Take Care When Reading the Chronicles of Narnia

You can get into a lot of trouble by thinking too much about these books. It just struck me that 2 Kings and 2 Queens ruling in Narnia simultaneously fits more with an Orthodox understanding of Church Hierarchy than a Roman understanding. Then it hit me that the High King's name is Peter. Is this Roman? Then the thought came to me that Aslan said, "Once a King or Queen in Narnia, alway a King or Queen in Narnia." Does this mean that Lewis was a Calvinist?

The fact is that Lewis did not write these books as allegories, though they do have some allegorical elements. If you want to know what Lewis thought of the Roman or Presbyterian churches, you'll have to get that from his non-fiction writings. For his final thoughts, you'll have to visit him in Narnia in the eschaton.

These are children's books. It seems that the lessons he wanted to teach are very clear (and not always about religion). If you're itching to get into an allegory, try his Pilgrim's Regress.