As the story begins, Lucy (Georgie Henley) and Edmund Pevensie (Skandar Keynes) are living with their relatives, including their annoying cousin Eustace (Will Poulter). The siblings try to avoid Eustace but he often interrupts their plan.

—–

When Lucy and Edmund are discussing a painting in their cousin’s home, Eustace suddenly appears and tells them how lousy it is. As an argument ensues, the waves in the painting come alive and flood the room. The three relatives are then sucked into the world of Narnia. They are rescued by the crew members of the Dawn Treader, a magnificent ship carrying Prince Caspian (Ben Barnes) on a quest. Eustace, in his first visit to Narnia, is agitated and frightened when he discovers that he is onboard a ship with talking animals and strange characters. He annoys nearly every passenger onboard including Reepicheep, who eventually challenges him to a duel.  

The ship is headed towards a group of mysterious islands. Prince Caspian is on a mission to find some of his father’s supporters, who were exiled when Caspian’s uncle became King. The story then follows a series of adventures as the crew search for the friends of Caspian’s father. Along the way, the characters are tempted to make bad decisions that could set them off course. 

Throughout the entire film, the most interesting characters are Eustace and Reepicheep. At times, the whole story feels like the “Eustace and Reepicheep Show” because these two characters are the most fun to watch. Eustace may be mean-spirited but he has some of the best lines and provides several laughs. Reepicheep is the honorable and noble mouse who, in one of the finest moments in the story, looks out for Eustace even when he doesn’t deserve it.

“The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” is a good old-fashioned adventure story. As the ship travels to numerous islands, the characters find excitement and face peril. When they aren’t being held prisoner, they are fighting off monsters or having out-of-body experiences. At times, the story sacrifices depth of character in its pursuit of more excitement, but the story is fun to behold regardless.

The adventure is strengthened by the beautiful visual effects throughout. Many of the scenes and the well-crafted ship at the heart of this story are marvels to behold. The 3D doesn’t add much but the 2D special effects look great.

Although the film can be appreciated on a non-religious level, there are also many religious references for families to enjoy during the holiday season. At one point, Reepicheep notes that “we have nothing, if not belief.” This story has a lot to offer those families looking for a good time with a moving and enjoyable motion picture.

WSJ: 

Since Katie Couric first asked the question a couple of years back, journalists continue to pepper Sarah Palin with that classic ice-breaker: “So, what are you reading?” The subject came up again in a recent profile in the New York Times Magazine, and last week Barbara Walters returned to the question in interviewing Mrs. Palin as one of her “10 most fascinating people of 2010.”

In both interviews Mrs. Palin cited C.S. Lewis as a favorite author she looks to for inspiration. This prompted talk-show host and comedienne Joy Behar of “The View” to deride Mrs. Palin and her choice of reading, asking: “Aren’t those children’s books?” …

Mrs. Palin is on the right track by giving C.S. Lewis a prominent place on her reading list. Yet Ms. Behar and other Palin critics have dismissed Lewis’s work, forgetting that Lewis was a medieval and renaissance scholar at Oxford and the author of several brilliant Christian apologetics. Ms. Behar’s dismissal of children’s books as less than important makes her a modern-day Eustace, the type of bully who mocks readers of fairy tales as simpletons.

Lewis thought quite the opposite. He thought that fairy tales were the best way to convey truth for children and adults alike. He wrote about this quite often in his letters, and took no shame in reading fairy tales out loud in British pubs with his friend J.R.R. Tolkien, author of the epic “Lord of the Rings” trilogy.

Nowhere is this more poignantly expressed than in his dedication to Lucy Barfield in “The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.” “You are already too old for fairy tales,” he wrote to the young Lucy, “but some day you will be old enough to start reading fairy tales again.” Hopefully that day will come soon for Ms. Behar as well.

Full article here.

With the third “Narnia” film, “Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” scheduled to land in 3500 theatres today a controversy developed this week that’s probably dampened the enthusiasm of more than one member of the franchise’s most enthusiastic and loyal supporters: we Christians tired of Hollywood’s relentlessly bigoted and unfair portrayal of us and our beliefs — those of us who look to the “Narnia” series as the rare and respectful allegory that lovingly portrays the beauty of our faith and what it truly stands for. 

Unfortunately, two of the main players involved in “Dawn Treader,” appear to disagree, not only with our interpretation of what the “Narnia series is all about, but also with C.S. Lewis, the creator of the source novels. Saturday we reported that Neeson, who portrays Aslan, the lion and obvious Christ figure in the story, said the following:

Aslan symbolises a Christ-like figure but he also symbolises for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries.

And Wednesday, no less than “Dawn Treader” producer Mark Johnson told the Hollywood Reporter he wasn’t sure if the “Narnia” novels were Christian:

But Dawn Treader producer Mark Johnson agrees with the, shall we say, more inclusive analysis from [Liam] Neeson, telling The Hollywood Reporter that “resurrection exists in so many different religions in one form or another, so it’s hardly exclusively Christian.”

“We don’t want to favor one group over another … whether these books are Christian, I don’t know,” Johnson added.

So what are we in for this weekend. Has Hollywood twisted “Dawn Treader” into just another touchy-feely, multicultural, PC production that pleases no one in an attempt to please everyone?

Michael Flaherty is the President and one of the co-founders of Walden Media, and was good enough to reach out to Big Hollywood for an interview to discuss the controversy and set the record straight about the film.

—–

—–

BIG HOLLYWOOD: Michael, first off thanks very much for reaching out and agreeing to do this. We’re big fans of the first two films and I’m sure our frustration and disappointment regarding the above comments didn’t escape you. Let me start by asking if these comments reflect what we can expect from “Dawn Treader.” Have the allegorical aspects of the film been watered down to make the film less Christian?

MICHAEL FLAHERTY: Not one iota.  While Lewis would argue that Narnia is not an allegory, rather a “supposal”, there are strong Christian themes in the book that were influenced by Lewis’ worldview.  Further, Lewis’ main focus in writing “Dawn Treader” was “the spiritual life.”  While every book encounters some changes from the page to the screen, we wanted to make sure that the themes that were important to Lewis – redemption, temptation, grace, and our yearning for our true home – were not only preserved, but amplified through the changes that we made with the script.   There were a number of lines from the book that were important to preserve verbatim as well.   Most important are Aslan’s lines at the end when he tells Lucy “In your world I have a different name.  You must learn to know me by it.  That is the whole reason you came to Narnia.  By knowing me better here you would know me better there.” 

We felt a sacred trust with this scene not only to be faithful to the book, but to be faithful to all of Lewis’ writing.  The topic of longing was a theme in so much of what Lewis wrote.  My favorite passage in all of Lewis’ writing comes from “Mere Christianity,” where he delivers the famous insight that “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.”  In the Problem of Pain Lewis writes about desiring “something in the universe from which we now feel cut off, to be on the inside of some door which we have always seen from the outside.”    

Reepicheep is the very embodiment of this longing.  At the beginning of the film, we hear Reep reciting his lullaby.  He then talks to Lucy about his hope and desire to make it to Aslan’s country.  When he finally arrives there at the end, the scenery is breathtaking.  Reep delivers an incredibly moving speech to Aslan about his longing and desire for his country.  I won’t ruin it for you, but it draws heavily upon the passage in “The Problem of Pain” where Lewis writes about something we “were born desiring,” and that even our greatest moments have been but “tantalizing glimpses” of it.  When Reep abandons his sword and bravely sets sail in his little coracle, it will send shivers down the spines of all friends of Narnia.   

Finally, there is the critical scene of Eustace’s undragoning.  We had a nice workshop during the script development about grace being something that cannot be earned – it can only be given.  So we wanted to make sure that this critical concept was conveyed with the undragoning, but we added a battle between Eustace the dragon and the sea serpent. 

Here is the way it plays out:  Reepicheep encourages a very reluctant Eustace to do battle with the Sea Serpent.  Reep makes it clear in a way that only he can – that there must not be any retreat or any surrender.  To do so would spell certain death for everybody aboard the Dawn Treader.  Yet after some initial fighting, Eustace retreats to protect himself, despite Lucy pleading to him to come back to help them and despite his knowledge that he is most certainly leaving them to die.  

He makes his way back to the safety of an Island, defeated and ashamed.   He tries desperately to rip off his dragon skin, but he realizes that he cannot do it himself.  That is when Aslan approaches Eustace to rip off his dragon skin for him.  It is clear in the film that this in not being done in return for anything that Eustace has done – but in spite of it.  At a time when Eustace feels more friendless than ever, he realizes that Aslan is the one person who will never abandon him.  It is a great illustration of grace. 

Later in the film Eustace recounts the episode and says “No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t do it myself.  It hurt – but it was a good hurt.  Like pulling a thorn out of your foot.”  

So, as you see, we not only went to great pains to make sure that we had the themes from the book right, but we did our fair share of cross-referencing with Lewis’ other great writings.    

—–

—–

BH: A theory being floated about is that Johnson and Neeson represent some sort of cynical marketing move on either Walden’s or 20th Century Fox’s part; the idea being to attract a broader audience by running away from the Christian element and subtext. 

MF: For us, the emphasis was always on getting the story right and making sure that the characters on the screen delivered the lines that were delivered in the book and that all of the crew was on board to make a faithful adaptation.  When it comes to lines being delivered in an interview by the cast and crew, that is something that we don’t control. 

Lewis’ books have appealed to a broad cross section of readers for over half a century from all different backgrounds and traditions.  Lewis often commented that he was more than fine with people enjoying the stories simply as stories, and that if they didn’t understand the subtext that was fine with him. 

We hired Mark [Johnson]because he is one of the best producers in the business and he has produced some of my favorite movies – “The Rookie,” “The Natural,” “My Dog Skip.”  The best way to be faithful to Lewis was to hire the best possible producer, and that was Mark.  He has done a great job with the series and he has given the better part of a decade to making them happen. 

The same goes for Liam.  We searched for months to find the right actor who could be authoritative and forgiving and comforting.  He has hit it out of the park for us and I can’t imagine a different actor playing Aslan.  These guys are at the top of their game in film making.  But I don’t think that they are about to get an M Div from Dallas Theological Seminary any time soon.  

—–

—–

BH: Another theory is that both Neeson (an actor I very much like) and Johnson, two extremely talented individuals who have successfully worked in the wide world of Orwellian Hollywood for decades, felt the need to publicly inoculate themselves after being involved in what you might call a Red State film. The idea being to remain in good standing within an industry openly hostile to all things Christian and Middle America. I know you can’t speak for them and may even disagree with the premise of the question, but I think we can agree that C.S. Lewis could not have been clearer about what the “Narnia” series means and it’s hard to imagine that escaped Neeson and Johnson.

MF: Lewis was certainly clear, and everybody in the production is proud to be a part of his legacy.  But they were not asked what Lewis thought, Liam and Mark were asked what they thought personally.  The most important part of Liam’s quote is “for me.”  It’s no surprise to me that a couple of well-meaning folks got caught tongue-tied on issues of faith with the secular media.  So many of these questions are asked with a “Gotcha” line of questioning to try to trip up the interview subject and generate controversy.  There is no interest in a thoughtful and patient discussion on faith, the kind of discussions that Lewis had with Tolkien and others that eventually led him from atheism to Christianity.  

I have done a lot of these interviews as well, and I always laugh when an interviewer asks me “So, is this a Christian film?” It’s not an “either or” question.   We all know that question is designed to narrow the audience and pigeonhole it.  Lewis himself hated this type of questioning.  He used to always say that we don’t need more Christian writers, but we need more writers who are Christian. 

It is amazing to look at the entertainment landscape and see the number of properties and performers that have have strong Christian themes and symbolism at their center yet appeal to people of all beliefs and backgrounds. ”Les Miserables” is one of the most popular musicals of all time and Jean Valjean sings about “My soul belongs to God I know, I made that promise long ago, he gave me hope when hope was gone, he gave me strength to carry on.”   Linus abandons his blanket to read “Luke 2″ directly from the “King James” in the “Charlie Brown Christmas.”  Bono is always singing about Christ, and Dostoevsky and Flannery O’Connor are always writing about Him.    But I don’t think people call “Les Miz” that “Christian musical” or “Charlie Brown Christmas”  that “Christian cartoon” or Bono a Christian rocker.  

—–

BH: It is perfectly understandable for an event film such as “Dawn Treader” to want to attract as many customers as possible, which means marketing outside the Christian community to those in the ticket-buying public who might be turned off by what they see as a “religious” film. Thematically, as with most things Christian, this is a story that can appeal to everyone and obviously the “Narnia” series isn’t anything close to overbearing or preachy (which I would argue has a lot to do with its longevity), but what would you tell our non-religious friends to assure them they’re in for a good time at the movies this weekend. 

MF: This is a great action adventure, but it has very strong relationships at its core.  Michael Apted is great when it comes to relationships.  That is why we hired him on “Dawn Treader” – he did a great job directing “Amazing Grace” for us.  Visually, the film is breathtaking.   

—–

—–

BH: And what will Christians find affirming in “Dawn Treader”?

MF: Eustace’s undragoning is a powerful scene, but the best scene is at the end when Lucy has to say goodbye to her beloved Aslan, and Reep asks Aslan if he can see his country with his own eyes.   His conversation with Aslan is my favorite scene in all of the films, because it has the quality of the “Well done, my good and faithful servant” greeting that we all hope awaits us one day.  

—–

BH: If it’s anything like “Prince Caspian,” which was one of my favorite films that year, we’re in for a rousing adventure. How would you compare “Dawn Treader’s” action/adventure elements to “Caspian?” 

MF: We get into the action faster in this movie than in any of the others.  The kids are all in Narnia within the first ten minutes, and they are quickly batting Slave Traders, being kidnapped by Dufflepuds, transforming into dragons, and fighting Sea Serpents.  That is what makes the film great – it is not entirely battles between opposing armies like PC.  There are a number of different challenges and creatures. 

—–

BH: Not having read the novels, I don’t know whether or not this was the case, but one of the complaints about “Caspian” was that it wasn’t as faithful to the source material as the first film, 2005’s “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.” If true, I’m sympathetic to Walden on this one because I thought “Caspian” was a much more compelling adventure than the first and realize that rigidly faithful adaptations don’t always make for compelling cinema *cough* Harry Potter *cough*cough*. 

Fair or not, with those criticisms in mind, what can fans of the novel expect from “Dawn Treader?”

MF: I loved “Caspian” as well, but as Andrew Adamson once said, the book was “a long walk followed by a short battle.”  There is a small but vocal group of fans that don’t want a single change from the book to the film.  And with Narnia, these fans are really loud.  We homeschool our three kids and if you want to meet a group of people who have memorized every line, simply find a homeschool mom and her kids.  They take us to task on everything. 

But most people realize the difference between a literal adaptation and a faithful adaptation.  

—–

—–

BH: I believe the next in the “Narnia” series is the “Silver Chair,” what can you tell us about that? Where is “Narnia 4″ in the pre-production stage? 

MF: It all depends on the box office for “Dawn Treader.”  But we are hopeful and while most signs point to “Silver Chair,” there also is a possibility of “Magician’s Nephew.”  That is a great story because it is an origin story that explains in great detail the origin of Narnia, the lamppost, the wardrobe and other iconic images.  It also has the White Witch in a strong role. 

—–

BH: I’ve read that 20th Century Fox — “Narnia’s savior, so to speak, after Disney bowed out — has already agreed to distribute “Silver Chair,” but is it fair to say that could all change if the box office for “Dawn Treader” disappoints?

MF: There have been a number of cheesy nautical references throughout the production of VDT, but we truly are sunk in making any more films from the Chronicles if this one falls short of expectations.  

—–

BH: Thank you again for offering to do this. My personal frustrations with Neeson and Johnson aside, Walden is a ray of light in Hollywood, as is a “Narnia” series that remains true to its source material, and we wish you nothing less than a box office blessing in the coming weeks.

MF: Really appreciate it John, and I really appreciate the opportunity to talk to you.  It is nice to have a journalist interested in a real discussion rather than trying to generate controversy with a throw-away line.  I am now calling my Irish Catholic mother to start praying the Rosary that readers will be kind in the talkbacks, and that they judge the film by the film itself, not by a press conference.

“The Voyage of the Dawn Treader,” the highly-anticipated third entry in the “Chronicles of Narnia” film series, arrives in theaters nationwide tomorrow. It continues the story of the Pevensie siblings who were previously featured in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and “Prince Caspian.” I recently had the opportunity to interview Douglas Gresham, the stepson of author C.S. Lewis.

—–

In addition to being the stepson of the author of  ”The Chronicles of Narnia,” Gresham also served as co-producer on the previous two “Narnia” films and executive producer of “Dawn Treader.” I asked him why these stories continue to resonate today with readers and viewers alike. He noted:

It lies in the fact that we are created as a species with an inbuilt love of truth, whether it’s conscious or unconscious. When we see absolute pure truth in front of us, we recognize it and welcome it. These books and therefore these movies contain great episodes or great stories of pure truth and I think that’s why they will last as long as people read books and as long as people watch movies.

I also asked Gresham about his favorite part of making “Dawn Treader” and he told me that he enjoyed the “whole process.” He added, “I suppose for me, the best part of the movie was actually being out there and shooting it and being on the set…” He noted that his favorite part of the new movie itself is an “incredibly moving scene at the end.”

Gresham later told me what his stepfather was trying to achieve with “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader:”

[My stepfather] wrote this book in a sense as a sort of ‘Screwtape Letters’ for children and that’s exactly what this movie is in a sense too, because the book and the movie are both all about temptation. As soon as you try to live the right life, you will find yourself accosted by the enemy of man and the enemy of God.” “Dawn Treader” focuses on how people can battle and ultimately defeat temptation.

Gresham and I also talked about what makes ”Dawn Treader” different from its predecessors. Aside from the fact that this film was shot digitally (unlike the first two) and that it has a different theological base, Gresham stated that ”Dawn Treader” works as its own adventure story. “We don’t make sequels when we make another Narnia movie,” he said, “because every single adventure in Narnia - every book – is a totally different stand-alone adventure…”

Additionally, I asked Gresham about the controversy surrounding Liam Neeson’s recent comments about Aslan, the majestic lion that Neeson voices in the series. Neeson recently said that Aslan could be compared to numerous religious leaders instead of just Jesus Christ. “I wasn’t there. I don’t know what Liam said,” Gresham said when asked about the controversy. However, Gresham noted that people shouldn’t take religious or spiritual instructions from Neeson, although Gresham considers him “a wonderful actor and a really nice guy.”

In terms of new “Chronicle of Narinia” films after this one, Gresham said that such a plan “depends on the reception of each movie as we make it.” However, Gresham has seen “The Dawn Treader” with numerous test audiences and he was pleased by the extremely positive reception it received.

Families can see the adventure for themselves when “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader” arrives in theaters on Friday.

Today’s Daily Mail:

Ahead of the release of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader next Thursday, Neeson said: ‘Aslan symbolises a Christ-like figure but he also symbolises for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries.

‘That’s who Aslan stands for as well as a mentor figure for kids – that’s what he means for me.’

Neeson, 58, who grew up in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, is a practising Roman Catholic and was named after his parish priest. His actress wife Natasha Richardson died in a skiing accident in March last year.

Two years ago, he teamed up with an order of American Catholic priests to bring out a CD of spiritual meditations for Lent.

Walter Hooper, Lewis’s former secretary and a trustee of his estate, said the author would have been outraged.

‘It is nothing whatever to do with Islam,’ he said.

‘Lewis would have simply denied that. He wrote that the “whole Narnian story is about Christ”. Lewis could not have been clearer.’

He attributed Neeson’s remarks to political correctness and a desire to be ‘very multicultural’, adding: ‘I don’t know Liam Neeson or what he is thinking about… but it was not Lewis’s intention.’

William Oddie, a fomer editor of The Catholic Herald and a lifelong fan of the Chronicles of Narnia, accused Neeson of ‘a betrayal of Lewis’s intention and a shameful distortion’.

He said: ‘Aslan is clearly established from the very beginning of the whole cannon as being a Christ figure. I can’t believe that Liam Neeson is so stupid as not to know.’

Now, I like Liam Neeson, so let me just say … damn.

“Prince Caspian,” the second film in the “Narnia” series that came out a couple of years ago, was a success but nowhere near as successful as the first and enough of a disappointment that Disney decided to drop the franchise. Thankfully, 20th Century-Fox decided to step in, but “Dawn Treader” is it. This one soars or the franchise is over.

And what happens just a week before the release of the latest expensive installment of a franchise on the bubble of extinction? An actor puffed up with his own importance decides to attack the very heart of the series and take what it means — it’s very essence — away from the very audience that can make it the most profitable. I don’t want to see some goofy, multi-cultural, politically correct fantasy movie because nowadays everything’s multicultural, politically correct and goofy. Call me intolerant, but I want to see a Christian movie, a movie that honors and respects my beliefs and affirms them. And if Muslims want the same, more power to them. But this ain’t it.

But please Liam, don’t stop there. Do tell us what “Taken” is really about. Let me guess, a father’s journey through an evil Walmart in search of a daughter captured by crass American materialism?

How would you like to be the money people behind “Dawn Treader” right now?

Somewhere, Louis B. Mayer and Darryl F. Zanuck are laughing their asses off.

Five years of secret hatches.  Ancient four-toed statues.  Teleporting cabins.  A string of lottery numbers popping up everywhere.  Weird pseudo-science. Steampunk technology.  The Dharma Initiative.  (Remember that?)  And what the heck was a polar bear doing on a tropical island?

“Lost” was a major brain tease, too.  Naming so many of the characters after philosophers (Locke, Rousseau, Hume, etc.) was a stroke of genius – paper-thin genius, I later learned, as few of the characters had much to do with their namesakes.  (My favorite character name was Charlotte Staples Lewis, i.e., C. S. Lewis – incidentally, his middle name really was Staples.)

As the show’s intellectual promise faded, my interest flagged, but it really took a tumble during Season 5, when time travel, the last refuge of a desperate sci-fi writer, reared its inevitable head.

Time travel is like plutonium:  it must be handled with great care, and a little goes a very long way.  But in Season 5, “Lost” got hooked big-time on time-travel, sometimes hitting that pipe a dozen times in a single episode.

The show also lost its way when it violated the first rule of castaway stories, aka the Gilligan’s Island principle:  never leave the island.  Once you leave the island, you’ve lowered the stakes and betrayed the premise.

In the case of “Lost,” first they’re trapped on the island, then they leave the island, then they come back, then they try to leave….  Sorry, I fell asleep while writing that.  See what I mean?

Despite its frequent forays into pseudo-science, “Lost” is essentially a fantasy story. It may seem counterintuitive, but the more outlandish or surreal the events in a fantasy story, the more tightly you must stick to a set of rules.  Even if they are rules you’ve made up, they’ve got to make sense.

Without a set of easily graspable rules and limitations on your characters’ abilities, your audience will think, anything is possible.  And if anything is possible, nothing is at stake, in which case, nobody will care.

And that’s what happened.  As things in “Lost” got wackier, you realized at some point, it just wasn’t worth the effort to keep up.  Especially as it became clear there was no way they were going to find a logical explanation for all the crazy stuff.

The sheer volume of coincidences alone were improbable beyond belief.  And so the promise of a non-metaphysical Unified Theory vanished (as the ending only confirmed).

My wife knew it too, deep down, but tried desperately to keep her disbelief suspended, like a kid who doesn’t want to stop believing in Santa Claus even as he watches Dad put the presents under the tree.

Echoing the faith versus reason theme that underpinned the series, she still had faith there was a reason behind it all.  Plus, she thought Sawyer was cute.

And so I kept faith with her, keeping her company as she tuned in to the show, like going to church with your family even after you’ve become an atheist.  But her faith in the show was fading, too.

The last straw was the Temple.  We were promised that Season 6 would wrap up all the loose ends.  But instead of answers, we were getting a whole new ball of frayed yarn to puzzle over.

Questions are fine; you don’t watch “Lost” if you’re allergic to ambiguity.  But to introduce a brand-new setting and group of characters, just when we were expecting things to wind down?

It raises the wrong kinds of questions.  Such as:  After years of exploring a small island, how did the Losties miss an entire temple complex?

At least the tension level in our household diminished during “Lost” viewings.  We actually spoke to each other sometimes.  And not just during the commercials.

But I knew a Rubicon had been crossed when, during the last 15 minutes of the penultimate episode last week, I asked my wife what she thought of some development and got no response.  Turning, I could see that she was fast asleep.

Oh, sure, we still watched the final episode all the way through, for old time’s sake if nothing else.  The wife insured her old enthusiasm with a pot of coffee.

As a friend said, he could have had a relationship over the past six years instead of all the time he’d devoted to “Lost.”  He’d be damned if he was going to miss the finale.

And so, after six long seasons of crazy plot twists, maddening coincidences, and more red herrings than in the Soviet-era Baltic Sea, “Lost” finally lived up to one thing:  its name.

“Lost’s” secret weapon is its soundtrack — the most manipulative one in television history.  When that piano starts slowly plinking, it has a Pavlovian effect on your tear ducts.

Throw in slow-motion, a church, a funeral, a lot of hugging, a father-son reunion, long-lost loves embracing, even a baby, and the main character dying, and I started wondering, who’s chopping raw onions in our kitchen at this hour?

Many fans mistook that warm fuzzy feeling they got at the end of the series for answers.  Not all, mind you.  The clearer-eyed (or harder-hearted) of us saw through the ruse.

Funny how after so many allusions to science, pseudo- or otherwise, the series ultimately had no option left but to come down on the side of faith.  There was no possible rational explanation for all that had transpired.

The creators had written themselves into a corner and they knew it.  Reason failed them in the end.  (As it may all, I’m afraid.)  Faith is all they had left to give us.

I’m not unhappy with that result.

But what about that damn polar bear?

“Lost” fans (and critics), what did you think of the ending?  Of the series?

Secularists don’t know that simple fact about faith and feel threatened by their own ignorance, which quickly spirals into enmity as a defense against what they deeply fear is the truth. After all, Pride is what made the Devil. And the Devil’s main goal is your total separation from any kind of relationship with God, which can easily be described as anxiety, loneliness, fear, panic attacks, suicide…anything to get you away from sincerely trying to follow God. In other words, people of faith go to church while secularists go to therapy.  

To quote C.S. Lewis, my favorite atheist convert, “Christianity has not been tried and found false — it’s been tried and found too difficult.”

Indeed.

Secularists throw their hands up and give in to “humanity” instantly, under the guise that urges and desires must be completely natural (which they are) and are therefore just fine to enjoy with wild abandon (which they are not). They do not understand that resisting is the real road to that spiritual Utopia we’re always striving for.

We Christians know all to well that we are human and that sin drives a wedge between us and God. No you’re not “going straight to hell” because you happen to sit in a hotel room with a steady diet of hookers and drugs between movie shoots. Although you may wind up in jail at the hands of your fellow Man, what that behavior will really do is gently and pleasurably separate you from knowing God. 

By “separate” I mean you will slowly not be able to tolerate anyone you meet of faith (even if they’ve never bothered you) and you will soon find yourself shaking your fist at organized religion as the root of all evil. Your mind will become incapable of accepting that there is anything bigger than your own self and all the other “selfs” you socialize with. You will be, quite literally, out on a limb with no real friends and sooner or later you will realize that, either to your great horror or sinister joy. Welcome to free will.  

Yet, even if Christ were not God, the urgency and hatred that secularists use to deny there’s any moral truth to His plainly obvious teaching of what it means to be good, is evidence enough that we’re dealing a wholly evil mindset. This isn’t Atheism. This is Devilism. 

The precise goal of a Devilish society is to get as many people away from God as possible through a steady diet of media distractions and stories and role models all meant to edify their Devilish position while tearing down ours. It’s completely harmless to us if others in society are not up for what Christianity asks of its faithful, but where we draw the line is the distorted representation of faithful people in our pop culture entertainment, a culture dominated by secularist ideals and themes.  

Look, If you want to know where all the real sinners are, go to church. You’ll see them on their knees begging for forgiveness and admitting they cherished something else in their hearts over God. But if you want to know where the real Devils are, go to Hollywood where the path to hell is paved in gold.