I've come across mentions of phoenixes four times in books recently. Three were references to the mythologicial rebirth of the phoenix, and the other one spent several pages on the history of Tyrian purple dye--Tyre being the chief city of the ancient Phoenicians--and how the origins of the words phoenix and Phoenicia were closely connected with the idea of the dye.
Tyrian purple, from murex shells, was typically a reddish purple, but could range from very pale tints to very dark purples. The dye was more valuable by weight than gold.
I also read 2 Chronicles 2, where Huram (Hiram) of Tyre assisted Solomon with the building of the Temple. In 2 Chronicles 2:12, Huram acknowledges that the God of Israel is creator of heaven and earth.
Other sources say that the chief Phoenician god was Melqart, which has some correspondence with Biblical accounts of Moloch and Baal worship. Greeks tended to see Melqart as Hercules. The Phoenicians practiced child sacrifice.
This was in something like 960 B.C. Israel was at its peak, and Tyre was approaching a peak of its own.
This song is haunting, although not directly applicable to my personal experience.
There's an interesting semi-parallel in Revelation 7:17 and 8:1:
"...and God shall wipe all tears from their eyes. And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour."
Some years back there were some public comments from famous authors about the Susan in the Narnia books not being present for the Final Battle and what followed. It was framed as bigotry against women and people of average morals.
Neil Gaiman's came in the form of a short story, "The Problem of Susan," which from an excerpt I found is apparently quite vile.
Gaiman has fallen out of public favor as allegations against him have begun to surface.
Two other authors were J. K. Rowling, who ought to know better, and Phillip Pullman, who also writes vile stories, I've been told.
Pastor Douglas Wilson has a lucid, sensitive, and rather long rebuttal to the Problem of Susan; link below.
My own, lesser contribution here, is that C. S. Lewis was a fan of George MacDonald, and MacDonald wrote some vivid portrayals of spiritual devolution. In The Princess and Curdie, Curdie was given the ability to discern which beast a person's moral character was descending into by holding their hand. In ...
