Not a Tame Lion

On the Conservative Evangelical Misuse of Aslan

by Billie Hoard

"Aslan is not a tame lion. Translating from Lewis’ fiction to a more conventional theology, Jesus is not predictable—He can’t be controlled or kept within our expectations of him. In her sermon this week my wife, Ashley, quoted 'not a tame lion' and concluded her sermon saying 'We do not serve a tame God. This life is full of twists and turns, but he is good. Trusting Jesus can be scary, but it’s worth it.'

"These two descriptions of Aslan: that he isn’t tame; isn’t safe, but that he is Good are likely the two most quoted descriptions of him in contemporary culture. They are also touchstones throughout the series. Characters are forever reminding one another or explaining their inability to produce Aslan at a whim that He isn’t a tame lion.

"This idea of Jesus as 'not a tame lion' is one of profound truth and beauty and it is also an idea that can be, and has been, profoundly misused. Following Jesus is an adventure and God absolutely transcends our boundaries and our expectations. No sooner do we develop a theological system but the living God comes along an problematizes it. It has always been like that. ..."

"But 'not a tame lion' has also been misused. I had an alarming conversation with someone on Twitter lately and it was distressingly representative of conversations that seem to be happening more and more often. This person used the phrase 'not a tame lion' to argue that God is not bound to act (or to expect us to act) in ways that are commensurate with 'Love' as any normal or reasonable person might define it but that since Jesus is 'not a tame lion', Jesus definition of love might entail cruelty, hatred, the slaughter of innocents, wars, and mass death. Another Lewis quote, this time from the essay The Poison of Subjectivism sprung to mind: 'If once we admit that what God means by ‘goodness’ is sheerly different from what we judge to be good, there is no difference left between pure religion and devil worship.'..."

"Within a few days, Shift's false Aslan gives way to a being he call’s 'Tashlan' an amalgamation of Aslan and the Calormen god Tash. Un-tamed-ness taken and warped without the guiding restriction of goodness leads, in the end to worship of something twisted and utterly contrary to God—there is no difference left between pure religion and devil worship.

"Increasingly I am finding that, here in the US the white Christian Nationalist church are little more than adherents of Tashlan."

Read the full, original article: https://billieiswriting.substack.com/p/not-a-tame-lion