>> 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 ;-)
Well, how can I when I must observe "to thine own self be
true" (Polonius in Hamlet)? But don't worry, true to Omar Khayyam:
Myself when young did eagerly frequent
Doctor and Saint, and heard great argument
About it and about: but evermore
Came out by the same door where in I went.
:-P
> The older stuff isn't pushed that hard by modern society, there's
True... unfortunately.
> 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,
These days that is true. Although I don't see a lot of people
running around saying "Luminus!" to turn on lights either.
> 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.
I guess I just don't watch enough of the 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.
That's because I don't watch much of the sci-fi channels. :-P Sorry,
couldn't resist that. I've read a lot, but not nearly enough -- many
have read far more.
> 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.
Well that's a prickly subject, although I do agree with you
(mostly). But, how is it different in disclaiming the material before
reading Harry Potter and doing the same with 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.
>
> More stuff I haven't read :-p .
Oh, you must read some of Thomas!
>> 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.
I'm not trying to persuade you that they are OK (for you), but that
they are not unequivocally evil. Personally, I think I could read
Harry Potter and not sin (I certainly can watch the movies and not
sin). Maybe some would find it tempting -- I can't imagine it, but
maybe. I'm just saying I think it is wrong to say that no true
Christian should read Harry Potter, as some suggest.
>
> I pick on my parents for watching that kind of stuff (hehehe), but I
You're making me feel old, sonny. ;-)
(Actually, what really made me feel old was when I went along with
my parents when they were buying a new car for my mother and the car
salesman was several years my junior.)
> 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
Does it? Marlowe's Doctor Faustus is a brilliant play on the
psychomachia (battle for the soul), but many believe he was an
atheist (just one example). I'm sure it plays in to an extent, but...
Hollywood has never been exactly a bastion of Christianity, but they
have produced a number of good movies too.
> 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 :-) .
Ah, but without some good fiction...
-Tim
---
Timothy R. Butler | "Every ant knows the formula of its ant-hill,
Editor, OfB.biz | every bee knows the formula of its beehive.
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