First, the Christian faith is a story. It’s the account of God’s gracious dealings with humanity from beginning to end. It’s a story that includes innocence and sin, judgment and grace, alienation and reconciliation. There’s a thread running though this story, and that thread is the one whom the Seer at Patmos called "the lamb slain before the foundation of the world." If our story is true, it is woven into the warp and woof of human existence. It’s something we’re all inchoately aware of. If I’m right about this, then it makes sense that bits and pieces of this story will turn up in stories that aren’t even remotely Christian. This will even be the case with our mass culture, which as a product of the West was shaped by Christianity—regardless of how little either creative types or Christians wish to acknowledge it.

Another thing we need to remember is to look beneath the surface. If all we see is a story about a whoremongering, gluttonous, boozing wastrel who gets what’s coming to him, then we’re going to miss what Jesus was trying to say in the parable of the prodigal son. Likewise, if you can’t get beyond the fact that beavers can’t talk, mice don’t carry swords, and there’s no such thing as fauns—and if you’re suspicious of anything called "magic"—then the Chronicles of Narnia aren’t for you.

Bravo, Roberto.