Saturday, October 22, 2005
This seems more than a bit over the top to me.
Group wants nonreligious book for contest
Students should have the option of reading a book other than a Christian-themed book by C.S. Lewis, the group's director, Barry Lynn, wrote Thursday.
The letter also asks "that future reading contests sponsored by the state involve only nonreligious books."...
You know, it's been quite a while since I read The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, but I don't remember Christ putting in an appearance. So the book is inspired by Christianity? So what? Is this the level of insanity that some people want to take church/state separation? Apparently so. How on earth do you root out all "Christian themes?" What becomes a Christian theme in the world of Barry Lynn?
This is the type of thing that makes religious people think that many political liberals (to use an admittedly over-broad term) aren't about getting just the practice of religion out of the public square, but that instead they're against all religion period.
As a member of a minority religious group, I am very sensitive about the imposition of majority religious practice in inappropriate venues, but it does not strike me as an exageration to say that this protest reminds me very much of the nut-bar fanatics across the Middle East who look at a movie like The Matrix and its references to "Zion" and condemn it as some sort of a Zionist plot. Regardless of his nominal religious affiliation (I've seen it joked amongst UCC'rs that sometimes it seems that UCC really stands for "Unitarians Considering Christ"), Barry Lynn is a secular Mullah. A fanatic.
Some people have too much free time.
Admittedly, The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe has more Christian imagery than many books. And admittedly, majority religious practices do tend to be imposed (or at least assumed) in inappropriate venues.
But a person would be very hard pressed to find much literature in English that does not use imagery that is either specifically Christian or from the Hebrew Bible.
If this is what is intended by the establishment clause, then I would point out that our dating system is "Christocentric" -- even if a person exclusively use BCE and CE.
By the same token, I do not practice a religion that worships Frea, Thor, or Woden -- so I resent the official establishment of that religious system by the universal use of Friday, Thursday, Wednesday, etc.
Like you, I am Jewish, and like you as well, I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. In fact, I read all seven books in the series. In fact, I read them all at least twice (once when I was 10 or 11, and then again in my teens). I loved the series, and share the beliefs you expressed in your blog.