Back-to-School

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P.S. In case it's not clear, they're talking about me. Maybe. You never know. Maybe I just want them to be talking about me.

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F.B.

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Draco Layer Four: The Anagogic or Mystical Sense

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Here be dragons. And doves. Human beings long for transcendence. Such longing is, for the world, always out of fashion because, of course, it is not a longing for the world, and the world knows it. We know what the world wants. The world—by which we mean Satan, the Lord of the World—wants above all our obedience, a jewel so precious that he will do anything to get it: lie, steal, murder, bear false witness, pretend to social standing, pretend to insider knowledge to get us to consent to his influence.  “God lied to you. You will not die.” And suddenly we are anxious about having other people dislike us, about losing prestige in our social circles, about other people being more popular or influential or successful, about other people having secret knowledge, about our own influence and fame. “You shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.” And with that temptation, our first parents fell. The irony is cosmic. There they were in the Garden, privy to conversation with God face-to-face, and
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Draco Layer Two: The Allegorical or Christological Sense

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The world needs good stories. Caedmon the cowherd sang songs about Creation (see previous layer ). He also sang songs about other stories in the Scriptures.  According to Bede, he sang about “the creation of the world, the origin of the human race, and the whole history of Genesis, of the departure of Israel from Egypt and the entry into the promised land.” Which should be a bit confusing, given the way most people talk about the Old Testament these days.  Wasn’t Caedmon supposed to Christian? Why wasn’t he singing stories about Christ? Well, you see, he was singing those, too. Songs “of the incarnation, passion, and resurrection of the Lord, of His ascension into heaven, of the coming of the Holy Spirit and the teaching of the apostles.”  But wait! There’s more: “He also made songs about the terrors of future judgement, the horrors of the pains of hell, and the joys of the heavenly kingdom.” [1] By which time, we are certain he was telling fairy tales, not history. I know, I know. The
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