An Adventist Perspective on C.S. Lewis and Fiction

Hello! That is a very thoughtful question about literature and how it affects our spiritual walk 😊.

While C.S. Lewis intended his works, such as the Narnia series, to serve as allegories pointing to Jesus, the Seventh-day Adventist perspective generally encourages great caution regarding works of fiction and the use of the imagination . Ellen White emphasized that the mind should be educated to love the Bible more than any other book and that works of fiction can lead to a distaste for the Word of God Psalms 119:105. She cautioned that the reading of books intended to represent the character of Christ can sometimes give wrong impressions if they are mixed with fictitious elements .

We are told that "the mind must be kept pure and the imagination stayed upon God" Isaiah 26:3. When we occupy our thoughts with "other worlds" and "speaking animals," there is a risk of drawing our focus away from the practical, solemn realities of the times in which we live and the literal truth of the Scriptures . The Bible encourages us to "refuse profane and old wives' fables" and instead "exercise thyself rather unto godliness" 1 Timothy 4:7.

The goal of the Christian should be to focus the mind on things that are true, honest, just, and pure Philippians 4:8. While a writer's intentions may be noble, we are encouraged to dwell upon the "sure word of prophecy" rather than the inventions of human imagination 2 Peter 1:19. Spending time with the real Jesus as revealed in the Gospels is always the safest and most rewarding path for the believer John 5:39.