See, in today’s culture dragons have had a resurgence. I mean, they were never really extinct
culturally, if you know what I mean, but they were very typecast, so to
speak. Dragons were always the bad
guys. They pillaged and looted, stole
gold and fair maidens, and the hero always had to go and slay the mighty
beast. A new kind of dragon has emerged,
however, a tamer more heroic type of dragon, which has caused the controversy
of which I speak within the more conservative circles.
Dragons have captured the minds of Fantasy writers as far
back as Fantasy writing goes, as we will see in part 3 of this series. In fact,
dragons are now the number one Fantasy creature of today’s culture, thanks to
movies like How to Train your Dragon, Eragon, Dragon Wars, and the likes, as
well as tv shows like Merlin which doesn’t feature a dragon very predominantly,
and yet still generates much dragon talking.
Most everyone now loves dragons, but when did we come to
believe that dragons were simply inventions of our fantasies? When did reality
fade away?
It may, or may not, surprise you that a large group of
people view dragons as nothing more than a literary masterpiece crafted to
either entertain, or frighten, children. My goal in this series is to show you
dragons, and subsequently dinosaurs, did in fact exist. In fact, I would posit
to you that a dragon is actually a type of dinosaur the Lord created in all of
his imaginative splendor.
Now, before we can continue with this series, there is
something that I’d like to establish which we will be able to build off of
later. I am sure many of you have heard the argument that dragons are evil,
right? Now, to a dragon lover such as myself, this is a shocking thing to hear!
Your most beloved scaled creature is evil?! For shame! Who would say such a thing?
Many people, specifically in conservative circles, are
concerned that depicting dragons favorably is the same as depicting demonic
aberrations favorably. The reason they feel this way is very simple. Was not
the father of lies, Satan himself, depicted in scripture as a dragon (speaking
specifically about the revelation portrayals of Satan)?
Here is where the controversy begins.
I have a number of issues with this line of thinking. I
think we have to be careful that we don’t link creatures likened unto Satan as
being Satanic. The Bible likens Christ to a Lion and a Lamb, but that does not
make these animals sacred or holy, right? In fact, the lion sorta turns things topsy
turvy on their head because, after all, weren’t both Christ and Satan depicted
as a lion in the scriptures?
Now you know me, so it is no shock to you that I’m about to
give you the scripture verses of which I speak:- 1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
- 2 Timothy 4:17 “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth.”
- Revelation 5: 5 “Then one of the elders said to me ‘Do not weep! See, the LION of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals’”
So, if the animal is tainted by association, due to being
compared to Satan, why would the Lord use an evil symbol to portray his son? Does it not seem more likely that the Lord is
simply using something tangible in order to portray a concept which we can
grasp?
In fact, that’s exactly why Lewis uses a lion to depict a
Christ-like character in his books. Now,
whether you like the stories or not, if you are going to hold to the viewpoint
that dragons are a representation of evil, then you must extend it across all
species and literary works. Satan is portrayed as a lion several times. So the
question must be raised, if you come from this viewpoint, should Lewis have
portrayed Aslan as a lion because of this association? What about snakes? You
have the fall of man which includes a serpent. Do you feel it is wrong to
portray snakes, then, in stories, because Satan used the serpent as his
mouthpiece? But wait! Wasn’t the image of a serpent used by Moses
in Numbers (21:4-9) to heal the Israelites from their snake bites?
Historically, dragons were never seen as icons of evil. They
were viewed as creatures of life, strength, and vitality by many cultures. Furthermore, in part 2 of this series we will
look at the biblical evidence for whether or not dragons were real creatures
created by God. If they are, and I think
the biblical evidence is pretty strong, then that would mean that dragons were
made during one of the 6 days of creation week, in which time the Lord said
that they were very good.
If the dragon is not an unholy symbol, then why did God use
it as a depiction for Satan during the end times? I can’t really tell you. Is it because of the awe and magnificence the
creature inspires in us humans, as Satan will do in the end times? Is it
because of the strength and power we find in the loins of the beast? Or is it
because of the seemingly ugly scaled hide hidden beneath the veil of
magnificence, symbolic of Satan’s true nature? I don’t think we will know here
on earth, but what I do think we can know is that the dragon is not chosen
because it is an unholy beast demonically spawned by Satan.
So, to wrap up, I want to address what you can expect
through the rest of this series, if I’ve piqued your interest enough to
continue reading what I have to say.
Part two will be Dragons of the Bible: What does the Bible have to say
about dragons, if anything? Part three will be Dragons of the Past: A look at
historical evidence both literary, and archeologically. And part four will be Dragons
of the Present: Are dragons still in existence today?
My goal for this series is to bring to light certain facts
often overlooked by people when they view dragons. But, I think it is up to you to be the
ultimate judge. My job is simply to help inform you. My prayer is that this
series will be a jumping point to help you as you decide the answers to so many
questions about dragons.
Great thoughts, Kaitlyn!!!! I look forward to the rest. :-)
ReplyDeleteThank you, Heidi! :D
DeleteI remember reading this series a long time ago, and I'm enjoying it even more this time than I did then!
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad, Jonathan! I've actually updated and redone the series, so I'm thrilled you are enjoying it more than the first time!! :D
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