IVP - Strangely Dim

Macon had some tech trouble, which I'm told is now fixed. Here's what he had to say:

"hmmm. Now you've got me thinking. re: biting Aslan - In "The Silver Chair," Jill Pole asks Aslan to promise not to eat her, and Aslan tells her he's eaten boys and girls, kings and queens, and whole kingdoms. Perhaps that's what
Disney was thinking of here. Do I win a no-prize?"

For the uninitiated, "No-prizes" were rewards given out to Marvel comic book readers for (a) identifying and (2) reconciling continuity problems in their favorite superhero storylines. So yes, Macon, you do win a no-prize, which is French for nothing.

"re: no Lucy - I read earlier in the year that Disney's discovered an effective way to segment their audience between girls and boys: princesses & (effectively) Princes. Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Ariel (the mermaid) are in their Princess line. They have no trouble mining
their current characters for such Princesses. But they have had a hard time filling the "Prince" line for little boys. Perhaps they're using the Narnia characters to fill out this line and don't need Lucy to bolster their Princess line?"

I can accept that. Lucy's probably too young for them anyway.

"bonus trivia: Did you know that Walden Media, Disney's partner in this production, is owned by the same guy who started "The Foundation For
A Better Life" which does the "Pass It On" billboards?"

Interesting. Are those the billboards from God?

Lewis said Aslan is "good but not safe." Just like Jeremiah's prophecy, we should not take our Lord lightly (see http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%207:21-23;&version=51;). Sin is a serious matter. To suggest that our Lord doesn't have teeth is not only ignorant, but also hurtful. When a lit match is brought near to gasoline, there is an explosion. Respect the teeth, less you be bit when you least expect it.

In my defense, I didn't say Jesus doesn't have teeth . . .

So what's at the center of Aslan as a character? When I think of LWW, I think of the atonement. I think of Aslan submitting himself to death at the hands of the witch. And quite frankly, when I see the phrase "biting action," I don't think of Jesus, no matter how unsafe he is. Jesus as sin-eater is utilitarian: Jesus attacks sin because sin needs attacking. In contrast, "biting action" is indiscriminate, wreckless. Aslan could bite anyone at any time, subject only to the whimsy of the kid who got him for Christmas. I could send Aslan on a rampage in my office, biting my superhero action figures in half, but there would be no meaning implied behind it other than I apparently don't have enough work to do.

In LWW Aslan does kill the Witch. We do not actually witness the scene, but I'm guessing it might have something to do with His teeth. While LWW (as well as all the Narnia books) does has a cenral theme of redemption, redemption usualy requires a death to life experience, whether it is literal or figurative. Maybe the biting action represent that Aslan has conquered death and is now is it's master (can you say stretch?). It also reminds me of A Horse and His Boy when Aslan took a swipe at the girl (whose name slips my mind). I'm not sure why it reminds me so stop waiting for something deep and spiritual because it's not coming to me at this moment.
Also Aslan appears as a Lamb and an Albatros in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader...I wander what "action" they would have....For the north and Narnia!!!

It's clear I need a Narnia refresher course. I suppose my aversion to Aslan's teeth reflects just as much or more about me as it does about Disney. Maybe I don't like violence; maybe I don't like teeth; maybe I prefer the "friend we have in Jesus" to the "angry God" we find ourselves in the hand of. But still, if you're making a toy lion, what are you going to make it do?

* You can make it swish its tail.
* You can make give it paw-swiping action.
* You can make it bite.
* You can make it roar.

All things considered, I'd make it roar. A lion's roar demonstrates its dominance, communicates danger and announces its presence. Aslan's voice is what distinguishes him from other lions, which do not speak English and cannot sing life into existence. I ache and shudder to hear Aslan's voice, whether he bites me or not.

bingo!!!