The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe: Chapter 8

Scout · #1 Nov 21, '05, 5:59 pm

In Chapter 8 of The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, we learn more about Aslan.

What do you think Mr. Beaver means when he says about Aslan, "'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."

Scout

KatarinaTherese · #2 Nov 23, '05, 11:34 am

I love that quote!

Aslan's the King - a very non-wimpy king. I think it's great how Mr. Beaver says it so matter-of-factly: "'Course he isn't safe."

Hmm...now what other King do we know of who is good...

Elizabeth2 · #3 Nov 23, '05, 4:54 pm

I think he means that someone so powerful that even the white witch is no match for him, is bound to be awe inspiring and a little unpredictable from an ordinary point of view. He is not to be taken for granted; he's not a tame domestic cat but the king of animals. But though he's powerful and commands respect and awe he's not to be feared by those on the side of good, (Mr Tumnus doesn't seem to be afraid of him) because he (Aslan)himself is good.

Grace and Glory · #4 Nov 23, '05, 6:03 pm

It kind of reminds me of God. God certainly isn't safe. If you enter into a relationship with Him, there's no way of predicting how it will turn out, or what He'll ask you to give up. It might get to the point where continuing in the relationship feels like it might kill you (taking up the cross every day) because He asks you to die to yourself and give up everything to Him. He's definitely not safe. At the same time, He's good. He does not ask us to take up the cross without promising us a share in the resurrection. He might ask us to give Him everything, but He takes care of what is entrusted to Him. He cares only for our good; in some ways, that's what makes Him so unsafe. He loves us too much to leave us imperfect (unless, of course, we choose to reject Him). It's like what C.S. Lewis said in A Grief Observed: If God were sadistic, when we hurt we might actually feel better, because if we could just bribe Him enough, He would relent. If all we endure is for our own good, though, no amount of pleading will make it stop, just as no amount of pleading will make a good surgeon stop a life-saving operation.

Barbara Ann · #5 Nov 23, '05, 7:09 pm

Goodness is never safe. Good leaders are not safe because they challenge us to go beyond our comfort zone.

Quaere Verum · #6 Nov 26, '05, 9:20 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grace and Glory

It kind of reminds me of God. God certainly isn't safe. If you enter into a relationship with Him, there's no way of predicting how it will turn out, or what He'll ask you to give up. It might get to the point where continuing in the relationship feels like it might kill you (taking up the cross every day) because He asks you to die to yourself and give up everything to Him. He's definitely not safe. At the same time, He's good. He does not ask us to take up the cross without promising us a share in the resurrection. He might ask us to give Him everything, but He takes care of what is entrusted to Him. He cares only for our good; in some ways, that's what makes Him so unsafe. He loves us too much to leave us imperfect (unless, of course, we choose to reject Him). It's like what C.S. Lewis said in A Grief Observed: If God were sadistic, when we hurt we might actually feel better, because if we could just bribe Him enough, He would relent. If all we endure is for our own good, though, no amount of pleading will make it stop, just as no amount of pleading will make a good surgeon stop a life-saving operation.

Very Good Grace and Glory. I liked the line from the previous chapter which said, "At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump inside." I also like this line, "It is he, not you that will save Mr. Tumnus", and I like the reference to Aslan as the "Son of the great Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea".

Quaere Verum · #7 Nov 26, '05, 9:22 am

Again, I see this story in relation to the war that was going on outside the wardrobe. In this story being turned into stone is an easier concept for children to handle than somebody being tortured or killed for disobedience to the powers that be.

ncjohn · #8 Nov 27, '05, 1:06 pm

A analogy I've often used in teaching is that if we "allow" God into our "secret garden" where we keep all the secret sins that we don't really want to give up, He will start to "uproot" them if we let Him (to our great dismay). Even though we find that He plants much better plants in their place, it is still scary next time we think about letting Him in there since there are certain sins we have just convinced ourselves we can't do without.

Since God will always "disrupt" our lives if we allow ourselves to surrender, He is indeed dangerous to the "false self" that we seem determined to believe ourselves to be.

Quaere Verum · #9 Nov 27, '05, 4:05 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by ncjohn

A analogy I've often used in teaching is that if we "allow" God into our "secret garden" where we keep all the secret sins that we don't really want to give up, He will start to "uproot" them if we let Him (to our great dismay). Even though we find that He plants much better plants in their place, it is still scary next time we think about letting Him in there since there are certain sins we have just convinced ourselves we can't do without.

Since God will always "disrupt" our lives if we allow ourselves to surrender, He is indeed dangerous to the "false self" that we seem determined to believe ourselves to be.

Excellent ncjohn!

BLB_Oregon · #10 Nov 27, '05, 5:58 pm

I think Mr. Beaver knows what the children don't: ultimate good has no necessary connection with safety, security, or personal control. It is not something you can control and not something you should even want to control. Since Aslan is the King, both entirely good and entirely in authority, the inability to control him is both a matter of course and no matter of concern.

Here again, as when the older children asked the professor about Lucy's story, CS Lewis does a good job of challenging the misconceptions that otherwise good and well-meaning people tend to have.

Fitz · #11 Nov 29, '05, 8:31 pm

I thought of the comparison between Aslan and God also. At the mere mention of Aslan, people are filled with awe and respect. They know he is King and that he can change the course of things. He was a very powerful character in the book, and we all knew he would be their "savior" of sorts.

LSK · #12 Dec 8, '05, 11:16 am

Aslan is definitely the Jesus Christ figure - but I think 'safe' is used in the way us ordinary types would think of safe - in other words Jesus or God is not 'safe' if you think of turning your will and your life over to Him means getting only what YOU want....you will be surprised, because you will get what is GOOD and PERFECT for YOU, but it may not even be CLOSE to what you ever thought you WANTED....

Grace and Glory · #13 Dec 8, '05, 7:02 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by LSK

...you will be surprised, because you will get what is GOOD and PERFECT for YOU, but it may not even be CLOSE to what you ever thought you WANTED....

So true! I can hardly remember the last time God called me to someplace I thought I wanted to go!

mellysue · #14 Dec 30, '05, 9:03 am

I think safe here has a double meaning. On first glance I was just thinking of the fact that he was a lion and being near an untamed lion is scary. But looking deeper it means so much more. God is not safe. It is not safe to be a christian. Not just because of the outward dangers than may befall us (ridicule, torture, death, etc) but safe implies being still, being comfortable. We are not to be comfortable. Once we get comfortable, we get complacent.