Finding Theology in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

“I thought I saw how stories of this kind could steal past a certain inhibition which had paralysed much of my own religion in childhood. Why did one find it so hard to feel as one was told one ought to feel about God or the sufferings of Christ? I thought the chief reason was that one was told one ought to. [...] But supposing that by casting all these things into an imaginary world, stripping them of their stained-glass and Sunday School associations, one could make them for the first time appear in their real potency? Could one not thus steal past those watchful dragons? I thought one could.”

C.S. Lewis, “Sometimes Fairy Stories May Say Best What’s to Be Said”

For my own part, Lewis did just this. Christian doctrine became more cool for me as a child when I saw it imaged in Aslan. Yet this is not limited to childhood vision: as I have grown deeper in my understanding of God and theology, I have found ever deeper riches in the Narnia stories. And I want to share some of that with you.

Drawing from a larger project of theological readings of The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, I will argue why I think the Narnia Books in general and The Voyage of the Darn Treader in particular are both suited for and richly repay intentionally theological reading. I explain just what theological reading is and then apply it the episode of Eustace turning into a dragon. The result will be as it were a blueprint for reading these beloved stories in theologically dense ways that address practical and spiritual concerns in one's life.

This event is completely free, but registration is required. All those who register will receive access to a recording of the event for a limited time after the fact.