I’m going to go off on the subject of dragons again today, but I want to open my argument out a bit, and consider it in the context of the Christian holiday we’re entering this weekend.
Liberals reject (I’m speaking generally, of course—there are liberals who believe in these teachings) the doctrine of Christ’s substitutionary (that means acting as a substitute) atonement, as well as of His physical resurrection. This rejection is not based (I think) merely on a materialist rejection of miracles—though of course socialism (the true religion of the left) is a materialist philosophy, assuming and promoting the world-view that man lives by bread alone.
The atonement and the resurrection are an existential threat to the central morality—that is, relativism—of the left.
The left believes there is no real evil in the universe that needs to be confronted. Every thing, and every choice, is acceptable under certain circumstances (except for Judgmentalism, the only sin for liberals, because it’s the rejection of relativism and would spoil everything).
The upshot of relativism is that no hard choices or sacrifices are necessary. Sacrifice to Caesar? Well, if I examine the concept of emperor worship with an open mind, I’ll see that in its true, spiritual essence it’s no difference from my Christian faith. So sacrificing to Caesar can be (rightly understood) a profound act of obeisance to the unknowable Truth of divinity. Problem solved. Nobody has to die.
An important part of the message of Good Friday and Easter is that somebody has to die. There is true evil in the universe, evil which must be resisted. This evil is powerful, and is tied up with death. Only by absorbing the power of this evil, and suffering death, can the Hero overcome them. There is no easy solution, only a terrible sacrifice.
And that, I think, is why dangerous dragons have gone out of fashion in stories. Dragons symbolize powerful evil, an evil that cannot be negotiated with, but must be battled by a hero who is willing to die (see Beowulf). Stories about dragons prepare children for the possibility that someday they might have to lay down their lives, combating powerful evil. And that’s why nobody wants kids to read such stories anymore.
Remember the photo of that lone protestor standing in front of the tanks in Tiananmen Square? That’s what it looks like to fight a dragon in the real world.
Transpose that picture up to infinity, and you have Good Friday.
A blessed Good Friday to you, and a happy Easter!
Stories about dragons prepare children for the possibility that someday they might have to lay down their lives, combating powerful evil. And that’s why nobody wants kids to read such stories anymore.
And what are you, Lars Walker the author, planning on doing about that? Or do you think you won’t be able to write good kid stories?
God did not equip me for anything having to do with children.
Lars, it occurs to me that this is why there has been so much modern fiction about*nice* dragons — or for that matter, vampires. Could it be that the liberal zeitgeist is minimizing the danger of evil by denying that evil exists? Would conveniently make jousting with dragons unnecessary…
Precisely, Carmen.
Ah, Lars, As little as I know you for a short time, you have demonstrated a kind, good, Christian mind, a big, warm, tender heart and an incredible sense of humor. That, with the ability to shrug off murderous thoughts and temptations, gives you all you need for fathering duties. (Uh, all that and the ability to close off your nose to some really strange smells…)
When you hold your own wee boy or girl in your arms for the first time and forever… You will have no doubt you were made to be a father… The Lord has indeed given you what you need …trust me.
We just gotta find you the right lady first.
OKAY BRANDYWINE readers…. let’s starta contest; A Viking wife for our friend Lars!!!!
If we all put our heads together, we can come up with some traits that can provide Lars with just the right dragon lady of his choosing….(NO NO NO… that was a slip-up…. make that the right LADY of his choosing….)
Perhaps we could all write blushing letters to Sizzle the Norway goddess of song to see if she might be interested in her biggest fan??????
Then there are the adds we could put in the Norwegian newspapers advertising for a good sturdy wife for our chain-mailed friend…..
This could go on and on….. (I still think we need Lars action figures!)
Ah, Lars, As little as I know you for a short time, you have demonstrated a kind, good, Christian mind, a big, warm, tender heart and an incredible sense of humor. That, with the ability to shrug off murderous thoughts and temptations, gives you all you need for fathering duties. (Uh, all that and the ability to close off your nose to some really strange smells…)
When you hold your own wee boy or girl in your arms for the first time and forever… You will have no doubt you were made to be a father… The Lord has indeed given you what you need …trust me.
We just gotta find you the right lady first.
OKAY BRANDYWINE readers…. let’s starta contest; A Viking wife for our friend Lars!!!!
If we all put our heads together, we can come up with some traits that can provide Lars with just the right dragon lady of his choosing….(NO NO NO… that was a slip-up…. make that the right LADY of his choosing….)
Perhaps we could all write blushing letters to Sizzle the Norway goddess of song to see if she might be interested in her biggest fan??????
Then there are the adds we could put in the Norwegian newspapers advertising for a good sturdy wife for our chain-mailed friend…..
This could go on and on….. (I still think we need Lars action figures!)
Lars,
In case you haven’t seen it already: Jonah Goldberg agrees with you about the core problem with movies like How To Train Your Dragon (even though he admits he likes the movie).
That’s cool. Obviously he’s a fan of mine.
Who isn’t?