C.S. Lewis was a classical literature scholar rather than a theologian, at least in terms of his educational background. Here, in the last section of the book, he creates the closest literary parallel between Aslan and Jesus. Instead of a cross, Aslan is bound on an altar, humiliated, and killed. The women (girls) are the witnesses of the death and of the resurrection. Lewis is quite elegant in his treatment of the death of Aslan, and he resists the temptation of over-explaining the event. This is a temptation that many Christians can’t seem to avoid. It begins with questions, Why did he have to die? and How could I be saved by the death of someone else? Theories about this subject abound in the history of Christian literature and several variations are common in the "street version" of Christianity. A lot of these expositions go something like this:

_______________For God to remain just, sin has to be punished. When Jesus the sinless
_____________man died as a sinner, God’s justice is satisfied against all sinners who trust
_____________in the one who was sacrificed for their sin, not his own.

Variations on this theme add in another god. One early theory has the Jesus in a tug of war between the Redeemer God and the evil Creator God. Origen of Alexandria was the first to interpret Christ’s death as a deception of the devil. In this theory, evil is destroyed by its own deception that it can master the one who embodies the will of God.

Western Christianity has never been able to adopt language that could adequately explain the how of redemption. In short, there has never been an orthodox doctrine of the atonement. The scriptures describe Jesus’ death as our means of salvation, but uses a variety of images. He is a sacrifice for sin and also the Passover Lamb of God (which is a grace offering, not a sin offering). He makes peace with God by his blood, but is also the Son of God who enters into our suffering which is the result of sin. How do all these ideas get melded together? The church has allowed them to remain mysteries. Lewis does the same. Aslan exchanges places with Edmund and the Witch calls for the triumph of the Deep Magic, but as Aslan states later, there is a Deeper Magic. The Witch’s knowledge only goes back to the beginning of time, but there is a time before time in the brooding darkness of creation. Compare this to the prologue to John’s Gospel. "In the beginning was the Word…" The word which represents the creative power of God also represents the one who stands in the flesh as God with us. In other words, redemption is within the fabric of creation. Before the first creature breathes, God is committed to the creation. It is a mystery of God’s love, a deeper sort of magic than can be described in words.

(Those who already know The Magician’s Nephew will know that the Witch’s presence is not a part of the creation, and that before Narnia was, Aslan is!)

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