What I Learned in Narnia Quotes

“Beware of anyone who claims to be neutral, for they always have an agenda.”
― Douglas Wilson, What I Learned in Narnia

“Stories in themselves are not automatically good; it has to be the right kind of story told by the right kind of person.”
― Douglas Wilson, What I Learned in Narnia

“the witch in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe only understands the grabbing kind of authority—if you want something, you take it. She does not understand Aslan's kind of authority at all. What does she think when Aslan comes to negotiate Edmund's release? Remember that Edmund had betrayed his brother and sisters, and because of that, even though he had been rescued from the witch, she has a lawful claim on him because he is a traitor. Aslan does not dispute the claim. Instead, he does something that is shocking and incomprehensible to all those who, like the witch, only understand the grasping kind of authority: He agrees to give himself in exchange for Edmund. This is because Aslan knows that the way to authority is through sacrifice. Even so, when Aslan fulfills his part of the agreement, it is very difficult for him. Just understanding the principle of sacrifice does not automatically make that sacrifice easy. When he goes to his death, he is so sorrowful that he allows Lucy and Susan to accompany him part way and provide some comfort and companionship. When the witch sees Aslan coming, she believes she has triumphed. "'The fool!' she cried, 'The fool has come. Bind him fast'" (151). All she understands is what Aslan calls the "deep magic," which allows a traitor to be freed if another chooses to die in his place. But after Aslan comes back to life, he explains the witch's mistake: "'It means,' said Aslan, 'That though the witch knew the deep magic, there is a magic deeper still which she did not know'" (163). The deeper magic is that love and sacrifice conquer hate and greed. Love and sacrifice create true, ultimate authority. So it is not just that Aslan died for Edmund as the perfect, substitutionary sacrifice for a traitor, thus saving him—though of course he did die in Edmund's place and he did save him. There is more to it: After his death and resurrection, Aslan gains true authority. He had authority before, but after this it grows and changes in a glorious way. But sinful people cannot understand this "deep magic." You can explain it, read it from the Bible, draw it on a blackboard, and shout it at the top of your lungs, but a sinful heart cannot know this principle: if you give, you get. They just cannot get it into their heads—or rather, into their hearts. For they do not have an intellectual problem; they have a spiritual problem.”
― Douglas Wilson, What I Learned in Narnia

“This is one of the oldest tricks in the book for sinful leaders: once you get into power, take whatever you can from the people, but all in the name of a higher good. This higher good may be God, or patriotism, or humanistic brotherhood, or democracy, but what all such power-abusers really want is more power for themselves.”
― Douglas Wilson, What I Learned in Narnia

“But Jadis and Uncle Andrew are both magicians. And in this book we see that Jadis and Uncle Andrew both believe they are "above the rules." They both believe rules are only for ordinary, common people. In this way, they try to put themselves above all authority but their own. They do not want anybody telling them what to do and they do not want any rules telling them what to do. The problem with this, of course, is that you should never trust people who have strong views of authority when talking about people under them, but have very weak views of authority when talking about people over them. Whenever you encounter someone like that, you need to run in the other direction as fast and as far as you can—that person is going to abuse any authority they can get. One of the best things C. S. Lewis teaches us is that true authority can only be exercised by leaders who delight in submitting to authority themselves.”
― Douglas Wilson, What I Learned in Narnia

“True submission never grovels, and true authority never accepts flattery.”
― Douglas Wilson, What I Learned in Narnia