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In the Narnia series, the character of Aslan bears many similarities to Jesus Christ:

  • worshipped as a god but only the son of a much greater god (the Emperor-over-the-Sea)
  • sacrificed for the sake of his people but then resurrected
  • very powerful but sometimes taking the form of a lamb

Out of universe, parts of the series were clearly intended as Christian allegory (and there are quotes by Lewis to confirm this). But my question is about in-universe. Some say that Aslan is actually the same person as Jesus, taking the form of a lion when in the world of Narnia.

The most relevant quote I've found is the following:

"Dearest," said Aslan very gently, "you and your brother will never come back to Narnia."
"Oh, Aslan!!" said Edmund and Lucy both together in despairing voices.
"You are too old, children," said Aslan, "and you must begin to come close to your own world now."
"It isn't Narnia, you know," sobbed Lucy. "It's you. We shan't meet you there. And how can we live, never meeting you?"
"But you shall meet me, dear one," said Aslan.
"Are — are you there too, Sir?" said Edmund.
"I am," said Aslan. "But there I have another name. You must learn to know me by that name. This was the very reason why you were brought to Narnia, that by knowing me here for a little, you may know me better there."

-- The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Chapter 16: The Very End of the World

This says that Aslan does have an alternative identity in our world, but doesn't say explicitly who this is. Is it necessarily Jesus, or could it be another religious leader or legendary historical figure?

Is Aslan Jesus?

A more specific quote from the books would be great for an answer, though I'm pretty sure Jesus is never mentioned explicitly. Quotes from Lewis would also be fine, provided they're about an in-universe rather than allegorical identification of Aslan with Jesus.

DavidW
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Rand al'Thor
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    "Laurence can't really love Aslan more than Jesus, even if he feels that's what he is doing. For the things he loves Aslan for doing or saying are simply the things Jesus really did and said. So that when Laurence thinks he is loving Aslan, he is really loving Jesus: and perhaps loving Him more than he ever did before." - C.S. Lewis – Valorum Feb 08 '16 at 23:47
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    ...or God - which of course is basically the same thing in Christianity, but let's not forget that Aslan not only "sacrifice himself" and is "resurrected" - he also "creates" Narnia and all it's inhabitants by singing. – Baard Kopperud Feb 10 '16 at 13:12
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    On a side note, Lewis maintained that the story was not allegory. "If Aslan represented the immaterial Deity in the same way in which Giant Despair [a character in The Pilgrim's Progress] represents despair, he would be an allegorical figure. In reality, however, he is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, 'What might Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia, and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?' This is not allegory at all." – FuzzyBoots Feb 10 '16 at 16:16
  • To add to that, in Colossians 1:16 and John 1:3 it says that Jesus is the Creator of the world. He is referred to as "The Word" which God spoke in Genesis 1 to bring everything into existence. In "The Magicians Nephew" Aslan is bringing everything to life through His song. – kojow7 Feb 12 '16 at 21:19
  • Aslan means "lion" in Turkish. Lewis also used "Turkish delight" in his books. In the movie, the tents at Aslan's soldiers' camp great resemblence Ottoman and Turkish war tents. Peter is known as Peter the Magnificient just like the Ottoman Sultan Suleyman. Lewis used many things from other cultures (mostly Turkish and Middle Eastern), it wouldn't be surprising if Aslan was based on Jesus Christ. – burcu Feb 25 '16 at 08:16
  • Related: Who is Aslan in the Pevensies' world? – TARS Aug 19 '20 at 14:27

6 Answers6

188

Yes.

There are a few quotes by C.S. Lewis relating to Aslan and Jesus.

In a letter to a young girl named Sophia, Lewis writes, "I don't say. 'Let us represent Christ as Aslan.' I say, 'Supposing there was a world like Narnia, and supposing, like ours, it needed redemption, let us imagine what sort of Incarnation and Passion and Resurrection Christ would have there.'" - NarniaWeb

Aslan is the representation of Christ in the world of Narnia. He is the savior of Narnia who redeems the people.

And also

An 11-year-old girl named Hila wrote to Lewis and asked what Aslan's other name in our world was (mentioned in VDT). Here is Lewis' response: "As to Aslan's other name, well I want you to guess. Has there never been anyone in this world who (1.) Arrived at the same time as Father Christmas. (2.) Said he was the son of the great Emperor. (3.) Gave himself up for someone else's fault to be jeered at and killed by wicked people. (4.) Came to life again. (5.) Is sometimes spoken of as a Lamb... Don't you really know His name in this world? Think it over and let me know your answer!" - NarniaWeb

If there is another person who meets that description, I am ignorant of them.

Then you have the quote supplied by Richard.

Laurence can't really love Aslan more than Jesus, even if he feels that's what he is doing. For the things he loves Aslan for doing or saying are simply the things Jesus really did and said. So that when Laurence thinks he is loving Aslan, he is really loving Jesus: and perhaps loving Him more than he ever did before. - C. S. Lewis on Loving Aslan More Than Jesus

Laurence isn't capable of loving Aslan more than Jesus, because they are the same.

DavidW
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Jack B Nimble
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    These all seem to be more out-of-universe than in-universe, though. Maybe not the last one (that's more indeterminate), but the first two seem fairly firmly rooted in out-of-universe-ness. – Janus Bahs Jacquet Feb 09 '16 at 01:24
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    @JanusBahsJacquet The middle one is the clincher and definitely in-universe, since it's a response to asking "what Aslan's other name in our world was (mentioned in VDT)". – Rand al'Thor Feb 09 '16 at 02:08
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    "Arrived at the same time as Father Christmas." Well that rules out Jesus given he wasn't actually born at Christmastime. – JAB Feb 09 '16 at 13:42
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    @Mazura: do you know CS Lewis’s other work at all? He wrote very seriously about Christianity in multiple genres. Whatever he considered Aslan’s relationship to Jesus to be, it was almost certainly deeply thought out from the start, not some after-the-fact response to criticism. – PLL Feb 09 '16 at 14:42
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    @PLL - I haven't read any of his work. My point is that a devout Christian cannot in good faith say that Aslan IS Jesus Christ. That's why he has to dance around it. My answer would be a no but I'm neither an expert on him, his work, nor his religion. – Mazura Feb 09 '16 at 14:50
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    @Mazura, FWIW: CS Lewis explicitly avowed that Aslan is not an allegory; he is "suppositional" (supposing Narnia were real). In modern terminology Lewis would call him "parallel universe" Jesus. – Foo Bar Feb 09 '16 at 15:44
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    @FooBar - I fail to see the distinction. Also what about, "clearly intended as Christian allegory (and there are quotes by Lewis to confirm this)." – Mazura Feb 09 '16 at 16:09
  • Randal Thor is mistaken. Every Lewis quote I've seen argues "Aslan doesn't REPRESENT Jesus; he's Narnia's incarnation of Jesus". Google Lewis Narnia allegory and you'll see many references. – Foo Bar Feb 09 '16 at 16:26
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    @PLL -By his own admission it was most certainly not deeply thought out from the start as you surmise. Lewis says, "At first there wasn't anything Christian about them; that element pushed itself in of its own accord." However, Rev. Abraham Tucker has to say: "There had been times in Christian history when Lewis might have been branded a heretic for far smaller creative innovations in theology." It's a touchy subject, one that you don't go throwing in the church's face. Intentional or not IMO this saved him a lot of grief. – Mazura Feb 09 '16 at 17:04
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    "If there is another person who meets that description, I am ignorant of them." There's at least, Krishna, Dionysus, Zoroaster, Attis of Phrygia, Horus, Buddha, and Mithra. Each of those guys share all 5 attributes, I believe. There's probably more also. And there's a lot more if you only look at 2, 3, and 4. That being said, yeah, Lewis wasn't talking about any of those guys. He was talking about Jesus. – Shane Feb 09 '16 at 18:12
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    @Mazura While not deeply thought out at first, you can hardly suggest that he wrote the entire series and went, "Oh, crap... what did I do???" From the tone of the quote (esp. "that element pushed itself in of its own accord.") it seems far more likely that he did decide to adopt Christian themes. Besides, we're talking about the man who wrote the Screwtape letters. – Wayne Werner Feb 09 '16 at 18:14
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    @Shane, off the top of my head I can tell you, you are totally wrong about Krishna, Zoroaster(who isn't even a divine figure at all...) and Mithra. – Ryan Feb 09 '16 at 20:31
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    @Mazura If we're talking heresies, remember that "The Last Battle" features a line from Aslan to the effect of "Everything good done in his name was actually done in mine, and everything bad done in my name was actually done in his". This is morally sound but theologically very dodgy, because it requires moral judgement on everyone claiming to act in the name of God. That explicitly removes the possibility of any religious person (up to and including the Pope) being infallible. – Graham Feb 10 '16 at 14:19
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    @Mazura suggested that a Christian cannot say that "Aslan IS Jesus Christ", but there is a lot Christian fiction about Jesus, going back to Milton and Dante. Narnia is a fictional story about Jesus interacting with an alternate world while incarnate as a lion. – Richard Venable Feb 10 '16 at 22:53
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    @Graham - From what I've read I don't think traditional Catholics claim the Pope is incapable of doing bad things, rather that on certain kinds of official pronouncements on Catholic doctrine, God guides them to prevent them from error. Anyway, Lewis was an Anglican, I don't think they believe anyone other than Jesus is infallible. – Hypnosifl Feb 11 '16 at 15:52
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    Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – Null Feb 11 '16 at 15:55
31

Appears to be "Yes"

I haven't found a primary source for this, but numerous secondary sources claim that Lewis once wrote:

'[Aslan] is an invention giving an imaginary answer to the question, "What might Christ become like if there really were a world like Narnia, and He chose to be incarnate and die and rise again in that world as He actually has done in ours?"

Which seems to be a pretty affirmative answer to the question; given that Narnia exists (which, in-universe, it plainly does), Aslan is the result of Jesus going into that world and doing the whole "Jesus" thing.

Jason Baker
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  • Good quote, but still a little too out-of-universe... – Rand al'Thor Feb 09 '16 at 00:07
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    Now this raises the (fascinating, I think) question: is there a world in which Jesus, under whatever name and appearance, is not (required to be) killed and resurrected? Or is that the universal purpose of this entity? Question for Worldbuilding.SE, maybe... – jscs Feb 09 '16 at 19:36
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    @JoshCaswell If you want C S Lewis' thoughts on that question, you could read The Cosmic Trilogy, which addresses that question amongst others. – trichoplax is on Codidact now Feb 09 '16 at 20:16
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    Interesting, @trichoplax, thanks for the tip! – jscs Feb 09 '16 at 20:20
  • @JoshCaswell Please don't ask that on WB. We'd close it as off-topic pretty quickly. A better place would probably be Philosophy. – Frostfyre Feb 10 '16 at 13:31
  • @Frostfyre: I suspect Philosophy would in turn bounce it to Christianity, but I lack sufficient experience with the latter Stack to know what they would do with it from there. – Kevin Apr 04 '17 at 05:07
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Since nobody else has quoted it yet, I think this is the most relevant passage in the actual text, from the very end of The Last Battle (abridged slightly):

'There was a real railway accident,' said Aslan softly. 'Your father and mother and all of you are - as you used to call it in the Shadowlands - dead. The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning.'

And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion. [...]

Combined with the passage you already quoted (and given that Lewis was a Christian and unlikely to be referring to anyone other than Jesus with a capitalized He) I don't really see any room for doubt that Aslan was indeed Jesus.

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Harry Johnston
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  • Wow. This adds a haunting quality to everything. It gives me goosebumps. I’ve read these books a half dozen times. How could I have possibly forgotten this? – dgo Oct 02 '18 at 05:06
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Yes! there are clues in all the movies and books. Aslan was there when the laws of Narnia were written and Jesus was there when the earth was created. "with him the foundations of the earth were laid out"(may not be the exact words but that's what the bible say's. Another similarity is when Aslan say's "it is finished" and "that by knowing me here for a little you will know me better there." Jesus uses similar wording in the bible before he leaves. Basically his true identity is supposed to be Jesus thus the "know me better there" part.

user105531
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I resoundingly agree with Harry Johnston's explanation.

In-universe, it's most accurate to say that Aslan is the Narnian expression/ incarnation/ avatar of the same creating, teaching, guiding force that Jesu is the Earth Christian expression of. And that Krishna is the Earth Hindu expression of. Etc.

Oh and more philosophically, Tash was the Calormen name for the same force, EXCEPT only to the truly faithful, just, kind, charitable, etc. Recall that in The Last Battle, Aslan states that those who worship Tash with good deeds are really honoring Aslan, and those doing evil in Aslan's name only empower Tash. This shows that the force Aslan embodies in Narnia is recognized by many cultures and may validly be called by other names.

This is similar, but NOT the same as a multi faith leader saying "those who call it God or Allah are honoring the same thing, as long as they are not violent and destructive, because that just invokes Satan." And note this applies to Christian crusader terrorists as well as Muslim dissident terrorists, or to anyone else. But it was not exactly meant to be an allegory, it's just a fictional culture that is very superficially similar to the classic Western impression of the Islamic world as completely harsh and foreign. Just a sort of off the cuff, invented, not carefully representative world.

Also I got the firm impression in The Magician's Nephew that Aslan knew all about Jadis' world of Charn (if I recall the name) because the same goodness force (but not exactly "Aslan") had once held influence there. The statues of ancient rulers looked benevolent and wise. Janis has never heard the name Aslan, but she recognizes his character archetype of powerful governing creator.

One more point: Father Christmas shows up in Narnia. WTF. He's not a Narnian version similar to Father Christmas, he is literally THE Santa reindeer-driving Claus. If Lewis did something that blatant, then he could have put Jesu directly into Narnia if he wanted to. He did not, because Aslan is Aslan. Even if he represents the same exact role of power and sentiment that Christians describe as The Christ.

Yes Lewis was Christian. Yes he was also very intellectual and that apparently gave him trouble with the less logical or sensible specifics of that particular faith. He held a religious and philosophical outlook which led him to write these stories as a sort of thought-experiment. He wrote up, without really planning it carefully, a multiverse cosmology in which other worlds exist (for instance Narnia), and he figured that, since Christianity sees our daily life as a temporary prelude to the "more real" afterlife, these other worlds would be no more or less real than our own Earth. So Jesus is no more or less real than Aslan.

phantom42
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user73549
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Aslan is Aslan. Jesus or God or Jawaeh or Allah are simply names for the truth of Aslan that we know in our world, another aspect of the shadowlands. In universe Aslan is closer to the Truth that is Aslan's country and Jesus is a farther away avatar of the Creator that we reach through our understanding of our world. So the answer is really both yes and no. Jesus and Aslan are true while all other worlds except Aslan's are shadow. It is more accurate to say that Aslan is who he is but takes on the form of Jesus in our our world. The children learn about Aslan in Narnia because the veil between Truth and Shadow is thinner there. They must learn of Aslan's nature in their own world because that is where they are from. I suggest reading The Last Battle as many answers are in there.

Daniel
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