Of Dragons and Goblins

[Murph]

Of Dragons and Goblins

Halloween gives us monsters everywhere. Even though these fictional creatures are usually ugly and frightening, people seem irresistibly attracted to them. But the popularity of monsters goes well beyond Halloween. Surprisingly, monsters often appear in some of the most beloved children’s stories. Lewis’s Narnia teems with dragons, giants, and sea serpents. Tolkien’s Middle-earth holds many scary creatures — orcs, trolls, goblins, wargs, and balrogs (to name just a few). And this phenomenon is nothing new. Monsters have appeared in some of the most well-beloved stories of all time, from Scylla and Charybdis in Homer’s Odyssey to Grendel and his monstrous mother in Beowulf.

Given that Christians should think about what is honorable, just, true, and lovely (Philippians 4:8), should we avoid books and other media that contain monsters? Or, at the very least, should we shield our children from such imaginative ugliness and terror?

Without doubt, even as adults, Christians should avoid some ungodly and gruesome monster stories. But putting extremes to one side, I want to offer a brief apologetic for the role of monsters in the imaginative life of Christians, especially for children. When used well, imaginative monsters helpfully represent what we should avoid, or clarify what we should oppose. In essence, fictional monsters can play a good role in shaping our moral and spiritual outlook according to God’s design.

www.desiringgod.org/articles/of-dragons-and-goblins