Also, while Aslan is clearly intended to be an analogue of Jesus, the literal equivalence Aslan=Jesus is never stated flat out (though it is heavily implied to people who have the Biblical and cultural knowledge to catch certain references). It is, therefore, equally valid to view Aslan as a distinct incarnation or child of any generic supreme deity. Aslan is very vividly drawn as a character, and Lewis stresses that his essential nature is leonine, not human; he is always refered to as a lion, even when he takes other shapes, to the point where he talks about 'us lions' in LWW. (The only real exception is in the last couple paragraphs of The Last Battle, but I find that book abhorrent on moral and religious grounds, so I tend to disregard most of it. And even there the equivalence is never made explicit.) Aslan coexists perfectly happily with pagan deities such as Bacchus, which is, so far as I know, not generally accepted Christian doctrine. Furthermore, there are differing views of Jesus, some of which consider him a lesser power under God, or not even divine at all; I know that's not Lewis's personal belief, but because he never explicitly lays forth his Christian theology in the books themselves, I am free to interpret his portrayal of Aslan without regard to his personal theology.
Narnia must stand or fall on its own. Bringing Lewis's other writing into consideration can be very interesting from a cultural perspective, but ultimately, if he didn't explicitly write a theological position into the series itself, I do not have to pay attention to that idea when considering the series. If a thought is not on the page, it is not offically part of the story canon.
The story an author writes is only pure and true to his or her intent until it enters the mind of a reader, who brings her or his own worldview and experiences -- the living story that results is a collaboration, always. I respect GeoffryF's choice to write Aslan as Christ, and I am perfectly happy to read fanfiction other people write with that viewpoint, but I could not follow that path myself because that is not how I, personally, experience the books; any Narnia fanfiction I wrote with that theological interpretation would be, therefore, a lie. (It would also be stillborn on the page, so the issue is somewhat moot.)
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long comment, part 2
Date: 2009-05-06 02:56 am (UTC)Narnia must stand or fall on its own. Bringing Lewis's other writing into consideration can be very interesting from a cultural perspective, but ultimately, if he didn't explicitly write a theological position into the series itself, I do not have to pay attention to that idea when considering the series. If a thought is not on the page, it is not offically part of the story canon.
The story an author writes is only pure and true to his or her intent until it enters the mind of a reader, who brings her or his own worldview and experiences -- the living story that results is a collaboration, always. I respect GeoffryF's choice to write Aslan as Christ, and I am perfectly happy to read fanfiction other people write with that viewpoint, but I could not follow that path myself because that is not how I, personally, experience the books; any Narnia fanfiction I wrote with that theological interpretation would be, therefore, a lie. (It would also be stillborn on the page, so the issue is somewhat moot.)