Preach It Aged!!!

Xavier the Green



----- Original Message -----
From: David L. Milner
Sent: Thursday, March 15, 2001 1:22 AM
To: dragonraid@...
Subject: Re: [DragonRaid] The Magic Barrier


Greetings in the Name of the OLMN!

Concerning magic: Your point is true enough, under Webster's definition,
but that is not the definition we use.  Magic, by our definition, is a
manipulation of the natural order through spells and incantations to
produce a desired effect.  I am beginning to think we need to add a
glossary to DRIIEd.

Magic is not an appropriate way for LR's to proceed, essentially because
it is depending on your skill at manipulating the elements rather than
depending on the OLMN.  It is essentially worshipping the creature rather
than the creator.  "We don't need the OLMN here.  We'll just do a little
magic."

While I would never denigrate either Lewis or Tolkein, their definition
of magic in their created worlds is not the same as ours.  Lewis (through
Aslan) refers to the "Emperor's Magic". This is something entirely
different from what we mean by magic.  In "That Hideous Strength", Ransom
tells Merlin that his use of magic is not appropriate in this time and
place, and wasn't really all that appropriate in his day.  To manipulate
the elements without reference to their creator is to deny our need of a
creator at all.  This, by the way, seems strangely at odds with your
other point.

To embrace Truth is not to turn off our brains, nor should we be so open
minded that our brains fall out.  To embrace the Creativity of the
Creator is not to say that the natural reason why something is the way it
is does not exist.  They coexist perfectly in the Created Order decreed
by the Creator.  Of course God did it all!  But that does not mean we are
not to explore the processes by which He caused all things to function.
In my opinion, you present a false dichotomy here.  It is no either/or
situation, but a both/and.  Modern science, though many scientists will
deny it, began with people like Galileo and Newton who believed that,
because a Revealed, Knowable and Reasoning Being created all that is,
that the universe is therefore measurable and knowable.  And, since you
have such a simple and perfect explanation, what is the problem?  Are you
saying that the dragons are capable of breathing where there is no
oxygen, or that reptilian creatures who are naturally cold blooded are
not affected by the cold at 27,000 feet?  You ever tried to breathe and
work at 27,000 feet?  People are not capable of breathing where there is
no oxygen!

While I sympathize with your point, that God did all that was done, I do
not believe that he did it irrationally.  The two are manifestly and
definitely not mutually exclusive.  Don't exclude the rationality of the
universe in an attempt to make God "more Holy".  He can't get any more
holy, because in Him is all the Holiness there is.  It may sound more
sanctified to say it's that way because God said so, and that, by the
way, is true, but the natural processes that God chose to use are not
unknowable, and certainly not wrong to seek, because the One who designed
it all is neither unknowable nor wrong to seek.  To deny that is to deny
that God is manifest in the Created Order.  If we cannot know that which
is before our eyes, how can we hope to know Him Who we must see by faith?
On top of that, if we are not meant to know these things, why was our
species given its innate curiosity?

Our innate curiosity and desire to know how things work should draw us
closer to the One who created such marvels.  To see the complexity in a
single cell, or a single strand of DNA, to stare in wonder at the Milky
Way, to thrill to the sight of a sunrise over the ocean, or a full
moonrise over a mountain is not diminished by understanding the processes
involved.  It only points more and more to the greatness of the Hand that
brought it into being, and gave us the sense of wonder to say, "WOW!"  My
dog is completely unimpressed by the same sunset that holds me
spellbound.  He cares not a whit for the double rainbow over the
mountains.  And yet my sense of awe is not diminished by understanding
that the I can see the rainbow because of light shining through water
vapor.  And who caused that light thus to shine?  My Father in Heaven who
has greater things in store for His Children than any of the wonders we
now see.  These things here are but shades and images seen darkly through
a glass.  That being the case, how much greater must be the things Our
Father has prepared for us when we can see face to face, and know as we
are known.

If what you are arguing for is a return to the awe and reverence for the
Creator, for the Mysterium Tremendum, then I identify with that and
applaud it.  But I do not believe that an understanding of the natural
processes by which God causes things to function diminishes one iota His
greatness or our awe of Him.  If anything, the more we learn, and the
more we come to realize thereby how little we actually know, the greater
becomes the wonder and awe that He who created all things, who, in the
words of the poet, "Lit the sun and fixed it in the sky, and flung the
stars to the most far corner of the night", has chosen to love and save
such as you and I.

Okay, so I got a little carried away and tried, however unsuccessfully,
to wax eloquent.  I'm and English major and a preacher, whaddaya want?
Man, I'm glad I got that off my chest.

For the Kingdom in all its wonder
and the OverLord in all His Power,
I remain your humble servant,
Dariel the Aged



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