First and foremost, let me say that this is not a book
promoting Satan, filled with verses celebrating Satan, or even one demoralizing
Christianity. People seem to get worked up when I tell them what I’m reading.
This is a novel – most of the verses in question are poetry and rhymes used
diabolically, and therefore are satanic in the sense of
extremely evil or
wicked in contrast to connected
with Satanism. Yes, there is plenty of
religious imagery, and yes, at times the characters question whether or not the
verses came from Satan himself. This mention of the creature of Satan does not
make this a Satanic (in the connected with sense) any more than the mention of him makes Milton’s Paradise
Lost a Satanic poem.
As a Christian, I do believe that Satan is real and that
there are dark, demonic things going on in this world. If I had had any
indication that this book was associated with the occult or in some way
glamorized Satan to the point of worship I would have immediately removed it
from my reading list. But having read work by Salman Rushdie before and being
familiar with his style of writing, in conjuction with the fact that this book
is so highly acclaimed and has been for over 20 years, I was not worried. And
now, having finished the novel, I have found that I was correct.
Read more >
No comments:
Post a Comment