Christian Allegories and Symbolism

[Syreth]

Hi all! I'm new to CAA and was thrilled when I found this place. But anyhow, I want to get some people's opinions about Christian allegories. Not only in anime and manga, but in other media as well, such as books. Particularly Christian ones like C.S. Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia and such. I dunno about anyone else, but symbolism and allegories tickle my brian to think about (pardon the expression). I was wondering what you guys would think about a Christian anime or manga that parallels the Bible and Biblical themes (if such a one would exsist). Do you think you guys would enjoy something like that, or would the often fantastic themes that are popular in anime distort the true message of the Bible? Do you think something like that could be an effective medium for evangelism? I'm excited to hear what you guys have to say about this.

[Zane]

[Ashley]

I do think it's cool that some media uses Christian themes and symbolism, but I think we have to be careful about looking for it. Like with the Matrix--I mean yeah, there's some serious truths you could draw from it that would indeed be Christian, but to do so would provide for some major flaws in our theology. I don't think you can only be a 'partial' allegory. To call some parts of the movie Christian and reject others really distorts the film, the point you're trying to make, and makes us Christians look desperate. Taken too far, and you could be stretching the truth enough to be misportraying God, which is not something to be taken lightly either.