It’s so important to teach discernment in reading/taking in media to our kids. It can be so tempting to try and do blanket bans/shelter them excessively rather than exposing them to quality literature to help form their tastes and teaching them to critically examine books and ask whether the goodness in a book outweighs its problematic elements, then giving them a chance to put the skills you’ve taught them into practice. I have clear memories of reading books and finding certain elements concerning/off-putting, and then going to my Mom with those concerns to help me figure out what to do about it all. And the discussions/advice she gave me continues to stand me in good stead as an adult, and helped form me as a lifelong reader who knows both that it’s ok (and prudent) to avoid certain works of literature based on my individual areas of temptation/anxiety, but also that books (like people) are a mix of goodness and imperfection, and we should try to draw out the goods before whole sale banning/avoidance.
Absolutely! That temptation can be so strong at times, but it's so encouraging when one of my kids comes to me to check in about something. That discernment is something I do as a reader all the time, and it's one of the important things we need to teach our kids to do too.
This is a wonderful thing that you’re doing, Lorelei! It’s creepy how prevalent these things are becoming. I’m curious whether you have any tips on how to write such theologically accurate ghosts? I’ve always enjoyed a good ghost story myself, and I’ve been wanting to write one, but I’ve been concerned about how to do it properly as a Catholic.
Peter Kreeft has written on ghosts as well, and offers many useful insights.
I also have found a lot of help from The Exorcist Files podcast, which is catechesis on spiritual warfare and the demonic. It helped me frame the 'curse' in my story in a plausible way, and also made it very clear where the Church draws the line on when a priest is needed. There's a lot of confusion in kid lit between ghosts and demons- which I think is where the 'ghost posessing a child' came from in the one book I read. It's just bad theology and not thought through, probably because the author thinks it's a group of myths to pull from.
I'm sure I've done other reading as well, but those most stand out.
Ultimately, my goal is to make sure my depictions of ghosts are accurate in the sense that they don't contradict Catholic theology, and that they could fit inside what is generally accepted/known about ghosts from the Catholic perspective.
It’s so important to teach discernment in reading/taking in media to our kids. It can be so tempting to try and do blanket bans/shelter them excessively rather than exposing them to quality literature to help form their tastes and teaching them to critically examine books and ask whether the goodness in a book outweighs its problematic elements, then giving them a chance to put the skills you’ve taught them into practice. I have clear memories of reading books and finding certain elements concerning/off-putting, and then going to my Mom with those concerns to help me figure out what to do about it all. And the discussions/advice she gave me continues to stand me in good stead as an adult, and helped form me as a lifelong reader who knows both that it’s ok (and prudent) to avoid certain works of literature based on my individual areas of temptation/anxiety, but also that books (like people) are a mix of goodness and imperfection, and we should try to draw out the goods before whole sale banning/avoidance.
Absolutely! That temptation can be so strong at times, but it's so encouraging when one of my kids comes to me to check in about something. That discernment is something I do as a reader all the time, and it's one of the important things we need to teach our kids to do too.
This is a wonderful thing that you’re doing, Lorelei! It’s creepy how prevalent these things are becoming. I’m curious whether you have any tips on how to write such theologically accurate ghosts? I’ve always enjoyed a good ghost story myself, and I’ve been wanting to write one, but I’ve been concerned about how to do it properly as a Catholic.
It is so concerning!
And good question re: writing ghosts! I've done a lot of research into Catholic perspectives on ghosts, and have found many helpful sources. Catholic Answers has a good article: https://www.catholic.com/magazine/online-edition/what-are-ghosts
Peter Kreeft has written on ghosts as well, and offers many useful insights.
I also have found a lot of help from The Exorcist Files podcast, which is catechesis on spiritual warfare and the demonic. It helped me frame the 'curse' in my story in a plausible way, and also made it very clear where the Church draws the line on when a priest is needed. There's a lot of confusion in kid lit between ghosts and demons- which I think is where the 'ghost posessing a child' came from in the one book I read. It's just bad theology and not thought through, probably because the author thinks it's a group of myths to pull from.
I'm sure I've done other reading as well, but those most stand out.
Ultimately, my goal is to make sure my depictions of ghosts are accurate in the sense that they don't contradict Catholic theology, and that they could fit inside what is generally accepted/known about ghosts from the Catholic perspective.
Hope that helps!
Thank you, Lorelei! This will be really helpful, as I’m going to be writing about ghosts this October!