Aslan

When Tonja mentioned the Chronicles of Narnia in her last post I was suddenly a teenager again – about 15 I think – lying on my bed re-reading one of the Narnia books for the nth time. And I suddenly realized who Aslan was. It was, literally, a hair-raising moment – these have happened a few times in my reading life, and I’ve always remembered them.*

You have to understand, I was not raised in a Christian home and by that time had given up on all things church, so the Narnia books were, to me, just entertaining fantasy that I’d probably discovered at school, my source for most books. (My parents didn’t read much either – I used to feel a certain disdain towards them about that, until some research into wartime Britain made me realize just how disrupted their education – and childhood in general – must have been.) So I wasn’t expecting to find anything significant in there. Aslan was Jesus? WOAH!

A couple of years later I was told by my English teacher that every serious student of English literature should read the Bible, as pre-20th century literature (and, I would argue, anything written up to at least World War I, if not WWII) is full of biblical references. C.S. Lewis, of course, was a Christian by the time he wrote the Narnia books, and they are a conscious allegory of the Christian faith.  He had been an atheist until well into adulthood, but I don’t think he wrote much in those days – in fact it seems as if becoming a Christian is what really made him into a writer. Anyone care to correct me on this?

In the last ten years since I became a follower of Christ, I’ve become a lot more aware of the presence of biblical references in secular literature. This is perhaps because I now read the Bible, so I can spot those references faster. The Book is, in fact, woven into books from the Western cultural tradition in general, and the extra richness you get from understanding those references and what they mean in the context of the Bible as well as in the context of the book you’re reading is quite eye-opening.

It also amazes me how useful literature can be in reinforcing the Bible’s messages. A couple of days ago I found myself comparing becoming a Christian to expecting to be given a big comfy cushion and finding that what you are, in fact, carrying is a stick of dynamite. And the next thought that came into my mind wasn’t a Bible verse but a line from the Narnia Chronicles: “He’s not a tame lion, you know.”

Obviously, studying the Bible itself – on a daily basis if possible – should be an important part of a Christian’s life. But that doesn’t mean you should give up novels! You might find yourself reading with greater purpose and thoughtfulness, and – I’ve heard this so often that I don’t know where to attribute it – running what you read through the Christian filter in your mind. And you might, especially if you’re fond of older literature, find some treasures in your reading that you might not otherwise have noticed.

Today I’m going to challenge Tonja (and anyone else reading this is welcome to get their answer in first). Which of the Harry Potter books contains three direct quotes from the Bible? In what context are these quotes given? And a subsidiary question: why do you think they’re there?

* Other notable occasions were the “We are the dead” scene in 1984, and the climax of Jude the Obscure (I won’t say what it is, because it’s a real spoiler).

Trackback URI | Comments RSS