A vaguely medieval world populated by dwarfs, elves, trolls; an evil lord out to enslave the good creatures; and, almost always, a weird magic thing that will let him do it, if the hero doesn't find or destroy it first — that is the Tolkien formula.
Gopnik goes on to define that blueprint: A vaguely medieval world populated by dwarfs, elves, trolls; an evil lord out to enslave the good creatures; and, almost always, a weird magic thing that will let him do it, if the hero doesn't find or destroy it first — that is the Tolkien formula….
She quotes the Puritan minister Increase Mather — "Drink is in itself a good Creature of God, and to be received with thankfulness, but the abuse of drink is from Satan, the wine is from God, but the Drunkard is from the Devil" — and declares his words "an early version of our incessant 'moderation' sermons, with only a pint or two dividing heaven from hell".
Increase Mather, a prominent colonial clergyman and president of Harvard, expressed the common view in a sermon against drunkenness: "Drink is in itself a good creature of God, and to be received with thankfulness, but the abuse of drink is from Satan; the wine is from God, but the drunkard is from the Devil".
William appeared to enjoy the domesticity of his life with Mrs. Jordan, remarking to a friend: "Mrs. Jordan is a very good creature, very domestic and careful of her children.
An ala could be seen as a good creature in some regions, such as Banat, Mount Kopaonik in south Serbia, and the adjacent Župa basin with nearby areas, where she was believed to be connected to a territory, which she defended against attacks by the ale from other territories.
God is all good, by any religious definition, and his will must mean the good of all creatures.
First, he looks at the good retained by creatures by virtue of their natures (bonum naturae).
We have already seen that classical theists and process theists agree that God wills the good of the creatures.
Some reviews asserted that the good and evil creatures described in the prologue were Ben and Justin, preparing for a final battle.
