[CS-FSLUG] OT: Potter, Halloween and Philipians 4:8

[Timothy Butler]

Well, I was going to try to keep from this thread, but you hit on  
something I just can't resist commenting on. You're talking to an  
literature major, my friend. ;-)

> We do not allow our children to read many common "fairy tales
> and ancient literature" because they are vehicles for the lies
> of the Enemy.

	Do you really think so? Personally, I like the view of the  
Renaissance that even the ancient pagan literature foreshadows  
Christ. Look at Oedipus Rex -- it can be made into a *beautiful*  
allegory of the sacrifice of our Savior. Does it fit perfectly? No,  
but it is useful. Even the uber-Puritan John Milton saw the  
usefulness of this -- Samson Agonistes is nothing less than a merger  
between the stories of Oedipus, the Crucifixion and Samson. This is  
much like Paul using the altar to the unknown god to point to the  
one, true God which was unknown to them.

	The Iliad and the Odyssey are some of the greatest, most awe  
inspiring literature of all time. Milton, to use him again, draws  
strongly on that tradition to write Paradise Lost and I think the  
latter is stronger for it.

	Then, of course, there is Aeschylus. The Orestia is surely one of  
the most beautiful things ever written -- a powerful drama of deceit,  
revenge and seeking justice. Yet, it has Greek gods and goddesses in  
it. Does that mean it cannot speak to us?

	And then we have Shakespeare. To me, it seems that something very  
rich and wonderful about life would be missing without the Bard's  
great works. Hamlet and Lear, two of my favorites, speak so well to  
the human condition. Midsummer Night's Dream might have fairies, but  
it is also just a wistful, amusing work of art. What would the  
literature of the English Language be like without Shakespeare?

	Let's move away from fiction for a moment. What about Aristotle? He  
may not have been Christian -- indeed, some of his stuff is  
completely incompatible with Christianity -- but he also has given a  
great deal of treasure to the world. And not only his own work, but  
the work of those who followed him, such as one of my very favorite  
theologians, Thomas Aquinas.

	I think much of this must be taken like eating the food from idols.  
If it causes my brother to sin, I won't do it, but if it does not, it  
is certainly permissible and perhaps even fruitful.

	And, like 'Mash, I occasionally watch more mindless stuff too. I'm a  
Trekkie. I don't watch Star Trek much any more, but I like it. I  
don't think it is a waste of time, either. It actually is often quite  
deep and thought provoking.


	-Tim

---
Timothy R. Butler | "Not  every end  is the  goal.  The end  of a
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