C.S. Lewis Wrote Himself Into Narnia | The Magician’s Nephew

C.S. Lewis was nine years old when his mother died of cancer. He prayed for her healing. She died anyway. Lewis became an atheist for most of his adult life — and then, decades later, wrote The Magician's Nephew, a children's book about a boy in his exact situation. This week, we kick off a seven-part deep dive into The Chronicles of Narnia, starting with the most autobiographical book in the series. We explore whether Lewis was retelling Genesis, why evil already exists in this world before humans even get there, what the "deplorable word" and Hiroshima might have in common, and whether Uncle Andrew is a fair portrait of the skeptical scientist or just a caricature. Along the way: Aslan singing creation into being, Digory's reverse of the Fall, the cabby who becomes a king, and the scene at the heart of the book — where Aslan weeps over a dying mother. 👉 Check out the newsletter: https://bit.ly/3X8yTFJ 👉 Get all show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org In this episode: 00:00 Intro 01:03 Why a Narnia series 06:30 Past the "religious dragons" 08:10 Publication order vs. chronological 10:35 Lewis wrote himself into the story 11:26 Is this a retelling of Genesis? 13:47 Why evil predates humans in Narnia 20:09 Uncle Andrew and the skeptical scientist 23:10 Aslan weeps with Digory 27:01 Threads of redemption: the cabby, the apple, the lampstand 29:55 A wild lion, not a tame one 31:35 The reverse fall Links C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._L... The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chr... The Pilgrim's Progress: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Pil... John Bunyan: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Bu... Charles Spurgeon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles... J.R.R. Tolkien: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J._R._R... Out of the Silent Planet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_of_... Perelandra: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perelandra That Hideous Strength: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_Hi... Mere Christianity: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mere_Ch... The Screwtape Letters: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scr... Doug Wilson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas...) *** 📺 New to The Christian Skeptic? Start Here:    • The Christian Skeptic   *** CONNECT WITH ADAM: Instagram:   / avclark   CONNECT WITH AARON: Instagram:   / fromgreytown   💜 Leave a review on Apple Podcasts https://apple.co/4cYPn9k 🟢 Leave a rating on Spotify https://spoti.fi/3Tk3e2Q PODCAST LINKS: Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org Instagram:   / christianskepticpod   Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPH... YouTube:    / @thechristianskeptic   *** WHAT IS CHRISTIAN SKEPTICISM? Christian Skepticism is a worldview that questions all doctrines, confessions, lifestyles, and practices—regardless of popularity or cultural/religious acceptance—in an effort to separate absolute truth from mere opinion, bias, or propaganda, using the Bible as the highest authority is determining these absolutes. We believe that God is not honored through falsehood, ungrounded religious dogmatism, or preferential conclusion masquerading as cosmic certainty, but is instead honored when truth is discovered, taught, and lived out. #CSLewis #Narnia #TheMagiciansNephew #ChroniclesOfNarnia #ChristianSkeptic #ChristianApologetics #ChristianPodcast #Apologetics #skepticism #deconstruction #suffering #faith #belief #hope #deconversion #god #christianity #christianbelief #theology #sin #repentance #lordshipsalvation #grace #churchleadership #philosophy #worldview #athiest #agnostic #bible #biblestudy