The Lion, the Witch & the Evangelicals: Interview with Sonya Cronin

Important note: I (D.L.) say Dr. Cronin is at the University of Florida when in fact she teaches at Florida State University. Me and my West Coast bias/ignorance showing--sorry about that!

Dr. Sonya Cronin teaches classes both on the Hebrew Scriptures and Fantasy Literature--which makes her the perfect guest for this podcast. You can visit this site to learn more about her, including her books (and she is currently working on one about the gospel of Mark!). 

We reference the recent controversy surrounding JK Rowling and her recent anti-trans public statements. You can learn more about this situation here. 

Krispin references his interview with Connie Baker about interacting with authors who are problematic. You can listen to his interview with her about spiritual abuse here. 

Dr. Cronin references Philip Pullman, saying “Fantasy is a safe space to learn the virtues of the world, in a way that is not quite ‘thou shall’. ‘Once a upon a time’ does something for us that ‘thou shall and thou shalt not’ just doesn’t do.” (11:54)

When talking about Lewis and Tolkein they must be set in their context, the 1950s--including their portrayals of women. 

Lewis was considered safe for evangelicals because before he ever wrote fantasy he wrote apologetics--so we knew exactly what he believed. (25 min)

Harry was created a wizard — the idea of being created to be something is very much connected to the Christian tradition.  

Christian responses to Harry Potter: 

Richard Abanes wrote Harry Potter and the Bible: The Menace behind the Magik

John Granger is a Christian who says we SHOULD read these books. - 35min