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There are plenty of Christian messages within the Chronicles that we all love. Which ones are you're favorites? I have a lot but I think my favorite is when Puddleglum tells the LotGK that he is going to believe in Aslan even if he doesn't exist.

That whole episode is amazing in my opinion. I think its a perfect illustration of our need today in the world to want "proof" for God- though there is never any adaquate proof for us humans. This scene also speaks to me in my own temptation to doubt God.

My favorite is actually the same as yours, Valiant. Only I liked it for a different reason.
It reminds me of when "well-meaning" people tell us to get our heads "out of the clouds" as they call it, and onto real-life (when, by real life, they mean schoolwork, making money, etc.) Especially when our heads are "in the clouds" thinking about God.
Just like that, the LOTGK told them to stop daydreaming and get their minds on the work she would have them do in her world -- the real world.
It was a nicely written parallel, I think.


~Riella

Great thread idea, Valiant! Let me think. I agree with you and Eustace+Jill - the Puddleglum scene is one of my favorites. Probably because of Puddleglum's famous line...

I'm on Aslan's side even if there isn't any Aslan to lead it. I'm going to live as like a Narnian as I can even if there isn't any Narnia.

For me, this means that even if we are wrong and there isn't any God (although I firmly believe there is), I still choose to believe and live like God is just as real as I am. It gives me faith whenever I start to doubt.

I also love the whole meaning in the Last Battle. There are so many amazing parallels. Especially when they all get into Aslan's Country. What a beautiful ending - and it was merely the beginning.

I also love it in VDT when Aslan appears as an albatross and tells Lucy, "Courage, dear heart." It's something God's told me many times, and something that brings me hope.

And then, of course, I think my overall favorite would be Aslan's amazing sacrifice. The way Lewis wrote it was absolutely beautiful. I don't think he could have done it any better. I have learned so much about Christ and what he did for us because of what C.S. Lewis wrote.

Oops... was I supposed to only pick one??

^^ No worries, you can pick as many as you like .
Eustace+Jill, your interpretation is also very interesting! I guess people can both intentionally or unintentionally draw you away from God.

Yes I agree that Puddleglum's stout hearted belief in Aslan and Narnia is inspirational. Could I please list one from each of others of the books?

Aslan's sacrifice in LWW.
Lucy's praying for deliverance at the Dark Island - VDT. There is a direct Christian relationship with the Lord's Prayer in this scene, especially the line, Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. I can't think of anything more nightmarish than never being forgiven for anything I have ever done wrong, so the line Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us also applies.

Aslan's Well done! to Edmund in PC, and I think elsewhere in the books about other characters, eg Tirian in LB, or Digory Kirke in MN. (Well done thou Good and Faithful servant is the text I think. And there is another text, Lord now lettest thy servant depart in peace according to thy word, the first line of the Nunc dimmittis, Simeon's prayer in the Gospels)

My most favourite Christian moments in the series are Aslan talking to Shasta on the mountain, plus King Lune's wonderful welcome home to Shasta, his long lost son. The Prodigal son, any one?

I really like the part in PC where Lucy says "I knew it was you, but the others didn't believe me" and Aslan says "And why should that have stopped you from coming to me?".

Lucy's praying for deliverance at the Dark Island

That is really beautiful as well. You just find more and more things each time you read the book don't you?

What do you think Aslan said to Edmund after he had been rescued from the WW camp? I was always intrigued by the conversation and I feel there is some great spiritual importance to it.

Maybe he told Edmund that he was going to die for him? Lucy and Susan (who were the only ones to see Aslan die) never told Edmund that, because Susan said not to. So, if Aslan didn't tell him then, then Edmund would never have known...


~Riella

It's been a very long time since I first read the Chronicles, and yet I can still remember being touched by the spiritual aspects of the books - especially in HHB. In addition to the passages in which Shasta encounters Aslan for the first time, which include an apparent reference to the Trinity and Shasta falling to his feet in worship, there's the overarching theme of the book, which I think is the loving sovereignty of Aslan - even in the lives of those who don't know him and thus are totally unaware of it. I think this is best summed up when Aslan says:

"I was the lion…who forced you to join with Aravis. I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead. I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept. I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time. And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you."

Yes that is an awesome line

I always felt sorry for Shasta while reading HHB until I realized Aslan was with him all this time. And of course, it reminds you how God is with you all the time.

As well, many of those things could have been considered bad things that happened to Shasta/Cor. I mean getting chased by lion(s) would be very scary. However often things that look like curses can be blessings in disguise. I reminds me of how God always knows what he is doing, even if we can't see the bigger picture.

waggawerewolf27 wrote:My most favourite Christian moments in the series are Aslan talking to Shasta on the mountain...

This one is my favorite also.

One who has waited long for you to speak.

My biggest quarrel with FOTF Radio Theater was the cutting of those last two words when Aslan said them to Shasta. Aslan waited for Shata to just say something, he was there all the time, waiting patiently for his son to turn to him and say anything. That's love. That's a love that no one can understand, no one can explain, and no one can live without. It was Shasta's to have the entire time and when he asked "Who are you?" he was given an answer beyond worldly comprehension.
Once upon at time I would have said something completely different but this is officially my favorite. Others include, but are not limmited to:
-Lucy looking more beautiful than the Lucy in the picture when looking at Aslan
-The undragoning of Eustace
-The sorrow Diggory sees in Aslan's eyes
-Lucy following Aslan alone
-The song at the end of the world that will break your heart
-The dwarves are for the dwarves

Aslan loves and accepts everyone just as they are. Aslan NEVER tries to change the personalities or interests of any of the characters. On the contrary, He encourages them to use their individual special talents.

I think we can all identify in one way or another with Puddleglum and his famous statement that Valient brought up. After all, all of us are more than what we appear to be.

Aside from this scene, however, I like the overall conotation of Aslan's being a lion, and the way that C.S. wrote his character. Why would C.S. choose a lion? Well, obviously, the Bible does compare Christ to a lion many times...but I like the more subtle clues about God's nature in Aslan's character. He obviously capable of being a terrifying man-eating beast (as he pointed out to Jill at the riverbank in TSC), and he obviously has the capability to get his own way at any time. But he would rather that Lucy decide to follow him alone, that Edmund come to him of his own accord, that Peter fight the wolf with his own sword, and that Susan believe in him for herself, with hints and nudges in the right direction for all.
What I find truly fascinating is Edmunds ordeal. How many times have we heard or seen someone go through something aweful, and wonder why God would allow such a thing to occur? Edmund's adventure is the perfect illustration for this dilemma. Edmund got himself into that mess, as we all do. He suffered at the hands of the enemy, and was redeemed (bought back) by Aslan's death at the hands of the White Witch (obivously, this is the illustration of the Crucifixion). However, look at Edmund's transformation afterwards! He realizes his own mistakes, and he turns into a man of character, honor, and belief, because of the ordeal! If it had not been for the trial that Edmund endured, he may never have been turned from his selfish impetuous nature.

There are many beautiful scenes which depect the relation Aslan has to his Narnians... and therefore Christ to us. However, the most striking scene would be Eustace's undragoning; Eustace could not remove his dragon skin (sin), no matter how many layers he shed. It would take the claws of Aslan to do this deed. It reminds us how we cannot save ourselves from sin; only the power and mercy of Christ. It properly includes the act of repentance and baptism by including Eustace being submerged into the water (again, through the power of Aslan, not by Eustace). After he emerged, Eustace was whole, given new clothes (also symbolic), and loyally grateful to Aslan.

My explanation can never do the scene justice, so apologies.

One that I really like is at the end of Voyage of the Dawn treader when Aslan tells the children that he is in our world but that he goes by a different name here! It really brings out the Christianity in Narnia!!