Popularized atonement theory reflected in children's literature.

History reveals that the Christian metanarrative surrounding the person of Jesus Christ has needed particular keys to unlock its significance to different generations. Hermeneutical speculation has surrounded the meaning attached to the cross of Christ, his death and resurrection. In general, this reflection concerns atonement theory as it endeavors to explain some of the mystery of the passion as it relates to the salvation of the human race. Different generations have focused on meanings relevant to their time and culture. This article introduces atonement theory and relates such theory to popular children's books.

Atonement theories across the ages

In very broad terms, the warlike Anglo-Saxon world would have welcomed the idea of Christ as the victorious warrior who vanquished chaos but died in doing so. This is seen in Beowulf, who prefigures an early Christus Victor, (1) and is also echoed in The Dream of the Rood. (2) Similarly, the medieval age of courtly love would have understood the notion of Christ the lover offering himself sacrificially, as seen in the relationship between Abelard and Heloise. (3)

The feudal period emerging in the Middle Ages came to see the Godhead in terms of a hierarchic Trinity in which the Son was sent by the Father to complete the task of redeeming a fallen world. This dominant interpretation allowed for other influential beliefs, such as the idea that the Son was to offer himself voluntarily as a penal substitution so that a lower order could be released from an impossible penalty. Seen in fiscal terms, the penalty became viewed as monetary value, and God became the divine landlord who waived the payment. Seen in terms of appeasement for righteous anger, God the Father was to offer his own Son so as to satisfy his own need for satisfaction. (4)

Closer to home and the twentieth century, newer keys have been used to unlock the ancient code of the passion. One idea has been to focus on the need for a gift economy as opposed to a debt economy in a world that is increasingly being dominated by the free market with its capitalist values. This notion, discussed by P. Selby, (5) arose at the same time that the Jubilee 2000 campaign attracted widespread support for its debt release program, also harnessing a new understanding that the world is a global village.

Surprisingly, in the twenty-first century there has been a resurgence of some earlier interpretations of the atonement. At a time when spirituality is increasingly secularized and finding expression outside of official religion, (6) these interpretations are resurfacing for a postmodern age in the grand narratives of children's films and literature. A wave of children's films are proving to be box office hits, attracting the imagination of a young generation in the company of its parents and grandparents. By and large, these films are reworking earlier models of atonement, stories of how salvation is brought to a needy world.

In this article I refer to four works of children's literature: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, first of the Narnia Chronicles by C. S. Lewis; The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien; The Druid of Shannara by Terry Brooks; and the Harry Potter stories by J. K. Rowling. (7) These books may not have been written with the intention of echoing any overt Christian atonement narrative (with the probable exception of Lewis's Narnia series), but they do contain the strong ethos of a Christian worldview, complete with the outworking of salvation by characters who operate as alternative Christ figures. This article traces what remains from earlier atonement theories in these more recent expressions.

Models of atonement

For my purposes here, atonement is discussed by means of four images, identified by Paul Fiddes in his book on the Christian idea of atonement, Past Event and Present Salvation. (8) They are (1) the point of sacrifice, (2) the demands of justice, (3) the decisive victory, and (4) the act of love.

Taking each in turn, sacrifice (model 1) was probably the first image by which the Christian community interpreted its experience of salvation. The notion of sacrifice goes back to the Old Testament, where the belief emerged that a sacrifice would remove sin. Initially there was no theory of how sin was removed other than it was the blood that bought freedom (Lev 17:11). In the New Testament, the sacrifice was understood to have been made by Christ, and Athanasius and then Calvin linked this sacrifice with the demands of God's justice.

The demands of justice (model 2) was the language of the law court used by St. Paul to describe how the innocent Christ became a substitutionary atonement. Christ was seen to be the pure victim who took the punishment that was meant for guilty people. This language of sacrifice and justice has entered a lot of current evangelical hymns. An example is the chorus by C Norton,

  It's your blood that cleanses me,
  It's your blood that gives me life,
  It's your blood that took my place in redeeming sacrifice,
  And washes me whiter than the snow,
  My Jesus, God's precious sacrifice. (9)

Moving on to the idea of atonement as victory, Fiddes notes that it is the decisive victory (model 3),

that takes shape in the modern literature of fantasy, in such classical
forms as JRR Tolkien's Lord of The Rings. Nor is it only the world
outside us that seems like a battleground; modern psychology has made us
aware of the conflicts that surge within us, especially between our
conscious mind and those elements of our personality that have been
forced down into the dark depths of the unconscious to emerge as
ferocious threats. (10)

Such imagery is anxious to depict the final overthrow of Satan's reign and in so doing creates a dualist world in which the forces of evil threaten to overcome the forces of good but are defeated in their endeavor.

Finally, the subjective understanding of atonement as the act of love (model 4) is normally attributed to Abelard, whose writings reflected the catastrophic outcome of his secret marriage to Heloise. Abelard told the story of unrequited love using the human gift of memory and applied it to the narrative of the cross. This model offered more insights into the psychological processes that impact on atonement but took the discussion no nearer to offering a rational explanation as to how expiation took place other than that it demanded a response. This is well illustrated by seventeenth-century hymn writer Isaac Watts, in a hymn that remains popular today:

  When I survey the wondrous cross,
  On which the Prince of glory died,
  My richest gain I count but loss,
  And pour contempt on all my pride. (11)

The atonement repackaged

To apply older atonement theories to works of the late twentieth century would seem invalid were it not that the stories in question lie directly in the flow of Christian heritage.

In the case of Lewis's book, there is considerable evidence that this is a classic work of Christian allegory in which the author knowingly alludes to his theological position. Much the same can be said of Lewis's colleague at Oxford, Tolkien, who was also a member of The Inklings, a small writer's group. Tolkien's Catholic heritage is often present in his acclaimed fiction, though it appears in a more oblique and inferential way.

With Rowling and Brooks, any overt religious overtone has vanished, but the skeleton of the metanarrative remains. Writing about the "spirituality of Potter-world," F. Bridger says, "The superficial vestiges of Christianity are not the only elements of the Christian faith to have made it into Potterworld.... I suspect the snippets of traditional Christian theology that have smuggled themselves into Potterworld in various guises have done so very largely without her knowledge." (12)

This same comment could be extended to the Shannara novels in terms of how archaic Christian values surface in humble characters to bring about the downfall of apparently stronger and sinister forces.

A second defense may be made as to how literature is interpreted, namely, that interpretation is not a sinful act that betrays the original writing and sets it into a false context but rather an act that employs a transcendent phenomenological given. This point is made at rather more length by J. K. A. Smith. (12) In other words, narrative literature may be read with different spectacles and different things identified, even such things as were not evident to the author. It is valid for the reader to bring experience to the text in order for it to live.

To return to the central theme of this article, I will now demonstrate how the four selected fictional works evidence aspects of classic Christian atonement theory. In making such connections, I do not impute any cognitive religious belief system to the original storytellers. However, I do observe that reference to the Christian atonement becomes progressively more oblique as the metanarrative becomes less authoritative. I examine each of the works with respect to the four atonement theories by referring to (1) the Christ figure identified, (2) the task of salvation, and (3) the means of atonement.

Atonement in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Narnia tales are stories of magic that transport preadolescent children into a parallel universe where time passes more quickly. Four children enter the snowbound world of Narnia by way of a wardrobe in an old house. This new realm is a battleground between the forces of a cruel white witch and the majestic lion Aslan, King of the talking beasts and "the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-sea." An old rhyme prophesies that

Wrong will be right, when Aslan comes in sight, At the sound of his
roar, sorrows will be no more, When he bares his teeth, winter meets its
death, And when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again. (p. 75)

Ushered into this dualistic world, the children must decide which side to join.

The Christ figure is clearly Aslan. He is first mentioned only after there has been a full account of the power of the reigning queen, whose influence and authority appears to be absolute. However, when he is discussed, it is in a hushed voice and with due reverence.

"Then he isn't safe?" said Lucy.

"Safe?" said Mr Beaver; "Don't you hear what Mrs Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." (p. 75)

As the story proceeds, Aslan is seen to draw near, bringing Christmas festivities into the frozen heart of winter before the ice begins to melt. The gathering crescendo of the plot shows spring appearing wherever the King walks, but this is also the signal for the dark forces to rally for a battle.

The task of salvation for Aslan is two-fold. On the one hand, he must assert his authority over the unjust and temporary rule of the white witch and lead his faithful followers to victory. On the other hand, he must redeem Edmund (one of the children who has betrayed his siblings) from the claim of the witch. This latter task claims the focus of the reader's attention since it appears that Aslan has been outmaneuvered by his enemy, who claims on the authority of Deep Magic that "every traitor belongs to me as my lawful prey and that for every treachery I have a right to a kill.... His life is forfeit to me. His blood is my property" (pp. 128-29).

Aslan accepts her logic but becomes quieter and sadder. In order to satisfy justice he must offer a sacrifice. It becomes painfully apparent to the reader that Aslan will offer himself, and, indeed, this is what he does.

As the plot slows down and the sacrificial killing of the magnificent lion is described in gory detail, there is a sense of real tragedy until a deeper magic is revealed and Aslan returns to life. He explains,

If she [the witch] could have looked a little further back, into the
stillness and the darkness before Time dawned, she would have read there
a different incantation. She would have known that when a willing victim
who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor's stead, the
Table would crack and Death itself would start working backwards. (p.
148)

The resurrected lion is playful and yet majestic. He returns to life to complete his task of emancipation, first thawing the stone statues of the faithful whom the queen had ossified and then leading them to victory and setting the children to rule in his stead.

The means of atonement are based on the Christ event. A decade before he wrote this book, Lewis wrote to a friend,

Any amount of theology can be smuggled into people's minds under the
cover of romance without their knowing it.... Everything began with
images, a faun carrying an umbrella, a queen on a sledge, a magnificent
lion. At first there wasn't even anything Christian about them; that
element pushed itself in on its own accord. It was part of the
bubbling. (14)

It seems that in The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe the most overtly Christian allegory is that which depicts the atonement. Aslan is Christlike in demonstrating his love by laying his life down for his friends. There are echoes of the Old Testament in the idea that sacrifice is required with blood: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you for making atonement for your lives on the altar; for, as life, it is the blood that makes atonement" (Lev 17:11).

Like Christ, Aslan returns to life having somehow atoned for the sins of Edmund. The precise mechanisms by which that atonement works are simply described as being "a deeper magic."

The effects of atonement are first offered to those who have died in Christ (1 Thess 4:14), and this is seen in Aslan's initial task of reclaiming his followers whom the witch had turned to stone. In what seems to be a premillennialist interpretation of the scriptural tradition, Lewis then shows the heavenly rule being reinstated. Eventually "the last enemy to be destroyed is death" (1 Cor 15:26), and the witch's stone wand is broken.

All four of the models of atonement outlined by Fiddes are reflected in this narrative. Because the story is allegorical in its treatment of Aslan's death, it comes as no surprise to see an act of sacrifice (model 1) fulfilling the demands of justice (model 2) to bring about a decisive victory (model 3) in what is understood to be an act of love (model 4). The precise interpretation of the atonement is penal substitution, and the mechanics involve a deeper insight that involves the shedding of a righteous victim's blood. In line with classic atonement theory, there is more than a hint that this knowledge is hidden until the time of disclosure when it is used as power to defeat what is evil. In fact, in order to make sense of Aslan's victory it must be noted that he effectively deceives the witch and so outwits her in his return to life.

Atonement in The Lord of the Rings

This undisputed literary classic has frequently been voted "best book of the twentieth century" by several generations of readers. It was originally printed in three volumes that are far darker, more violent, and more impregnated with magic than the Narnia Chronicles, but they clearly owe a huge debt to them. (The publication dates of The Lord of the Rings in 1954 and 1955 are also the publication dates of books 5 and 6 of the Narnia Chronicles).

Instead of young children, Tolkien introduces us to a new species of small people called hobbits. These homely characters live in a forgotten corner of Middle Earth, far removed from the gathering darkness of Sauron, the Dark Lord. Sauron's power and influence have been growing, and in order to achieve total dominion he now seeks a Ring of Power that has inadvertently fallen into the hands of the young hobbit Frodo. The reader is left in no doubt as to whom to support in this struggle of sinister evil and gentle innocence.

The Christ figure is not a single or an obvious figure, but all the contenders for this role are linked by their gradual revelation as being characters of proven value, wisdom, and power. The possible figures form echoes of a tripartite trinity. First there is Gandalf the Grey as the older, fatherly figure who is initially revealed as a mysterious children's magician but who is later seen to be a powerful wizard who becomes Gandalf the White. At one stage in the book, he confronts the hugely powerful Balrog and appears to die, but he reappears later on. Then there is Frodo himself, a humble and unassuming hobbit who proves able to withstand the temptation of personal power and to commit himself doggedly to the task of salvation regardless of the cost to himself.

The third figure, Aragorn, best fits the role of a Christ figure. He is introduced to the hobbits in the common room of an inn and described as "a weather-beaten man, sitting in the shadows near the wall ... in spite of the heat of the room he wore a hood that overshadowed his face" (p. 153). From such a suspicious start, the character of "Strider" is revealed to be far more than the Ranger he seems. He is in fact descended from an ancient line of kings, a warrior of distinction, and ultimately the rightful ruler of Gondor. He is shown to be authentic by proving himself as a skilled healer and master of ancient lore, so fulfilling an ancient prophecy,

    When the black breath blows
    And death's shadow grows
    And all lights pass,
    Come athelas! Come athelas!
    Life to the dying
    In the king's hand lying! (p. 847)

The task of salvation is to rid the land of the menace of Sauron by destroying the Ring of Power that he seeks. Aragorn's role in this is initially to be a protector and a wise guide to those whose task it is to get rid of The One Ring That Rules Them All. Later he is to be the emergent leader who reclaims his lost inheritance, undertaking the fearsome task of reclaiming support from The Paths of the Dead until he leads his forces to ultimate victory. The closing chapters of the book detail a climax that is never assured for the heroes and that involves Aragorn risking everything in order to draw the attention of the Dark Lord away from Mount Doom, where Frodo is destroying the Ring. In what is described as a strategy in which he is the bait in a trap, Aragorn leads his pitifully small company to the Black Gate of Sauron (p. 873). Sauron takes the bait, but at that moment the Ring of Power is flung into Mount Doom, saving Aragorn from certain defeat even as the Dark Lord is finally overthrown.

The means of atonement clearly center around the decisive-victory model, because the narrative is mainly concerned with the dualist struggle and climaxes only when victory is assured. This third model of atonement portrays Aragorn as the "Christus Victor" who has gone through the jaws of death. It is the theology that was initially understood by an earlier and warlike people and is currently preferred by those who have a more dualistic understanding of the cosmic battle being fought between God and the devil. It is an explanation that is easily received by children nurtured in the Christian faith as they emerge from the "mythic-literal" stage of preadolescence but, if not reworked, one that will lead on to a form of militant fundamentalism or be discarded in a later "individuative-reflective" stage of adulthood.

Aragorn's creation is not without sophistication. He bears the classic marks of incarnation in the way in which his character evolves with the turning of the pages. As in the story of Christ, Aragorn is understood to have had a royal lineage and a previous status that he has laid aside to perform his role. This kenotic description is paralleled by an adoptionist stance as he progressively comes into his own, claiming what is rightly his. Despite such an evolution of identity, the character is always plausible and does not deceive the reader because of the gradual stages in which he is revealed.

Given the emphasis on decisive victory, the understanding of atonement as being an act of sacrifice (model 1) is less evident though still present. If there is a sacrifice, it is one of risking everything in order to achieve atonement. In the event, the ultimate sacrifice is never made by Aragorn nor by the other leading characters. However, such echoes that do exist speak of atonement as being an action that deceives Sauron and outwits him in order to achieve victory.

Atonement seen as fulfilling the demands of justice (model 2) or as being an act of love (model 4) are not present.

Atonement in The Druid of Shannara

This novel is the second volume of three in The Heritage of Shannara. In telling his story, Brooks takes the reader to a mythical world in which the created and fertile natural world is threatened by a rising tide of chaos. The book is not self-consciously Christian in its message nor its ethos, but it offers the customary dualist perspective in which a small group of the virtuous grapple with the growing might of "motiveless malignity."

The Christ figure is a woman, the elemental daughter of the King of the Silver River. This king has been given a charge by The Word that he tend his gardens. This task is under threat because of an encroaching sickness and barrenness in the land. Therefore the aging king creates this child to reverse the fortunes of the tired earth and to bring healing to the land. Her name is Quickening.

The stories of the girl were wondrous. She had appeared in the heart of
the Silver River country close by the Rainbow Lake, a magical being
sprung full-blown from the earth. She stopped at each village and town,
farm and cottage and performed miracles. It was said that she healed the
land. She turned blackened, withered stalks to fresh, green shoots. She
brought flowers to bloom, fruit to bear, and crops to harvest with the
smallest of touches. She gave life back to the earth out of death.
(p. 57)

The task of salvation for Quickening is to set out with a small group to confront Uhl Belk, the stone king who is systematically turning fertile earth into rock. His power for ossification comes from a stolen Black Elfstone which he uses to maintain control. He is apparently immune from anything the group is able to do.

I have been alive forever and I will live on long after you are dust; I
was created by the Word and I have survived all that were given life
with me save one (the King of the Silver River) and that one will soon
be gone as well; I care nothing for the world in which I exist save for
the preservation of that over which I was given dominion--eternal stone;
it is stone that weathers all things, that is unchanging and fixed and
therefore as close to perfection as life can achieve. (pp. 353-54)

In order to take back the elfstone, Quickening has to enter the presence of Uhl Belk without him knowing who or what she is. She brings with her other mortals who are damaged and broken beings over whom she has exerted her considerable charm. Uhl Belk is defeated when these characters and Quickening attack him in disguise, revealing themselves in power after a stealthy entrance (p. 414). In the aftermath, Quickening dies.

The means of atonement are ultimately described in terms of the decisive victory (model 3), but there are themes of them being seen as an act of sacrifice (model 1) in that Quickening is always very vulnerable and ultimately dies. It is here that her female qualities are most exploited, and she can also be seen to operate out of love (model 4). Her actions are never described in terms of the demands of justice (model 2).

Of interest in this account of atonement is the shameless way in which deception is used to overthrow the mighty. In a way that is apparently self-evident, Quickening uses an a priori knowledge known only to her to reclaim the balance of power and the restoration of life. It seems that the ethic of teleontology is at work, because as long as evil is overcome, the means do not matter. This has echoes of the atonement theory seen in Aslan's outmaneuvering of the witch and Aragorn's outwitting of Sauron, but in this book the deceit is rather more stark. Quickening has in effect maintained the ignorance of her followers in their loyalty for her. She has effectively won her battle by deceiving everyone other than her father who sent her.

Atonement in Potterworld

At the time of this writing, the first four Harry Potter stories have been published. These books immediately stole a key position in public fantasy, are generally applauded by teachers keen to attract children to read, and generally provide a link between the generations or a barrier between those who have not or will not read them. They are the sequential stories of a boy growing up to discover he has wizard blood and who thereby gains a place at Hogwarts Academy for wizards and witches. As has been argued elsewhere, (15) the magic that infuses these novels has more to do with modern technology than the dark arts, but there is an increasing sense of darkness as the novels progress.

The Christ figure as such is not apparent in Potterworld. If there is a single powerful figure who inspires confidence and who operates powerfully for the benefit of the community, it is Albert Dumbledore, headmaster at Hogwarts. The person whose character invisibly infuses the novels with her redemptive power, though, is Harry's mother, Lily, who died protecting Harry when he was a baby. The fruit of her life is seen lived out in Harry daily, and it is always a backdrop to his being and the story that goes ahead of him.

The task of salvation that Lily Potter has accomplished for Harry is simply to have died loving her son. Most information about what actually happened comes from the lips of Voldemort, who was defeated by her in his attempt to kill the infant Harry. He says,

His mother died in the attempt to save him--and unwittingly provided him
with a protection I admit I had not foreseen.... I could not touch the
boy.... His mother left upon him the traces of her sacrifice ... this
is old magic. I should have remembered it, I was foolish to overlook
it ... but no matter. I can touch him now. (16)

The reference to an old magic is clearly evocative of how Aslan's death defeated the witch in a way that is ultimately unspecified.

Bridger has no doubt that atonement is the theme of how Harry is saved from the deadly Aveda Kedavra curse that has actually affected his blood. He writes,

In many ways, Rowling has plugged into an idea that runs deep in our
culture, defined by Christian theology but no longer restricted to it.
Just as Christmas is now by and large a post-Christian celebration, so
there remains in our culture a profound identification with the idea of
atonement, and its connection with blood, even though our knowledge of,
and interest in, the Christian theology that spawned this concept is now
all but gone. Rowling sees and reflects an innate value in atonement
even though it is detached from its true theological roots. Though there
is no God figure in Potter-world for anyone to be made at-one with, the
idea that the death of one person can save another--at a mystical level,
not simply a practical one--emerges as what CS Lewis would call "part of
the bubbling." Whatever Rowling had in mind when she introduced the
concept of atonement into Potterworld, we connect with it because it is
a rich vein running deep within our culture. (17)

The means of atonement are connected with a mother's love and so connect with models 1 and 4, namely, sacrifice and love. The British public, both young and old, are strangely moved by this, as it is an easily identifiable expression within society as well as a deeply embedded societal construct. The more "masculine" models of justice and victory are far removed from this interpretation.

Conclusion

This brief exploration of atonement theory emerging in the twenty-first century gives us grounds for hope as well as reflection. It suggests that spirituality is finding its own route into the modern subconscious and that classic atonement theory is present in some of the major dualist works of fiction. However, it also causes a fresh awareness that old ideas of the atonement seen as a hook and bait are still very prevalent. If Christ is still a bait that can catch and hang the devil, what are his ethical terms of reference, and in what ways can salvation be won without deception? It seems that only Lily Potter had a way through this dilemma, or maybe it is theologians who are at fault for trying to present models for the mystery of atonement. Maybe we should take note of Howard Marshall's assertion that New Testament writers were "more concerned with the nature of salvation than the precise way in which it has been achieved." (18)

A version of this article was published in the Expository Times, February 2004.

1. C. L. Wrenn, Beowulf (London: Harrap, 1973).

2. Anglo-Saxon Poetry, ed. R. K. Gordon (London: Dent, 1977).

3. Peter Abelard, Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans (1135), in A Scholastic Miscellany, ed. E. R. Fairweather (London: SCM Press).

4. J. Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion (1534), ed. J. T. McNeill (London: SCM Press).

5. P. Selby, Grace and Mortgage (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1997).

6. D. Hay and K. Hunt, Understanding the Spirituality of People Who Don't Go to Church (University of Nottingham, 2000).

7. C. S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe (Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1964); J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of The Rings (London: Harper Collins, 1995); Terry Brooks, The Druid of Shannara (London: Orbit, 1999); J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (London: Bloomsbury, 1997), Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Bloomsbury, 1998), Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (Bloomsbury, 1999), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Bloomsbury, 2000).

8. Paul Fiddes, Past Event and Present Salvation (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1989).

9. Mission Praise, ed. P. Horrobin (London: Marshall Pickering, 1995), 351.

10. Fiddes, Past Event and Present Salvation, 112.

11. Mission Praise, 755.

12. F. Bridger, A Charmed Life: The Spirituality of Potterworld (London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 2001), 90-91.

13. J. K. A. Smith, The Fall of Interpretation: Philosophical Foundations for a Creational Hermeneutic (Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2000).

14. Bridger, A Charmed Life, 90.

15. A. Goddard, "Harry Potter and the Quest for Virtue." Anvil 18 (2001), No 3.

16. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, 566.

17. Bridger, A Charmed Life, 102.

18. Howard Marshall, "Atonement in the NT" (1974), Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York: Doubleday, 1992).

Howard Worsley

Director of Studies

St John's College, Bramcote, Nottingham