The Timeless Magic of C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia: A Sacred Saga Under Siege from Netflix's Vandalism

In an age drowning in soulless reboots and agenda-driven drivel, C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia stands as a radiant beacon of wonder, wisdom, and unapologetic Christian truth. Penned between 1950 and 1956, this seven-book series isn't mere children's fantasy—it's a profound theological tapestry woven with myth, morality, and the eternal battle between light and shadow. Lewis, the Oxford don turned reluctant evangelist, poured his soul into Narnia not to entertain fleetingly, but to etch divine echoes onto young hearts, inviting readers to glimpse the Creator through talking beasts, enchanted woods, and a lion who roars like redemption itself. As Lewis himself declared in a 1957 letter, "Some day, I hope, all the Narnian books will be read... as a whole," underscoring his fierce vision of unity and purpose. Yet today, this hallowed ground trembles under the boot of Netflix's impending assault—a crass, "rock 'n' roll" perversion helmed by Greta Gerwig that threatens to gut the series' soul, alienate its devoted legions, and deservedly tank in a bonfire of fan outrage. Before we dismantle that monstrosity, let's reclaim the originals: their order, their stories, their scriptural splendor.

Publication Order vs. Chronological Order: Lewis's Intentional Tapestry

Lewis didn't birth Narnia in tidy sequence; he unveiled it like a storyteller around a hearth, letting each tale flicker with hints of the greater mythos. The publication order—the sequence in which the books hit shelves—begins with the iconic wardrobe portal and spirals through adventures, building suspense like a symphony's crescendo:

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (1950)
2. Prince Caspian (1951)
3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (1952)
4. The Silver Chair (1953)
5. The Horse and His Boy (1954)
6. The Magician's Nephew (1955)
7. The Last Battle (1956)

This mirrors how most readers first encounter Narnia: plunging into the heart of the matter before circling back to origins and hurtling toward apocalypse. But Lewis, ever the architect, embedded chronological clues—dates, prophecies, generational arcs—that reveal the in-universe timeline, a divine chronology starting at creation and ending in judgment:

1. The Magician's Nephew
2. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
3. The Horse and His Boy
4. Prince Caspian
5. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
6. The Silver Chair
7. The Last Battle

Lewis championed the publication order for newcomers, insisting in essays like "It All Began with a Picture" that it preserved the "shock of discovery." The chronological read, he noted, suits rereads, unveiling layers like Scripture's progressive revelation. This duality isn't whimsy—it's Lewis's passionate nod to how truth unfolds: not linearly, but in gracious waves, drawing us deeper into Aslan's realm.

The Seven Wonders: Summaries, Plots, and Biblical Echoes

Each book pulses with Lewis's genius: taut plots brimming with peril, heroism, and heartbreak, all laced with Biblical parallels that whisper of Christ's incarnation, sacrifice, resurrection, and return. Aslan, the Great Lion, is no mere mascot—he's the Christ-figure, roaring through every page with sovereign mercy.

1. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (Publication: 1st; Chronological: 2nd)

Summary & Plot Points: Four evacuated siblings—Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy Pevensie—tumble through a professor's wardrobe into snow-draped Narnia, a land gripped by eternal winter under the White Witch's tyranny. Lucy befriends Mr. Tumnus; the siblings rally forest creatures; treacherous Edmund betrays them for Turkish Delight, only to repent amid battle. Aslan orchestrates sacrifice and revival, shattering the Witch's stone army in a climactic clash, crowning the Pevensies as kings and queens.

Biblical Parallels: The Witch embodies Satanic usurpation, her winter a fallen Eden. Aslan's death on the Stone Table—betrayed by Edmund's sin—mirrors Christ's crucifixion, deep magic demanding innocent blood for the traitor's deep treachery. His resurrection heralds Easter triumph, with the Pevensies' reign evoking the millennial kingdom. Lewis called this "supposal": What if the gospel played out in a new world?

2. Prince Caspian (Publication: 2nd; Chronological: 4th)

Summary & Plot Points: A year passes in England, but 1,300 Narnian years have elapsed. The Pevensies aid young Caspian X, rightful heir to a throne stolen by his uncle Miraz. Dwarfs, fauns, and talking beasts plot rebellion; old Narnia stirs from hiding. Aslan awakens the land with revelry and judgment, guiding Caspian to victory while chiding the humans' faded faith.

Biblical Parallels: Caspian's restoration echoes Israel's monarchy under David, with Aslan as the returning Messiah rousing a slumbering church. The "old Narnians" parallel the faithful remnant, while Miraz's Telmarines represent pagan invaders. Aslan's selective appearances underscore divine hiddenness—faith without sight, as in Hebrews 11.

3. The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (Publication: 3rd; Chronological: 5th)

Summary & Plot Points: Edmund and Lucy, with bratty cousin Eustace, are yanked aboard King Caspian's ship, the Dawn Treader, on a quest for seven lost lords. Island-hopping perils include a dragon transformation (Eustace's greed undone by Aslan's claw), a corrupting gold pool, invisible Dufflepuds, and the Dark Island of dreams-turned-nightmares. They reach the world's end, where Aslan bids Lucy grow up, parting as a lamb.

Biblical Parallels: A pilgrim's progress à la Bunyan, with islands as temptations (Lot's wife in the pool, Jonah's sea). Eustace's peeling evokes baptismal rebirth; Aslan-as-Lamb foreshadows Revelation's throne room. The eastward voyage symbolizes the soul's ascent to God, culminating in the "stable door" of divine perspective—eternity's stable amid worldly chaos.

4. The Horse and His Boy (Publication: 5th; Chronological: 3rd)

Summary & Plot Points: Set during the Pevensies' reign, slave-boy Shasta and mare Aravis flee Calormen for Narnia, chased by lions and lions (Aslan in disguise). Joined by Bree (Shasta's horse) and Hwin, they thwart a Calormene invasion of Archenland, revealing Shasta as Cor, twin to Prince Corin.

Biblical Parallels: Providence's guiding hand, like Joseph's rise or Esther's deliverance. Aslan's "wounds" on Aravis mirror the lash of sin's consequences, urging repentance. The lions' pursuit evokes the Spirit's conviction, while Narnia's freedom contrasts Calormen's idol-worship—Tash a false god, Aslan the true pursuer of runaways.

5. The Magician's Nephew (Publication: 6th; Chronological: 1st)

Summary & Plot Points: Pre-Wardrobe origins: Cousins Digory and Polly witness Uncle Andrew's magic rings summon them to the dying Charn, where Digory awakens evil Queen Jadis (future Witch). She hitches to London; they chase to the Wood between Worlds, birthing Narnia with Aslan's song. A silver apple heals Digory's mother but tempts his heart, planting the Tree of Protection.

Biblical Parallels: Genesis redux—Charn's bell a forbidden fruit, Jadis as serpent-Eve. Aslan's creative roar births ex nihilo, like John's Logos. The apple parallels Eden's tree (protection vs. temptation), with Digory's quest echoing Adam's fall and the cross's redemptive fruit. Lewis here lays Narnia's theological foundation: creation's joy amid sin's shadow.

6. The Silver Chair (Publication: 4th; Chronological: 6th)

Summary & Plot Points: Years on, Jill Pole and Eustace (from a bully-infested school) quest for Caspian's lost prince, Rilian, held by the Lady of the Green Kirdle in Underland. With skeptical Puddleglum the Marsh-wiggle, they brave giants, enchanted knights, and earthmen slaves, breaking spells with Aslan's signs ignored until desperation.

Biblical Parallels: Doubt's dark night, akin to Job or the Psalms of lament. The Witch's "neither Narnia nor England" hypnosis mirrors worldly nihilism, Puddleglum's stomp a defiant Acts 17 witness. Rilian's bondage evokes demonic oppression; Aslan's mountain call, the great commission to rescue the lost.

7. The Last Battle (Publication: 7th; Chronological: 7th)

Summary & Plot Points: A false Aslan (Shift the ape and Calormene Tash) deceives Narnia into ruin. King Tirian rallies holdouts; battles rage as the world unravels. Betrayers face judgment; faithful enter Aslan's country—a deeper, truer Narnia—where all stories are but glimpses of the Real.

Biblical Parallels: Eschatology's crescendo—Revelation's false prophet (ape), Antichrist (Tashlan), Armageddon siege. The stable door's "inside is bigger" unveils heaven's pleroma; Peter's "further up and further in" the beatific vision. Lewis closes with apocalypse's hope: death swallowed in victory, the old order passing for the eternal dawn.

C.S. Lewis's Fiery Devotion: Narnia as His Heart's Roar

Lewis didn't dabble in Narnia—he lived it, a passion born from his atheist youth shattered by joy's "stabs" and Tolkien's fellowship. Converted in 1931, he saw fairy tales as gospel vehicles, writing in Surprised by Joy of myth's "baptism." Narnia was his crusade: dedicated to his goddaughter, Lucy Barfield, with pleas like "You can't get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough," it embodied his apologetic fire. He wept finishing The Last Battle, telling friend Dorothy Sayers it "broke his heart." Lewis defended its Christianity fiercely, rebuffing dilution: "I wrote the books for children... but not primarily for them," aiming at eternal souls. His lectures thundered against secularism; Narnia was his velvet glove over an iron theological fist.

Triumphs of the Past: Adaptations That Honored the Source

Not all hands touching Narnia fumble. The BBC's 1988-1990 miniseries, with its earnest puppets and fog-shrouded sets, captured Lewis's homely magic—Aslan's roar a gravelly miracle, the White Witch's icicle crown chillingly regal. Faithful to a fault, it aired as family scripture, drawing 20 million viewers without a whiff of cynicism.

Walden Media's 2005 Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe dazzled anew: Tilda Swinton's Witch a serpentine masterpiece, the battle's CGI Aslan thundering like judgment day. It grossed $745 million, proving reverence pays. Prince Caspian (2008) deepened the grit, Liam Neeson's Aslan a brooding patriarch. Even Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010), despite studio meddling, sailed on faith's winds. These honored Lewis's blueprint—wonder without winking.

Netflix's Abomination: A "Rock 'n' Roll" Rape of Narnia's Soul

Enter Netflix: the streaming behemoth whose 2018 rights grab reeks of corporate grave-robbing. Their "vision"? A bloated eight-film franchise kicking off with The Magician's Nephew—Narnia's sacred genesis—twisted by Greta Gerwig, the Barbie auteur whose pink-plastic feminism already curdled childhood icons into lecture halls. Filming "begins" in 2025 (London fog be damned), eyeing a Thanksgiving 2026 IMAX premiere before Christmas streaming slop. Rumored cast? Meryl Streep (miscast as Digory's mum? Spare us), Emma Mackey (a sulky Jadis-in-waiting), Daniel Craig (growling like a Bonded beaver?), Carey Mulligan (Polly's prim ghost). Producer Amy Pascal gushes a "very new take... all about rock and roll." Rock and roll? In the Wood between Worlds, where Aslan sings creation? This isn't adaptation—it's desecration, injecting electric guitars into Eden's hush, Aslan's roar drowned in autotune heresy.

Netflix's track record screams sabotage: Cowboy Bebop gutted cult lore, Resident Evil torched canon, The Witcher mangled myth. Their Narnia? A Trojan horse for "diversity" quotas and millennial angst, neutering Lewis's patriarchal kings, chaste quests, and Christ-centered core. Gerwig's "unique vision" means woke wash: gender-swapped Pevensies, rainbow rings, Jadis as "empowered villainess." Fans, already seething over delays (seven years of vaporware!), will boycott en masse. IMAX CEO's "cultural event" hype? Delusional— it'll flop harder than Cuties, hemorrhaging $200 million as theaters echo empty. Netflix deserves this throat-slitting: bastardizing Lewis mocks his passion, craps on the faithful who've cherished Narnia for generations. Let it die unborn, every sequel strangled in the crib. Boycott. Petition. Pray Aslan devours this dreck.

A Lion's Legacy Endures

C.S. Lewis's Narnia isn't for conquering—it's for conversion, a wardrobe to worship. Amid Netflix's noise, crack open the books: let Aslan's deeper magic prevail. Further up, further in—far from the streaming abyss.