XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien, alt.books.cs-lewis, rec.arts.books.childrens   
   XPost: rec.arts.sf.written   
   From: news@pointerstop.ca   
      
   stephen@nomail.com wrote:   
      
   > In rec.arts.books.tolkien Derek Broughton  wrote:   
   >> westprog wrote:   
   >>> Er... Aslan is a fictional character. Lewis is not saying that Christ   
   >>> did incarnate in other worlds - or that other worlds exist. He's saying   
   >>> that this is what might happen. If you have a problem with this, then   
   >>> you have a problem with Lewis.   
   >   
   >> No, I have a problem with people who want to define a fictional character   
   >> as the real Christ.  It's an allegory.   
   >   
   > So you do not think people can write fictional stories with Christ   
   > in them?  Do you object to Tolkien identifying Illuvatar as God?   
      
   People _can_ write such fiction.  I squirm when I read it.  If you can   
   accept fiction containing Christ, how can you be sure the gospels are   
   anything _but_ fiction?  Tolkien identified Iluvatar as the creator of the   
   universe in which Middle Earth exists.  I don't recall reading that he _is_   
   God.  Tolkien also clearly does identify LOTR and related works as fiction.   
   To say that "Aslan _is_ Christ" is to make LWW more than fiction, unless   
   you are prepared to consider Christ himself fictitious.  A fictional   
   character can be no more than a representation - ie, an allegory.   
   --   
   derek   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)