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

[Nathan T.]

On 3/5/06, Timothy Butler <tbutler at ofb.biz> wrote:
> 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. ;-)

Wha? No fair, I hate literature! Come back when you're ready to fight fair ;-)

> > 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 older stuff isn't pushed that hard by modern society, there's
something very different in the way people read and tell Greek and
Roman folklore to the way stuff like Harry Potter is shoved into our
faces. If you don't like the stuff you really start to notice just how
many people are trying to force it on you, not so with old Greek and
Roman folklore. Plus there is also an existing understanding amongst
both Christians and most non-Christians that ancient folklore is
fiction, I haven't ever seen anyone fantasize about it and imagine it
was real; it really does seem very much harmless. It also seems to me
that much of the modern literature that's offensive intentionally
kicks Christianity and God, and, as many know, people observing this
behaviour and not being the victim of it being to adopt it.

>         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.

See what I had to say above, this kind of thing just isn't forced on
people the way Harry Potter is, and I don't see the Greek poet Homer
denouncing Christians for being cautious about his literature the way
J. K. Rowling is with her books when doing interviews on sci-fi
channels.

>         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?

You've certainly read a lot.

>         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?

Shakespeare's supernaturals were an obvious collection of people's
superstition at the time, and people are told this in school before
even reading his work. Again I believe the nature of the writer has a
lot to do with the way the literature comes across.

>         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.

More stuff I haven't read :-p .

>         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.

Would you really notice? I think Satan is far more cunning than any
human I've ever met, and you're here trying to persuade us that Harry
Potter books are Ok. There may or may not be any relation, which is
why it's good that while we take your points we also reach our own
conclusions.

>         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.

I pick on my parents for watching that kind of stuff (hehehe), but I
sometimes watch the very old Star Treks. I think whether literature
and television portrays itself as offensive to Christianity or not has
a lot to do with the convictions of the writer. Most of the acceptable
fiction comes from a time when God or the idea of God wasn't
antagonized or perverted the same as today. Most of the new stuff
offends me, but I've still got lots of non-fiction text books to read
from :-) .