PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

October 12, 2022

FANTASY

                One of the more unusual places that Diane and I visited on our trip to the northwest was the Museum of Pop Culture at the Seattle Center.  We had passed the Museum with its fusion of textures and myriad colored exterior on our Duck Tour.  The confusion we found inside matched the museum’s exterior.  We are still not sure that we saw everything in the museum.

The museum has a whole exhibit dedicated to fantasy: worlds of myth and magic.  Represented in the displays are the Wizard of Oz, the Princess Bride, Harry Potter, the Lord of the Rings, and the Chronicles of Narnia.  Near one of the entrances to the exhibit is the following description of the place of fantasy in the lives of children and youth.

“Fantasy creates high stakes and infinite drama by placing characters and their world in peril and challenging them to act heroically even in the face of overwhelming odds. Although fantasy is often viewed as a battle between good and evil, the most memorable works feature individuals that struggle with right and wrong when their options are far from clear.”

“Who should they trust? What roads should they take?  How should they use their powers?  Only by overcoming their own doubts and fears can they hope to succeed. Fantasy characters that complete their quest discover that no matter how small or insignificant they may feel, they have the power to make a difference in the never-ending battle against life’s dark forces.”

The Museum of Pop Culture’s understanding of fantasy reminded me of a book I read many years ago by a psychiatrist.  He argued for the importance of telling children fairy tales.  For him they help boys and girls deal with a variety of feelings and difficult situations they face growing up.  In his book the author shows how specific fairy tales help children deal with specific growing issues.

While we would not want to characterize them as fantasy or fairy tales, Biblical stories about persons overcoming difficult situations function in the same way.  They help children and young people process what it means to trust God, to do the right thing, and over-come evil.  Parables perform this same function.  Perhaps the most important stories of all are those involving Jesus.

At the heart of the stories about Jesus is His willingness to give His life so that we might be forgiven of our sin and inherit eternal life.  In the Gospel of John Jesus tells his followers, “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.  No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”  (John 13:12, 13) In the Harry Potter saga we learn that his mother sacrificed her life to protect Harry.  In the final book Harry stands ready to sacrifice his own life for his friends.

It is important today that children have opportunities to process the feelings and challenges that they experience.  Age old fairy tales still serve this purpose.  The fantasy exhibit at the Museum of Pop Culture has others.  It will be interesting to see what new stories will appear to serve this purpose.  However, we still have the Biblical stories that we learned when we were growing up, that we shared with our children, and that we share with our grandchildren.

(This article was originally published 09/22/19 and is the last of a series of articles about my train trip to Seattle, Washington.)