Theories Found in The Lion, the Witch and the WardrobeIn the magical land of Narnia, four siblings take on the White Witch with the help of a powerful lion named Aslan, who also serves as a Christ figure. One of the siblings, Edmund, feels underappreciated by the rest of his family and is fooled into thinking that the wicked witch would make him the next King of Narnia. He quickly learns that he betrayed Aslan and his family and escapes back to them in hopes of forgiveness. The only problem is that the Witch is entitled to all traitors by law and is allowed to kill them. Aslan then sacrifices himself for Edmund's sins and Edmund is allowed to live freely once again. This is where several theories come into play such as the satisfaction theory, the ransom theory, the Christus Victor theory, and the penal substitutionary theory. Despite the theories having their own similarities and differences, they can all be found in the film, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. .
Satisfaction theory is usually attributed to Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury during 1033-1109 CE. 1 This theory is often cited as being grounded in the concept of personal honor in the European feudal culture. 2 During the middle Ages a serf had to honor both God and their feudal lord. 3 The serf would have to obey the feudal lord since the feudal lord ruled the land in which the surfs worked. If a serf made a human sin and dishonored God then a price had to be paid to satisfy God and restore his divine honor. The satisfaction theory is also related to the ancient Hebrew ritual sacrifice for animals, which took place at the altar of the Jerusalem Temple.4 This relates to the satisfaction theory in that when the Jews took an animal to sacrifice at the altar at the Jerusalem Temple, they thought that sacrificing an animal God would forgive their sins. The Archbishop Anselm of Canterbury writes that "without satisfaction, that is, without voluntary payment of the debt, God can neither pass by the sin unpunished, nor can the sinner attain that happiness, or happiness like that, which he had before he sinned.
