287. How Do Great Stories Help Us Defeat Monsters? | with Geoffrey Reiter
To fight real monsters, we don’t need toxic empathy or the notion that exorcisms can resolve all demonic problems. Instead we start with the gospel of Jesus Christ that alone brings holiness. Yet how do we also train our imaginations with better stories to help us battle the beasts? Geoffrey Reiter returns to the studio to explore how great literature reflects God’s grace that helps us defeat the darkness.
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- Above the Circle of Earth by E. Stephen Burnett
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Backstory: Geoffrey Reiter
Geoffrey Reiter is Associate Chair of Arts and Sciences and Coordinator of Humanities at Lancaster Bible College. He is also an Associate Editor at the website Christ and Pop Culture, where he frequently writes about weird horror and dark fantasy. As a scholar of weird fiction, Reiter has published academic articles on such authors as H. P. Lovecraft, Arthur Machen, Bram Stoker, and Clark Ashton Smith. His poetry and fiction have previously appeared in Spectral Realms, Star*Line, Psenumbra, ParABnormal, The Mythic Circle, 34 Orchard, and Black Wings VII. His book The Lime Kiln and Other Enchanted Spaces was published by Hippocampus Press earlier this year.
- Geoffrey Reiter at Christ and Pop Culture
- The Lime Kiln and Other Enchanted Spaces from Amazon
- The Lime Kiln and Other Enchanted Spaces from Hippocampus Press
1. Behold the monsters we may see in reality.
- Last week critics were discussing when to “deplatform” monsters.
- Today’s popular memes and franchise stories portray evil demons.
- Others talk about human “monsters” who abuse and manipulate.
- Some victims or bad counselors advise empathizing with real evil.
- Others leap straight for exorcisms or aggressive countermeasures.
- But secular folks may have limited success with combating evil.
- As one Spider-Man 3 poster said, “The greatest battle lies within.”
- First we must address the problem of our own monstrous hearts.
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