Talking Narnia to Your Neighbors

I wasn't aware until someone (think it was Julia) told me that the Narnia books were somehow Christian. I loved 'em as a kid, just like I loved the Redwall books (which in hindsight probably also have a nominally "Christian" message) and the works of Tolken (who actually converted C.S. Lewis, so there you go). It seems to me that all these are moral and spiritual allegories -- no doubt written by Christian people who wanted in some part to share their vision of the universe in a fictionalized context -- which have broadly applicable lessons about responsibility, honesty, courage, friendship, etc. In short, they're good mytic tales.

It's interesting though because some people sort of seem to shy away from that once they learn they might have a Christian subtext. In understand people don't want to be preached at, especially subliminally, but it's not as though Harry Potter is going to make you into a Wiccan, and it's not as though watching a frickin' movie about a talking Lion is going to convert anyone.

On the other hand, the investment money behind the film reportely may have a missionary edge, so there's that to consider. Seems to me though that people on the right may have taken their own dire, and in my thinking innacurate, predictions about "the power of the culture" to control people's minds to heart, and are trying to fight fire with fire, so to speak.

I dunno; it seems strange and sort of unfortunate how touchy people are about faith, how hard it is to actually talk about. My experience of being brought up agnistically is pretty un-ordinary, so maybe I'm missing out on the power that religion can have when you're raised within its context. Maybe its easy for me to take my own value from these stories because they can't hook or touch me in certain ways.

Religion is a strange thing. I don't practice in an organized fashion, but I have my own set of beliefs and ways of making peace with the unknown, with telling right from wrong. But I've lived a very lucky life; not much tragidy or hardship to tell about. I'm priviledged in a whole lot of ways.

Yeah, anyway, I don't know what the point is here, but I'm curious what other people might think.