Jesus, The Witch and the Wardrobe

The Chronicles of Narnia (by C.S. Lewis) is one of my favourite book series and movies. I have watched the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe countless times. Each time I watch it, I notice more and more Biblical references. When I first read The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, I didn't notice the Biblical references as much as when I watched the movie (which, by the way, makes a great Easter movie). Now I would like to share with you the things I noticed.

Let's start with the characters and what they represent Biblically.

Lucy Pevensie, the youngest of the 4 children, is the "saint" of the group. In The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, because of her innocence, she is able to see things that her older siblings do not see. She is able to enter into the magical kingdom of Narnia (which, in some way, represents Heaven).

“…Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of Heaven” (Matthew 18:3)

Edmund Pevensie, the second youngest, really angered me in this first movie. He was the vulnerable one of the bunch; the one who succumbed to temptation the easiest and, as a result, betrayed his family. Edmund was seduced by the White Witch, who feeds from coldness and the fear of others.

Undoubtedly, the White Witch represents the devil, while Edmund represents Judas, who betrayed Jesus Christ.

Isn't Satan the bearer of light? Well, that is why the White Witch is the white witch. She loves everything icy and snowy, which is why she hinders Narnia from transitioning into spring. Just as Satan posed as a snake to trick Eve into eating the forbidden fruit, the White Witch poses as a queen and bribes Edmund with his favourite sweeties, promising that she had a lot more at her lair, thus luring him right into her arms.

Last, but not least, there is Aslan, the representation Jesus. Aslan performs a plethora of miracles throughout the book series and the Narnia movies.

C.S. Lewis' description of Aslan:

At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more,
When he bares his teeth, winter meets its death,
And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again

That sounds a lot like Jesus to me.

The creatures in Narnia call the four children the sons of Adam and daughters of Eve. Does that ring a bell?

C.S. Lewis writes:

When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone,

Sits at Cair Paravel in throne,

The evil time will be over and done.

In other words, humans are to rule over Narnia, just as God put Adam and Eve to rule over the earth when he first created mankind.

Aslan breathed the breath of life unto Lucy's friend, the Fawn, after the White Witch kills him.

Aslan forgives Edmund for his betrayal just as Jesus forgave Judas.

Aslan fed an entire army, just as Jesus fed the 5,000 with only five loaves of bread and two fish.

Aslan sacrifices himself for Edmund's sin and for Narnia's salvation. He allows the White Witch to kill him on the stone table, just as Jesus died for us on the cross.

The resurrection of Aslan is the greatest miracle of all!

There are many, many debates on this very topic; of whether or not these Biblical parallels really exist (whether C.S. Lewis intentionally made them so) or whether it was just a coincidence. Many people deny the representation of Jesus Christ in Aslan.

The most interesting thing about The Chronicles of Narnia (to me) is that C.S. Lewis not only uses Biblical references but he mixes it with mythological and fantastical imagery as well. After all, in Narnia there ARE talking animals, naiads, dryads, nymphs, griffins, phoenixes and many other creatures... not to mention the use of magic and sorcery.

While many may feel that mixing Biblical references and fantasy/mythology is blasphemous, I thought it was pretty clever. It was a very interesting mix indeed.

If you haven't read any of the books or seen any of the movies, I recommend you do so.

I also must recommend the Narnia soundtrack for you music lovers out there. Harry Gregson-Williams is an amazing film score composer. I own the soundtrack and I haven't grown tired of listening to the music behind the movie as yet (be warned that it's all instrumental).

I hope you enjoyed this Hub. Thank you for reading!

Enjoy pictures of the final battle (also courtesy of Google Images)