The duality of light and dark is a classic fascination. When I write this title, I immediately go to the hugely popular television show LOST. The show was packed with symbols and nods to popular themes in religion, philosophy, and psychology, the tension between black and white being one of the most important. Even in the first episode, the character John Locke is shown playing backgammon, a game with black and white pieces.
The show continues throughout the seasons, occasionally nodding to the tension between black and white, but always keeping some of the characters at odds, never fully coming together on anything. In the final two seasons, some immensely important characters appear, one dressed all in white and the other all in black. These two characters seem to be the forces the entire show has revolved around, the puppetmasters of the previous 4 years. The rest of the characters divide and form temporary allegiances as they have always done, never resting or stopping in their pursuit for answers. The show is tension; its cliffhangers were legendary, and nobody ever really knew what was going on. The producers have even said (half joking) that the name comes from the characters not being lost on an island, but by being lost in themselves.
So what's the point? It's simply that black and white are objective. One is not always good and the other bad. It's a matter of perspective. It's easy to read a text and align with the side of the author, but many times the author will not give much of an account for the other side, much less an unbiased account. Something I have learned going through the Religion program at PLU is to look at texts through the eyes of the people being written to, as well as those being written about. Understanding the entire context behind a piece of text is crucial to better historical analysis.
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