I've been over the discussion, and I am against depicting creatures as all good or all evil for the following reasons:

1) It denies free will

2) All good or all evil characters,apart from being the manicchean heresy, makes very poor writing - characterization sucks.

3) You cannot be surprised by a character's actions.

4) As for moral relativism, let me quote Solzhenytsin, who no one accused of it, who said that it was an illumination for him when he saw that the line between good and evil was not traced between nations, nor classes, nor any other groupings, but through the heart of every man.

So, if you put dragons capable of being evil, instead of being animals driven by instinct, you are acknowledging their free will. And free will means that there will be dragons who chose differently.

Either there is free will, and that will mean that there will be good dragons as well as evil.

Or there isn't, and the label of good or evil is meaningless.
Adriana | 04.01.08 - 6:36 am | #

Let's end the talk of condemning people for friendly witches while we're at it. My seven year old and I are reading the first Harry Potter right now. I've never seen her so delighted with a book!
Mark Goodyear | Homepage | 04.01.08 - 7:48 am | #

What about Elves? Typically pre-tolkien elves symbolized something more akin to evil spirits, or at least naughty ones....So would that make Dungeons and Dragons more Christian, since the dark elves in that typify evil. Hahaha..I jest. But the faun article is funny, it did quite ruin my take on Tumnus...Ewww. :P
Gary- | 04.01.08 - 11:53 am | #

And what about the good giant in CS Lewis....Or the plethora of other evil mythological beasts. I don't know why I derive so much pleasure from these debates, typical fanboy I suppose
Gary- | Homepage | 04.01.08 - 11:55 am | #

I think the upshot is that it's not the broad fact of portraying things that should ever be at issue. It's the particularities, the means, etc. - e.g., a "good witch" who needed to use a Hand of Glory might not be entirely kosher. Though I'm not fully sure about that one.
Der Wolfanwalt | Homepage | 04.01.08 - 1:45 pm | #

a "good witch" who needed to use a Hand of Glory might not be entirely kosher.

It may depend on what you're doing: context is everything, but a hand of glory is kinda gross magic. I don't think I would be inclined to depict one in the hands of a good character unless he was "slipping," but another author might be able to pull it off.
D. G. D. Davidson | Homepage | 04.01.08 - 6:40 pm | #

Is any Christian willing to condemn Lewis for this?

*raises hand*


Templar | 04.06.08 - 1:46 pm | #