Life is a Fantasy: The Supernatural

For a long time, I've been thinking about how life, properly understood, is similar to fantasy. By "properly understood," I mean understood from the perspective of the Bible, that truth is knowable, God exists, and His Son Jesus is the only one who can save us from the evil in ourselves and in our world. When you understand the world from this perspective, it throws a whole new light on fantasy stories as reflections of the deepest realities. This "Life is a Fantasy" series is an expression of my musings on the subject. For this post, I'll discuss what I think is the most important factor of fantasy as it relates to real life: the supernatural factor.

Think of your favorite fantasy, if you have one. (I always think of The Lord of the Rings.)
Now, think of the beginning of the story. The hero is a perfectly normal person; at least, normal for their world. True, there may be aspects of the hero's character that are "abnormal", like a stutter or an unusual attraction to adventure, but the hero in general is trying to live a normal life. (Frodo Baggins is just a hobbit of the Shire, who likes to have fun with his friends and cousins.)
Then, all of a sudden, someone comes to the hero and reveals that there is a lot more to this "normal" world than the hero thought. There are powerful forces of both good and evil. These forces have been watching the hero for a long time, waiting for the opportune moment to catch him or her for their side, because the hero has some gift, something special, that will help either side to win. Usually, the good guys get to our hero first. (Gandalf tells Frodo the truth about his Ring and counsels him what to do.)
After a struggle, in which the hero may beg to be excused from the fight or simply refuse to believe what the good guys say, the hero eventually joins the good side. (After trying to avoid the task and the danger for some time, Frodo accepts the duty to take the Ring to Mordor.)
Immediately, the bad guys ramp up their efforts, trying to either convert our hero or destroy him or her. (The Black Riders pursue Frodo to the very gates of Rivendell, and every evil creature on the quest seizes on him first out of all the company.)
However, the hero has the help of every good and wise creature in the world, as well as the supernatural forces of good and the power of his or her own gift. (The Fellowship of the Ring helps Frodo reach his destination. So do two great kingdoms of Men and two very powerful Elves. Unfortunately, Frodo's Ring can't be used without great danger, but it comes in handy occasionally.)
The struggles are great, but in the end, the good guys triumph, our hero among them. (Sauron is destroyed, the king returns to his throne, and Frodo sails away into the West to a land of healing and rest.)


Now, think about your own life.
Most people live pretty normal lives. Of course, there is something about every person that is "abnormal," but most of us try to fit in as much as possible. You have certain talents and abilities, that you practice every day, but you may think there's nothing really special about you. Then, one day, someone reveals to you that there is more to this "normal" world than you thought. There is a Creator who is ultimate good, that is, God; and there is also an Enemy of our souls, that is, Satan. If no one has told you yet, very well, I'm telling you now. Unfortunately, in this world, the bad guys have gotten to us first. We're already enslaved to them, using our gifts and talents for their purposes, though we think we're using them for ourselves. (How many times today did you and I hurt someone for our own personal gain? Too many.) The "good guys," though, never give up. They--that is, He--is engaged in a rescue mission of gigantic proportions. He's here to save us, and to give us a chance to use our talents to help Him save the world, if we choose His side. Some of us struggle more than others, but if you are a Christian, if you've trusted Jesus to save you from your sins, then you've accepted the quest and you're on the good side. You're on an adventure. It is this adventure, this journey, that will be the topic of my next "life is a fantasy" post.

"Success"

I just saw something that really upset me. It was a full-page ad for a Christian college in a magazine. The college claimed to be a road to "success". To represent "success", it showed a picture of a well-dressed businesswoman holding a fancy portfolio. That may seem normal to most people. I don't know, maybe as a business student in my own college, I've seen too much of it. But I immediately thought, "Why does everyone picture success as a well-dressed businesswoman with a fancy portfolio? Is that the only definition of success?" I, for one, don't believe it is. As I read the other articles in that same magazine, I saw stories about how Christians were rebuilding hurting communities, planting churches, and growing in Christ. There was joy, hope, and confidence there, and I felt an excitement that maybe, someday, I could be like those people. Only after I had flipped through a lot of the magazine did I find that ad, and it seemed to me incongruous.

What is the definition of "success"? The articles in that magazine would seem to say that loving and serving God and our fellow man would constitute success. That view seems to match up with what God tells us in the Bible. The advertisement, on the other hand, seemed to take for granted that "success" means making a lot of money (at least, enough to wear nice clothes and carry a fancy portfolio) and having status in some business (she looked really important). These things, money and status, are what the world values. Everywhere at school, I hear tips on how to get a "good job", which include dressing for the part like the woman in the ad. Only in the meetings of the Christian college organization do I hear tips on how to grow closer to God and love other people as He does.

I don't mean to criticize the Christian college that placed that ad, or the magazine that printed it. That's why I have deliberately withheld their names. I know that that image, the well-dressed businesswoman or -man, is the image that most people have when they think of "success". I just think that image needs to be rethought.

What about you? What is "success" for you?

Life is a Fantasy: The Great Story

Some of us who read fantasy feel guilty about it. Ridiculous as that may sound, it is true. I don't mean the kind of guilt that arises from spending too much time reading fantasy and not enough time doing homework or building relationships. That can stem from reading too much of any kind of book, and is a healthy guilt that should be encouraged. What I want to talk about is another kind of guilt, a guilt for one's taste for fantasy. It was more prevalent in C. S. Lewis's time, I think, than our own; people didn't dare to admit that they read "fairy stories". Such stories were seen as childish and escapist, and Mr. Lewis wrote several essays defending them against such charges. Even now, some people feel a little uncomfortable with themselves, or their friends, for "escaping" into the fantasy world instead of reading hard, realistic books or books of information.

To those people, and to any who read fantasy, I say, go to it! Sure, realistic books are good, too, and books of information are incredibly useful, but there is something in fantasy that you can't get in almost any other way. (Why I say "almost," you'll find out in a minute.) The thrill of fantasy consists in being caught up in something bigger than yourself, bigger even than the world. It's becoming part of the great plan of history, or the "Great Story," as Sam Gamgee calls it in The Two Towers. Every fantasy character experiences this, for good or for evil. Luke Skywalker in Star Wars is caught up in the rebellion and The Force. The hobbits in The Lord of the Rings are caught up in the powerful magic of the Ring and of Wizards. In The Dark is Rising, Will Stanton gets caught up in the power of Dark and the power of Light. Their readers get caught up in all of this for a little while. They feel the power and the danger right along with their heroes, with the difference that the readers have to come back to the humdrum reality of life. This is what makes fantasy readers guilty. They feel, or have been schooled to feel, that they have no right to "escape" life by hiding in a fantasy world. I, however, would put it the other way around. Burying oneself in "real" life is an attempt to escape the Great Story.
For there really is a Great Story. God is its Author. If you are His child, and if you have surrendered yourself completely to Him, then you have been caught up in His Great Story. He wrote a part especially for you.

Thus, the thrill and wonder of fantasy can be experienced in real life, with God. He created that sense of longing to be part of the Great Story, which motivates fantasy readers like me, in order that we may seek Him and find Him. Like every good author, He does nothing by accident. Everything that happens to you is to bring you into and through your part of God's Great Story.