The trouble people chiefly seem to have with fairy tales is that the hero is too perfect. I've always rather liked perfect heroes, and it works as long as the hero is a Christ-figure, but if you want a human protagonist, what you need is for the hero to fail at the end.
But if you like happy endings (which I also do), that's not terribly satisfactory.
But I think that's mostly a problem in a naturalistic world. As long as you've got God, then you get a scenario more like Frodo at the Cracks of Doom. He fails--but it's still all right, partly because even Gollum had a part to play, and partly because he had been faithful up till then. As Ben A put it, "He can in some fashion sow the seeds of his own redemption, just as we can sow the seeds of our own destruction."
This is the eucatastrophe: the sudden joyous turn when it seemed sure we'd lose. This only works in a universe with God--an "open system," as Understanding the Times put it, a universe where God is and is active. But seeing as we're all imperfect and possibly not heroes at all--well, that too is an encouraging thought.
Thanks for the update on my blog! Sounds like you've been busy. Snow has kept me from AWANA too. This week Kathy, our commander, had to do the games for me becasue I deemed the roads to be too treacherous even though AWANA wasn't officially canceled. I'm in charge of Sparks games, so fun!!!
ReplyDeleteHow did you decide to study Farsi? and have you ever read the book Funny in Farsi? It is all in English, it is the autobiography of a girl from Iran who moves to America.
- Mandy