The movie will be released in February 2027, and it's announcement (particularly Aslan's casting) arrived to the world as a reminder that nihilist Hollywood respects no one.
However, this time I don't feel insulted. The time has come for me to reveal myself as a devoted Narnia hater. Today, in the Pasture of Knowledge, you will see why I am greatly disappointed on Lewis' fantasy novels and why Aslan is not my god.
Why I Hate Aslan.
It's a fairly known fact that Aslan isn't just an analogy for Jesus. Aslan is Jesus.
When trying to explain this point, people often refer to the last chapter of "Voyage of the Dawn Treader", were Aslan asks the kids to look for him in their own dimension:
"There I have another name. You must come to know me by it. That was the very reason you were brought to Narnia; that by knowing me here for a little, you might know me better there.
Narnia is basically a glorified Jesus fan-fiction novel; in which the God of All Things is a magical lion who rules a magical land full of creatures like centaurs, fawns, satyrs, and minotaurs. His Father is similarly reduced to the name of "Emperor Beyond the Sea", a name that is both painfully uncreative and a sore misrepresentation of God.
For CS Lewis, God is like some sort of cosmic IP he can hold like a sock puppet.This is disrespectful. Stories are permitted but Narnia went to far by making our God incarnate into a lion, create a fantasy world, and send talking mice warriors to Heaven.
CS Lewis, a convert from atheism, should have known that Jesus is not a fictional character that plays table top role playing games - In fact, it makes sense for a disbeliever to write Christ into a fantasy character. It doesn't make sense for someone whose claim to fame is attacking disbelief.
To add insult to injury, Narnia deals heavily and not very subtly with the subjects of the Incarnation and the Crucifixion. With Narnia, I behold the greatest deeds ever done, turned into an infantile fairy tale. My discomfort turns to anger, and my anger turns to hatred untold just to imagine someone thought this was a good idea
The Harbinger of Cringe
The Chronicles of Narnia represents the beginning of "nice" Christianity; one were Jesus is a massive chocolate king whose only purpose is to make "christians" feel happy about themselves and their pathetic feelings. This "Jesus" is a grinning, cheesy, perpetually happy entity who is never respected or feared by his followers.
Under the subhuman Lutheran narrative that faith alone is sufficient for Heaven, Jesus is not a fearsome king who experiences humiliation for the sake of his servants, but a harmless buddy who experiences humiliation so that his pesky servants can feel consolation for their nameless crimes and proceed to rule over others. It's almost like they think they can deceive God and use him as a slave for their own interests. No wonder disbelievers are emboldened into their blasphemy, when the "saved" believers know not the fear of God!
CS Lewis is not fully responsible for promoting this belief system, but it is certain that his work participated on it.
In "The Chronicles of Narnia", Aslan / Jesus is the subject of children's play and Lewis' imagination, no different from purely fictional characters like the Ninja Turtles or Harry Potter.
Other manifestations of this disgraceful theology include the "Jesus" from the TV show "The Chosen" and the infamous Holy Land Experience "christian" theme park were you could pretend-play a spiritual experience with an actor dressed up as your god.
CS Lewis might have erroneously thought that he was giving God a worthy adoration, but in reality, he was the harbinger of a new and effeminate "christianity", worthy of the derision of believers and disbelievers alike. And the fact that few realize this is quite sad.
Conclusion: Why Greta Gerwig's Narnia doesn't Offend Me
My God isn't a fictional lion who rules over a mismatched fantasy land. I can't be seriously offended by Gerwig's gender-swapped Aslan because for me the biggest offense has already been done.
The truth is that CS Lewis' foolish decision gave to people like Greta Gerwig the ability to disrespect Jesus through Aslan. In contrast, I have barely seen people respect Jesus thanks to Narnia and it's lion - because that's quite difficult to do.
We can conclude therefore that decrying the deconstruction of Narnia is a waste of time and a great hipocrisy, since we can't battle Hollywood's provocations by disrespecting Our Lord Jesus Christ.
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