Why I Love Fantasy Literature
written by Rev. Dr. Scott Paczkowski
“And I saw the beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. ”
Almost twenty years ago, I took a Synod School class on Fantasy Literature and its similarities and differences with Biblical literature. The class was informative and helped me appreciate both fantasy and the Bible even more. Fantasy informs our lives because it allows us to face evil with enough distance that we can envision ourselves in each situation without the horrors overwhelming us. Through stories of courage and moral conviction in the face of otherworldly injustice and fear, we learn to face our challenges with strength and integrity.
Fantasy literature transports us to strange, imaginary places, such as Oz, Narnia, Middle-earth, and Hogwarts. The Biblical fantasy story we call the Book of Revelation features fantastical places such as heaven. While the Biblical Babylon was a historical place, the writer describes it in symbolic terms that transcend the historical, moving beyond to the gates of fantasy. The New Jerusalem is not the ancient city the ancient pilgrims trekked toward. Instead, the New Jerusalem is the dream of a supernatural future fulfilled in the divine city on a hill.
Like the Bible, fantasy literature seeks to pull back the curtain on the “all-powerful Oz” and expose who really has the power. In the Lord of the Rings series, Mordor appears to be too powerful for any living being to conquer, but the weakest little Hobbit overthrows its kingdom with his humble, enduring care. Voldemort, in the Harry Potter series, has the most formidable magic of any witch or wizard. Still, young Harry Potter’s goodness and selfless love of others surprise all as the most potent magic. Jesus, the humble Nazarene, who dies a humiliating death on the cross, becomes the Savior of the Universe. In Fantasy and the Bible, the powerful are laid low and the weak “inherit the earth,” or at least the Shire.
Finally, what Fantasy and Biblical literature have in common is the desire for home. Frodo desires to save and return to his Shire. Harry wants to save and preserve Hogwarts and the Wizarding Kingdom. For we people of faith, the earth is our home, but not our eternal home. Our eternal home is in the fantastical new heaven and new earth described so eloquently in Revelation 21. All life’s battles with Sauron and Voldemort, with all their discomfort, fear, and despair, are worth the pain if we preserve our home and bring peace to the land. Thankfully, with God’s unending assistance, the fantastical is lived out in our faith, and we are working our way back to our eternal Shire, God’s heavenly kingdom!
