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The odd thing about wisdom is the more you use it the more it grows; and the more you share, the more you gain. You’d be amazed how few understand that.
—Lloyd Alexander, “The Foundling” in The Fantastic Imagination: An Anthology of High Fantasy, 270.
Chapter 11: Justification by Grace through Faith
Summary
1972: One major objection remains to the premise that Jesus’ social ethic was active and important in the early church. The primary message of Paul has been understood to be justification by grace through faith, especially since the Protestant Reformation. Works (i.e. social ethic) has nothing to do with Paul’s major emphasis … or does it?
This spring I’ll complete my third circuit of the 73 km hiking trail through Killarney Provincial Park. I already know the trail well. I was hoping that this guide might provide a little extra inspiration for late-winter training. I was disappointed.
The booklet covers what you’d expect: brief write-ups on hiking etiquette, short sections on wildlife and geology, and a description of every section of the trail. I was disappointed for a couple reasons:
That said, the descriptions of the trail are accurate. I could picture many of the sites, sections, and hills I’ve hiked from reading McCulloch’s description. I suppose that’s what I bought it for after all.
“I can see your face. It gives out light.” … The fact was, that the moment he began to love Alice, his eyes began to send forth light. What he thought came from Alice’s face, really came from his eyes.
—George MacDonald, The Wise Woman and Other Fantasy Stories, 148.
Chapter 10: Let Every Soul Be Subject: Romans 13 and the Authority of the State
Summary
1972: Romans 13:1-7 has traditionally been appealed to in order to support the God-ordained role of the state to wield the sword. It follows that if the Christian is enlisted by the state, a God-ordained structure, then the Christian would be exempt from the prohibition against murder. This view was shattered by Nazism. It is the purpose of this chapter to deconstruct the traditional view in six ways.
This is the third of four volumes Eerdmans put together in 1980 to collect all the short fantasy works of George MacDonald. I have been pleasantly surprised to discover that MacDonald, whose Victorian novels span six to eight hundred pages, is able to develop a compelling story in such a short number of words.
This volume contains five stories:
The collection is very strong. The title story manages to use quite a bit of humour to tell what turns out to be an intense story. “The Giant’s Heart” is a children’s story about two kids who stumble into giant country, but you don’t have to be a child to enjoy it. In it, MacDonald makes some brilliant sarcastic jabs against Sunday Morning legalism. “The Carasoyn” is another of MacDonald’s fairy stories that use traditional motifs to spin a compelling tale.
The last two stories are not fantasy stories at all. “Port in a Storm” is the story of how a husband and wife got together. (Who knew you could buy a wife with a case of Port?) This is probably the weakest story of the lot. The final story is deeply moving, especially if you’ve spent any time reflecting on the parable of the Prodigal Son.
Like the first two collections I’ve read in this series, MacDonald’s stories are always worth the time to track down and read.
Since it is the Lord who forgives, forgets, and wipes out sins, let us confess our sins to him in order to obtain pardon. He is the physician; therefore, let us lay bare our wounds to him. It is he who is hurt and offended; from him let us seek peace. He is the discerner of hearts, the one cognizant of all thoughts; let us hasten to pour out our hearts before him. He it is, finally, who calls sinners: let us not delay to come to God himself.
—John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, III.iv.9.
Chapter 9: Revolutionary Subordination
Summary
1972: Many point to the Haustafeln (e.g. Colossians 3:18-4:1; Ephesians 5:21-6:9; 1 Peter 2:13-37) as proof that the early church simply borrowed their ethical instruction from earlier Hellenistic (especially Stoic) and Jewish sources since Jesus didn’t provide an adequate ethical foundation for the growing church. Dibelius championed this view. This movement can be interpreted either positively or negatively. Yoder disagrees that the Haustafeln was mere appropriation.
Eerdmans has done the modern world a fine service by collecting the short fantasy stories of George MacDonald into four volumes. The Golden Key and Other Fantasy Stories is the second of the four I’ve read (Here’s my review of The Wise Woman and Other Fantasy Stories).
This volume was a bit more of a mixed bag. The good stories were very good while the weak stories simply had to be endured. Here are the stories:
The title story is strong. It’s as a classic quest tale that evokes that sense of otherness MacDonald is so good at. “The History of Photogen and Nycteris” is another fine story. What happens when a young woman who has only ever known night meets a young man who has only ever known daylight? I can’t help but think that some of MacDonald’s descriptions of the woman encountering daylight for the first time informed C. S. Lewis’ short story, “The Man Born Blind”.
“The Shadows,” while interesting in concept, failed to sustain my interest. The last story is not even a work of fantasy, but a morality tale about an irritating servant.
All that said, I would re-buy this book in a heartbeat on the strength of either of the first two longer stories.
If I had it all to do over again … I would reverse my prayer life. I wouldn’t talk to him so much; I would listen more. I still wonder after a lifetime of chatty prayers, if I had not been so noisy in his presence, would he have told me more from his giant heart?
—Calvin Miller, Life is Mostly Edges, 367.
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