August 29, 2025 Paid subscribers
From Wizards to Prophets
Why the Supernatural Story Matters
Dr. Greg Bottaro and I were deep in conversation on his Being Human Podcast when we found ourselves laughing about our sons—his 12-year-old and my 10-year-old—and their love of fantasy literature. Both avid readers who've devoured Tolkien and Lewis, they've been asking us questions about magic in the stories they read.
The conversation took an interesting turn when Greg mentioned that a male colleague of his plays Dungeons & Dragons, but shared the concern that some Catholics have about potentially "opening demonic doors" through fantasy role-playing. As two Catholic fathers and psychologists, we realized we'd stumbled into an important conversation for our time: How do we discern between harmless fantasy and something spiritually problematic in a culture where the lines are increasingly blurred?