Sermon Central
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Narnia: The Deeper Magic
Contributed by Rich Vincent on Nov 28, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: Human beings possess a longing for meaning and transcendence. We long to identify with stories that help us understand our world, others, and ourselves. More often than not, stories empower us by presenting a transcendent dimension that makes life worth l
[1] According to Box Office Mojo’s “All Time Domestic Grosses” http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/domestic.htm. The three exceptions are Titanic, The Passion of the Christ, and Home Alone.
[2] Letters to the Editor, Credenda Agenda, Volume 11, Number 2
[3] We also do this for the sake of simplicity and brevity – both qualities that tend to distort the gospel message. The gospel is certainly neither “simple” nor “brief.”
[4] Question 4 of The Westminster Shorter Catechism. The answer in the Larger Catechism is longer: “God is a Spirit, in and of himself infinite in being, glory, blessedness, and perfection; all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, everywhere present, almighty, knowing all things, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.”
[5] David C. Downing, Into the Wardrobe: C. S. Lewis and the Chronicles of Narnia (New York: Jossey-Bass, 2005), 71.
[6] Mark Eddy Smith, Aslan’s Call: Finding Our Way to Narnia (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 2005), 26.
[7] Downing, Into the Wardrobe, 120.
[8] This is not the purpose of the deep magic, but it can be distorted to this end. It is the Emperor’s magic that the White Witch abuses to her own ends.
[9] Scot McKnight, Embracing Grace: A Gospel for All of Us (Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2005), 97.
© Richard J. Vincent, 2005