Mene-Mene Member Posts: 1398 From: Fort Wayne, IN, USA Registered: 10-23-2006 |
The Great Lion bites, He claws! On the other side of the arena Jesus kneels. ... No this isn't a fight between the 2, although doubtlessly Jesus would win because Aslan was thought of by man. In most of my readings about C.S. Lewis's prayers, He always talks to Aslan, not Jesus. Why? What makes it different? I'm open to discussion, but this is my theory. Steoreotypicism (Not sure if thats a word) makes Jesus 100% Divine, 0% Personal. It makes for an offishness in a relationship, while you can understand that He's not that, its still hard to forget all the Stereotypes you been taught. Whereas Aslan hasn't been over-diefied (In a traditional sense, He's deity, and you can't over-deify Him, but I mean that He's been put impersonal.) to the point where you can't see how He's like us. When we gain friends we look for those things we have in common, its those that bond us. When we see Him as a person thats able to be familiarized with, and approached, it lets us have a new relationship. This is one of the ways by knowing Aslan, we know Jesus better. ------------------ |
spade89 Member Posts: 561 From: houston,tx Registered: 11-28-2006 |
hey, i don't mean to sound stupid here but isn't aslan that lion in narnia the movie? i don't remember reading about aslan in the bible,and i think it is blasphemy to compare something created by man to the son of god.(no offense here),but anyways can you tell me what the relationship between jesus and aslan is???? it sounds to me like the same kind of thing as relating santa clause to christmas . it just doesn't make sense. ------------------ |
Brandon Member Posts: 594 From: Kansas City, Mo, USA Registered: 02-02-2004 |
I'm not totally clear on what this topic is about... but here are my thoughts on Aslan... I see the Chronicles of Narnia as a fantasy story used to teach the message of the Gospel. And Aslan is a character in that story who plays the role of who Jesus is. The King, and our Savior. It's not a complete parallel as far as I'm concerned, but it really does give a pretty clear message though. It's really nothing more than that... with me at least. Aslan is a good tool for introducing people to the message of the gospel, and of helping people to see the strength and might of Christ through a fun filled fantasy adventure. I just love it that Jesus is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He is described that way for a reason. Jesus doesn't only neal and pray, He also returns on a white horse riding on the clouds and strikes down the nations with the Sword of His Mouth. He turns over the money changers tables in the temple, He takes on the Pharisees, Saducees, and the demon possessed, when Lazerous dies He snarls and asks where he was buried.. (He was ready to do battle with death) He is the Lamb that was slaughtered, but He is also the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. There is a time to pray, wait on God, and be patient... but there is also a time of action and obedience as well... ------------------ [This message has been edited by brandon (edited January 02, 2007).] |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
C.S. Lewis intended Aslan to be parallel or "suppositional". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronicles_of_narnia#Christian_parallels But putting that aside, Aslan is a fictional character and as Brandon put it, I believe Aslan\Narnia can be a good tool to help people understand Christianity, same goes for Lord of the Rings. So I believe it's good to leave Aslan as fiction. ------------------ [This message has been edited by LAVA (edited January 02, 2007).] |
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Mene-Mene Member Posts: 1398 From: Fort Wayne, IN, USA Registered: 10-23-2006 |
Correct, apparently my meaning wasn't quite caught in the second/last paragraph. This is about the Stereotypicism (Not a real word, but means a lot) of Jesus, and why C.S. Lewis talked about Aslan in prayer. Also about the problem of deifying Jesus to the point where you lose your friendship, and it becomes all worship and no friendship. This also can become a cause of lack of interest. Spade: Brandon explained it pretty well. (& Lava) Aslan is that lion, but the lion isn't just a powerful good lion. He is a parallel. Another writer said something to the effect of the best allegories are not written to force an allegory, but as a story with allegorical meaning without large purpose by saying, Aslan is Jesus so he needs to fulfill this. Its the meaning of it. Like C.S. Lewis said in VotDT, "I have called you into Narnia, that you may now Me (Aslan/Jesus) better in your own world." We see through Aslan the touchable, befriendable side of Jesus. We see his correction in ways we can easier understand because they are direct. No, Aslan isn't in the Bible, but he is an Allegory to the true king, Jesus. His father, "The Emperor over the sea" is a representation of God. No, its not really blasphemy in my opinion if you realize that he is made by man and is not holy, but rather is made that you may understand that which is holy. No, its not like comparing Santa Claus to Christmas. While in Narnia there is "Father Christmas", he was a representation of the hope, and joy that had returned to Narnia, and the breaking of the Witch's power. Comparing Santa Claus to Christmas is to compare a true person, St.Nicholas, who has been changed because of his kindness by Companys for money, to a real event. In truth, Santa Claus has nothing to do with Christmas. The fight above was showing what the stereotypicism has seemed to make out of Jesus. How He is defenseless against anything without angels, supposedly. I later stated my points. ------------------ [This message has been edited by Mene-Mene (edited January 02, 2007).] |
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spade89 Member Posts: 561 From: houston,tx Registered: 11-28-2006 |
i see your point mene-mene ,but we shouldn't think of jesus as someone we could familiarize with because we are sinners(were to some of us),and he is the son of god,he is the role model we follow not human like hero we familiarize ourselves with ,nobody is as perfect as jesus,so nobody could familiarize themselves to him. but c.s. lewis should have concentrated on the savior side of jesus because that is who jesus is our savior,he is savior and master .i think the bible is enought for anyone to understand jesus,movies like narnia although their intentions are good they can mislead people into missing the savior side of jesus(which is the most important). ------------------ |
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Lava Member Posts: 1905 From: Registered: 01-26-2005 |
quote: Did you read "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe"? or watch the movie or BBC TV series? I have seen the movie and TV series, and it depicts Aslan dying for Edmund's wrong doing and rising from the dead, I think that is the savior side of it ------------------ [This message has been edited by LAVA (edited January 02, 2007).] |
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Mene-Mene Member Posts: 1398 From: Fort Wayne, IN, USA Registered: 10-23-2006 |
True, the story does depict that, but not being stereotyped helps with the other side. Spade: Familiarity is the way I described friendship. What would you call a personal relationship with God? Why would Jesus want us to know Him if he didn't want us to have a personal relationship. ------------------ |
Calin Member Posts: 358 From: Moldova Registered: 12-04-2006 |
quote: That statement brings a lot of confusion. One might think C.S. Lewis's used Aslan in his personal prayers, which I doubt he did (unless you can bring some undeniable evidence to prove it). |
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Mene-Mene Member Posts: 1398 From: Fort Wayne, IN, USA Registered: 10-23-2006 |
Thats what I thought Calin. In one of his prayers that was recorded, I believe he asks "Aslan" to heal his wife. ------------------ |
