NOM

How many of you are fans of science fiction and fantasy writings and movies?

Okay, I've got my hand up. These writings and movies have brought joy to my life. Whether following the intrepid band of the fellowship through the depths of Moria, crossing the plains of the Land with Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, or watching the Severian travel back in time after drinking from the cosmic brook flowing through the universes, I have been a lover of these genres.

What if we extended this to religion and let its nourishing fantasy aspects enrich us while letting its harsh and commercial aspects drain off of us like water on a duck's back?

I love this post, Moksha.

A friend told me she was struggling with Christmas after concluding that the Nativity story had very little basis in history. My response was that it is still a lovely story, and has as much meaning for me as A Christmas Carol or The Lord of the Rings -- neither of which is based on factual history. There is still truth and beauty in all three: the hope and wonder in the story of a birth; the renewal of hope in the story of a bitter, selfish old man who sheds his cynicism and opens his heart to his fellow beings, and the hope that great evil can be overcome by small, humble people who persevere against impossible odds.

<<< The ghost of L. Ron Hubbard has entered the thread >>>

Hubbard seemed a bit of a hack, but his friend Robert Heinlein had some books that really captured my imagination. The Library of Congress named Stranger in a Strange Land as one of the 88 books that shaped America. Later on, they added 12 more to bring it to an even 100. On that supplementary list was the Book of Mormon and Slaughterhouse-Five, both of which I've read.

Bravo to what Fifi said.

Coming to this late, but putting my two bits worth: LOTR is in my top five, and Stranger in a Strange Land is in my top 10. Ayn Rand affected me when I first read her stuff. Ray Bradbury, Isaac Asimov, and Arthur Clarke are all favorites. I haven't been able to get into Harry Potter or Hunger Games as much.
Moksha's fantasy has a particular type of whimsy I have always enjoyed.