Monday, October 18, 2010

DISNEY, HERCULES AND GOD

This past weekend, my mom and sister were giving sea shells to the girls. My daughter was impressed with one shell and remarked that it looked painted. My father said it must have been painted by God. My daughter replied, “Grandpa, there are no such things as gods!”

One of Weeb’s favorite movies is Disney’s Hercules. As I’m a bit of a Mythology buff, I’ve explained to her that the story of Hercules was a story that people used to tell but is not a story about real people. I’ve also explained how Disney’s version is quite a bit different from the Greek and Roman tales (for example, Hera is NOT Hercules’ mother, Hades was not a bad guy and Pegasus was more Perseus’ buddy than Hercules’ made-from-clouds pal, and there were 3 or 9 muses, depending what you read, not 5). My daughter understands that the gods in the story are not real and that people, long ago, told stories to teach lessons and to entertain themselves.

I guess it’s time I talked a bit more about God with her. I’ve talked with her a bit about it before. I’ve told her, as simply and logically as I can, what I believe and I’ve explained that not everybody believes the same thing or worships the same way. We’ve got a way to go.

I will say this, I don’t have the heart to tell Weeb the truth about what happens to Hercules and Megara in the non-Disney stories. I think that one can wait.

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