Musings of a Christian Humanist

            On numerous occasions, Mortimer Adler wrote about the criteria that was used to determine which books of all the books written in the West would be placed within The Great Books of the Western World.  Contrary to confusion and many misstatements I've read over the years, Adler says it was essentially three criteria and they are as follows: 1) Contemporary significance - Even though historically valuable, these works address “issues, problems, or facets of human life that are of major concern to us today as well as at the time in which they were written.” While the work is within the genre of science fiction and fantasy, it really explores humane themes much as traditional fiction. In other words, change the setting from Mars to Montana and it still works as a literary masterpiece. 2) Rereadability - These are books “intended for the general reader that are worth reading carefully many times or studying over a...

     On more than one occasion, Ray Bradbury was asked about his favorite books. While the answer varied, he consistently spoke of Charles Dickens's A Christmas Carol . For those who know and love the writings of Ray Bradbury, it makes perfect sense this was a favorite of his. The theme of living is vibrant in many Bradbury works. So Bradbury spoke with great excitement about the scene in  A Christmas Carol  where the culminating visits of the ghosts moves Ebeneezer, when he realizes that he has another chance, declares, I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!  The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.      As good as the many movie versions may be, there is a texture in the story that is simply missed in the visual interpretations. In this interview (toward the end) Ray Bradbury speaks about his love of this great Christmas story that is a call to live life. While Bradbury says that his...

     Sadly, only the most dedicated Bradbury fans seem to be aware of this lesser known work. In truth, as with many Bradbury novels, this work consists of short stories woven together to tell a unique tale. Without giving away too much, it is a work that has moments of whimsy and poignancy. There are characters and elements that are early Bradbury in tone and there are items that are the mature, reflective  and even philosophically poetic Bradbury.       The story focuses on an Illinois family distinguished by the fact that most are ghosts and other creatures. Two key characters are a mortal child Timothy, and Cecy, a creature hard to describe. While there are numerous great moments and several delightful passages of rich word craft, the scene that was most striking to me was as follows:       " Listen, now, let me provide the history of the rising tide of disbelief. The Judeo-Christian w...

    Many of Ray Bradbury's stories have enough ambiguity worked into the tale to lend them to rich varying interpretations. This does not mean that any and all readings are faithful to the story, but it can make for lively discussions and honest disagreement about the meaning of a particular story.  The October Game is such a story. Spoiler alert--I offer here a alternative reading of the story than the one given by most. If you have not read the story, read it before you make your way through this interpretation. If you have read it, please indulge me. The consensus is that at the end of the story, the audience is shocked because they see the dismembered body of  The reading offered here is that the daughter is alive and well at the end and the shock is that she is there despite the panic and anticipated horror that something terrible had happened to her. In other words, the audience...