[on Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings]
My kids don't read ANY of those authors. They read the Bible. They read childrens Bible stories. They read books by Christian authors. Fantasy books like that, DO NOT, enrich the mind. FACTS enrich the mind. My children LOVE History, Science, and Literature. They have NEVER read ANY of those books. We do not have cable. They do not watch fantasy movies.
The LEADING cause of ignorance and stupidity in society today is the lack of intelligent literature being read. Schools today teach evolution, then read about witches, wardrobes, lions, tigers and bears oh my.
40 comments
Notice in the last paragraph she is talking about, from the looks from it,"The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe" which was written by a christian author. Also, notice how similar this rant sounds to the reasons given to outlaw books in Ray Bradbury's "The House of Usher" in the Martian Chronicles
I'd say your kids won't have a healthy imagination, but you said they read the Bible, so I guess that's a start.
<<< The LEADING cause of ignorance and stupidity in society today is the lack of intelligent literature being read. >>>
He is at least close on this much - lack of reading is a problem. But "intelligent literature" does not exclude fantasy. Nonfiction serves an important purpose too, but any reading (to the extent appropriate for their age) is a good thing. Too many schools don't encourage this (or at least don't do it well) ... especially at the high school level, most of the books suck so bad that reading becomes a chore, and that can influence students' opinions of reading in general. There's a difference between "intelligent literature" and pretentious word-wankery* that, sadly, many English teachers don't recognize.
And not only was "The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe" written by a Christian author, it's a fairly transparent Christian allegory. (I haven't read the books, but at least in the movie - and given the author, I'd guess there's a good chance it's in the book too - they even managed to work in a bit about the trilemma; the Professor, when talking to the older kids about their younger sister, says "Well, if she's not lying and she's not mad, she must be telling the truth.") That doesn't stop it from being a pretty good story, though. I'll probably read through the books sometime.
* I claim no credit for the phrase "pretentious word-wankery". I saw it somewhere else and found it amusing and applicable.
"My children LOVE History, Science, and Literature, they have NEVER read ANY of those books."
I know what you meant, but I think this is probably closer to the truth.
The bible is one of the most fantastical books ever borrowed and stolen from other myths, legends and religions. If 7 headed dragons and lambs, unicorns, talking plants and donkeys, virgin birth, zombies, cannibalism, blood-drinking, shit-eating, and angels fucking humans isn't a bit of fantasy, then how do you explain it?
"The LEADING cause of ignorance and stupidity in society today is the lack of intelligent literature being read."
Now this I agree with 100%. And one of the few bright spots in the world today is the fact that kids are reading HP and LotR. These stories actually have a beginning and an end, charectors are developed and given a backstory, it is read in the same language that it was written in, and kids get the fact that it's not real. you think a lack of intelligent lit. is the cause of a stupid society and your answer is to read ONE book? The bible is the height of civilization and literature?
To quote one of my favorite bands, REHAB:
"I know I'm stupid so I must be smarter then you"
Doesn't matter what they're reading if isthisforrealorwhat is raising them. When you're brainwashed into being fundie from birth you're going to be at a severe disadvantage when it comes to thinking critically, a key life skill. If you censor your child's reading, teach them that the absurdity in the Bible is true and deny them the chance to discover the world for themselves, you raise drones.
On the plus side, they won't be witches!
Someone obviously has no idea how to read literature. You don't look at the facts, i.e. whether it's about wizards or unicorns or whatever, to determine the truth of the work. You look at the themes. The message. What does the story tell you? Lord of the Rings and the Chronicles of Narnia, for example, are highly Christian. But I suppose the distinction is lost on isthisforrealorwhat...
Oh, and if he/she knew anything about Tolkien, they'd know Gandalf is roughly equivalent to an angel and got his powers from Eru (God), not from studying black magic or whatever.
and who was it that was burning women alive because of the "witches"? And as for evolution, wardrobes, lions, tigers and bears, they all exist, look it up you fucktart.
"They read books by Christian authors. Fantasy books like that, DO NOT, enrich the mind."
Well, s/he got that part right.
May be true, here is a quote fro the Iphone app FML
"Today, I dropped some paper towels I was looking at the grocery store, and then i tried using a Harry Potter spell to make them get back on the shelf."
So you're teaching them that Jonah living in the belly of a whale was a fact? I don't quite see the difference.
She does inadvertently make a true statement regarding literature and the dumbing-down of our society, although not in the way she intended.
Both series were written by Christians. Lord of the Rings is an (at times) pretty clear Christian-based tale, Harry Potter has various Christian messages in it (not preachy mind you, but there is a little subtext), and at the end, you referenced the Chronicles of Narnia- a Christian allegory. You fail, good sir/madame.
The bible is not factual, nor is it even intellectually stimulating. It is a way to keep minds stagnated, and I feel sorry for your kids being stuck reading that lecherous, murderous, rapacious, genocidal book you seem to hold so much stock in.
Excuse me. I have never fully read the bible ( i have tried and failed to get thruogh it) and i read/watch/learn those tools of ignorance of wich you speak, and i also LOVE history, science, and Literature. oh, and by the way. Literature= books. yes, with an S. I also love learning about any and all things that i do not already know. i am 15, and i know that i do not know everything. i know i have much to learn. Im going to major in psychology and minor in writing. i will be successful. i am not completely ignorant.(i will admit that i am ignorant when it comes to the things in wich i do not know;but then i try to learn those.) and i have never comepletely read the bible.
Because I want MY children reading the SAFE books. Like Song of Solomon!
(I am not very good with names, so my apologies if I got the reference wrong)
Evolution IS History, Science AND Literature, dumbass.
Harry Potter and the Lord of the Rings are not suited for kids younger than about 11 to 15 years old.
I read the Narnia books when I was about 9 years old.
My parents read me lots of communist-related children's books... I'm still agnostic, rather than atheistic.
My kids don't read ANY of those authors. They read the Bible. They read childrens Bible stories. They read books by Christian authors. Fantasy books like that, DO NOT, enrich the mind. - Correct . Fantasy books like the bible, childrens bible stories and books by christian authors do not enrich the mind.
The LEADING cause of ignorance and stupidity in society today is the lack of intelligent literature being read. - Correct . Your children should rather read science books and sophisticated works of literature, otherwise they are in imminent danger of becoming stupid and ignorant.
Imagination and Creativity.
It is those things that allow us to think and imagine about things beyond our drab, ordinary existance.
It is those things that stimulate the mind, set it working.
It is from those things that art and all other creations are born.
It is those things that give our lives a sense of wonder and beauty.
Imaginative Literature gives us simple pleasure, and at the same time can convey philosiphy and specualation. Some of the greatest feats of artistic genius of all time have been those books.
It is these qualities that you are stifling in your children by not letting them read fantasy.
Free Thought and Free Speech
It is those things that have caused civilizations to rise and fall.
It is those things that let us change.
It is those things that democracy and Human Rights are based upon.
It is those things that keep us from living in a totalitarian state.
It is these qualities that you are stifling in your children by feeding them Biblical nonsense and telling them it is true.
The LEADING cause of ignorance and stupidity in society today is the lack of intelligent literature being read.
Some of the most intelligent literature I have ever read has been creative fiction. Far more intelligent than the Bible.
There can be no History without free will, no science without speculation, no literature without imagination.
You are raising your children to be zombies, devoid of intelligence, sophistication and imagination. Why not go for the whole hog and just have their Frontal Lobes removed?
The Bible has no Science and History and very little FACTS. If they only read the Bible, then they only have Fantasy, and Literature.
Schools have been teaching evolution for about a century, stupid. It's not a new fad.
C.S. Lewis was a Christian author, stupid. His books are about the struggle between Good and Evil, and the Christ-like lion Aslan prevails. He even dies and comes back from the dead, like Christ.
Confused?
So were we! You can find all of this, and more, on Fundies Say the Darndest Things!
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