I have to admit I'm a lover of fairytales! I think these stories contain more truth than perhaps people realise. I watched a science programme a while ago which documented the amazing fact that trees send each other chemical signals, even warning trees of an insect danger which in turn causes the tree to put up it's defences. I thought this was amazing and couldn't help but think of the mythic stories of trees talking and their voices being carried in the wind and think how close to reality this really is! And then there's the stories of animals talking to humans. I watched another interesting documentary of a man who spent time living with a pack of wolves, learning their body language and behaviour patterns and he was adopted into the pack. To be part of the pack he needed to bare his throat to the wolves who would then bite very gently so as not to hurt, but this showed a bnd of trust - each wolf does this to show it's faith in the others. Again I think back to the fairytale stories and realise it is possible to talk with animals if you take the time to learnt heir language The fairytale world is full of magic and flying brooms and all sorts. Why don't we see flying airoplanes as just as magical and amazing? Really the world is full of magic! Just because we can explain it with scientific equations doesn't make it less magical or amazing! A supernatural world full of imps and spirits? I think this medieval view is far closer to the biblical world view than the present secular stance prevalent in our cultures. This world is full of angels and demons, all in a God-drenched universe. And the happily ever after that cynics hate - well, God has revealed to us the end, and it's certainly joyful! Good triumphing over the evil, and like the witches and giants of legend, Satan and his followers shall be destroyed! And Christ will come and marry His bride! What do you think? Are fairytales realistic or fanciful at heart?
Scottish, This is an interesting approach to the issue of the supernatural within Christianity and the idea of "Happily Ever After." Those, in Christ, who persevere to the end, will live Happily Ever After. For those of us who fall short, not so much. Certainly, things developed through Science, would appear as "magic" to those in ages past. However, I think that is different from what takes place in the spiritual realm. We see this battle in the spiritual realm revealed so vividly in the well known passage in Ephesians: Ephesians 6: 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak. So, we know this battle in the spiritual realm is very real, and the Church has always been mindful of this reality. In The Lamb's Supper, The Mass as Heaven on Earth (page 43), Catholic author, Scott Hahn wrote the following about the Sign of the Cross: ". . . .Great saints also testify to the tremendous power of the sign. St. Cyprian of Carthage, in the third century, wrote, 'in the. . . Sign of the Cross is all virtue and power. . .In this Sign of the Cross is salvation for all who are marked on their foreheads' (a reference, by the way, to Revelation 7:3 and 14:1). A century later, St. Athanasius declared that 'by the Sign of the Cross all magic is stopped, and all witchcraft brought to nothing.' Satan is powerless before the cross of Jesus Christ. . . . ." I had to smile when you spoke of animals talking to humans, because it reminded me of the story of Balaam and his donkey found in Numbers Chapter 22: 28 Then the Lord (U)opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” 30 And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.” Numbers Chapter 22 is full of the supernatural---complete with curses, divination, a disagreement between God and Balaam, an angel with a drawn sword, and---a talking donkey. It has it all! lol. There is definitely a "supernatural world." However, I wouldn't equate this with "fairy tales" or "fanciful at heart." The spiritual realm is as real as the physical realm. Sometimes, we are given a glimpse of what exists along side us. Peace, Anna
Yes, so do I! Sorry, I meant to reply earlier - thanks for your post I thought it was interesting Athanasius' comment there "by the sign of the cross all magic is stopped and all witchcraft brought to nothing" Reminds me of another passage in his "incarnation" . where he speaks about the pagan oracles which used to utter pagan prohpecies now silent after Christ's victory - if I can find the passage I'll insert it here later. I wonder if there was really a sudden silencing of the oracles soon after the resurrection, after the demons recieved such a fatal blow Yes, I think you're right, the Bible reminds us of the true spiritual realities surrounding us, and is the only book to give us an infallible view of the reality of the world we live in. I suppose fairytales are like paintings - they don't fully present a real picture of reality but highlights some real aspects of life, highlighting these points and painting them in bright bold colours. I read the story of Cinderella recently (the brothers Grimm version) and I was struck at how the idea of God was woven into it, This is from the opening sentence: "The wife of a rich man fell sick, and as she felt that her end was drawing near, she called her only daughter to her bedside and said, "Dear child, be good and pious, and then the good God will always protect thee, and I will look down on thee from heaven and be near thee." Thereupon she closed her eyes and departed. Every day the maiden went out to her mother's grave, and wept, and she remained pious and good (Brothers Grimm) I think fairytales have an apolegetic value as they can awaken the imagination to realise it's hunger for something more than a materialistic world
This really gave me a new respect for making the Sign of the Cross. It is a visual demonstration to the spiritual realm of what Christ accomplished on the cross. Indeed, through Christ all magic is stopped and all witchcraft brought to nothing. No evil can withstand that which Christ accomplished. Yes, please let me know if you find this passage. I'd love to read it. Ironically, many Christians avoid issues related to the spiritual realm. Not sure why, exactly.
Some are quite modern, The Wizard of Oz for example. This is an allegory dealing with the struggles of life and understanding between childhood and adulthood through adolescence. Dorothy's dog Toto, which keeps getting lost, is everything of importance to her during her quest. Toto is Latin for entirely, wholly, everything. All the characters in the story have hidden meaning in a human psychological context, if one is diligent enough with an enquiring mind to search for it. .
The Wizard of Oz is an allegory for the political and economic issues of the time. The book has been interpreted in many ways, with different scholars seeing different metaphors and symbols in the story. Some scholars see the character of the Scarecrow as representing American farmers, who were struggling with economic hardship and falling crop prices. The Tin Man, meanwhile, has been interpreted as a symbol for the steel industry, which was facing increased competition from foreign producers. The Cowardly Lion has been seen as a representation of William Jennings Bryan, a prominent populist politician who ran for president three times in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. https://allegoryexplained.com/the-wizard-of-oz/
A word of caution; the occult really works - remember King Saul conjuring up the prophet Samuel through a medium? The occult is forbidden to us precisely because it does not work to benefit us. Have you noticed about theses kinds of stories of talking animals and such, that they tend to descend into less benign versions over time….for example the originals of the Disney stories compared with what Disney is producing today. In the words of Will Shakespeare they win us with truths to betray us in deepest consequence.
C.S. Lewis wrote an entire treatise explaining the importance of fairy tales. "For in the fairy tales, side by side with the terrible figures, we find the immemorial comforters and protectors, the radiant ones; and the terrible figures are not merely terrible, but sublime. It would be nice if no little boy in bed, hearing, or thinking he hears, a sound, were ever at all frightened. But if he going to be frightened, I think it better that he should think St George, or any bright champion in armour, is a better comfort than the idea of the police. I will even go further. If I could have escaped all my own night-fears at the price of never having known ‘faerie’, would I now be the gainer by that bargain? I am not speaking carelessly. The fears were very bad. But I think the price would have been too high." (32) Tolkien says in his work On Fairy Stories: "That the images are of things not in the primary world (if indeed that is possible) is a virtue not a vice. Fantasy (in this sense) is, I think, not a lower but a higher form of Art, indeed the most nearly pure form, and so (when achieved) the most potent." "Mythology is not a disease at all, though it may like all human things become diseased. You might as well say that thinking is a disease of the mind. It would be more near the truth to say that languages, especially modern European languages, are a disease of mythology. But Language cannot, all the same, be dismissed. The incarnate mind, the tongue, and the tale are in our world coeval. The human mind, endowed with the powers of generalization and abstraction, sees not only green-grass, discriminating it from other things (and finding it fair to look upon), but sees that it is green as well as being grass. But how powerful, how stimulating to the very faculty that produced it, was the invention of the adjective: no spell or incantation in Faerie is more potent. And that is not surprising: such incantations might indeed be said to be only another view of adjectives, a part of speech in a mythical grammar. The mind that thought of light, heavy, grey, yellow, still, swift, also conceived of magic that would make heavy things light and able to fly, turn grey lead into yellow gold, and the still rock into a swift water. If it could do the one, it could do the other; it inevitably did both. When we can take green from grass, blue from heaven, and red from blood, we have already an enchanter’s power — upon one plane; and the desire to wield that power in the world external to our minds awakes. It does not follow that we shall use that power well upon any plane. We may put a deadly green upon a man’s face and produce a horror; we may make the rare and terrible blue moon to shine; or we may cause woods to spring with silver leaves and rams to wear fleeces of gold, and put hot fire into the belly of the cold worm. But in such “fantasy,” as it is called, new form is made; Faerie begins; Man becomes a sub-creator."
I am a huge fan of fantasy and the fairy story. I enjoy everything from Lewis, Tolkien, and MacDonald, to the likes of H. P. Lovecraft, more modern fantasy like The Wheel of Time, Forgotten Realms, and Harry Potter. Then there are all the classics, Grimm's Fairy Tales, Beowulf, the Eddas, and the Irish and Welsh tales of Faerie, kelpies, and boggarts.