A Religious Aspect to "The Chronicles"

Through my research into "The Chronicles of Narnia" I have discovered that a much deeper message lies behind the enchanting series of children's stories that at first catch the eye. C.S. Lewis himself became a devoted Christian and as such wrote a number of books and articles, and made a series of radio broadcasts with a theological base.

Aslan is a major character in the Narnia series, in fact he is the only character to appear in all seven of "The Chronicles". Lewis writes that he is the son of an emperor over the sea and that he acts as a constant guardian, protector and helper to Narnia and the children from this world that come to its aid. He created Narnia by singing it to life and made an end to it by destroying it all two and a half thousand years later. In this respect he may be seen as a parallel to God and Christ. A significant reflection of this is Aslan's death and subsequent resurrection in "The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe".

Here I have decided to republish some quotes that I feel illustrate well the religious side to "The Chronicles of Narnia".

Reprinted with the kind permission of the author

The Aslan / Christ Correlation

Aslan, watchful.

Those who have read the Chronicles with a faintly analytical eye have seen the correlation between Aslan and Christ. Lewis himself, in response to a young reader's letter, made comments that all but declare an Aslan / Christ correlation. Much of what Aslan says and does has some Biblical reference point. Some examples are given below.

In the beginning God creted the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep...And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Genesis 1:1-2
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. Revelation 4:11
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men...He was in the world and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. John 1:1-4,10

"In the darkness, something was happening at last. A voice had begun to sing...The Voice rose and rose, till the air was shaking with it. And just as it swelled into the mightiest and most glorious sound it had yet produced, the sun arose...The Lion was pacing to and fro about that empty land and singing his new song...And as he walked and sang the valley grew green with grass. It spread out from the Lion like a pool...Soon there were other things besides grass...'Trees,' [Digory] exclaimed...[W]ith and unspeakable thrill, [Polly] felt quite certain that all the things were coming (as she said) 'out of the Lion's head.'" The Magician's Nephew

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet hew opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. Isaiah 53:7

"But [Aslan] made no noise, even when the enemies, straining and tugging, pulled the cords so tight that they cut into his flesh." The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. Mark 16:12

"[Susan and Lucy] looked round. There, shining in the sunrise, larger than they had seen him before, shaking his mane (for it had apparently grown again) stood Aslan himself." The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

As soon as they were come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread.John 21:12

"The water was warm and all the time it got shallower. At last they were on dry sand, and then on grass... Then they noticed for the first time that there was a fire lit on the grass and fish roasting on it." The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. John 21:12

" 'Come and have breakfast,' said the Lamb in its sweet milky voice." The Voyage of the Dawn Treader

When the Son of Man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit on his throne of glory: And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them from one another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: And he shall set his sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world...Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels. Matthew 25:31-34,41

"The creatures came rushing on, their eyes brighter and brighter as they drew nearer and nearer to the standing stars. But as they came right up to Aslan one or other of two things happened to each of them. They all looked straight in his face...and when some looked, the expression of their faces changed terribly - it was fear and hatred...All the creatures who lookd as Aslan in that way swerved to their right, his left, and disappeared into his huge black shadow which...streamed away to the left of the doorway. But the others looked in the face of Aslan and loved him, though some of them were very frightened at the same time. And all these came in at the Door, in on Aslan's right." The Last Battle

Aslan, prayerful.

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