An Apology for Wonder
“We men dream dreams, we work magic, we do good, we do evil. The dragons do not dream. They are dreams. They do not work magic: it is their substance, their being. They do not do; they are.”
Ursula K. Leguin, The Farthest Shore
Dragons delight and terrify us, occupying a special place in our mythologies and fantastic bestiaries. There may be other mythical beasts that have more symbolic meaning, but no other mythical creature means more to us. So much of what we would call greatness gets wrapped up in these creatures we have imagined.
In this collation, we will explore just what it is dragons mean to us, why they are so closely connected to our most important stories and our greatest longings. My thesis will be no less than that dragons, far from being a childish indulgence or a dream we may indulge in if we have the leisure, are absolutely essential for a healthy human life.
I am not sure where our certainty that dragons are not real comes from: for they are surely clever enough to hide from our most careful patrols, and who knows how many mysterious disappearances are to be laid at their door? But this I know with great certainty: if dragons don’t exist, they should.
Last held Tuesday, June 3, 2021, 7:30 pm Central time
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“A spiritual conversation for intellectually serious Christians. Bringing together the head and heart in reading Scripture.”
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“Thought-provoking talk and interesting followup discussion.”
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“This is a friendly, informal format where you can learn and share ideas about different aspects of faith. Junius as leader is welcoming, encouraging, real, orthodox, very knowledgeable, and clearly loves the Lord and loves people.”