Thank you, Rachelle, that's a really interesting connection. I can see exactly why the overlap caught your eye. My essay was asking why Tolkien's magic still moves us in the twentieth reading when more elaborate systems within fantasy literatufe do nott, and the answer I kept arriving at was that what sits behind his magic, or enchantment is that it isn't a system at all – it's divine truth. The Mere Orthodoxy piece seems to be wrestling with a very similar insufficiency from a theological angle. I'll read the piece again. Thank you for pointing me towards it.
I've a friend who works as a translator for internet novels. Its a terrible job, and she can confirm that the number of fireballs has indeed drained all sense of the spiritual in those stories. Yet, demand is there, and it is a high demand. I think that confirms your point about how a pervasive change has occurred in our collective spiritual tastebuds.
Some themes here reminded me of this recent essay on the limits of reenchantment as way to rehabilitate a modern world. Perhaps our society already has too much enchantment, too much belief in magic, and not enough sense what it means or how to judge its moral quality. https://mereorthodoxy.substack.com/p/the-insufficiency-of-reenchantment
Hi ScaryLion. Thank you so much for restacking. Best wishes Vincent
Hi Ilia. Thank you very much for restacking and I’m glad you enjoyed the article. Best wishes Vincent
Hi Rhinelander. Thank you so much for restacking. Best wishes Vincent
Hi Samuel. Thank you ror reposting. Blessings and best wishes Vincent.
Thank you, Rachelle, that's a really interesting connection. I can see exactly why the overlap caught your eye. My essay was asking why Tolkien's magic still moves us in the twentieth reading when more elaborate systems within fantasy literatufe do nott, and the answer I kept arriving at was that what sits behind his magic, or enchantment is that it isn't a system at all – it's divine truth. The Mere Orthodoxy piece seems to be wrestling with a very similar insufficiency from a theological angle. I'll read the piece again. Thank you for pointing me towards it.
You had me at 'Lord of the Spreadsheet'.
I've a friend who works as a translator for internet novels. Its a terrible job, and she can confirm that the number of fireballs has indeed drained all sense of the spiritual in those stories. Yet, demand is there, and it is a high demand. I think that confirms your point about how a pervasive change has occurred in our collective spiritual tastebuds.
Some themes here reminded me of this recent essay on the limits of reenchantment as way to rehabilitate a modern world. Perhaps our society already has too much enchantment, too much belief in magic, and not enough sense what it means or how to judge its moral quality. https://mereorthodoxy.substack.com/p/the-insufficiency-of-reenchantment