Postby Technomancer » Wed Aug 24, 2005 7:27 pm
Not really, the link between vampires and sex was discussed and written about well before Anne Rice (e.g. Carlotta).
I don't really think that you can derive too much about vampires, werewolves, etc from the bible- nor should you really try I think. Both monsters are ultimately derived from mythologies and cultures that are well outside of the ancient biblical lands. Moreover, they generally can be taken to represent certain psychological concepts as well (which is perhaps why they are so enduring), rather than any sort of physical creature. The question of their being "evil", I think resides with the intent of the writer rather than the motif itself.
The scientific method," Thomas Henry Huxley once wrote, "is nothing but the normal working of the human mind." That is to say, when the mind is working; that is to say further, when it is engaged in corrrecting its mistakes. Taking this point of view, we may conclude that science is not physics, biology, or chemistry—is not even a "subject"—but a moral imperative drawn from a larger narrative whose purpose is to give perspective, balance, and humility to learning.
Neil Postman
(The End of Education)
Anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that my ignorance is just as good as your knowledge
Isaac Aasimov