The Case for Aslan

Did C. S. Lewis invent Aslan because he had lost confidence in Christ? Do the Chronicles of Narnia represent a retreat into a second childhood from a confident, rational Christianity? Or has Aslan grown even bigger since Lewis wrote these "simple children's stories?" Could Lucy's wardrobe door lead to a vision of Creation, Justice, the nature of evil, global faiths, the historical Jesus, miracles, and the Resurrection, that like the song of Aslan in an empty world, can recreate our planet as well?