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The fact is that I’ve developed a bit of a fixation for this movie. I went out and bought the book (and devoured it in 24 hours), I dragged friends along to see it again the following weekend. I’ve been asking myself why it is that a fairytale should have such an impact on a (reasonably) mature man? Why should such a film grab me so tightly?

I have a theory, but first of all some disclaimers. I’m not saying you will like this film. I am not unapologetically advocating it’s moral message. I certainly wouldn’t take kids to see it (even if it is a PG). But it is a darn good fairytale.

And therein lies the answer. Perhaps. CS Lewis often wrote about the importance of myth, and he is thoroughly convincing in his arguments. You see, far from dismissing all myths as mumbo-jumbo, Lewis argues that Christians are to understand their importance.

Not only do most myths and fairy stories reflect many of the elements of the greatest story ever - that’s the gospel, just in case you hadn’t realised - (the dilemma, the hero to rescue, the happily-ever-after), but myth also lifts our imaginations to embrace the supernatural, the cosmic. And I think this may be where my latest little obsession comes in. In a world obsessed with the gritty, the mundane and the natural (and which defends such with a powerful combination of cynicism and postmodern rationalism) the idea of the cosmic, the other, the supernatural often fall on ears and eyes as the quaintest concepts imaginable.

So, argues Lewis, remove myth from our lives, and the idea of an eternal, transcendent God who breaks into human history in the person of His son Jesus Christ, will sound even more implausible to those blinded by the idol of physical rationalism. If we teach each other to imagine the unimaginable, to expand our minds to embrace the concept of the transcendent, and the gospel’s message becomes easier to grasp. There is still a long way to go of course, but myth has played it part. And it is attractive to us because it points our hearts to what they long for.

So a tale of a star falling to earth as a person, who encounters a whole host of adventures (including a cross-dressing sky-flying pirate who catches lightning bolts and sells them for a living) hits my eyes and ears with a freshness that the cynicism and boldly-claimed ‘realism’ of modern living has begun to tarnish. I begin to appreciate again the image-bearer whose imagination is alive enough to create such things and who is unashamed to put it forward in writing.

And ultimately, my thoughts are elevated to the God who made stars (and even though I still doubt if they are people, I may never see them in the same way again) and the billion other wonders of the created order.

But it leaves a question. What do I do as a musician to encourage such expansive thought? As songwriters we ought to be making sure our words are clear and full of truth. Yet, the ancients seemed to make a very clear link between music and the transcendent. How does this work? What does it mean for the musician who is a Christian? Answers on a postcard, because I feel like I’m about to start out on an adventure of my very own.

For those who haven't been reading proGnosis for that long or who haven't read every post we write, a while ago I posted on how some old Church leader from the 2nd Century, Irenaeus, proposed that Jesus probably died in his late forties (and had to to save people who are in the latter stage of life). But the main focus of the blog was how we assume that Jesus started ministry at age 30 and died when he was 33, but how we don't actually know that. If you want to read the post, click here.

But after a Greek lesson translating John 2:13-22 of all things, it seems there has been some good research into the question of how old Jesus was. If you want to read the full article, by Andreas Köstenberger, click here. But I'll summarise very briefly now. Jesus was born about 5BC (and there is no year 0, apparently!). John the Baptist started his ministry in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, as Luke 3:1-3 which was 29AD. Jesus started his ministry soon after John the Baptist and Luke tells us further that he was about 30 when he started his ministry. According to the evidence we've seen he would be more accurately, about 33 years old when he actually started ministry (not when he died).

Now for how long he was in ministry. John records three Passovers (and one happens each year) and then the synoptics (Matthew, Mark and Luke) record one more. Four passovers equals three and a half years, and for a Passover to happen on a Friday, Jesus could only have died in the year 30AD or 33AD. So 29AD plus about three and a half years equals 33AD, which makes Jesus about 36 or 37 when he died. Comprendez vous?

The great thing to remember here is that all the evidence in different gospels ties in to other historical records, such as Josephus'. If it was made up, surely they'd get dates confused and the stuff in Luke wouldn't match the records in John nor the historical records nor the recent research stuff about stars and all that. The stuff in the gospels actually happened!

• If we are bitter and angry we can grieve the Holy Spirit - yet if we feast on the Bible and thirst for him we can be filled (Ephesians 4 and 5)
• We can have Christ be more at home in our lives when we obey him more (Ephesians 3 and Colossians 3:16 - check out the Message rendering)
• And we can remain in his love if we follow Christ's commands (John 15)

• We live in flesh (AV understanding)
• We live in a fallen world and all its distractions
• We may be sinning
• We may have grieved the Holy Spirit
• God may be letting us feel that way to help us grow to trust Him more.