I am glad for the response that I have gotten from my last post. The review process is fully operational.
Kristi: please speak your mind at all times. Kuz: ramble all you want. The journey is a joy of its own. Goils, thanks for the links.
When I had written the last post, it was originally twice the size that it ended up being. I had included a paragraph on Tolkien and one on Lewis and had started on a third: the summation of my thoughts. But I realized that all of that didn't have anything to do with my initial thought: Doug Phillips' Harry Potter and the Lavender Brigade. And I accidentally erased the last half. No worries.
See, I like to write, and I have this story in my head, actually two, that I want to write but I have been wrestling with them because they are "fantastic." I did not know how I could write these stories and have them glorify God, or at the least not be in opposition to righteousness. Mr. Phillips' article settled my immediate dilemma: as long as God is God in what ever little "universe" I create, and sin is sin and evil is evil and good is good, then there is no confusion, everything will be alright. Does that mean that there are not other issues that I have to work out? No. There are and will be, but they can be resolved. Does that mean that everyone will love my stories? Prob'ly not. I'm not naively foolish, at least about that.
Regarding Tolkien, and the recent movies: I intend to post "What Incomplete Thinks about J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings" This may take some time because my schedule is CRAZY . . . and I may have a lot to say. Who knows.
Thanks Guys.
Oh, by the way, I've updated SC
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Addressing the Fantastic
My Arch Nemesis was yelling at me the other day about how long it had been since I had posted. The truth is, I think I have pro'bly spent an hour online since then. Of course SC did take up my time last week so I guess the truth is being stretched a little. There's only so much a fella can do! But here. Finally!
Has anyone out there been faced with the difficult topic of todays current crop of Fantasy movies based upon and/or inspired by litterary works? Some of those books are properly called "classics." I was diving down the link on one of Jak's recent posts, the target took me to Vision Forum. Maybe some of you have followed it also. When I got there, I saw that the target was in fact what I thought it was and Jak had already sent me that link in an E some weeks back. Instead of watching the short again, I scrolled down and found this, Harry Potter and the Lavender Brigade. It piqued my interest, mainly because I had never heard of it. So like all good little lemmings I clicked on it and I am glad that I did.
There is a conflict in the Christian world over the "realm of fantasy." Some Christians absolutely abhor C.S. Lewis and his best friend J.R.R.R.R. . .R. Tolkien. Citing them as works of carnality and abhorrent evil; complete with talking animals, witches and wizards, magics, fantastic creatures, and so on. Other Christians blindly embrace J.K. Rowling and her like, claiming them to be "understandably fake." And I don't know if too many people, or Christians for that matter, know of George MacDonald, who wrote a veritable mountain of books. Most of them having to do with male-female relationships in the light of God's love. I am loath to call them romances, even though that is what they are; they're better than that. He also wrote many fantasies: The Princess and the Goblin; The Princess and Curdie; At the Back of the North Wind; Lilith; Phantastes . . . and many many more. What is most interesting about this man, who was a contemporary of Charles Dickens, is that C.S. Lewis called him "my master," considering him to be one of, if not the greatest fantastic writer ever. But I digress.
Why is there a conflict in the body over these works? Is it because we are naturally prejudiced against anything "fantastic"? "If it's fantastic it can't be of the Lord!" A one time very good friend of mine told me that he absolutely refused to see the Passion of the Christ because it had Monica Bellucci in it. He called her a whore (and the truth is, she has done some rather bad tasting stuff). Because of the moral state of the actors he was saying that God could not possibly be in the picture. I told him that he was putting God in a box. And that God can use anyone, or thing, that he wants to. Ballam anyone? If I remember right, God used an ass, an unclean animal, to communicate to that man.
I was in a house one time, with another friend, and the homeowners where watching The Return of the King (That's the last chapter in the LOTR books). As we left the house, he stated "What darkness in that place." Now, of course, like a brave little soldier, I kept my mouth shut. See, I love LOTR. I stand corrected, like I am always telling my girls "Love is for people." I really like LOTR. (But more on this later.) I wondered, to myslef of course, did he really sense a "darkness" in the residence? Or was it a predisposed prejudice towards Tolkien that shaped his opinion?
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that you should run out and start seeing every movie that you want to see, or read every book that someone tells you "You have GOT to read this!" But if someone you have confidence in, makes a suggestion about something "fantastic" don't be hasty to dismiss it. And read Harry Potter and the Lavender Brigade. It answered some questions that I have been asking. No one in particular. Just asking.
There is a conflict in the Christian world over the "realm of fantasy." Some Christians absolutely abhor C.S. Lewis and his best friend J.R.R.R.R. . .R. Tolkien. Citing them as works of carnality and abhorrent evil; complete with talking animals, witches and wizards, magics, fantastic creatures, and so on. Other Christians blindly embrace J.K. Rowling and her like, claiming them to be "understandably fake." And I don't know if too many people, or Christians for that matter, know of George MacDonald, who wrote a veritable mountain of books. Most of them having to do with male-female relationships in the light of God's love. I am loath to call them romances, even though that is what they are; they're better than that. He also wrote many fantasies: The Princess and the Goblin; The Princess and Curdie; At the Back of the North Wind; Lilith; Phantastes . . . and many many more. What is most interesting about this man, who was a contemporary of Charles Dickens, is that C.S. Lewis called him "my master," considering him to be one of, if not the greatest fantastic writer ever. But I digress.
Why is there a conflict in the body over these works? Is it because we are naturally prejudiced against anything "fantastic"? "If it's fantastic it can't be of the Lord!" A one time very good friend of mine told me that he absolutely refused to see the Passion of the Christ because it had Monica Bellucci in it. He called her a whore (and the truth is, she has done some rather bad tasting stuff). Because of the moral state of the actors he was saying that God could not possibly be in the picture. I told him that he was putting God in a box. And that God can use anyone, or thing, that he wants to. Ballam anyone? If I remember right, God used an ass, an unclean animal, to communicate to that man.
I was in a house one time, with another friend, and the homeowners where watching The Return of the King (That's the last chapter in the LOTR books). As we left the house, he stated "What darkness in that place." Now, of course, like a brave little soldier, I kept my mouth shut. See, I love LOTR. I stand corrected, like I am always telling my girls "Love is for people." I really like LOTR. (But more on this later.) I wondered, to myslef of course, did he really sense a "darkness" in the residence? Or was it a predisposed prejudice towards Tolkien that shaped his opinion?
Don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that you should run out and start seeing every movie that you want to see, or read every book that someone tells you "You have GOT to read this!" But if someone you have confidence in, makes a suggestion about something "fantastic" don't be hasty to dismiss it. And read Harry Potter and the Lavender Brigade. It answered some questions that I have been asking. No one in particular. Just asking.
Thursday, March 1, 2007
"Bring on the rain"
There's a song that goes "Bring on the rain. I'm not gonna let it get me down, I'm not gonna cry, I might be barely breathin' but I'm still alive. Tomorrow's another day and I am thirsty any way, so bring on the rain."
Well, that's what Thursday was like. We got a call just after 8 a.m. from Belle's mother and we learned that her mother, Belle's grandmother, had passed away just that morning. Well, on top of that, Belle had to take her sister to the doctor to finally find out was was physically wrong with her. She's been sick for a couple of weeks with no accurate diagnosis. They came back with one and it was just strep. As lousy as that is, it's the prefer ed of the other names of noxious diseases that they were bandying about. So, she has to take it easy for a while. Pray for God's Devine provision for her. But after Belle got home from the hospital, her cat finally came home. He was an indoor outdoor kinda beasty (I called him Bates) that liked to disappear for days on end. Well, he was at the back door, yowling something horrible and he wouldn't even move when I opened the storm door, it just kinda scraped over the top of him and when I picked him up he just went limp. So, I set him on his chair (which is really mine) and he didn't move for the next hour. That is until he died. We think he must have gotten into some anti-freeze or ate a de-conned mouse or something. So, it really rained on Thursday. Belle's grandma dies, and then her sister is crazy sick, and on top of all that, her cat dies. But the good news is, Belle's doing great. We have come through this storm better than when we first entered it.
And on a morbidly curious note, watching the cat die was kinda cool. Not cool that he died, but from a scientific and writers stand point. I have never seen anything die, other than dove or pheasant and those don't really amount to anything. But more on that at another time.
Well, that's what Thursday was like. We got a call just after 8 a.m. from Belle's mother and we learned that her mother, Belle's grandmother, had passed away just that morning. Well, on top of that, Belle had to take her sister to the doctor to finally find out was was physically wrong with her. She's been sick for a couple of weeks with no accurate diagnosis. They came back with one and it was just strep. As lousy as that is, it's the prefer ed of the other names of noxious diseases that they were bandying about. So, she has to take it easy for a while. Pray for God's Devine provision for her. But after Belle got home from the hospital, her cat finally came home. He was an indoor outdoor kinda beasty (I called him Bates) that liked to disappear for days on end. Well, he was at the back door, yowling something horrible and he wouldn't even move when I opened the storm door, it just kinda scraped over the top of him and when I picked him up he just went limp. So, I set him on his chair (which is really mine) and he didn't move for the next hour. That is until he died. We think he must have gotten into some anti-freeze or ate a de-conned mouse or something. So, it really rained on Thursday. Belle's grandma dies, and then her sister is crazy sick, and on top of all that, her cat dies. But the good news is, Belle's doing great. We have come through this storm better than when we first entered it.
And on a morbidly curious note, watching the cat die was kinda cool. Not cool that he died, but from a scientific and writers stand point. I have never seen anything die, other than dove or pheasant and those don't really amount to anything. But more on that at another time.
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