planet narnia - lecture

In 2003 Michael Ward made a discovery. Many critics believe he has finally unlocked the secret meaning of C.S. Lewis’s famous Narnia stories. This became a book, Planet Narnia, which was profiled in a BBC 1 documentary at Easter 2009, called ‘The Narnia Code’. I blogged about the programme here.

The St Paul's Theological Centre Annual Lecture: Of interest to all who have read the Narnia books or watched the films, Dr Ward explains his discovery in a fascinating lecture he has given all over the world, including Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

Dr Michael Ward is Chaplain of St Peter’s College Oxford, and one of the world’s leading experts on C.S. Lewis.

Venue: Holy Trinity Brompton
Time: 7.00 pm, Monday November 16 2009

Trivia: Did you know that Dr Ward's other claim to fame is that he handed a pair of X-ray spectacles to James Bond in the movie The World Is Not Enough.

Update: There is an excellent review of Planet Narnia by Bishop Tom Wright in the TLS here.

parris converted?

Matthew Parris, former Tory M.P. and journalist for The Times, has written an article in which he argues that what Africa needs is Christianity. What makes this piece so surprising is that Parris is an atheist and yet he declares:

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

You can read the full article here. Parris puts forward a convincing case, however, the question I would like to ask him is this:

If Christianity is the answer for Africa then why isn't it the answer for Great Britian and why isn't it the answer for Matthew Parris?