He-Man, Christian Allegory & Transubstantiation
Christians have long made use of allegory to narrate the story of salvation. We have done this because, by utilizing fiction to retell the story of Jesus, we can present to an unbelieving world the archetypal themes of Christianity, as well as providing for ourselves a “novel” way 😉 to meditate upon our tale of grace…
A Common Example…
One popular example of Christian allegory would be “The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis. This is one of the first novels I can recall hearing as a child. However, it wasn’t until I was quite a bit older that I started to realize why the story felt so familiar…
C.S. Lewis’ goal in writing “The Chronicles Of Narnia” was to write a good story rather than simply a Christian story. Fortunately for us he does both! In “The Lion, the witch and the wardrobe” Lewis tells the story of the great lion Aslan who offers his life in place of the disobedient boy Edmund. Even with this brief outline, it is clear to see that this story is an allegory of Jesus’ Crucifixion and the offering of His life for sinners.
In my mid-twenties I did a lot of babysitting and, because of this, I got to read the book out loud for the children I was babysitting (complete with voices, of course). Reading the book as an adult, I was stunned to find Christ on every page.
