It seems to me that part of the problem is a post-Enlightenment fear of illusion that has over-reached and become a fear of traditional allusion. After the Enlightenment, people began to fear symbol and metaphor; the liturgy had appeared to be a dry and life-throttling formalism. Sacraments became tombstones of past events rather than expressions of a living new reality.

Symbols, by nature, are traditional and borrowed, but post-Enlightenment writers prefer to subvert and reinterpret symbols, turning them on their heads and destroying their meaning in the process. The symbol is no longer appreciated unless you give it a new or novel meaning, so that everyone can marvel at your twist of profundity. People do not realize that the symbols and metaphors and stories of the Bible and of history give us the richest, most beautiful colors to paint with. In order to not be constrained by the symbols of the past, they mix them all together in a jumble and paint their stories in different shades of black. It saddens me really; I feel this loss of traditional symbolism every time I crack open a new work of fiction. I see it also all too often in modern worship services.

Thanks for your post. I love this topic; keep encouraging folks to keep their arsenal strong.

Shepherd
from the Knight Blog