Missing Things

17 March 2011

A return to abnormalcy

I seem to know a surprising number of Christians who are fascinated by things most people find repulsive - because they are disgusting, eerie, unusual, horrifying, creepy, what-have-you - and, conversely, a disproportionate number of people I know who enjoy these sorts of things are Christians. This is more than a matter of those being the sorts of people I tend to know, though that's certainly the obvious explanation; rather, when I meet people who like the macabre, as often as not they turn out to be Christian after-the-fact, and when I meet Christians I often eventually discover that they have this fascination.

It's hardly a universally ironclad rule, but it is an interesting recurring pattern. I wonder if there is causality involved somehow in this correlation? It does seem to me that once a person has accepted that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, it's quite difficult to fear anything else.

1 comment:

  1. The last is quite true. On the other hand, there is "Whatever is true, whatever is lovely, whatever is pure, think about these things" (loosely paraphrased here), so.... I don't really know what to think. I have been surprised by this trend too. One of my best friends is obsessed with aliens and serial killers, and I certainly enjoy Lovecraft and have read all the Hannibal Lecter books and will read them again, but I have not been able to settle this properly into my theology yet. Won't be happy till I do, either.

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