Sunday, November 27, 2016

Romancing the Demon

There's been an uptick of using Christian beliefs as a fantasy world.

Angels lose their wings because they've succumbed to the lust of a human woman. 
Demons being redeemed or seen as heroes and acting like any normal guy with regular needs, with a few interesting appendages complicating things.  

I understand that authors take poetic license; it's free speech after all. However, the stories of the Bible come from a world with the lines specifically drawn. 

Some of the best stories come from writers who think outside the box and challenge longheld or current beliefs. I give credit where credit is due. 

For those that are stronger in their faith, this manipulation of their basic tenets and understanding of their faith, and the romancing of evil, is a bit hard to swallow.  I highly doubt that a certain other religion would tolerate such a desecration of their beliefs. In fact, they kill people for less.  So, why do folks seem to think it's okay to treat the Christian faith with a cavalier manner?  Well, we certainly won't rise up and do harm - well, we shouldn't. There are extremes in any form of human decision. I suppose, if authors do any level of research, and they're ... undecided, perhaps a kernel of spiritual truth will find fertile ground and some day bear fruit.  Therefore, not pouncing and making a big deal out of it could be viewed as a passive form of preaching. If there's something worth exploring and  writing about, conceivably there's a possibility that conversion of souls can take place.  They're being exposed to the Lord.  If it makes someone curious about real Christian practices and beliefs, then something good can come of it.  The Lord's work is accomplished by using people, tools and options most cannot even guess at, and not all of them are through "perfect" means, because, absolute perfection does not exist on this earth. We're all sinners.

I have drawn my personal line in the sand when anyone writes Lucifer as a being with feelings, with normal human lust and emotions and connections. First, he was an angel and angels were never, ever human.  He's the total absence of God, he's the darkest dark, and the instigator of the worst parts of the human condition; the destructor and violator of souls.  Not only is he not human but he's not redeemable nor something to trifle with. He's Sauron's worst nightmare,  Freddy Krueger is a novice in comparison, and the  human mind simply cannot fathom the depths of wrongness that is Lucifer. So to romanticize him, make him act, talk or yearn for things as a human male would is, frankly, abhorrent to me. 

If they want to use the premise of angels and demons, take them out of this world, make them aliens, a different dimension and/or write it under the sci-fi/fantasy genre and disassociate it from the Christianity that is practiced here on earth. Use Greek or Roman mythology, like Hades or Pluto, instead of something that is alive and real.

I practice a lot of 'willing suspension of disbelief' when I read, but when it comes to my religion, I'm unwilling to compromise and suspend my beliefs for the sake of enjoyment.  The beauty, strength, grace, forgiveness and love of my God is not something I'll ever be willing to suspend, even for a book written by a favorite author. 

For me, romancing demons and the devil is not an option. 


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