Saturday, June 18, 2011

Philosophy behind Aslan


I like C.S. Lewis a lot. When I was six I remember buying my first C.S. Lewis books at a local bookstore. I was given a sum of money as a gift and I decided to save it until I had enough money to buy the Chronicles of Narnia and other C.S. Lewis books. Then I was introduced to Aslan the Great Lion. I'd been reading the books throughout my highschool days. It was not hard to like the Great Lion. At once I noticed Aslan's resemblance to the Lion of Judah. If one was acquianted with biblical history he will definitely see that Lewis with his keen mind had made a children story out of real history. It answer questions like what if the biblical Lion of Judah reign as King in a different world, like for instance, Narnia, what would be his name there and how would he atone for the treacherous deeds of that world?
One of the philosophy behind Aslan's character can be seen in such statements like these:
But I said, Alas, Lord, I am no son of thine but the servant of Tash. He (Aslan) answered, "Child, all the service thou hast done to Tash, I account as service done to me."  Then by reasons of my great desire for wisdom and understanding, I overcame my fear and questioned the Glorious One and said, Lord, is it then true, as the Ape said, that thou and Tash are one? The Lion growled so that the earth shook (but his wrath was not against me) and said, "It is false. Not because he and I are one, but because we are opposites, I take to me the services which thou hast done to him. For I and he are of such different kinds that no service which is vile can be done to me, and none which is not vile can be done to him. Therefore if any man swear by Tash and keep his oath for the oath's sake, it is by me that he has truly sworn, though he know it not, and it is I who reward him. And if any man do a cruelty in my name, then, though he says the name Aslan, it is Tash whom he serves and by Tash his deed is accepted." (from The Last Battle)

Shades of  what Jesus said long ago, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!'"

Look at the contemporary language and have a feel of what it really means to serve Aslan in Narnia or how it really means to serve God in real life. Here's what the Lion of Judah says "Knowing the correct password—saying 'Master, Master,' for instance— isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience—doing what my Father wills. I can see it now—at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.'  Matt.7:21-23 The Message (MSG)

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