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Elizabeth's Reviews > The Chronicles of Narnia
The Chronicles of Narnia (Chronicles of Narnia, #1-7)
by C.S. Lewis, Pauline Baynes
by C.S. Lewis, Pauline Baynes
I have loved these books my whole life. They are frequently misread, I think, by people who insist that everything in Narnia has to "equal" something in our world (Aslan=Jesus, Calormens=Muslims, Tash=Satan, etc.) While Lewis is clearly writing about God, as I read it, he is imagining how the Christian God might reveal himself in another world rather than allegorizing our own. Aslan is not "Jesus," but rather the earthly aspect of God as he reveals himself in Narnia. The Calormens are not Muslims, but rather another culture in the universe of Narnia that worships another god. Tash, I suppose should be read as Satan as he reveals himself in the universe of Narnia, but again, the point is how these forces function in this fictional universe, not what the characters "represent" from our own world. Anyway, these books are great, and I encourage adults as well as children to give them a shot. All due respect to the movies, but as usual the books are much better.
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| 04/26/2016 | marked as: | read | ||
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Lindsey
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Sep 08, 2008 08:45AM
I really enjoyed reading your take on the Chronicles of Narnia. I've always struggled with comparing Aslan to a Christ figure but could never offer a better explanation or allegory. Your suggestion of more of a contextual view, however, makes much more sense!
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I've never heard such a take on the series; good show, it really made me stop, muse, and think! It would make sense if, instead of being strictly allegorical, Aslan was how God made Himself known in Narnia. I really like the concept, thanks for sharing.
I love your review. Couldn't use better words.
One thing to consider: Aslan is represented as the son of the Emperor-beyond-the-Sea, dies to save a traitor, and returns to life more glorious than before. While you may be more comfortable with the "Aslan is not Jesus" concept, it seems to fit pretty closely to me.
Ron -- I think that Lewis wrote Aslan as the way that God would interact with his fictional fallen world. God's incarnation, death, and resurrection would be needed there too. I don't argue that the books are not written from a Christian perspective -- I think they are very Christian books. I argue that they are not allegories, but rather fantasy stories about God's interaction with a different world. Reading them as allegories means that everything in Narnia would have to "represent" things in our world, and I don't read the novels that way.
