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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I had a similar experience in Ireland at a similar
age. I had enjoyed the Narnia books until I got to the _The Last Battle_
where the Christian allegory was hammered home. I felt betrayed,
not just by the message, but by its totalitarian import - the expected
future lives of the children on Earth were not just aborted but rendered
insignificant by the religious context.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Maybe it was especially unsettling as I was a
child myself.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>I don't think I've had the same feeling about any
other novel/series - but then again I probably wouldn't have it about
the Narnia books if I encountered them now.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial>- Gerry Quinn</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT> </DIV>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=jerry_friedman@yahoo.com href="mailto:jerry_friedman@yahoo.com">Jerry
Friedman</A> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT-FAMILY: times new roman,new york,times,serif; FONT-SIZE: 12pt">I'm
one who felt betrayed by /TLtW&tW/, and as David Stockhoff said, timing
was important. I read all the Narnia books eagerly when I was
seven. When I was maybe 10 or 12, I learned the story of Jesus'
redemptive sacrifice, and at some point I connected that with Aslan (and the
end of /TVotDT/). So Lewis had tried to trick me! These books I
was attached to were a covert attempt to advertise that religion that besieged
me and my family, that continually tried to blandish and harangue and
peer-press and maybe, under the surface, even threaten me into
submission. It was an unpleasant moment.</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>