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

[doc]

I generally agree so long as we are talking about
educated, reflective, and peer-accountable, adults.

I totally disagree when we are talking about baby
Christians, children, poorly discipled Christians,
and unaccountable Christians.

There is a clear Biblical distinction between
expectations of a "child" and an "adult":

1 Corinthians 13:11
"11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I 
reasoned like a child; now that I have become a man, I am done with 
childish ways and have put them aside." (Amplified Bible)

I may also watch some science fiction but am careful
which of the sci-fi materials our children watch as
there is lots of new-age, witchcraft, odd spiritualism,
and twisted scripture embedded in the stories.

Sometimes we watch them together so I may teach them
how to discern truth from lies and how to view things
with their minds engaged so lies do not slip by them.

Some will glibly declare that children know what is
make-believe and what is not.  That is "junk science".

doc

> 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