Not a Tame Lion

The perennial “Narnia: Literal or Allegory” thread has re-surfaced on rec.arts.sf.written. People are going to great lengths to expose the hitherto-unknown revelation that Narnia is dangerous and subversive Christian propaganda, because (gasp) Aslan is a symbol of Christ, etc.

Cooler heads among the rasf denizens are getting tired of repeating over and over again: “There’s nothing symbolic or allegorical (or hidden) about it. Aslan is Christ, just manifested in a different world.” The books are clearly propaganda, but they are explicitly not allegorical. As one poster said:

[This] is why the Narnia books aren’t allegories — they are The Further Adventures of Jesus Christ and Friends! No hidden messsages here, it’s all right out in the open.

I think the former crowd are peeved to realize that the delightful stories they read as children are Christian.

And some Christians are afraid of Narnia, because:

Aslan is Christ, and as Lewis would have it a true Christ, but not a plaster saint; he’s a merry, vigorous, disruptive, exciting presence. He’s the Christ who associated with publicans and sinners, and had fun. He’s the Christ who got angry and took a whip to chase moneylenders out of the holy temple in Jerusalem. He’s the Christ whom it’s claimed thousands of people went to see, and, most likely, not quite to hear. He’s the Christ who cares about people individually and has the strength – or the power – to heal their ills. He’s not a tame Christ, not a Sunday School Christ.