The Horse and His Boy is the Narnia book most people skip—and the one with one of the most difficult question at its center: if God is behind every event of your life, including the painful ones, is that the most comforting idea imaginable or the most unsettling? This week we sit inside Aslan’s “I was the lion” speech and ask what it would mean if it were true.

We also dig into the difference between God’s sovereignty and his providence, where C.S. Lewis actually landed on free will and divine control, why providence is something you can usually only recognize looking backward, and why, in the end, we both walk away from this strange, intimate little book feeling more comforted than unsettled.

In this episode:

(00:00) Intro
(01:03) Real decisions, or God’s plan?
(02:00) The best Narnia book nobody reads
(07:00) From slavery to royalty: Shasta’s story
(13:30) “I was the lion” — comforting or terrifying?
(15:33) Sovereignty vs. providence
(19:45) Was C.S. Lewis a Molinist?
(24:11) Where we land: free will, control & the invisible hand
(29:10) Holding the mystery without weaponizing it
(37:14) Why Aslan won’t explain Aravis’s wounds
(40:22) The comfort of being seen in the dark

Links

C.S. Lewis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._S._Lewis
The Chronicles of Narnia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chronicles_of_Narnia
Al Mohler: https://albertmohler.com/
John Piper: https://www.desiringgod.org/
William Lane Craig: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lane_Craig
Ravi Zacharias: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ravi_Zacharias
Providence by John Piper: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/providence
Charles Spurgeon: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Spurgeon
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis: https://www.amazon.com/Mere-Christianity-C-S-Lewis/dp/0060652926
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton: https://www.amazon.com/Orthodoxy-G-K-Chesterton-G-K/dp/1657592197
The Misery of Job and the Mercy of God by John Piper: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/the-misery-of-job-and-the-mercy-of-god

Connect with Adam

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avclark

Connect with Aaron

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fromgreytown

Subscribe and stay in touch

Website: https://thechristiansekptic.org
Instagram: https://instagram.com/christianskepticpod
Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-christian-skeptic/id1761285349
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4HlSAPHewfbLESl61D3XH9
YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic

Get full show notes and links at https://www.thechristianskeptic.org. Watch the episode on YouTube: https://youtube.com/@thechristianskeptic.