Discussing
The Insufficient Enchantment of American Gods

American Gods becomes less satisfying when you notice how much these deities work against human flourishing.

Great article! Nice work!

In Reply to Phillip Herring (comment #30385)
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Happy to help! I love Gaiman's writing, and I am enjoying reflecting on his work as it expands to new audiences.

In Reply to Winston (comment #30386)
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Thanks Winston!

Thanks for the context of American Gods and disenchanted modernity. Still disenchanted by depicting made up gods for made up characters. I have longed for the context of filling the "empty middle" that separates spiritual and material with the nothing of modern thinking of both man and God. I love the contrast with paganism and Christianity. I might, however, add to the last sentence of that paragraph not only live vocations like poets and fishermen, but at men and women, fathers and mothers, children and those searching for truth and meaning.

In Reply to Jerry Brown (comment #30390)
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Thanks for your comments Jerry! I think your thoughts about that line are spot on. Are you familiar with Andy Crouch's book Culture Making? He makes a similar argument in that we, as human beings, are all called to be culture makers in the context God has placed us.

Thanks for the article.
"These gods make for great stories, but they do not make great humans."...or great gods either.
Honestly, I have often wondered if I even want to bother to get into this series since sometimes it feels like yet another attempt to prove that "(g)od is not good". Often when I am having discussions with atheists online it becomes clear that the "evil god" that they are complaining about has more in common with Zeus or Odin than the God of the Bible that Christians know and love. It is getting increasingly difficult to have an intelligent discussion on Christian belief when the god that most non-Christians seem to think we believe in is a strange, dark caricature, not the real deal.

In Reply to Jan Driedge (comment #30396)
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Thanks for your comments Jan! I'm glad the article was helpful. I love Gaiman, and if you are willing to attempt a rated MA show, I think this is one that is worth the time. Your comment reminds me of C.S. Lewis' essay on Psalm 119 where he argued that the clarity and goodness of the law would become more apparent the more relativistic our culture becomes.