Wednesday, August 1, 2007

Literature and the Continuity of Christian Culture

Mitchell Kalpakgian discusses how great literature promotes the continuity of Christendom. To quote:


Limited only to the liberal ideologies of modern politics and Supreme Court decisions and to Hollywood's skewed renditions of love and marriage, younger generations who never read or study works such as Austen's Pride and Prejudice or Alcott's Little Women never grasp the profound realism of traditional sexual norms. In Austen's novel romance requires courtship and manners, and first impressions matter. Marriage involves the union of both the body and the soul, has a moral dimension, for a man and a woman must admire the moral character of the person they marry; and marriage, always an event full of wonder, has a romantic, mysterious dimension based on a powerful attraction between two persons who elicit the best in each other. Marriage is also a great civilizing institution, has a social dimension and involves the union of two families, not just two individuals. The faithfulness of married couples, the generosity of families in welcoming new life, the sanctity of chastity are the norms of love in Little Women. As Jo March remarks in Little Women, "I do think that families are the most beautiful things in all the world!" Peer culture and political correctness never introduce these enduring ideals to a young generation saturated by sex education and the contraceptive mentality for whom cohabitation either replaces or cheapens marriage. Share

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