production crew showed up in a Brooklyn Hasidic neighborhood in March to shoot scenes for the film, ‘Below the Price of Rubies’, angry residents chased them away. Smart Hasidics. The movie is about a Jewish woman who leaves her Hasidic husband for a non-religious man. Guess who comes off looking like a schmuck? Give Disney this, it’s an equal-opportunity offender.”
“In the Fall, ABC will premiere the series, ‘Nothing Sacred’ — which sums up Disney’s attitude toward faith. The sitcom concerns Father Ray, described by Entertainment Weekly, as ‘an irreverent priest who questions God and feels lust in his heart.’ ”
” ‘It’s tough being a priest in the ’90’s’, says an ABC handout. ‘Just ask Father Ray (Kevin Anderson). In one morning alone, he’s nearly been fired for advising a pregnant teen-ager to follow her own instincts’. What better way to mock Rome than with a libidinous, agnostic priest who thinks abortion is a matter of individual conscience?”
“For more than a half-century, Disney has had a special place in the hearts of American families. It has said to parents: ‘You can trust us to provide wholesome entertainment for your children’. But, the toxins it dumps, on and off camera, are absolutely inimical to the social climate so necessary to the moral health of the next generation. Whether or not their boycott succeeds, the Southern Baptists have taken a significant step toward unmasking the face of corruption beneath the Mickey mask.”
We congratulate Don Feder for possessing the moral integrity to write such an article on the Walt Disney of today. Certainly, the heirs to the throne of the Disney Empire have succeeded in taking Disney into realms that were undoubtedly undreamed of by Walt Disney. However, this article focuses too narrowly on the dangers which Disney has posed to children in their cartoons since at least World War II!!
Were you aware that many, many Disney cartoons depict scenes of witchcraft that children would never be exposed to in any other way, at least at such a young age? When Disney put a wizard’s costume on Mickey Mouse, and the Magick Wand in his hand, they embarked upon a totally new, and corrupt, course! When Mickey waves his wand, and causes “magic” to happen, that is witchcraft. When Mickey causes things to fly through the air, that is called Levitation, which is witchcraft.
Probably the most blatant example of Disney witchcraft is the movie, “Bedknobs and Broomsticks”. The star of the show is Angela Lansbury, who plays a spinster in England during World War II. When she is asked by the British Government to take in 3 young children who had been removed from London, she is already an Apprentice Witch, and is striving to learn more about “The Craft”. I was stunned as I watched the movie, as all sorts of witchcraft was graphically depicted, from Levitation, to spells that changed people into animals to spells that brought to life inanimate objects, to an ancient spell from Ashtaroth. According to the Holman Bible Dictionary, “ASHTAROTH (ash’ tuhrahth) is the plural form of Ashtoreth, a Canaanite goddess of fertility, love, and war and the daughter of the god El and the goddess Asherah.” Therefore, Disney portrays in a very favorable light one of the Canaanite goddesses for which God brought physical judgment upon Israel, because He was so angry of their idolatrous worship!! Congratulations, Disney, you have just encouraged our children to think kindly of Ashtaroth, a fake goddess of Antiquity whose worship by the Israelites provoked God to physical judgment of the entire nation!
Most of all Disney cartoons, including those of our English Fairy Tales, contain enough witchcraft poison to ruin the minds of our precious children!! If you do not believe me, just rent a few of them and see how many times spells are created, how many times objects fly through the air, how many times ‘special power’ is summoned to solve the problem. It seems as though Disney has been getting very creative and bold as the years have progressed. In the promotional trailers for ‘Hercules’, I can spot repeated examples of when witchcraft is used, both on the White Magic (Good) side and on the Black Magick (Evil) side. Remember, Disney almost always employs the White Magic vs Black Magick witchcraft for their plot, while most people think they are still looking at the Good Guys with White hats versus the Bad Buys with Black hats of the Western movies. But, of course, the Western movies never, ever employed witchcraft on either side to attempt to win the battle.
Christian parents, I challenge you to rent a few of these Disney movies with this idea in mind, and you will be absolutely shocked at how many, many times witchcraft is fed to your young children’s minds!!!
Disney films and cartoons are not for young children!! For that matter, they are not for any Christians of any age. This is one area where we Christian parents must make a radical change in our thinking. Disney is not cute, it is not harmless, and it is most definitely not for children.
But, remember that the New World Order Plan clearly states that The Christ cannot make his appearance until and unless a “significant proportion” of the world’s peoples have been pre-conditioned to accept him. What better place to begin than with your children?
The very fact that this pre-conditioning began about the time Israel returned to her land in 1948, and at the same time that so many other End of the Age prophecies began to see fulfillment, is yet one more strong proof that the End of the Age is coming quickly, yea is even at our doors!
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—WAKE UP! You are ensnared within the religious MATRIX where darkness abides & layer upon layer of lies, deceptions & seductions surround those who do not have a love of the truth!!—
—One who Loves the truth passionately! Donna—
—P.S.–After you read what I’ve sent you, I would be interested in hearing your response. Pray for the Lord God to open your eyes before it’s too late! We will be held accountable for what we recommend to others! We are to be watchmen & we are to warn others & that’s exactly what I’m doing now to obey the Lord God!—
Thanks, again, for writing. Grace and peace to you!
Ann Lawler
Focus on the Family
heber
Yip in South Africa. Thank you for your wonderful comment. You and others like yourself are always in my thoughts!
Donna, you are a precious sister. Thank you for standing for truth. Sadly, you will be viewed as an extremist – the lampstand was removed from FoF long ago if it ever was there in the first place. FoF is ecumenical, mixes truth and error and the undiscerning are taken in. Many churches that would call themselves fundamental link to their site, many Christians support FoF financially, subscribe to their updates. I have pointed out concerns to friends who are devoted to them and it rolls off like water off a duck’s back.
Donna, your best efforts are to warn your circle of influence rather than take on this vast and popular organization. Bloom where you are planted rather than sowing seeds to the wind. Give the info to your friends and family and pray for them that they will not be deceived. Pray for Deborah and others who are trying to get the word out. Realize that Lewis is deeply ingrained in the Church, and recommended by pastors. Pray for opportunities to let people know.
May the Lord richly bless you for your sincere love for His truth and your courage.
Teaching and exposing children to fantasy,make-believe and fairy-tales lays a foundation stone in later adult life to dishonesty,telling lies and the inability to see the sins of deceit…these abound in our society…advertising,public holidays (Xmas as it is celebrated with a silly old overweight man with a long white beard) and “white lies” which are lies nevertheless and no better than blatant lies.
Children have the right to know the truth written in the bible…the only real solid foundation.
BL–Thank you for your comments re the write-up I offered to FOF. Yes, sadly they do not have eyes or ears that are AWAKE & I realize that their lampstand was removed & they are ecumenical w/ all manner of mixtures & without discernment. I didn’t for one moment think that anyone there would wake up, however, b/c I don’t believe they fit into the scorner or the swine category (at least not yet, I believe they are lukewarm as Jesus described in Rev. 3 & that whoever does not repent, the Lord will vomit them out of their mouths) & b/c I also realize that there are readers on this site who may be fairly new plus, there’s not a one of us who has all the information or research on every topic—so this is also a good way to share more insights or behind the scenes information that others may not be aware of.
Of course, I do share w/ those of like mind & precious faith as well & pray for them to WAKE UP…I’m still waiting w/ faith & many times grieving at the lack of response, esp. when it comes to family. Having said all that, I want to share the verse that the Lord quickened to me. It’s Ez. 2:7–And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious. Here are a few others. Isa. 29:13–
Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men: Isa.5:20–Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Jer. 5:2–And though they say, As the Lord lives, surely they swear falsely. They have not a LOVE OF THE TRUTH! Blessings of truth, grace, & light from our Incredible, powerful, just, sweet, loving, Living God! Donna
Hi Donna,
Praise God for your faithfulness under fire and in the midst of apostasy. This wss predicted by our Lord for the last of the last days.
If you have been following Roger Oakland you see there a brother who has suffered much for the sake of the truth. He needs our encouragement and support.
I do think that the work God would have us do in these last days is at the grassroots level, not in the apostate organizations. Our job of is warn others about THEM; we can’t expect THEM to change. They are set in their ways and they are not going to change. But we can snatch some from the fire as it says in Jude. That is our mission in this day and time as I see it. Others have written to Charles Stanley, Ravi Zaharrias, and other big name evangelical leaders with no response. These are the “untouchables”. The best that can be expected is a “canned” response. Best we do our research, expose the dark bellies of those who proclaim Christ and then in their next action deny Him and warn others. They will either accept or reject the truth – that is what Debs is doing here. Some will receive the truth and abandon those of human flesh they have set up as idols and others will choose to continue in their blind loyalty. It is all in God’s hands.
One element we musn’t forget is PRAYER. PRAY for a local pastor who has fallen for the Purpose Driven line for instance – commit him to prayer and see what happens. We can’t reach Rick Warren – he is a very powerful man with his own agenda and enjoys popularity with the masses. That is my point. We must concentrate our efforts on the level God has placed us.
Keep up the good work and keep looking up!! Our Redemption draws near!!!
BF–my responses are preceded & followed by: ***
I do think that the work God would have us do in these last days is at the grassroots level, not in the apostate organizations.*** I agree.*** Our job of is warn others about THEM; we can’t expect THEM to change. ***Again, I agree & I have been & do warn others in speaking up & in writing.*** They are set in their ways and they are not going to change. ***Generally speaking, for sure.*** But we can snatch some from the fire as it says in Jude. That is our mission in this day and time as I see it. Others have written to Charles Stanley, Ravi Zaharrias, and other big name evangelical leaders with no response. These are the “untouchables”. ***I do believe that & if I didn’t I would have or would be now wasting my time in writing to the untouchables. *** However, I believe there needs to always be room in case the Lord would prompt one to speak the truth even if we “know” they will not respond.*** The best that can be expected is a “canned” response.*** For sure.*** Best we do our research, expose the dark bellies of those who proclaim Christ and then in their next action deny Him and warn others. ***I thought I made that clear in my previous post. *** They will either accept or reject the truth – that is what Debs is doing here. Some will receive the truth and abandon those of human flesh they have set up as idols and others will choose to continue in their blind loyalty. ***Yes, that is so true since we all have our free will. *** It is all in God’s hands.
One element we musn’t forget is PRAYER. PRAY for a local pastor who has fallen for the Purpose Driven line for instance – commit him to prayer and see what happens.*** Our relationship w/ Jesus thru PRAYER is the most important element & I believe the most lacking today, esp. w/ fasting.*** We can’t reach Rick Warren – he is a very powerful man with his own agenda and enjoys popularity with the masses. That is my point. We must concentrate our efforts on the level God has placed us.*** I get it, but for some reason that I do not yet see, I felt prompted to send the emails to FOF. Of course, I am open to changes wrought by our Lord in any area of my life–that’s a given. May He continue to reveal all that He wants to reveal to me & do His work in me as well as those who have a heart to love Him & serve Him, esp. in these days & in the dark days ahead! ***
Donna, if God leads you to write to a ministry, than you should do it. My point was that the preferred approach according to the Bible is one-on-one. Some of these people may not even be true believers. We can’t get to them on a level where we know what they need and chances are they won’t listen.
On sites like this, people come for information and dialog that can be fruitful if they are open.
We certainly agree that PRAYER is the ultimate weapen of warfare and that we maintain OUR OWN ARMOR. May the Lord bless and guide you and give you wisdom!!
When I was a child my grandfather, a baptist preacher, gave me and my sisters the set of C.S. Lewis Narnia books. I devoured them and then went on to Mere Christianity.
It was only later, as I matured as a Christian that I began to realize the dangers of the pagan philosophy presented in these books.
I would not want to blame C.S. Lewis for my sins, but I do think his work has had a negative effect on my outlook on life. It has taken many years to undo the damage done by these books.
In the mean time my sisters graduated from Lewis to Tolkien and now are heavily into J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. Two of these sisters actually spent time overseas as missionaries! We spent so much time learning the things of this world, through books like Lewis’, that we didn’t have much time to learn the things of God!
My sisters are now middle-aged women, still attend “Baptist” churches, and think these occult things are just harmless fantasy!
Dan wrote…My sisters are now middle-aged women, still attend “Baptist” churches, and think these occult things are just harmless fantasy!
Fantasy is never harmless…it is deceiving and leads to a conditioning process in society to accept things that are not authentic and real …fantasy is rather like a drug for small children …an escapism from the real world…which is a form of deceit.
Sin has its initial roots in deceit .
There was a time when I admired and enjoyed CS Lewis…finding his intelligence and interlect stimulating. I was too deeply moved by the movie “Shadowlands”…Anthony Hopkins portrays CS Lewis in this film.
Today I know better…the film shows a tender loving relationship between 2 people…when the an American Jewish woman divorces her spouse and moves to England and falls in love with a likeable English schoolmaster.
This first of all is an adulterous relationship but if this is true puts CS Lewis in doubt…the woman eventually gets cancer and dies.
It is a very sad story …but I have learnt that darkness often disguises itself in beauty.
CS Lewis was indeed a very loved man by his pupils, he was very intelligent but his doctrine and theology are flawed and therefore must be rejected by every true believer.
Ms. Deborah,
I have read several of your entries now, and am finally ready to make a comment. Simply, thank you!
Thank you for sharing the information you have found, and for repeating what so many have forgotten in this age of massive information… Open your Bible and read it! We must compare everything we hear to God’s Word, to know the truth so we may discern deception.
I wasn’t aware of the various transformations of C.S. Lewis– I knew he had been atheist and then converted to “christianity” (I use that term very loosely), but wasn’t aware of the many quotes cited in this article (which, I realize, was not written by you). And I grew up w/ C.S. Lewis (so to speak)!
Now for the more complex part of my comment, which I hope explains my reason for commenting (I rarely comment on what I read online). I was a “PK” (pastor’s kid), but I doubt I was the ‘typical’ pastor’s kid, as my dad wasn’t a typical pastor. He taught “open the Bible and read what it said,” and because of that, we had… um, suffered multiple problems with the missionary organization that was responsible for his pay, and had even been homeless at one point!
Since I was a very young child, I loved Jesus. Period. Though I have left “churchianity,” I have not given up my faith in God, His power and sovereignty, or redemption through Christ Jesus. Doubted? Maybe. I am thinking now, though, that my doubt wasn’t rooted in “lack of faith,” but was because of the hypocrisy and ‘doctrine pounding’ that I suffered. I haven’t “been to church” in… about 7 years. It’s taken me this long to ‘purge’ the doctrine from my mind, so that I can read the Bible without ‘hearing’ the doctrinized version– I can now read it for what it says.
As I pursue this course, of re-establishing my faith, I am also learning about the many misleads and misleaders! I got to your website by way of searching a particular person, and was at first {i}not{/i} pleased (neither was I surprised) at what was said. I have to admit I have certain… misgivings about the person, though I do believe there’s a lot of truth to what is said. However, it’s kind of that “waiting for him to derail” type of deal– happened with another prominent leader, as well. Having read the article on the person I searched, instead of completely dismissing it, I read other entries of yours and comments made by others.
Thus, I am finally replying to something I’ve read online, because I think it will actually matter!
Thank you for your postings. Thank you for always referring people back to God’s Word, and not just by quotations, but by writing “open the Book and read it!” This is what the world needs to hear, and, having left “churchianity,” know that you have a difficult fight. Anyone who speaks/writes the truth, who refers people to Jesus Christ and God’s Word is in for a tough fight. I can see you’re sticking to your Sword (*smiley*), and for that I am truly grateful. Very inspiring to read.
Keep up the great work of referring people back to Christ Jesus, and His word.
May you be rewarded for your perseverance and your work,
~~CS
Hi CS
Yours was the most touching comment I have ever received. THANK YOU so much. Thank you. And yes it’s tough, but I fight the good fight for people like yourself.
Thank you. Gosh you’ve made me cry. (but it’s good crying…not bad crying lol)
Deborah,
Good cries are much needed, sometimes! I have lived through much, been through much, and am going through much– most of it is just “life” today, some of it was/is because of my stance for truth, for Jesus. I know what it’s like to get ‘bashed’, especially by those who claim the name of Christ (but fail to live what they claim to believe), and thus I make use of opportunities to offer encouragement and support (just call me Bartholomew!).
Unlike the religions of today, I am teaching my children “live what you believe. When you live what you believe, then you can talk to people about it.” (My paraphrase of ‘show [your] faith by [your] works.).
The failure of leaders today, and of parents, is the failure of living the truth! They talk, their mouths are moving, maybe their hands are folded (or extended in the air, or whatever), maybe they’re praying… but failing TO DO! I can’t help but see how the atheist’s slogan “One pair of hands working does more than a thousand clasped in prayer” can be accepted, though my parenthetical thoughts are always (who’s to say the hands have to be clasped in prayer? Can’t I do my work while praying?). That expression, combined with the knowledge that Jesus (our example) LIVED His belief to death! Wow! Um, that knowledge is what has spurred me to teach my children to first live, then talk. I am teaching them (I hope) by example, and not just by talk!
In deed, “the way is narrow and few are those who find it.” That is a powerful reason to not join any fad or “big” religion! The Bible, plain and simple. Simple enough for a child (it was the first book I learned to read), but puzzling and mysterious and deep enough for an intellectual. Haven’t read any other books/anthologies like it!
As a really off topic note, I am going to be cruising your site to update myself on traditional history. See, my folks were busy teaching me how to read God’s word, and applying it to life… not on the history/apologetics (sp?). I was challenged around age 10/11 (I think), when talking w/ some girls (older than me)– when I said I was “Christian,” they questioned me about the Crusades. I had no idea what on earth they were talking about! That was an eye opener even then. So, aside from continuing my personal biblical studies (you know… the kind where you open THE Book and read it and take notes or highlight or underline, or whatever), I am also trying to educate myself on “Christian” history so that I can better understand current discussions and events, though I refuse to be lead by any man (or woman)– Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit upon His temporary departure to comfort us and lead us; doesn’t it make sense, then, to listen to Him? The Holy Spirit who communes with the Spirit of God, and prays for us better than we can pray for ourselves?
Possibly I’m just over-excited at what I’ve been given… provision and care through-out my life, no matter where I’ve gone or what I’ve done; the love of a good husband (I’m biased, but I think he’s the best!), and two loving children who seek to help others. Few are the people who get to experience the kind of family ties we have, and I have recently had the power of Jesus’ sacrifice made, ironically, more powerful to me. Perhaps joy will be restored now, as I haven’t been able to experience joy during the horrendous “stormy weather at sea,” though for certain my Jesus was guiding the boat!
I’m beginning to praddle. It’s quite past bedtime here, but was hoping to give you a little more encouragement before I lay down.
“Words are more powerful than a double edged sword” and some are more powerful than others:
The three most powerful sayings? Please, Thank you, and I love you. Polite, yet applicable to everyday situations! 🙂
Please continue to share, Deborah. Thank you for sharing what you have already! 🙂
~~CS
Plenty of interesting points here, Deborah.
I wasn’t aware that C.S.Lewis believed any of those things you’ve mentioned he did. I didn’t know that he believed that people who weren’t Christians could be saved without knowing that they were. Who’d have believed he had that thing in common with Billy Graham!
When I first read CSL, I was fairly sure that he was a Christian. I could understand statements such as that we would have to paganise our society in order to get them back to Christianity. But I took that to be a sarcastic comment on the secularism and atheism of our present day society. I didn’t take it literally.
I read The Great Divorce and accepted it as an incredible allegory. I thought it was a kind of surrealism used for a great purpose. And I took it that his portrayal of hell was totally symbolic. I never for a moment thought that he himself meant it to be taken literally. Indeed, in The Great Divorce, I found a condemnation of ecumenism, Churchianity and pseudo Christianity.
In fact, a person I know who is steeped in Churchianity–and loves ritual and “bells & smells”–was so upset by it when he read it that it made him very depressed. He, like myself, read a condemnation of religious synthesis in it, finding that it drew lines he didn’t like. I have to say that I did enjoy it for the very reason it depressed my friend–NOT because it depressed him!
True, I have been disturbed by certain things he has written–especially in The Chonicles of Narnia–but I accepted this was his idea of trying to defend Christianity; though I disagreed with the methods.
But I am actually astonished to read that he had an evolutionary paradigm as he wrote things which I presumed were anti-evolutionary. He also quoted others who were not evolutionists–such as Professor Haldane. He also quoted churchmen who made sound biblical statements.
I am still not so sure that he deliberately tried to lead people astray: At the time, he could have still been growing in the faith. I really don’t know. When I read the Faith Chapter of Hebrews I am encouraged at some of the people that God sees as heroes of the faith. It gives me hope! Perhaps CSL was in their category. There again, those who do not gather with Christ scatter. I will need to think much on this.
It is obvious, from your reports above, that he erred greviously in things he claimed. I am indebted to you for these comments. Since I have read other objectively critical things about CSL’s work, it has made me more dubious about many of his statements.
I will read over his writings again with more of a detatched view than before. I had thought of passing on a couple of his books to a couple of people I know who are atheist/agnostic in the hope that it will make them rethink. But, on reflection, perhaps I’d be best just giving them the gospel. Paul tried to meet the Greeks where they were but it didn’t work. (Maybe that’s where CSL was: meeting the intellectuals where they were.)
Thanks again. It’s encouraging to find someone who is willing to contend for the faith.
It doesn’t make many friends when we do. I have personally experienced the virtual fury of “Christians” at pointing out something that’s stated plainly in the Bible.
May God continue to bless your site.
Martin
Ask the Holy Spirit to open your eyes WIDE to the truth, sometimes men are very clever in hiding the error deep undercover. I think CSL was one of these, speaking out of both sides of his mouth and making friends with both sides of the fence. An intellectual who knew how to write the Gospel to a certain point, but did not practice what he preached, he was not steadfast in holding to the truth. Narnia was in fact a very occult film, and as much as CLS tried to use Christianity in the story line, those who could see the truth saw right through the lies.
Look after yourself Martin, I see from your last few comments you have quite a lot to learn still 🙂
PLease let me kknow why you people judge others so quickly? You don’t have that right to shoot others down because they don’t fit 100% into the little box you’ve built around you… the message of The Chronicles of Narnia is an allegory of the Christian gospel and that is what I focused on when I read the book and watched the movie.
Does everyone have to think exactly the same – I thought God has made us all different and enables us to express ourselves in different ways…
ross
>> Does everyone have to think exactly the same – I thought God has made us all different and enables us to express ourselves in different ways…
Really? I only find ONE Bible with 1 Gospel Message detailing 1 strict Christian way of living and obedience to God through His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ.
What are you reading?
Ross, do you believe that good fruit can come from a diseased tree?
If you can read the above article and not see that so many absolute truths of the Bible have been violated, you should go back and examine what you have in your “box” of beliefs.
We don’t need “allegories” which are no more than entertainment, when we have the Bible and its truths. We are to uphold those truths and not support and promote the works of a man who has clearly denied the sound doctrine presented in the Word of God.
What say ye to that?
[delete]
Hi all.
I think what Ross is trying to say is that we are all created as individuals for a good reason. Some of us express ourselves and reach out to others most profoundly with music, some with dance, some with written words, some with art. Are people saying here that this expression should all be wiped out simply because of the possibility of human error?
I believe that God desires that we respect and appreciate our own and each other’s unique set of giftings. We do not need to all think exactly the same, in fact that would be terrible! What matters is that we do not compromise the one unifying trait that bonds us as brothers and sisters in Christ, which is personally knowing and as a consequence expressing the love and character of Jesus from within us.
I’m saddened at the lack of verification by regulars of this site of the condemning statements about C.S. Lewis in the article above. As they are either untrue or totally misleading, and the quotes used, are misrepresented or taken out of context. For example Lewis was clear in explaining his use of the term ‘myth’, he did not think of a myth as being an untrue story like we do now, particularly when it came to the Bible. The word is poorly understood today, as it actually refers to a story from long ago that may or may not be true. So it is not actually an insult to the integrity of the Bible to say it contains myths.
I have read a number of Lewis’ books and been profoundly blessed by them from a young age. I like many, found that as a child, identifying with the children in the Narnia books, and reading about the love and sacrifice of Aslan for them and for Narnia, and then realising Who it represented, helped me to connect better with and appreciate more the sheer awesomeness and magnitude of the message of the Cross. And having read his non-fiction works since then too, I am as certain of Lewis’ residency in heaven as I am of that of any of the Saints.
As it happens, I am a Harry Potter fan as well, and again, even though I was at this point an adult reading the books, the day I realised that the Harry Potter story was another allegory for the story of Jesus and the Cross was a joyous day for me! And the best thing about the movies for me was the moving depiction of how true brothers and sisters in a cause act towards each other. For example they could be challenged by each other without resorting to cold and dismissive put-downs as an insecure unloving self-defence.
Also, a rather desirable and unexpected side-effect of reading about basic methods of a fictional witchcraft for me has been that it helped me to become aware of the presence and domination in much of mainstream Christianity of real (although subversive) witchcraft.
Take people who teach things like, for example, that if you say the magic words “In Jesus’ Name” at the end of every prayer request, then you have somehow transformed what is your own will into being the will of God, which then means you are guaranteed to get what you want. Well to my mind, THAT is the sort of witchcraft that is most threatening to our personal walk with Christ. And it’s the learning of that NON-fictional spell-casting that we need to be protecting our children from! (In addition to teaching them an understanding of what fiction is, obviously!)
The vast majority of Jesus’ public teachings were through parables or allegory. So if that is ‘just entertainment’ should we erase all of His stories from the pages of our Bibles in order to ‘conform not to the world’?
BurningLamp, using the ‘good fruit from a diseased tree’ allegory before dismissing any use of allegories in teaching is a little ironic!? And if you want to apply that to any specific human, then it is only fair to apply it to all of us. And since ‘all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’ surely that means we are all ‘diseased trees’?
Thank God for Jesus then; the one human in history who, being sinless, was not a ‘diseased tree’! (For it was Himself and His own fruit that He was referring to in response to accusations of working with Beelzebub.)
Also, Deborah, I’m a little puzzled that I don’t know what it is about a saving relationship with Christ that is so ‘strict’?? Because the more I experience His love and guidance in my life the more set free I become, no longer chained or burdened with imagined self-justifying duties and obligations and trying to meet the controlling expectations of others. But instead filled with peace, awe, love and trust in Him as He teaches me more each day.
Finally, I am sorry if this post all sounds very disagreeable, as I really do appreciate and respect the purposes and intentions of this site. But I would say that there is most certainly more than ‘one Bible’. Since it’s been such a long time that the original languages of the Bible have been in common usage, they cannot be completely and fully reliably translated. So the best we can do as a society is interpret what we have with the best of the knowledge and resources available to us. As this has been done by so many different groups over the years, the result is varying translations.
So God in His mighty wisdom has not left us with a single complete and perfect book. Thankfully! As that would invite us to forsake our worship of and interaction with a living being Who is seen with the heart and mind in endless colours and depth, for idolatry of something that is only seen with the outer eye and merely in black and white. (Although my observation is that most religious Christians have still gone this way, seeking to be redeemed by laws and not by grace.)
I believe that it is Jesus Who is the inerrant Word Of God, which is alive today. That He sent the Holy Spirit as His messenger, to dwell with and within all who earnestly desire it, and Who remains ready and eager to answer or address all of our questions, in the here and now, guiding each one of us as He did each of the first disciples. They set a good example by using the Scriptures of their day as a secondary aid in their preaching of the Gospel, but it is clear that the heart of their message was given to each one primarily through their own relationship with Jesus, and the guidance of the Holy Spirit to each person individually as he or she sought it.
I hope you find my comments acceptable as opposed to delete-able! I also hope it’s clear that no offense is intended. 🙂
Hannah
>> Deborah, I’m a little puzzled that I don’t know what it is about a saving relationship with Christ that is so ‘strict’??
Strict was the wrong choice of word to use, and it’s been something that I’ve wanted to come and edit for a while now, but you picked up on it now. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is simple, salvation is simple, being led by the Holy Spirit is wonderful and being chastised by Him is welcome because it brings you to repentance and a close loving relationship with Jesus Christ. The Bible however gives us ‘strict’ guide lines on how a Christian is to behave. And I mean ‘strict’ as in something we ‘adhere to closely’. The Bible is not something to be taken lightly as a Christian, and it’s rules can’t be bent. When God says do not follow after false gods, He means in. When He says you are not to delve into wickedness He means it.
But to some supposed Christians they say that the Bible is too strict and they don’t want to be obedient to God, the then bend the Word of God to suit themselves…and make excuses as to why they should not be living a holy life as the Bible commands. But living this life can ONLY come with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and by no other means.
What? You can’t do that. Please find scripture FROM THE BIBLE where the Bible (WORD OF GOD) says you can do what you did? So you just applied a Biblical message to a satanic story. Why don’t you just call Satan, Jesus and get it over and done with. The Bible says, Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
The Bible says… 1 Corinthians 10:31 31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. How do you give God glory when you read Harry Potter books? Instead you do the opposite, you blaspheme God by making a satanic story Christian. How on earth do you think Jesus must feel about this? Satan who is a roaring lion out to deceive, kill, murder Christians and you shake his hand and Christianize him. I’ve never in my life read anything so shocking.
This is not magic, when we pray, we can pray to God our Heavenly Father – Psalm 5:2 “Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray”. To the Lord Jesus Christ, we pray as to the Father because they are equal. Or you can pray to our Heavenly Father and the Lord Jesus Christ – it does not matter, what ever makes you happy. Prayer to one member of the Trinity is prayer to all, because all three are One. Stephen, when he was being martyred, prayed – Acts 7:59 “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” . We are also to pray in the name of Jesus Christ. Paul said, that we are always give – Ephesians 5:20 “thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ” . There is no fixed rule, to add a rule on how to address God is wrong.
If you do not come to God THROUGH Jesus Christ then which God do you pray too?
Really? The bible is not complete? I have news for you – it is perfect and complete and the biblical Holy Spirit (who CAN NOT be seen, let alone in endless colours, or black and white) illuminates (the biblical way) the PERFECT AND COMPLETE BIBLE for the genuine Christian. The Holy Spirit will only speak what IS IN the Bible and … Revelation 22:18-19
18 I testify to the one who hears the words of the prophecy contained in this book: If anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book.
19 And if anyone takes away from the words of this book of prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city that are described in this book.
Proverbs 30:6 Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar.
Matthew 15:6-9
6 …. You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.
7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,
8 ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me,
9 and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
1 Corinthians 4:6 And these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that which is written….
The Bible is complete because The Bible says so.
John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
2 Timothy 3:16–17 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure: He is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.
Psalm 119:89 Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.
—–
I’m interested to know how you got saved, and how you did receive this (all colourfull) holy spirit What did you do exactly to open your 3rd Eye?
Hannah, if you will take an honest look at C.S. Lewis, his life, his associates, and his beliefs there is no way you can see him as an instrument of God’s truth.
Firstly, the man could not have been genuinely saved considering that he held to Roman Catholic beliefs and the account of his “conversion” is far removed from biblical truth.
You show your ignorance of biblical truth when you Christianize a work of Satan in the Harry Potter books.
Astounding, absolutely astounding. You sound like a sincere person and I hope and pray that you come out of your fog and grasp the truth and come to understand who the Holy Spirit is and the truth that He illuminates.
JK Rowling now has something out called The Book of Spells, I believe it is a book/playstation game. Horrible! Not only are Rowling’s books and movies an assault on innocent children and deceived adults, but now this ‘book of spells’ is out..which will only lead people, especially children, further down the occultic road and into satan’s ugly grasp! It makes me SO angry!! How dare anyone, ESPECIALLY so called Christians, maintain that these evil books are some kind of allegory for the story of Jesus??!! CS Lewis and JR Tolkien books are also full of evil, I was shocked when ‘Chrsitian’ family of mine tried to convince me that Tolkien’s ‘tales’ are of a Christian nature. Eh?? I mean how STUPID can people actually be.. if you are filled with the Holy Spirit, everything inside you would revolt, you would run for your life, YES your eternal life!
I am sorry, but none of this makes any sense. Lewis himself never said that this series was purely Christian based, rather a mixture of religion and mythology to teach wholesome lessons to children. And also, this is fictitious, meaning cannot happen and will never happen lest it be by God’s will alone. Therefore, how is this trying to get children interested in witchcraft and paganism? You know what they see magic as? Silly tricks, tomfoolery, sparkles and bright lights. With God as my witness, these books will corrupt a child about as much as a “Clifford the Big Red Dog”, so why make such a big deal out of it?
Anonymous,
God’s truth has nothing to do with mythology. So why mix religion and mythology to teach wholesome lessons to children? You are not teaching the children anything wholesome but deception that’s very dangerous.
Even Dave Hunt who quoted Lewis favorably in some of his news letters had to admit that something was drastically wrong with Lewis.
This is what Lewis wrote:
In his book, C. S. Lewis: A Biography (Harcourt Inc., 1974), Roger Lancelyn Green, a researcher on the life and writings of Lewis, said Lewis believed that “Christianity fulfilled paganism” and “paganism prefigured Christianity” (pages 274, 30).
I wouldn’t be surprised if you allowed your children to read the Harry Potter series of books. If so, goody for you because “these books will corrupt a child about as much as a ‘Clifford the Big Red Dog’, so why make such a big deal out of it?”
Thomas Lessing,
Quite an interesting reply as i was hardly expecting my comment to be published. Actually, I have no children and nor do I plan on it. I am 17, I am in high school. I HAVE read Harry Potter, yes, many people–adults and children–here in the US have. I find it humorous that you quoted me, and even in the proper context. Bully for you, friend.
Now, about Mr. Lewis believing in purgatory. Everyone who reads the Bible–or any holy book, for that matter–takes with them their own interpretation of the written word. I personally do not believe in purgatory, however I am not one to judge others beliefs, and neither are you.
So after that little rebuttal, I am just happy to see you stand up for what you believe, so few Christians do that nowadays. I hope you understand where I am coming from, I do not intend to make enemies as I do realize that this site is from a more strict country than my own.
Thank you for your concern and God bless.
Anonymous,
You may not want to judge others beliefs but you should at least admit that Paul was right when he wrote,
You’d better believe Paul because he was inspired by the Holy Spirit to write these words.
Oh my gosh. Please direct me to the right thread to comment on. I found this because yes i too until today was taken in by lewis. It’s a hard blow. It all seems black and white to me now. I’m so thankful to find this site with all of you! This all started years back when i started my walk with God messed up in assemblies of God. It didnt work for me. I started asking God who he was. He showed me a lot, like word of faith and the toronto blessing and basically all of the televangelists and more. It all blew my mind but now it goes even deeper. Then i was still taken in by lewis, macdonald, other entertainment, and 12 step groups not realizing it was a satanic church. It blew my mind. But now it’s all clear. It’s either the Holy Spirit or satan inspired. From music, to movies, to school, to medical, to science, to our food, governments, everything in this world is satanically, what’s the word controlled? What started this recent revelation was that the 12 steps were written by channeling, not Christian origins but the occultic Oxford Group and Aleister Crowley’s (satanism) follower Huxley! And i thought i was safe in the christian version celebrate recovery! Created by Rick Warren?! It isn’t biblical recovery or the gospel. A cr leader gave me a book Jesus Calling, which was channeled by automatic writing!!! My mom read it for 2 years! Right before i found it was crap in my research, i never read it, God pulled her away from it. She faithfully read it every morning and then was assaulted with anxiety, fear, anger, etc. So here i sit, thinking i finally found a good church. But you can find that book, cr meetings, and other herecies there. How do you find true Christians? True gospel, bible believing and reading, not polluted with this twisted truth “christian” satanism? Do they have a name? I’ve found the bereans so far. But so many “christian” denominations, books, magazines, etc are just satanism false teaching. That’s why it didnt work, i felt so empty, and i’ve been plagued with so much demonic oppression like depression and anxiety. I was opening the door to it, and didnt fully have the Holy Spirit. Or something. Right now i’m questioning every belief and teaching i’ve ever believed. And measuring it against scripture and praying for true discernment. I wonder if i was ever really saved until now. I had satanic idols and teaching and didnt even know it. So where do we find other unpopular Christians like us? Advice is welcome.
What an amazing article! I remember when this book “The Shack” first came out. A friend of mine, who’s a Christian, read it and just loved it. She asked me to read it. After the first few chapters, I knew immediately this book wasn’t right and didn’t bother to finish it. When I tried to explain to my friend why I found this book so offensive and blasphemous, she couldn’t understand why. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your edification. God Bless you!