New "Chronicles of Narnia" Movie Meets PC

I respect actors for their craft. I most especially respect Liam Neeson. They just should shut up for the most part and only utter the words given them. It goes back to the observation that it’s better to be thought a fool than to open one’s mouth and remove all doubt.

CS Lewis, arguably the best Christian philosopher, theologian and apologist in modern times, wrote a lot of fiction, one of the most notable being “The Chronicles of Narnia”. It’s a glaringly in your face Christian tale, overflowing with Christian thoughts, metaphors, allusions and symbolism. The third movie of the franchise, "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader”, is opening this weekend, and some actors and such are opening their mouths and removing all doubt.

Oh no! There’s a controversy! Well, not so much, just an actor saying stupid things. Liam Neeson, the voice of Alsan the lion, says of his character, “Aslan symbolizes a Christlike figure, but he also symbolizes for me Mohammed, Buddha and all the great spiritual leaders and prophets over the centuries." Aslan is resurrected, and is the representation of the crucified and resurrected Christ. CS Lewis left no doubt in this series.

From “Dawn Treader":

“Please Aslan, before we go, will you tell us when we can come back to Narnia again? Please. And oh, do, do, do, make it soon."

"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."    

Only one spiritual master was resurrected from the dead. Not Mohammed, not Buddha, only Jesus and no one else. Producer Mark Johnson certainly doesn't know his history or theology, saying, "resurrection exists in so many different religions in one form or another, so it's hardly exclusively Christian."  Bet he can’t name one.

Lewis on the Lion:

‘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?”’ Jesus is sometimes referred to as “The Lion of Judah”.

I’m surprised Neeson would say this. Some of the overwrought criticisms and denunciations of Neeson are just as dumb as what he said.  It is puzzling though. Neeson is, from what I’ve been able to gather, a practicing Catholic. He grew up in Northern Ireland and was named after the family priest. A couple years ago he produced with some priests a CD of meditations for Lent.  

It certainly doesn’t put Neeson in a very good light. Was he just being PC, and if so why? Is he ashamed of his faith? Is he afraid of Hollywood groupthink backlash? If he is, then that’s sure a cowardly thing. Nor does it put some of the Christian commentators like William Oddie, for example, a fomer editor of  The Catholic Herald saying Neeson’s comments were ‘a betrayal of Lewis’s intention and a shameful distortion’ in a very good light. Just dumb.