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Originally Posted by Prestidigitweeze
How often do you find yourself looking at real angels and demons (photos or it didn't happen)?
By your logic, if I read about Gandabherunda Narasimha, I'm not wasting my time (since he's a Hindu god), but if my subject is gandharvas, I'm simultaneously wasting and not wasting my time (since they're mythical creatures in several cultures but heavenly beings in Hinduism).
And what about Leviathan? If I write about that particular sea monster, am I being productive, since he appears in the Old Testament? If so, then what about sea monsters that don't appear in religious texts and why are they any different?
And what do you think of Christian vampire novels? If crucifixes and sunlight destroy classic vampires, then how is the story of their fictive existence not a Christian metaphor?
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What about "The Chronicles of Narnia," for that matter?
What about any book that uses fantastical creatures as allegory for ANY concept? Dunno, Gregg, I think you are limiting yourself UNbelievably by deciding, without actually experincing, that a certain type or genre of book is unsuited for reading. I wouldn't have missed the Chronicles of Narnia, as a child, for ANYTHING, even though its allegory today doesn't fit with my own beliefs.
{shrug}. FWIW. I like to read everything and anything--particularly things that challenge what I believe, that are contrary to my own views. I think broadness of reading is what keeps us mentally young, and forces us to constantly question what we believe, what we think is right. Not that I think that HP and the sequels are really challenging wordviews, but...again, {shrug}.
Hitch