Aslan – Narnia – The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

When I went to college and joined the college Christian fellowship I first heard about CS Lewis. I read several of his books, like the Screwtape Letters and Mere Christianity. Later when I was visiting my relatives in Manchester, England, I bought a copy of the Chronicles of Narnia. Even though the books were not on par with Tolkien for depth or sophistication, I read on due to my respect for CS Lewis. Most of the Chronicle of Narnia books were just good kid’s fiction. However, during my reading I grew increasingly apprehensive of Lewis’ construction of Aslan. I wondered if Aslan was suppose to be allegorical or an actual representation of God?

There are many allegorical, “Christ” or “Christ-like” figures in literature, like Jim Casey in John Steinbeck’s “Grapes of Wrath” or even Gandalf in the “Lord of the Rings.” They are only Christ-like in some of their actions and attitudes. They never claim to be Christ. This is what separates allegory from personal representation.

According to CS Lewis himself, Aslan is not an allegorical figure. To a Maryland audience of 5th graders in 1954, CS Lewis was asked to explain Aslan’s relationship to Christ. He replied: "I did not say to myself 'Let us represent Jesus as He really is in our world by a Lion in Narnia'; I said 'Let us suppose that there were land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as he became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen". (Lewis, 1954, 1998) In other words, CS Lewis is going to translate his understanding of God and the Lord into a the fictional universe of CS Lewis. There will not be an allegory of Christ, but a “true” Son of God who is consistent with the Narnia universe - a Messiah lion with the name Aslan. When Aslan speaks, CS Lewis has Aslan speak as Jesus had spoken in our world. What Lewis lacked in depth, he made up for in audaciousness!

Just consider the following quote from a CS Lewis Narnia fan.

“I walked through the wardrobe with Lucy for the first time when I was 8 years old, and even then, this book hit me on a totlly spiritual level. I was *there* with Lucy and Susan on the Hill of the Stone Table, fingers cold and tears streaming down my face. But again, it's not about the book.
I have loved Aslan with all my heart from the first time i met Him. It was also when I was 8 years old that I came to Christ. I have always had a zeal and passion for Christ, and have always felt that passion echoed when in reference to Alsan.
I believe that Alsan is probably the truest representation of Christ in literature (based on my very limited knowlege, of course) and I have recently realized that I have never really made any distinction between the two. I quote Alsan nearly as much as Jesus Himself.
For the first time tonight, I recognized this, and was a tad perturbed. Is Aslan an idol? Have i confused a literary character with my true Lord and Savior? I mean, I guess to my child's mind, there really was never any distinction. As an adult, need I make that distinction? I have always just thought "Aslan is Jesus." Tho never necessarily that Jesus is Aslan.” Link

This account is not a single occurrence. CS Lewis himself acknowledged this situation happened many times. This reader also wonders if she has made an idol out of Aslan. Good question. Or in other words, should CS Lewis or any artist create a character who purports to be Christ or God?

Any visual creation of God will only be an interpretation of the artist’s impression. But for those who look on the idol for truth, the idol has a much deeper impact. Direct experience even through the viewing of an idol forms a deep impression on the viewer. For those who look on the idol for truth, the idol’s impression will often become fused within their mind with other images and understandings of God. If their thoughts, images, impressions, etc. seem inconsistent there may be confusion similar to the letter written by the woman above. Where the artist’s images are similar to the person’s prevailing thoughts, the person’s can experience an increase in confidence based on having experienced visual confirmation. In the same way, Jean Calvin describes the affect of idols on their followers;

Not content with spiritual understanding, they thought that through the images a surer and closer understanding would be impressed upon them. (Institutes of the Christian Religion XI:9)

In Exodus 32, when Aaron presented his idol, he proclaims that this is Jehovah who freed the Jews from Egypt. Aaron did this to please the people who wanted to see the God that had done so many miracles. The people understood that this idol was only a representation. But they could not believe that God was truly with them unless they could see God packaged in a way that was consistent with how their age wanted to experience their gods. When Moses returns and encounters the error of the gold calf, he is carrying the Word of God. Instead of being able to show the people the wonderful nature of God’s Word, he finds that the people have turned their back on the true God in pursuit of an artist’s representation.

God simply warns us:

Thou shalt not make thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the waters beneath the earth:
Thou shalt not bow down thyself unto them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me, (Deuteronomy 5:8-9)

Aslan is very much a tame lion. He is part of the literary creation of CS Lewis. He represents CS Lewis’s understanding and idea of Jesus – not God’s like the Bible. The words of Aslan belong to a flawed man born in Northern Ireland. The movie is an interpretation by a non-Christian, Andrew Adamson, of CS Lewis’s work. Truth disappears quickly by degree.

Just as the Jews after fleeing Egypt needed to see Yahweh in a form consistent with how the world of their day wanted to see gods, the evangelical church has the same desire to see the God of the Bible displayed on films. The decision to build an idol showed the true state of the children of Israel vis a vis God. In a similar fashion, the desire of evangelicals to see their faith in films shows the church is worldly, carnal and in danger of God’s judgment. The church needs to repent and be content with the truth God has provided in the Bible.

May God give us the grace to follow the advise of Bishop Agobard of Lyon in the 9th century who like Moses wished to have the idols of God “ground into powder”.