Not a Tame Lion - a Lent course on C S Lewis' Narnia films by Hilary Brand.

The Narnia films give you a compelling opportunity to open up the Bible using the popularity of the films and their underlying Christian message. Movie lovers who might never otherwise open the Bible, never mind attend a Lent study course, will be attracted to a discussion group centred on the movies and on the bio-pic of their author, C S Lewis.

Hilary Brand’s Lent course ‘Not A Tame Lion’ builds on the wide appeal of two Narnia films: ‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe’ and ‘Prince Caspian’ together with the moving film of C S Lewis later life ‘Shadowlands’. Using scenes from all three movies, ‘Not A Tame Lion’ gives you a weekly look what’s really going on in the stories and throws down the challenge to take it further.

Thanks to high profile movies now easily available on DVD and on the mainstream TV people film lovers of all ages know the stories of ‘The Narnia Chronicles’ by favourite Christian thinker and writer, C S Lewis.

‘Not A Tame Lion’ gives you the outline and leader notes for five sessions of watching extracts from the films, talking about them and using these discussions to open up the Bible and their big Christian themes.

Each of the five sessions – one for each week of Lent includes an author’s introduction, a recommended film scene and questions for the group to discuss. Extra ideas and material for private exploration let you keep the group focussed throughout the week until your next meeting.

Like the wardrobe, The Narnia movies offer a way through for you to lead a Lent discussion group out of its comfort zone and into a life changing world they may have never imagined.

Five group discussions include issues of suffering, God’s apparent absence and the gift of the present moment. Looking deeper into Lewis’ insightful writing, Hilary Brand’s notes use the films to explore even the difficult ideas of heaven, judgement, and the force of evil. A bonus session - “Living in a sceptical age”, sensitively explores an approach to the disbelief of others and how to deal with our own personal doubts.

For experienced Christians, following ‘Not A Tame Lion’ as a Lent course is a reminder that God is not to be contained by the constraints and limitations Christians would put on him: “We would all like a religion that kept us within our comfort zone. But just as the Aslan of the Narnia stories is not a tame lion, neither is the Christ of the Gospels always a comfortable Saviour, saying things that are often unexpected and challenging.”


‘Not a Tame Lion’ by Hilary Brand: The Trivia Files

A quote from C S Lewis: “A children's story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.”