The Christ Centred Cosmic Civilisation

• Episode 119i - What if each Narnia book sings to a different planet’s tune?

  Send us a textImagine discovering a hidden music under stories you thought you knew by heart. We dive into Michael Ward’s provocative claim that each Narnia book resonates with a different planet from the medieval cosmos—Jupiter’s regal generosity, Mars’s chivalric heat, Sol’s bright clarity, Luna’s shifting enchantment, Mercury’s quicksilver wit, Venus’s fertile harmony, and Saturn’s austere ending. As we map the seven chronicles to seven heavens, we show how colours, moods, images, and character arcs create a distinct atmosphere that lingers long after the final page.We start by sketching the medieval universe Lewis loved: concentric spheres, living meanings in the heavens, and the “music of the spheres” shaping life below the moon. With that backdrop, the correspondences snap into focus—Father Christmas as a Jovial gift-bearer, the trumpet-and-battle cadence of Prince Caspian, Dawn Treader’s eastward illumination, The Silver Chair’s green-lunar spell, Horse and His Boy’s messenger roads, The Magician’s Nephew’s singing creation, and The Last Battle’s cold sifting before a truer country. Then we tackle the pushback: Lewis’s letters about planning, the silence among the Inklings, and the charge of cherry-picking. Rather than dodge the critiques, we weigh how a hidden structure can serve story, why atmosphere might matter more than overt schema, and how the pattern may have evolved as the series grew.Beyond the literary puzzle lies a practical payoff. Read this way, Narnia becomes a school of desire: Jupiter trains magnanimity, Mars courage under discipline, Sol clear seeing, Luna steady faith in flux, Mercury prudent speech, Venus rightly ordered love, and Saturn sober hope at the world’s edge. Whether you’re convinced or simply curious, this lens turns a nostalgic reread into a pilgrimage “further up and further in,” where myth, theology, and the old sky conspire to re-enchant attention. Sink into the conversation, test the links yourself, and tell us which planetary thread you hear most clearly.If this sparks fresh wonder, follow the show, share it with a Lewis-loving friend, and leave a review—your words help more readers find the path back through the wardrobe. The theme music is "Wager with Angels" by Nathan Moore

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• Episode 119h - Sung Into Being - Creation is more music than matter

  Send us a textWhat if the world began with a voice so beautiful it hurt to hear? We open The Magician’s Nephew and step into a cosmos where stars ignite on cue, animals rise from the soil, and a Lion sings meaning into matter. From London attics to the Wood Between the Worlds to the ruined hush of Charn, we follow Digory and Polly as wonder expands and the stakes sharpen.Aslan’s creation anchors our journey: creation as music, not accident. We connect the scene to the great scriptural chorus—Genesis’ speaking, John’s Word, Job’s singing stars—and explore how that vision dignifies a humming, vibrant universe. Then the key turn: Jadis enters. Her knowledge of deep magic, her force and poise, and her timing reveal how evil persuades by offering shortcuts that feel noble. That sets the stage for Digory’s test: a dying mother, a guarded apple, and a choice between grasping and trusting. We unpack why obedience in Narnia is not dreary rule-keeping but relational confidence in a king who sees what we cannot, and how patient trust brings the right healing in the right way.Threaded through is a case for re-enchantment. Modern life trains us to treat the world as flat and empty; Narnia teaches us to hear the underlying score. We consider the Wood’s many pools as a theology of possibility, Charn’s silence as a warning about power without love, and Aslan’s song as a call to live inside a meaningful cosmos. If you’ve ever felt the ache for more—more depth, more music, more reality—this conversation invites you to read The Magician’s Nephew not as a mere prequel but as a parable of beginnings that never stop beginning: creation, fall, trust, and the long work of joy.Enjoyed the journey? Follow the show, share this episode with a friend who needs wonder, and leave a review to help others find the music. The theme music is "Wager with Angels" by Nathan Moore

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• Episode 119g - Further Up, Further In

  Send us a textA donkey in a lion’s skin shouldn’t fool anyone—yet when we forget the true Lion, costumes start to look convincing. We close our Narnia arc with The Last Battle, following the trail from deception and power-grabbing religion to judgment that clarifies everything and a new creation that feels more real than stone underfoot. Along the way, we meet Shift’s manipulative theatre, Puzzle’s naive complicity, and the dwarfs’ tragic cynicism, and we press into why Lewis insists Aslan and Tash cannot be blended into a polite “Tashlan.” That clarity doesn’t cancel mercy: we wrestle with Emeth’s startling welcome and what it says about sincerity, goodness, and the King who reads the heart.We talk about counterfeit Christs, why cultures and churches grow weak when they trade the biblical Jesus for a fashionable one, and how discernment becomes a form of love in an age of spin. Judgment arrives not as an arbitrary decree but as exposure to a face—some look and love, some turn and hate—and the results are simply the truth about what we want most. Then the door opens. Colours intensify, distances call, and the cry goes up: further up, further in. Lewis refuses the thin clichés of heaven, instead sketching resurrection life as a world renewed around the presence of the good but not safe King—solid joy, deeper home, and an endless adventure.If you’ve ever wondered how to spot a false lion, how to live hopefully with judgment in view, or how to imagine eternity without flattening it into clouds and harps, this conversation is for you. Listen, reflect, and share it with someone who loves Narnia or needs a bracing vision of the real. If the wardrobe door is still open for you, step through—then subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what “further up and further in” means in your life. The theme music is "Wager with Angels" by Nathan Moore

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• Episode 119f - Guided by the Lion: Identity, Courage, and Providence in The Horse and His Boy

  Send us a textA runaway boy, a noble girl, and two talking horses cross deserts and courts while a cat comforts and a lion pursues—yet nothing is as it seems. We dive into The Horse and His Boy to uncover how C. S. Lewis weaves providence through apparent accidents, turning fear into formation and coincidence into care. When Shasta finally meets Aslan and hears “I was the lion… I was the cat…,” memory itself is baptised; the scattered pieces of his journey lock into place and reveal a patient, purposeful love at work behind the scenes.From there, we open the door to identity: Shasta’s unveiling as Kor, son of King Lune, mirrors the gospel logic of adoption—identity received, not achieved. That shift challenges modern self-making and offers a sturdier centre: chosen, royal, beloved. We talk courage without bravado, tracing how pressure forms character and calling, and why true vocation bends outward toward service rather than inward toward status. Along the way, we tackle the book’s controversies with care, noting its cultural portrayals and the moral contrast between the servant King and gods who demand service without mercy, while highlighting characters who choose Aslan from beyond Narnia’s borders.If you’ve ever wondered whether your life is guided or just chaotic, this conversation offers a way to read your past with new eyes. Walk with us through deserts and palaces, fear and comfort, pride and humility, and consider how providence, adoption, and courage might be shaping your own story. Subscribe, share with a friend who needs hope, and leave a review telling us where you’ve seen the Lion’s hidden guidance in your life. The theme music is "Wager with Angels" by Nathan Moore

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• Episode 119e - Discipleship in the Dark: Truth, Bondage, and Perseverance

  Send us a textA lamp is not a sun—and yet in the dark, it’s tempting to believe the smaller light. We journey through The Silver Chair to face the ways enchantment works on the mind and how memory, obedience, and courage break its spell. With Eustace and Jill, we track Aslan’s four signs from an easy beginning to a decisive act, showing how spiritual growth moves from encouragement to direction, from perspective to bold obedience. Along the way we meet Puddleglum, whose brave, foot-scorching stomp and stubborn speech model how to live by the truer story when the false one feels closer.We dig into the heart of captivity through Prince Rillian’s nightly bondage, exploring sin as deception and slavery rather than mere bad behaviour. When the cry comes “in Aslan’s name,” we see why delayed obedience keeps the chains tight—and why cutting the ropes is both terrifying and freeing. We link this to Ephesians 4’s call to put off the old self and be renewed in the mind, grounding Narnian drama in the lived practice of Christian discipleship. From the ruins in the north to the underworld’s suffocating room, we unpack how environments can make truth feel implausible and how rehearsing the word restores sight.We also sit with Aslan’s fierce mercy at the stream—“There is no other stream”—and with Peter’s response to Jesus’ hard sayings: where else could we go? The thread tying it all together is perseverance: walking by faith when sight is thin, keeping to the last clear instruction, and surrounding ourselves with people who will stamp out our soothing lies when we cannot. If you’re navigating doubt, craving freedom, or trying to remember what’s real, this conversation offers practical handles and deep comfort. Subscribe, share with a friend who loves Narnia or needs courage today, and leave a review to help others find the show. Where do you most feel the underworld tug—and which sign will you rehearse tonight? The theme music is "Wager with Angels" by Nathan Moore

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