A Word on Bacchus, Fauns, Dryads, Naiads, Maenads : (scroll down to title)


The Roman God Bacchus: Worshipped by millions of pagans from the ancient world as the god of wine, Bacchus is associated with drunkenness, revelry, and immorality. In The Chronicles of Narnia, Bacchus makes occasional visits to Narnia. He is mentioned in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and makes an appearance in Prince Caspian, as does Silenus, a figure from Greek mythology who was the teacher of Bacchus. In Greek mythology, Bacchus goes by the name Dionysus.

Maenads: The ancient Greeks and Romans knew the maenads as the special attendants to Bacchus (which is why they also went by the names Bacchae and Bacchantes). The word maenad literally means “raving ones.” They were believed to have occult powers. In Narnia, they are “madcap” girls that still attend to Bacchus. Of Maenads, Wikipedia has this interesting explanation: “They were known as wild, insane women who could not be reasoned with. The mysteries of Dionysus inspired the women to ecstatic frenzy; they indulged in copious amounts of violence, bloodletting, sex, and self-intoxication and mutilation. They were usually pictured as crowned with leaves, clothed in fawnskins and carrying the Thyrsus and dancing with the wild abandonment of complete union with primeval nature.”

Fauns: Half humans and half goats, fauns find their origin in Roman mythology as followers of the gods Pan (god of the field) and Bacchus (god of wine). They are generally portrayed in myth as troublemakers. Fauns play a central role in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and can be found throughout The Chronicles of Narnia, but unlike their Roman counterparts, Lewis’s fauns are kind, beloved creatures.

Centaurs: In religious worship and mythology, centaurs are half human, half horse — wicked demi-gods given to violence and sexual excess. (Exception: The centaur Chiron (trainer of Achilles) was depicted as just.) Centaurs are important figures in the Narnian landscape. Lewis portrays them as generally loyal to Aslan, and as star-gazers that tell the future by the stars.

Dryad and Naiads: Pantheism (the worship of God in nature) is a critical element of ancient paganism. Dryads are yet another mythological manifestation of this anti-Christian idolatry. A dryad is a tree spirit linked to an individual tree. In Lewis’s Narnia, Dryads are mysterious, tree/spirit beings who are faithful to Aslan and Narnia itself. In ancient mythology, naiads were water nymphs. (They appear less frequently than Dryads in the Chronicles.)

 

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Christmas-prayer rebuke ignites community uproar - Supervisor who denounced mention of Jesus forced to apologize to citizens over outburst: ... a New York town supervisor who sharply rebuked a priest for invoking the name of Jesus during his traditional blessing of the community's Christmas tree lighting learned the real meaning of holiday – the hard way. ....a New York town supervisor who sharply rebuked a priest for invoking the name of Jesus during his traditional blessing of the community's Christmas tree lighting learned the real meaning of holiday – the hard way. Jon Kaiman, a supervisor from the community of North Hempstead, was sitting behind Rev. Nick Zientarski as the Roman Catholic priest blessed the annual event held last week at the Manhasset village green. Zientarski chose to use a Catholic blessing over "something generic," saying that other faith traditions are represented each year, and because "this was a Christmas tree." But even as the words left his mouth, Zientarski said, he could hear Kaiman angrily objecting: "This is inappropriate." Kaiman rose from his seat and addressed the 200 adults and children gathered there. "I just want to make it clear that this is in no way a religious ceremony," he told the stunned crowd. "I have to tell you that Manhasset is in an uproar" Christine Roberts, who is Jewish and attended the ceremony with her two sons, told Newsday. "It really was the wrong thing to say at the wrong time. There is a lot of hostility going around. ...The uproar has gotten a stunned Kaiman's attention. "I overreacted and handled the situation poorly," he said.

Hollywood Elites Use and Abuse Lewis; Use and Abuse Christians : Though Christians have an enormously high threshold for compromising on film, the non-Christian Hollywood elite, on the other hand, have an enormously low threshold for accepting anything which unapologetically presents biblical Christianity. The result is that Hollywood has learned how to manipulate Christians. The marketing of Narnia is a classic example of Hollywood’s manipulation. The basic strategy behind the Hollywood marketing of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is this: (1) Seek to make money off the budding and highly lucrative Christian market by presenting the new film as a glorious representation of Lewis’s distinctively Christian vision; and, simultaneously (2) Seek to make millions from the mainstream secular market by making great efforts to deny that The Chronicles of Narnia has anything whatsoever to do with the Christian faith.

Religion in 'Narnia' left up to audience : Key players are downplaying the Christian aspects of "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe" less than two weeks before the opening of the expected blockbuster movie. Douglas Gresham, stepson of the late C.S. Lewis -- the Oxford professor who authored the top-rated children's book -- called the religious emphasis "an American disease." "The Brits don't give two figs about that aspect," Mr. Gresham said in an interview from his home near Dublin. Even the film's resurrection theme does not mean it's a Christian story, he added. "That idea is informed by the religious training of those reading it," Mr. Gresham said. "The myth of a god who dies and comes back is in ancient Roman, Norse and Hindu mythology. The difference is that the Christian myth actually happened." ... "There are powerful themes that resonate with the whole Judeo-Christian tradition, but it's a book with universal appeal," Mr. Mattson said. Cultural elites attach disgrace to anything judged "Christian," he said. "It's synonymous to 'reactionary,' 'knee-jerk' and 'fundamentalist,'?" Mr. Mattson said. "The problem now is that when Christians do great work, they hide their Christianity out of a sense of embarrassment to avoid the inappropriate stereotype."