Yah, I tend to do that to myself with my ideas. Though the 'Aslan coming to Narnia at Christmas' point is Lewis's, technically.
I will say, as a student of classics who's taken classes on paganism and the beginnings of Christianity, I tend to tire of the whole 'co-option' debate. I think you answer your own point when you said Christmas wasn't a spiritually notable holiday until recently. Other Christian holidays - besides Easter, Pentecost, and several Saints' days - were put in place in order to provide Christians alternate means of celebration when they left paganism. That doesn't make them unimportant, just not chronologically specific.
I always thought that the 'coming of spring' in LWW was actually an acceleration: winter went from perpetual, like, December 15th to choose a random date, to speeding up to Christmas and racing forward until spring. Christmas happened on Christmas, but time sped up so that it was only a short time until spring. But that's just my thought.
You can't take Narnia as an allegory. Lewis specifically stated that Narnia was a supposal: “Suppose there were a Narnian world and it, like ours, needed redemption. What kind of incarnation and Passion might Christ be supposed to undergo there?” as he said in one of his letters. The Incarnation and Passion in Narnia is different from that of our world because our world isn't comprised of Talking Animals, and there aren't any Romans who like crucifying people since Narnia has a different history.
I look forward to reading what else you have to say. Like I've mentioned, I enjoy a good discussion. =D
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Re: reply to long comment, part 2
Date: 2009-05-06 09:11 pm (UTC)I will say, as a student of classics who's taken classes on paganism and the beginnings of Christianity, I tend to tire of the whole 'co-option' debate. I think you answer your own point when you said Christmas wasn't a spiritually notable holiday until recently. Other Christian holidays - besides Easter, Pentecost, and several Saints' days - were put in place in order to provide Christians alternate means of celebration when they left paganism. That doesn't make them unimportant, just not chronologically specific.
I always thought that the 'coming of spring' in LWW was actually an acceleration: winter went from perpetual, like, December 15th to choose a random date, to speeding up to Christmas and racing forward until spring. Christmas happened on Christmas, but time sped up so that it was only a short time until spring. But that's just my thought.
You can't take Narnia as an allegory. Lewis specifically stated that Narnia was a supposal: “Suppose there were a Narnian world and it, like ours, needed redemption. What kind of incarnation and Passion might Christ be supposed to undergo there?” as he said in one of his letters. The Incarnation and Passion in Narnia is different from that of our world because our world isn't comprised of Talking Animals, and there aren't any Romans who like crucifying people since Narnia has a different history.
I look forward to reading what else you have to say. Like I've mentioned, I enjoy a good discussion. =D