(no subject)

[tree_and_leaf]

Off out for the ... well, for the afternoon and evening, rather than the day, by this stage. Taking notebook, because I keep being attacked by plot bunnies and forgetting them by the time I reach a computer/ paper.

Am still trying to think of suitable bits of novels which could be discussed in a parish reflection group - that is, passages that touch on questions of faith or theology in a creative way. Virtually everything I have thought of is from "geeky" source material (the only exception being Ashworth's discussion about creation and the problem of evil in Absolute Truths, and that's a very tenuous claim to the mainstream*). I can't decide whether this is because SF/ F is just plain better at dealing with big metaphysical questions, or whether it reveals that I don't read enough litfic. Probably both.

But much as I'd like to discuss reading Paladin of Souls from a Christian perspective, I think I'd have to choose my audience pretty carefully (i.e. do it on LJ/DW?); Harry Dresden meeting an archangel is probably pushing it as far as it will go.

Suggestions gratefully received.

* Or possibly some Sayers, but that's still genre fic, really.

Comments

[legionseagle]

One of the problems I'd say with Paladin of Souls (which I love) is the same as my problems with Narnia and (to a lesser extent) with LOTR when considering then in relation to personal faith. If you've got a world like Narnia where divine manifestations happen all the time, if on an irregular schedule, there's no point Lewis behaving (as he seems to, especially with the problem of Susan) as if it's the same as anyone in our world going through a crisis of faith. After all, it really takes effort not to believe in Aslan in Narnia and even though Bree tries his hardest not to believe, the effect is somewhat spoilt by Aslan showing up and tickling him with his whiskers. Lewis having his damascus moment on top of a bus or wherever simply isn't the same kind of thing, qualitatively; for one thing, people witnessing to the existence of Aslan are witnessing to something corporeal as well as spiritual and shared not individually experienced (or rather, not primarily individually experienced; Lewis does a lot of "And it felt to some of them as if they were drinking the most splendid wine and to others as if they were hearing the most beautiful music..." stuff but what he can't get over is the difference between what a Narnian means when asked the question about whether they've seen Aslan and what a Christian would say if asked the same question about Jesus.