Tags
Aslan, Atonement, Christianity, God, grace, Jesus, Narnia, prayer, Religion, spirituality
Years ago I took a summer course at Regent College on Literature and Faith. I remember the discussion on the works of C. S. Lewis and especially those who claimed that it was an allegory for the story of Christ. Having never read any of the Narnia books I could only listen to the discussion with interest. The professor, who was in some sort of “6 degrees of separation relationship with Lewis”, said, that Lewis did not write it as an allegory, that it was simply a story.
Last night I watched, for the first time, The Chronicles of Narnia. I was struck with the simplicity and beauty of this glorious story. I have to agree it is not an allegory in the true sense of an allegory. Sometimes allegories seem forced as they make everything in them stand in for another thing. The plot line in The Chronicles didn’t work to make everything just like the Biblical Story, it simply told a tale of redemption and substitutionary atonement in a way that anyone could understand it. It is as simple as Aslan said, “if an innocent was killed in the place of a traitor, the Stone Table would break and the innocent would be brought back to life.” So simple. So true. Absolute grace.
This story may not be an allegory of THE STORY in the true sense, but it is a story that points to the TRUE STORY, and it does so in a majestic way. The truths contained in that simple children’s story could keep a preacher busy for years. Those truths have been occupying my mind for the whole night. Every time I woke, I found myself thinking about yet another truth that revealed THE TRUTH.
What a discovery.