Comments on: In Praise of Cultural Disengagement(?) http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/2009/10/in-praise-of-cultural-disengagement/ A First Things Blog Tue, 06 Nov 2012 13:35:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.4.2 By: Andy http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/2009/10/in-praise-of-cultural-disengagement/#comment-100 Andy Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:39:19 +0000 http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/?p=96#comment-100 Um, I said "inoculate," but I think I meant "inject." Oops. Um, I said “inoculate,” but I think I meant “inject.” Oops.

]]> By: Andy http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/2009/10/in-praise-of-cultural-disengagement/#comment-98 Andy Tue, 20 Oct 2009 13:18:49 +0000 http://firstthings.com/blogs/evangel/?p=96#comment-98 I actually think Lord of the Rings has had a phenomenal impact (er, the books more so than the movies). They basically inoculate classically Christian virtues into the culture in a way that the culture can grasp and dimly comprehend, whether it's 1960s England or 2000s California. You can tell people all day long that the pursuit of wealth/power is the root of all evil, that it rots and enslaves, and they may sorta get what you're trying to say. But make the comparison to the One Ring, that corrupts everyone who possesses it, and suddenly it clicks for them. They may still think it doesn't necessarily apply to them, but you've engaged their imagination, and the message sinks in. Is there a Tolkien metaphor for disengaging from the culture? The pre-Isengard Ents, maybe? The secluded elves of Lórien? Or perhaps the other elves who were going away into the West? :) I actually think Lord of the Rings has had a phenomenal impact (er, the books more so than the movies). They basically inoculate classically Christian virtues into the culture in a way that the culture can grasp and dimly comprehend, whether it’s 1960s England or 2000s California.

You can tell people all day long that the pursuit of wealth/power is the root of all evil, that it rots and enslaves, and they may sorta get what you’re trying to say. But make the comparison to the One Ring, that corrupts everyone who possesses it, and suddenly it clicks for them. They may still think it doesn’t necessarily apply to them, but you’ve engaged their imagination, and the message sinks in.

Is there a Tolkien metaphor for disengaging from the culture? The pre-Isengard Ents, maybe? The secluded elves of Lórien? Or perhaps the other elves who were going away into the West?

:)

]]>