<P> Rev. Abraham Tucker pointed out that "While there are in the Narnia tales many clear parallels with Biblical events, they are far from precise, one - on - one parallels . (...) Aslan sacrifices himself in order to redeem Edmund, the Traitor, who is completely reformed and forgiven . That is as if the New Testament were to tell us that Jesus Christ redeemed Judas Iscariot and that Judas later became one of the Apostles . (...) There had been times in Christian history when Lewis might have been branded a heretic for far smaller creative innovations in theology ." </P> <P> Alan Jacobs, professor of English at Wheaton College, describes The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe as "a twofold story: the rightful king of Narnia returns to re-establish his kingdom and bring peace; and that same king sacrifices himself to save a traitor...kingdom and salvation are what the story is all about ." The similarity between the death and resurrection of Aslan and the death and resurrection of Jesus in the Bible has been noted; one author has noted that like Jesus, Aslan was ridiculed before his death, mourned, and then discovered to be absent from the place where his body had been laid . Other authors have likened the character of Edmund to the Judas of the four Gospels . Stanley Mattson, president of the Redlands, Calif. - based C.S. Lewis Foundation, states that the "Deeper Magic" referred to in the book "is all about redemption, it's all about reconciliation, it's all about healing, and it's all about...death being swallowed up in victory ." </P> <P> Lewis has also received criticism from some Christians and Christian organizations who feel that The Chronicles of Narnia promotes "soft - sell paganism and occultism", because of the recurring pagan themes and the supposedly heretical depictions of Christ as an anthropomorphic lion . The Greek god Dionysus and the Maenads are depicted in a positive light (with the caveat that meeting them without Aslan around would not be safe), although they are generally considered distinctly pagan motifs . Even an animistic "River god" is portrayed in a positive light . According to Josh Hurst of Christianity Today, "not only was Lewis hesitant to call his books Christian allegory, but the stories borrow just as much from pagan mythology as they do the Bible". </P> <P> Lewis himself believed that pagan mythology could act as a preparation for Christianity, both in history and in the imaginative life of an individual, and even suggested that modern man was in such a lamentable state that perhaps it was necessary "first to make people good pagans, and after that to make them Christians". He also argued that imaginative enjoyment of (as opposed to belief in) classical mythology has been a feature of Christian culture through much of its history, and that European literature has always had three themes: the natural, the supernatural believed to be true (practiced religion), and the supernatural believed to be imaginary (mythology). Colin Duriez, author of three books on Lewis, suggests that Lewis believed that to reach a post-Christian culture one needed to employ pre-Christian ideas . Lewis disliked modernity, which he regarded as mechanized and sterile and cut off from natural ties to the world . By comparison, he had hardly any reservations about pre-Christian pagan culture . As Christian critics have pointed out, Lewis disdained the non-religious agnostic character of modernity, but not the polytheistic character of pagan religion . </P>

Religious meaning of the lion the witch and the wardrobe