The iMonk, Michael Spencer, has stumbled upon a rare transcript from the 4,231st Halloween Dance and Potluck (typically held in the basement of the Salem, Masachusetts City Hall). The Great Pumpkin, who holds forth in an extended monologue, presents a rare combination of wit, conviviality, and C.S. Lewis. He also valiantly champions the rightful use of the imagination. What a Pumpkin!
"Ladies and gentlemen, ghouls and goblins, monsters and monstrosities both real and imaginary: It's truly an honor for me to be with you this evening on what is always a wonderful time of rekindling old friendships and wishing one another well before our big night. Many of us never see our fellow members of the realm of imagination except at this gathering, and it's really wonderful to see all of you again. I especially want to thank this year's President of the Halloween Society, Harry Potter, for all the work he's done this year. What a year, Harry! (Applause.)...
"When I see someone explaining the evil influence of a pumpkin, it's both a cause for laughter and for sadness. How can anyone, particularly one who says they believe in the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, believe that mummies and werewolves and ghosts and witches hold any spiritual or actual power? One of the best imaginative writers, C.S. Lewis, who created all of the Narnia characters, was convinced that God gave human beings the realm of the imagination to be a sort of classroom to teach them, in a childish form, the spiritual nature of the universe and reality itself. In allowing them to create the imaginative realm, they were learning to reflect on reality and see its true character, and to see their own character as well. It was a way to see that human beings are the imaginative creations of God himself, and they reflect both his nature and their own fallen, rebellious nature."
Three cheers! Be sure and read the whole thing before the clock strikes midnight: The Great Pumpkin Proposes a Toast.
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