Are all fictional dragons to be considered evil?

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No, not all fictional dragons need be evil.

Revelation is full of symbolism and I suggest discussing interpreting that Book with your priest.
 
. . . . . ? :confused:
Seriously?

Dragons in fiction can be either good
or evil, that’s why we call it FICTION**! **
 
A character in fiction can be either good or bad.

Really, since they do not possess actual being, they are neither.

ICXC NIKA
 
No, not all fictional dragons to be considered evil.

Have you ever heard of “Never Ending Story”? I think that particular dragon was even pink, very cute and nice!
 
Of course not. For example in The Eragon series the blue dragon was good.
 
Im curious if anyone here believe real dragons existed at any time in history?

I read an article earlier that completely shocked me about this!

Im not referring to magical, talking dragons, that hoard great piles of gold in their caves though, Im talking about large reptiles, that had the ability to fly and attack and eat something as large as a horse or cow. These were mentioned quite a bit in medieval times, some went into great detail about them…very interesting!

If anyones interested, I can provide some links about this subject.
 
Depends on what we define as dragon
Like I believe in Komodo dragons, and some prehistoric animals might look like a dragon (not saying they are)
 
Robyn_p said:
Satan is also described as a lion in 1 Peter. That doesn’t make lions in fiction evil. These are just images to capture a certain aspect of the devil.
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Case in point: Aslan from Narnia, a representation of Christ.

Or, the Lion of Judah, in Revelation: also Jesus.
 
CeaselessMedik said:
Because in Rev satan is a dragon.
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The word dragon doesn’t necessarily refer to a fire-breathing winged creature out of an RPG world. 😃

Consider Rev 12: 1
*“And that great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, who seduceth the whole world.” (Emphasis mine.)
*
In context, the reference is simply to a monstrous, demonic creature. But if we note the parallelism between “dragon” and “serpent”, it’s clear that we’re not talking about a “dragon” dragon here, but a serpent or snake-like creature. This makes sense considering that Rev 12 is a direct Scriptural sequel (if I may use the word) to Genesis 3:14-15, where Satan is also represented as a serpent:

*“And the Lord God said to the serpent: Because thou hast done this thing, thou art cursed among all cattle, and beasts of the earth: upon thy breast shalt thou go, and earth shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
I will put enmities between thee and the woman, and thy seed and her seed: she shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel.”
*

The theory that “all fictional dragons are evil” is a creation of the minds of some modern writers, such as Michael O’Brien. It’s an interesting theory, but it arises from reading the Bible out of context. Powers are often personified as beasts or monsters in the Bible - for example, in Ezekiel, images such as crocodiles are used to refer to earthly kings; in Revelation, locusts are used to refer to invading armies. That doesn’t mean that crocodiles are always royal, or that locusts are always military! 😃

Besides, in some cultures, such as China, the dragon is viewed as faithful and loyal (much like the dog in modern Western society).

When reading fiction, content and context are important. It’s entirely possible to write a moral (or even Catholic) story involving dragons, just as it’s possible to write an immoral and anti-Catholic story involving plain old humans, cats or dogs. Symbolism is not reality, and fictional tropes are not demonic invocations. The failure of some commentators to realize this arises more out of a “moral panic” than an accurate interpretation of what St. John wrote. 😉
 
RPRPsych said:
Besides, in some cultures, such as China, the dragon is viewed as faithful and loyal (much like the dog in modern Western society).
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Actually more accurately, they are viewed primarily as lucky, and touching a ceremonial one is viewed as being a form of blessing.

Lions are viewed more directly as fierce, faithful and loyal in Chinese culture. Lion dancing, which is actually a type of Exorcism ritual, is often mistaken as “Dragon” Dancing in the west. The dance is designed to scare away evil spirits, with loud noises(drumming, and firecracker explosions), a lion(symbolism is interesting to me), the presence of a “lion tamer”, and incense(in the form of firecrackers).
 
colliric said:
Actually more accurately, they are viewed primarily as lucky, and touching a ceremonial one is viewed as being a form of blessing.
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That’s interesting. Thanks for the correction. 👍 I got the “loyal” bit from a chapter in one of my textbooks on cultural factors in psychiatric interviewing. Looks like they got it wrong. 😊 :o
Lions are viewed more directly as fierce, faithful and loyal in Chinese culture. Lion dancing, which is actually a type of Exorcism ritual, is often mistaken as “Dragon” Dancing in the west. The dance is designed to scare away evil spirits, with loud noises(drumming, and firecracker explosions), a lion(symbolism is interesting to me), the presence of a “lion tamer”, and incense(in the form of firecrackers).
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Got it! Isn’t there a tradition that Pekinese dogs have the hearts of lions, or something to that effect? 🙂
 
You will never convince me that Boris, from My Father’s Dragon is evil. My babysitter read that to me when I was a child, I’ve read it to all my children when they were young, and I intend to do the same for any grandchildren that I get the privilege of having the opportunity (they don’t have to be my grandchildren, either). It’s available free (with the original illustrations) here:gutenberg.org/ebooks/30017

As a rule, I like my monsters to be monsters, so I hate Twilight and love Midnight Mass, but I’ll give Boris and Felcor the Luck Dragon from Neverending Story and any other good dragons a pass. (Like Mr. Long from Tea with the Black Dragon, although the dragon is a really tiny part of the story).

This reminds me of a very funny Harry Potter Fanfiction story where Harry is turned into a dragon… Enter the Dragon fanfiction.net/s/5585493/1/Enter-the-Dragon

Enjoy!

(And I like that quote about being a dragon. Yes, always be the dragon.)

Tom A.
 
[sarcasm]
He’s an evil invention of cannabis-swilling 60s hippies, and symbolizes the “sexual revolution”, permissiveness, and long hair.
[/sarcasm]

😃
 
RPRPsych said:
[sarcasm]
He’s an evil invention of cannabis-swilling 60s hippies, and symbolizes the “sexual revolution”, permissiveness, and long hair.
[/sarcasm]

😃
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I was going to say I didn’t include him because of rumors of drug use…

Tom A.
 
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