Thread:KatnissEverqueen/@comment-1672596-20131227082459/@comment-24293334-20131228194813

You put a lot of thought into your responses, and I really appreciate that. I am actually staring at an Ariel statuette I received for Christmas and which I referred to as my 2nd-favourite Disney Princess, Elsa being the first. I mentioned this because of what I think provides the most positive influence for girls, but of course if the statuette actually were alive a la Toy Story I would not regard her as lesser than any other! (As for Frozen, I may like that film a great deal, but I rail against the fact that they replaced the cross on Elsa's crucifer with a flower and Joan's "JESUS MARIA" standard/banner with a shield bearing an inverted Fleur-de-Lys....)

You also make a valid point regarding Gaston's Jezebel-like exploitation of the villagers' religious zeal as being potentially seen as a condemnation of Christianity. Nowadays that is probably exactly what it would be, but I believe the fact that Beauty and the Beast was released in 1991 saves it. I recall that time vividly (even if I was only 12), when "Public" schools meant "Protestant" and people were more worried about whether the cleric in The Little Mermaid had an erection than whether they should show religious content at all. The audience was presumed to be nearly-all Christian anyway. Oh, and now that I think on it, does Ms. Potts' singing, "Thank the LORD I've had the napkins freshly pressed" count as a positive reference to Christianity?

Belle was probably raised Catholic, as up until 1990 80% of France was Roman Catholic, and I hope she was wise enough to stay true to it. That would sadly depend in part upon her influences, but at least she had an Enchanted Christmas! ;)

In the book I've been writing, Why God Doesn't Hate You, I note that while Christianity suffered a major blow after 9/11, the point at which it actually started to decline was immediately after World War I. People were shocked and frightened at what the world had become, their faith in God had been shaken or shattered, and they were prepared to embrace a number of changes, many of them wrong. Ironically the single greatest contribution of feminism (1st-wave, ie the Suffragettes), which was the original concept and drafting of the United Nations, would be refused by such people and the women responsible would be blacklisted during the 1920s.

As for conversion, I take Joan of Arc as my role model, as she preferred her banner 40 times more than her sword. I do not believe people can be truly converted by the sword, but if we always carry the banner boldly, then we show the world that we are not ashamed of Christ and will not abandon Him even unto our own earthly destruction.