[Vision2020] Narnia

[keely emerinemix]

Disclaimer:  I've never read "The Chronicles of Narnia," nor have I seen the 
movie, nor have I been to Oxford, nor have I ever drunk brandy and smoked 
cigars in a pub.

Still, Joan raises an interesting point and Michael does as well -- perhaps 
if Aslan were another animal more lowly . . . and yet, is it really true 
allegory?  Greater minds than I will have to settle this; there are greater 
minds than my own in the next room, so it shouldn't be hard to spark the 
debate.  That said, another Christian author I read recently has also 
suggested that Aslan as lamb would work better than Aslan as lion in 
representing Jesus Christ.  I think, though, that Aslan's lion-hood is a 
symbol of the triumphant return of Christ, perhaps oddly out of line with 
the book character's redemptive, Christ-incarnate  nature, which, in Jesus' 
first coming, was represented by His lowly stature.

I have just begun reading "Narnia" at the urging of a dear friend, and so 
far I enjoy "The Magician's Nephew."  I always liked the name "Andrew," but 
after 19 pages of the evil Uncle Andrew, I'm glad we went with "Anthony" for 
our son . . .

keely






From: Joan Opyr <joanopyr at earthlink.net>
To: "Michael" <metzler at moscow.com>
CC: vision2020 at moscow.com
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Narnia
Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2005 14:13:24 -0800


On 19 Dec 2005, at 12:42, Michael wrote:

>Children love reading C.S. Lewis’ Narnia books.  The Christianity in them 
>is not preachy and in line with the broad appreciation for Lewis in both 
>non-Christian and Christian circles. Lewis does not consider Narnia 
>allegorical, but just his faith and scholarship naturally exposing itself 
>in the creative process. I’d highly recommend them; they are truly 
>classics.  (his space trilogy is cool too;  heck, all his stuff is cool….)  
>My wife and I go to see Narnia Tues. First time out on a movie date in 
>years.
>
>Michael Metzler
>

Now, I don't say this to spoil Narnia -- I imagine that Tilda Swinton's 
White Queen is even more terrifying that her portrayal of the Angel Gabriel 
in Constantine; Ms. Swinton is always worth the price of admission -- but 
there is something deeply NOT Christian about the Chronicles of Narnia.  
While they may succeed as literature, the Chronicles (according to Tolkien 
and many others) fail as Christian allegory.  Why?  Because Aslan as Christ 
does not work.  Aslan is the noblest of beasts, not the lowliest; not the 
most humble.  One of my favorite writers, Terry Pratchett, has written that 
the books would work better as Christian allegory if Aslan were, say, a 
donkey rather than a lion -- a modest, scorned, frowned-upon beast -- not 
the king of the beast but the least among them.

Theologically, Michael (and others), what do you think?  We can enjoy Narnia 
as a Disney spectacular, but I do wonder about it as Christian allegory.  I 
think it's a slippery slope.

Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment
www.joanopyr.com



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