Libby Anne wrote an interesting post recently about the experience of her child encountering the New Testament stories against the background of both other classic children’s mythology as well as more recent stories. And so the child came up with not only the angel Gabriel as “Mary’s fairy godmother” but also (with prompting after some confusion) Jesus as a time lord and thus the Roman centurions as cybermen.
For some, this seem like a horrible travesty. But for others, it may suggest that children can detect the genre of some Biblical stories – and/or the character of some of their details – better than many adults can.
But there is also the real possibility that, since so much ancient storytelling incorporates legend, Jesus and many other figures will be assumed to be pure fiction, like the Doctor, rather than legendary developments around a real person (like Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter). Then again, the Doctor regularly goes to real places and meets historical people, and so perhaps those stories will actually be helpful in appreciating how fact and fiction can intersect in the same stories.
At the very least, it will be interesting to see how someone who is raised to appreciate stories as stories, without the insistence that they are either literally factual in their entirety or complete garbage, will view them in adulthood.
Also on Libby Anne’s blog, there is a response to my characterization of all abortions as “tragic” to at least some extent. I had hoped for some feedback in response to the thoughts I shared, and so appreciate hers and hope to hear from still others.
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