Neeson: Aslan Symbolizes Christ, Muhammed, Buddha
DailyMail recently posted this quote from Liam Neeson (Aslan):
‘Aslan symbolises a Christ-like figure but he also symbolises for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries.
‘That’s who Aslan stands for as well as a mentor figure for kids – that’s what he means for me.’
In traditional, trinitarian christianity Jesus is not considered a distinct entity from God, but God in the form of a man—for mankind's benefit. It is christian doctrine that, in order to save humanity from Adam's Sin and eternal hell, God had to become man and be crucified. Nothing less than God himself would be able to erase man's sins—-only God can do that. Jesus said that he was God. No other prophet or person (who really were merely God's messengers on earth, but from earth—Elijah, Ezekial, Jeremiah, Nehemiah etc) who encouraged people to worship only God had claimed themselves to be God.
why would we pay for others sins…i mean we all are accountable for every action we do whether its a sin or a good deed..and we are definitely not going to be punished for others sins…it doesn't make sense….if any of us gets punished its for our doing of sins not Adam or others…Adam's sin was he ate an apple from a tree that was forbidon by God to eat…but he repented to God for foregiveness…not to transform into a human…God already has the power to forgive him without transforming into a being…he's that powerful…so as long as we ask for forgiveness to GOD…and promise not to do it again…we will be forgiven…
and if you are saying God needs to transform and is not able to save everyone by his unimagined form…then u are saying God is weak..which is not right to believe in God especially with his power…God chose not to transform as to not confuse people into believing he is a human…so whoever has written it to say Jesus said he was God has translated wrong or didn't like the truth…besides if yous want to follow Jesus..then please understand he never said he was a God and infact would be upset when he comes back to earth to see how wrong people has viewed him…even though they are praising him
Because before Christ died on the cross and "trampled down death by death," everyone who died went to hell, or hades. Adam's sin meant mortality, and expulsion from paradise and direct communication with God and knowing God. When Abraham, Noah, and Moses died they didn't go to hell because they had sinned, but because death meant seperation from God. This was because of Adam. That's why people often describe the Old Testament as "harsh."
Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection meant that a person's sin was no longer accounted to Adam's sin. Now a person could love God AND be with him after death, if they lived the right life. The Bible also describes God going down into hades and taking Adam and the other Old Testament patriarchs back with him into Heaven. The Resurrection changed EVERYTHING.
Before the Resurrection, loving God and then dying meant nothing. Going to Heaven wasn't an open option. The Resurrection gave us that option. God gave us that option.
I'm not implying God is weak. I mentioned that he appeared as a man for man's benefit. In other words, so we wouldn't be staring at something that might otherwise scare us into loving God. By appearing as a man, he connected with us and left all options (free will) open. If he had just changed The Fact without us knowing, would be we care. Would we care as much even if the prophets told us?
I don't know all the answers to this question, but God appearing as a man on earth must have given the people who had grown up knowing they would be seperated from God after death real hope.
Also, the traditional belief is not that God was "tricking" us into believing Jesus was human. Jesus said that he was God. But his body was fully human. Jesus was FULLY God and FULLY man. If you can't wrap your head around that, I don't blame you. Only God could do that.
As for people who supposedly mistranslated The Bible…do you really know that? Are you going to throw a thousand years of scholarship down the drain because they don't agree with you? C.S. Lewis knew many languages, including Old Greek and Latin. I can assure you that people who do real translations are very careful. The greatest sin for a translator and philologist is to mis-translate a word and meaning, or sense. Often, when there is no equivalent sense between two languages, the phrase is left in its original language in the hope that people will eventually learn that language and find out its true sense.
Different messengers including Moses, Jesus, Mohammad, Joseph,Noah and many many others didn't go to hell because they don't commit major sins or blasphemy…the small sins they commit, they repent straight away to God because they have that extreme fear of the punishment in Hell….its been explained as a black fire with big flames which is extremely scary…and off course if they knew it will punish others by commiting sins..they would make sure they don't committ not one sin…they are that nice…
Swordebrethil12, I know. I've always thought about *that* person representing Tash, that's why it sorta scared me about the statement. Not that I'm critising Neeson. It was just eerie :S
To me, Tash allways seemed to represent Satan. Tash seems like the opposite of Aslan, who represents God, and the opposite of God is Satan so…. Also he's sort of evil, scarry, and dark like Satan. This is just an suggestion ;)!
Wow. Neeson scared me that Aslan could be compared to Mohaumed. Because I always thought Tash represented him.
But again, I still respect, Neeson. The comparason was just so scary after LB and all.
as for ressurection…neither of any of the prophets or God has ressurected…God does not die but is alive…God has always existed eternally and will always exist..thats why he is a creator…he doesn't die…however before the day of judgement…everyone will be ressurected from their graves to be judge on their actions in this life…..as for Jesus, he didn't die on the cross, he was saved by one another person who VULENTEERED to take his place and died instead…however Jesus(Isa) was sent to heaven and will come back to earth to live his life and continue to spread the right belief….
Moses and company didn't sin? Moses struck the rock with his staff and took credit so that God didn't allow him into the promised land!
What I'm telling you is pretty simple: before the Resurrection there was no assurance that anybody was going to heaven to be with God. Elijah got lucky. In order to change this circumstance God became man, lived on Earth and preached, and was crucified. Not only was he changing the previous circumstances, but he was directly appearing and telling mankind that he was doing so.
History is dated around Christ's life. B.C. is Before Christ, A.D. is Anno Domini, Year of Our Lord (or sometimes people say "After [Christ's] Death").
Most Christians believe and understand Christianity as I've described it. This is what everyone, including Liam Neeson, grew up understanding about Christianity.
So Jesus, merely a man, had someone else crucified in his place so he could take a cruise back to heave?! I am not inspired. No way I would ever believe a jackass who did that. If that was the fact, then Jesus was a jerk.
I don't believe it.
You are right though: God cannot die. That's why he RESURRECTED on the third day. That's how the apostle Thomas knew Jesus was God, when he saw him with his own eyes and touched Jesus's wounds with his own hands after the fact of crucifixion. Only Jesus would be able to resurrect, because he is God.
why do you think Mohamad represents Tash….Mohammad was a prophet that guides people to worship God, to do the right things and to avoid bad deeds…whats soo evil about that…ohh pepper darcy don't listen what people say about Muhamad..they don't know what they are talking about…i know Tash really freaks me out too hehee 🙂
Tash doesn't represent Muhammed, he represents Satan. Perhaps something even less than Satan. The Calormenes are not based on peoples of the Middle-East in Lewis' time. Their culture is pagan (they have multiple gods), while Islam is montheistic. Moreover, no matter how much I disagree with Islam, it would be pretty insulting to tell them that they worshipped Satan. The Calormenes have a very Persian culture, probably derived from The Arabian Nights.
Incidentally, "Aslan" is the Persian word for lion.
i know what you mean about not all the messengers commit sins…yes you are right about that…and with ressurection…it only happens to those who have died…for instance everyone before the day of judgement…however why do say God has ressurected and he doesn't die…it doesn't connect…you see…
and with Jesus it is true yes…it wasn't his idea…someone wanted to replace him so he can continue to spread the correct belief especially it was said that over generations and years many people will move away from the belief and get tricked by the devils to believe different things as God and even worshipped them..infact it has already happened before Jesus was born …so yh and God has willed for this to happen
sorri this comment was meant to be in the two above comments 😉
Everything is possible with God. The only impossibility with God is that he cannot not exist. He can even die, in the human sense of dying. Dying in a larger sense? Nobody has ever done that, so we don't know. But human death for God is a small thing. For us it is a huge thing. If after death we meet the spiritual world, that would not be a big deal for God since he rules over all things, heaven and earth. However, he didn't just inject some painless needle and pass to the other side. He was crucified in the most cruel way that Romans had—so cruel that they had non-Romans do the crucifying of other Romans because they didn't want to face it.
offcourse everything is possible with God…he is the creator….and God was never killed even in a cruel way..God doesn't exist in a place…God is the creator who doesn't die, doesn't have legs or any other body parts, doesn't part away…God guides people and wills for everything to happen in this world to everyone.
When God manifested himself on Earth it was not as if he ceased to exist in Heaven. He didn't "put all his eggs into one basket," so to speak. He still exists in heaven even while he is present on Earth, and his being is divided between the two. Jesus said he "always was." So "when" Jesus was born on Earth it was as if he had always been Jesus, because he was God.
We seem to agree that God is all-powerful and is outside of time and space. However it seems like you are the one who puts a limit on God when you say he could not die. He can die a human death in a human body, but he cannot remain dead because he is God and created everything. Therefore, while on Earth he humanly obeyed the laws of nature that he had created: he was born (but of a virgin!), he lived and grew and was hungry the same way that regular men are. He felt pain. But at the same time, he was above all these things and could have trumped them if he wanted to—if he had wanted to abandon the mission and not suffer for ours sins. The devil tempted him to do so.
When Aslan appears after Lucy says the spell to make things visible that were invisible Aslan says both "I have always been here" and he says "why would I not obey the rules of my own creation?" In other words, God is ALWAYS there, but he CAN obey the rules of his creation if he chooses to. When Christians say that Christ died on the cross, we do not mean that he subsequently rotted and became part of the ground. That's what atheists believe. Human death, in the Christian view, is a passageway between this world and the spiritual one. God CAN die in the human sense, if he is all powerful.
Correction to my comment: His being is NOT divided between the two worlds.
All the comments above seem to be like the Last Battle! So we should stay firmly true to the old story which is the true story – 'For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life'!
I have an essay due tomorrow, and unlike God I cannot exist inseperably in two natures :-p. I have to get this done in a temporal world. Goodnight!
yes i guess we both agree that God is powerful…and yes God does exist..as in he is always there…but God is not in a place…he doesn't need it , thats why he created it….he didn't create places for him to be in…rather he did that for his creations including us as humans to be in a place….God doesn't need anything including eating, sleeping and other sources and he doesn't definitely need to become human…if you say he eats and everything while he is a human than you are saying he is like his creations which it isn't the case…he doesn't need to try and check out being human…he knows everything…i mean he knows our thoughts, our actions and everything….
sorri i posted my comment before reading your last post…sorry about that…by the way goodluck in your essay and goodnight !!!
1.Lord Jesus Christ Was Son Of God And He Died For Our Sins And Later Lived Again.
2.We As Christians Will Never Believe That Some One Else Was Crucified In Place Of Jesus It's Like Insulting The Great Sacrifice Of JESUS.
3.ASLAN IS ONLY ONLY ONLY Jesus … Only Jesus
4.Neeson is Acting Like An Ignorant Idiot.
I totally agree with Glumpuddle. Neeson made it very clear that he was only speaking about his own Universalist view-point. I should point out that the Daily Mail is considered a sensationalist tabloid by most Brits. And clearly they are trying to milk the outrage for all its worth.
I would also like to remind Christian fans of the series that Lewis himself tried to make Narnia a fairy story that would have universal appeal. The idea of Sacrifice and Resurrection existed long before Christianity came into being, a fact that Lewis as a fan of Classical Pagan and Medieval Syncretism knew all to well.
Yes, to Lewis, Aslan represented a "What If" version of Christ on another world. But this is the same Lewis that when visiting the Shrine of Apollo in Greece expressed that he "nearly reverted to Paganism considering Apollo as a 'sub-specie' of Christ" (paraphrase).
Lewis's theology was much more universal than most people realize. And I doubt he would be at all appalled by Neeson's comment. I think he would be thrilled that his stories have such a universal appeal.
Ditto.
Actually Aslan is the Turkish, Arabic, AND Persian word for Lion…which just goes to show that CS Lewis's imagination and theology was far more Universal than most people give him credit for.
I heard him say that in the recently posted "press junket" linked from this site. While I wholeheartedly disagree with what Neeson said, I think he might be doing it to expand the Narnia appeal to other faiths, seculars, and so forth, besides just appealing to only Christians. His intentions could have been "market-minded," and if it is, a person shouldn't feel as if he is required to say such things, for the purpose of possibly attracting a larger audience. But get this; other faiths will know, or quickly learn what this story is really about. After all, the Christ-like characteristics of Aslan and the live relationship he has with the characters in Narnia, I believe, will feel foreign to a Buddhist, Muslim, or other religious leader. No other leader showed love, kindness, and sacrifice like our Lord Jesus Christ. No other leader experienced rejection on such a massive, treacherous scale as the Lord Jesus Christ by the forces of this world. No other leader lived out the moral code and standards set by the Father like Jesus Christ did. Other "leaders" may demand that actions be taken by force in this world for the cause they may be promoting, but not Christ. He did it all for you. All he asks is that you accept him, receive him into your heart and life, and walk with him, and the true relationship and transformation that results from beginning that relationship will grow, until eventually (the more you trust and depend on him), his influence will overshadow the destructive elements led by the impulses of the human nature as he makes us more like him. And yet that all depends on exactly how much control we give him over our lives. And yet, it is a gradual, step by step process. The more we yield to him, and give him more control, the more he will truly take care of us, and the more he takes care of us, the less we depend on the limits of our fallible human nature. Christ is alive, the Holy Spirit is active, and relationship is very real and very personal to all who desire and seek it.
Ummm…your comment strikes me as a bit rude and condescending. Lewis meant his book to be enjoyed by children of all faiths, and if they came to know Christ through his books that was a bonus.
Neeson as a modern Catholic with somewhat Universal Views is a wonderful person, a great actor, and not at all ignorant.
I read your article Mark, and as usual I find your commentary pretty much on the mark (no pun intended 😉 ). I might only differ slightly in how the term Universalist is used. I used to think that the Emeth passage suggested that Lewis was what might be called an Inclusivist.
But after reading so much of his other material, from Mere Christianity, to the Abolition of Man, and The Discarded Image I have come to see Lewis as much more of a Universalist than I originally believed.
That's not to say that Lewis believed worshiping a Satanic being (like Tash) was the same as worshiping God, but that he did indeed see the relationship between "all the dying and reborn sun gods" as being echoes of Christianity. The fact that Lewis could find an ethical commonality in all the major religions (which he expresses in the Abolition of Man as the Tao) suggests to me that Lewis WAS a Universalist of sorts.
The dying and reborn/resurrected pagan sun-gods were almost all universally associated with the Lion, with His Golden Mane representing the rays of the sun. And I don't think it is any coincidence that Lewis made Aslan a Lion with a Persian/Arabic/Turkish name.
Lewis was well aware that the Christ story was an archetypal one. But Tolkien finally convinced Lewis that the Christ Story was a True Myth. However, lewis never stopped making those associations with the Pagan Myths as the Narnia stories reveal, and as do some of his comments (as recorded by Roger Lancelyn Green) which refer to Apollo as a "sub-specie" of Christ.
Read John chapter 1! Jesus IS God, and the world was created by him. He is the word, so when God said "Let there be light" Jesus was the Word of creation.
Oh my god you people! Can't you see this world will never be free of horrible wars if we dont learn to RESPECT eachother and all faiths! All religions say the same very good thing: Be a good person, try your best and don't kill eachother. But somehow religion brings out the worst in some people and make them act the complete opposite. It's very sad.
Music to my ears. Thank you.
Who cares what one actor thinks? 95 percent of Hollywood actors are messed up in the head anyways. In my opinion Neeson is one of the less messed up in the head. I may not agree with his opinion but I'm sure not going to freak out about one actor opinions… Besides. We don't even see his face in the movie. So who cares?
Yeah I'm a Christian. I'm not going to force my opinion on other people. They can believe what they want to believe, however I will say that Muhammad was not a prophet of peace.
At the beginning of his teaching he pretended to be, because he was attempting to reach Jews and Christians, when he found that he could not convert them, he changed his tactics and began his teachings of blood, death and Jihad.
Don't put words in my mouth saying that I say that all Muslims are Jihadist and Terrorists because I'm not. What I am saying is that Muhammad was a Prophet with the want for blood in his vein. Anyone who says he isn't, well I encourage you to track down a family member of one of the thousands who died in 2001 during the attacks on the American homeland.
And OnceAkingorQueenofNarnia, you realise the only two religions arguing here… The Religion of Muslims and the Religion of Christians.
These two religions shall be at war until Christ comes back and even after. Its the way the world is. Live with it, you want true peace? Wait till you die. Because that is when you will get it.
Little Joe…i have studied the religion of Islam for 13 years and not one passage states that Muhamad is evil or bad…how can you prove what you have just said…you definitely don't know what you are talking about…and you are not researching correctly or you are just saying that to give an excuss why you think Muhamad is wrong…before you spread this incorrect information…read the islamic religion books and fix up your facts…
*excuse
ok if the people who died in the attacks in 2001 were attacked by what you say terrorists then let me tell you those are the ones who don't follow the religion…Islam… well at least not properly even though they look like muslims and called themselves muslims…from what i have studied and Islam is not about killing people rather it teaches them to not commit suicides…definitely not kill others…to respect everyone whether if they are muslim or non muslim…to be humble, patient and steady to the religion…WHAT about priests they call themselves that rape children..not all of them..but some do coz they don't get married or something…i'm sure christians often do something wrong…
Ah, PB, a little prayer never hurt anyone. And, believe it or not, a lot of people actually do find prayer "useful."
Anyway, in my own personal experience, I've seen more religious people (you know, the ones who usually pray) involved in charities than I have seen secular people. Maybe my experiences have not been representative, but you can't deny that Christians are very often heavily involved in charitable work. So…I think your comment was out of line. (For the record, I don't think it's right to judge whether Neesom knows Christ or not, but even if he does, it would never be a bad thing to pray for him.)
I'm not sure how i feel about this. it doesn't make me mad, but it's just interesting. i don't think i agree with it, but i do agree the muslims, buddhists, and christians can all get something out of the Narnia series.
Jesus Christ: "I and my father are one."
–John 10:30
Princess Lucy, out of curiosity, what religion do you consider yourself to belong to? The idea of Jesus as merely a messenger is, of course, a key aspect of Islam. However, I don't know whether you are Muslim or not. If you are Christian, if you don't mind me asking, what denomination do you belong to? I'm not familiar with a mainstream Christian denomination that views Jesus as merely a messenger of God, so I'd like to know. Or is it that you are merely charting your own personalized religious course?
I'm beginning to think that your only defense is to call people stupid and dump, I will tell you that you do not need to go school for thirteen years to be well read on the Islamic religion. I have read the Quran, even if I don't have the privilege of attending a school on Islam for 13 year I am still better read the religion than most of the people in the United States.
I'm not saying that people who call themselves Christians are perfect, priests who rape children are incorrect in calling themselves Christians, for they are not, they are hypocrites and will join the Jihadists in hell when they die.
And of course the Islamic texts wouldn't state that Muhammad is bad. He is the founder of the religion.
Now, you are saying that Muhamad never called for Jihad, well I'm here to tell you that he did, read this and tell me that he did call for Jihad and that he wrote it in the Quran.
K 8:039-048
Set 30, Count 66-75
"Fight with them until there is no more persecution and religion should be only for Allah…"
As I said, I'm fine with the Muslims who prefer the moderate way, however. I'll stick to my guns in saying that Islam at its very core is a violent evil religion, and the governments that abide by it and the Shariah Law are equal to or worse then the regimes of Hitler and Stalin.
Yes you guessed it Lewis Tolkien ..i am a muslim…i didn't say because i thought if i said it earlier…i would be fully criticise and i don't want that to happen especially in this beautiful website where the staff are so kind to give us all these updates 🙂
Look, no one is perfect. Not Muslims, not Christians, not Liam Neeson. Everyone messes up sometimes and when we do the best thing we can do is realize that we messed up and repent, and pray that others notice that they messed up and repent as well.
However, I really don't think that Liam Neeson messed up all that horrifically – or even at all. He did NOT say that Mohammed or Buddah or other great spiritual leaders were on the same level as Christ – he merely said that he saw all the great spiritual leaders and prophets symbolized in Aslan. I don't know why he said that or what led him to that belief, but he isn't as far out there as some of you seem to think he is. Christ is in everyone – including Mohammed and Buddah. He is the good in everyone and even if you disagree with the teachings of Mohammed and Buddah, they still had Christ reflected in them somewhere because they can't help it. That doesn't make them entirely correct or right or anything like that, it just means that they have Christ in them like we have Christ in us.
So really, when Neeson says that he sees all the prophets and spiritual leaders symbolized in Aslan, he could just be saying that he sees their Christ-like elements. Emphasis on could. But we don't know what Neeson meant exactly, we don't have the thought process that went into that statement and we don't have the reasons for that statement. So it is quite unfair to Neeson to condemn him and say that he is in desperate need of prayers for conversion because of one statement.
One last thing, can we all remember that in the broad context of things Aslan is a fictional character? Yes, Lewis meant for Aslan to be a symbol of Christ in his books, but Aslan is not Christ Himself. Aslan himself is a fictional character and it is. not. a. sin. to interpret him differently than how Lewis said he was to be interpreted, essentially. I personally do not agree entirely with Neeson's statement, but think it is getting more attention than it is worth. If that is what he wants to think, then why are we getting so worked up about it? Is it because Liam Neeson does the voice of Aslan? If say… the actor who did the voice of Reepicheep made that statement about Aslan, would anyone care that much?
One last thing before I finish this long comment, sorry, I didn't mean to go on for so long. Neeson said that he saw in Aslan "Mohammed, Buddha and ALL the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries." ALL the spiritual leaders and prophets…. he mentioned Buddha too, and yet I only see people freaking out because he said Mohammed. Really guys?
I'm not going to get all upset over this, and I realize my comments may not even get read because I am posting this so late. Here's my two-cents worth:
1) I am very disapointed that Mr. Neeson, who is Catholic, has not studied more on the differences of his religion and others before making this comment. He would have seen how very different they actually are. But that's his problem, not ours, and I'm not going to scold him for it. Hollywood in general is very wacked-out and confused when it comes to portraying any religion, and especially Christianity.
2) As for C.S.Lewis "dabbling in paganism", all Christians go through periods of doubt. It is suffice to say that no matter what his struggles were, he was a very strong Christian and loved Jesus Christ. Also, there is nothing wrong with reading make-believe stories about Greek gods and Norse legends, as long as one knows they aren't real.
3) To anyone who doesn't understand or doesn't care about whether Aslan truly depicts Jesus Christ or not, there is only one thing to do. READ the Bible for yourself and then READ Narnia. Does Aslan reflect Jesus? Find out!
Numerous historical sources illustrate that Muhammad was a warlord. Of course, Muslims justify the fighting that he engaged in, and of course the acts of aggression were not just his. However, it cannot be denied that Muhammad and his followers took wealth and land from others at the point of a sword while initially spreading their new religion. This is a stark difference between Jesus and Muhammad. Jesus didn't have other's blood on his hands. Indeed, he said to turn the other cheek if others attack you.
Beyond this, Muhammad married a seven year old girl and consummated his relationship with her at the ripe old age of nine. I have heard Islamic scholars discuss this relationship (one said that it was a wonderful relationship because he loved her so much!), and I have read about it in Islamic sources. Now, of course, this was more common back then, but of course this is another stark distinction with Jesus. Add to this the differences in their teachings and really I don't see how anyone can put these two in the same category. They were pretty radically different from each other.
I would never call any of yous dumb or stupid…i am just concerned for yous…anyways yes off course no one is perfect…we all often make mistakes and then we try to fix them obviously….and the muslims who kill people and do all terrible stuff…i am as angry as you guys about it…infact i am even angrier because you know it just makes it look like we are all like that which really upsets me because i would never or any of the muslims who clearly follow their religion would not even think of it…and then everyone else think Islam is teaching the wrong things which isn't true…they are CLEARLY not following their own religion…I am telling yous it is very similar to Catholic in terms of treating people, forgiveness and many others but the belief is different…
Now i need to explain…the source and the quran you have read is clearly misinterpreted…the quran is the word of God that was originally written in arabic…but as the centuries pass..many English and many other languages has been translated in the quran…but unfortunately alot of them mis translate the words…because in arabic each word has around 15 meanings…so its very easy for one to translate wrong which has happened…but not all are wrong..its just the matter of finding the right one…and you may think they are obviously going to say Prophet Muhamad is not evil and all that…but that is the correct meaning whether yous believe it or not…
Well then Miss Princess Lucy, please direct me to good translation of the Quran, I'll read it and come back with new thoughts. Until then, not much will change my mind. There are simply to many Muslims who wish to destroy America and Israel for me to believe that Islam is a peaceful religion.
Oh, OK. I see. I guess quoting the Bible to you to make my point wasn't the best strategy then? LOL.
However, it's still not a bad idea to look at the Bible regardless of one's religion to find out more about the historical Jesus. After all, several of the men who wrote the New Testament knew Jesus personally, so I think they would be very likely to have a better sense of what he said than others who came centuries later. I mean, wouldn't a 14th century Englishman know more about 14th century England than a Frenchman from 2010? And after all, why would the apostles lie; what they wrote only got many of them martyred, not rewarded. At any rate, perhaps you can still see the Bible as an important historical source?
I would be curious to find out what your response (or that of Muslims in general) to Lewis's book Mere Christianity is (I know, maybe not the most important Lewis book for a Muslim to read, but still it couldn't hurt to find out more about other religions, even if just to rebut them). In it, he rather strongly argues against the idea of Christ as merely a prophet, since numerous witnesses to Christ's sermons said that he claimed he was God. Lewis asserts that only a madman or an evil manipulator would make such a claim if it were not true, and a madman or an evil manipulator would not be a great prophet of God. That's his general argument. Some other writers have published arguments against this line of reasoning, naturally.
At any rate, don't let religious disagreements chase you off the board. After all, Lewis himself loved to have vigorous debates with others on important topics.
Thankyou…i know off course its interesting to see what other religions believe in and thats one of the reasons i am discussing on here lol…but yh and yes u are right about the books published in earlier times would more likely have the correct information than the recent ones…i mean thats when they were first made in the earlier century..but some of it..not all are still kept til today..so i guess finding the right one will answer all our questions 🙂
hey, um…do you think you could talk about this somewhere else? i don't mind the topic or anything, i think it's very interesting, actually. but for the sake of other Narniawebbers, do you think you could hold off? thanks. 🙂
Okay GlumPuddle, I agree, yet a lot of people are influenced by the media. I know C.S. Lewis left behind a legacy and Neeson can not stand up to that, yet since he is a celebrity, people believe that everything he says is true.
Really Gandalf's Beard? What you said about C.S. Lewis was interesting…where is that quote from?
I'm not pretending to know a ton about C.S. Lewis, but I don't agree that he would be as pleased as you say with Neeson's comment. I definately agreed with what you said about C.S. Lewis being more of a universalist than many people realize. But Aslan is "Christ" in "another world" and nothing less. In Surprised by Joy Lewis wrote that every other religon in our world points to Christ, but doesn't actually offer HIM. Only Christianity can do that.
I beg to differ. C.S. Lewis never meant Aslan to be represented as anything but an allegorical Christ-figure. He cannot be interpreted as anything else, because the author intended him to be specifically interpreted in that way. Any other interpretation is incorrect.
Wow…this quote kind of set off a bomb… 🙂
Oops! I meant my quote just above to go at the VERY bottom of the comments. sorry!