The Chronicles of Narnia

[mmadsen]

In my expereince, catholics [...] tend to fall more in the "good people don't go to hell, though they might not get to heaven right away" camp as opposed to the "saved by a direct act of faith, otherwise hellfire for you" school of thought.

This reminds me of one of the more amusing elements of Dante's Inferno (at least to a modern reader from a plurastic society): the first level of Hell is reserved for virtuous pagans (like Virgil, Dante's guide).

 

[Kahuna Burger]

This reminds me of one of the more amusing elements of Dante's Inferno (at least to a modern reader from a plurastic society): the first level of Hell is reserved for virtuous pagans (like Virgil, Dante's guide).

while I haven't read it, I've heard that, as well as the theme that the hells get progressivly worse... is the first level of hell not fairly boring as a hell dimension goes? In a hardcore protestant model, there are no levels of hell, with the virtuous pagans getting the exact same amount of eternal torment as the axe murderer down the street. Thats what I was trying to get at.

(ps, ok, I heard one hardcore protestant explaining levels of hell as "different levels of eternal, unimaginably horrible torment", but that was pretty well recieved as being the same as an undifferentiated hell, if you start with "the worst pain you can ever imagine" and go downhill from there. )

Kahuna Burger

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

I know they were written as childrens books. But i am sure older people have read them as well. So, for those of you who have read them, did you enjoy them?

Absolutely. I actually studied the entire series for part of a Lit course I took two springs ago. The themes are pretty blatant and overt, but C.S. Lewis is a masterful storyteller. They are written in such a way that a younger person could enjoy them, but I remember reading a quote from Lewis saying essentially that he would never "write down" for anyone, and that he believed a book written for children should be as easily accessible for adults. Give the first a shot, and see if you like it. It's a very fast read.