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@wilder-w
First off, I totally agree with writing cleanly. While I have not had to combat that yet, my mother went through a lot because of some very unclean books. Praise the Lord, she was able to use her experience to teach us to be careful with what we put before our eyes.
Also, we need to be careful, vigilant. We do not fight against flesh and blood but against spiritual wickedness and the list goes on. In this war, words are weopons. What we speak holds immeasurable impact, whether in our prayer, daily speech, songs, or writing. We have a responsibility to use our words to the Glory of God and the furtherance of His Kingdom.
I do agree with what @karissa-chmil said, in that we aught to be truthful in what we write. We must show sin, because it’s a fallen world. (Also what you said about balance is spot on! That was so good.) I would add, however, that we must be wary. Even if we are writing about the darkness, we do not need to describe the nitty gritty of the darkness, because we must be studious to show sin as it is – filthy – not as something intriguing. The Bible does this; if you will notice, while there are instances of brutal murder etc. it is not graphic, and it does NOT sound like something one would want to do!
In my books, especially my allegory, I do have some darkness and light. Take my favorite character, Alwin for instance. (Not saying that I’m an expert in this, but as an example.)
Alwin is a serf – someone who is obviously bound to darkness. He was born into this; his mother was either never married, or married many times. He never knew his father. At a young age he was already bound in multiple addictions, had experienced many forms of abuse, filled with confusion, and attempted suicide.
I am not very particular, however, with everything he goes through. Why?
Because I want many different people to see themselves in him. I am not particular with the things he is involved in exactly, but we understand. Many of the things are allegorically shown, and some things are obvious. Like the verbal abuse he gets from about everyone he knows.
I also don’t want to destroy the innocence of someone who may read this and not know what it’s like to live day to day in fear of abuse. What I really want to do, is write it so that those who know it, see it for what it is, and those who don’t, see it for what it is – bondage. Not intriguing. Not glamorous. Dark but not ultimate. Something that will fail, in the name of the King of Glory.
Because Alwin does not stay in it. There is someone with a heart to reach that shows him the way and leads him to the only One who can redeem from the house of bondage. The only One that can; the One who is enough.
And that was LONG. I don’t know if any of that would be helpful to anyone, but hopefully it is.
You have listened to fears, child. Come, let me breathe on you... Are you brave again? -Aslan
Exactly! The Bible shows many disturbing things, and that is exactly what they should be. Disturbing, NOT intriguing.
Our writing should show the darkness as what it is, both to give boldness because we know our enemy, and a warning to not be like it.
It matters where your focus is. Remember Lot’s wife? Although her feet were in salvation, her eyes craved one last look at sin.
It matters where our focus is.
In all this remember, our ultimate purpose is to glorify God.
First Grand Historian of Arreth and the Lesser Realms (aka Kitty)
Fork the Gork*APPLAUSE*
Focus is everything. I agree with everyone on here in that there’s a balance. We need to see the darkness behind our backs and the light before us, before we can take a step.
@wilder-w
By the way, nice to meet you! XD Gummy bears for the win! I’ve had long, psychologically challenging conversations about gummy bears. Believe it or not. *Awkward smile*
And I TotAllY understand taking a break; usually I get pretty enthusiastic in these forums, but I’m going through a rough summer-to-school transition right now XD What are some of your other hobbies? Do they blend into your creative writing somehow?
“Everything is a mountain”
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@elishavet-pidyon. Beautifully put! 😊
@karissa-chmil. I wholeheartedly agree! And you put it so well! 😊 As Christians we know that there is, of course, darkness. And I, myself, believe in some ways we shouldn’t’ shy away from that. Because, as Christians, we know that in the darkness there is still light. In the ugliness, there is still beauty. And in the hopelessness, there is still hope. And that really speaks to me as a Christian Teen writer who is currently trying to tackle the Holocaust. 😅 Again, so well put! 👏@wilder-w. Also, in light of what @karissa-chmil said, here’s this Kingdom Pen article! 😉 https://kingdompen.org/dark-christian-fiction-a-contradiction-in-terms/
Another article that focuses on this topic that I love: https://storyembers.org/dear-christian-novelists-cleanness-is-not-next-to-godliness/
wonder | beauty | truth | love
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@karissa-chmil I totally agree with you there! There is, of course, a dark world out there and there are ways we can put beautiful content with still those hardships in them. Yes! I agree so much with the comments you made!! Thank you for that!!! Thank you God.
@freedomwriter76 I will read that article! Shanks!!
@whalekeeper You’ve had deep conversations about gummy bears too!!!! YUS!!!! I have too!!! *chuckles* Yeah…I love gummy bears.
And yes, I have a couple other hobbies, but my main ones are writing and music. It’s my goal to put clean, morally sound content out there…but also to write clean songs. I am an avid musician. I play mandolin, guitar, piano, and drums. Mando is my fav tho.
I do draw…a bit. I am currently making stickers. And working on merch.
Other than that, not much. I’m just a gal trying to write clean and share the gospel of Christ! You know, besides being a tad bit weird, I’m a lot like y’all!
@elishavet-pidyon YES!!!! THANK YOU JESUS!!! Your input girl was soooo needed. Thank you!!!!- Rank: Chosen One
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@wilder-w. You’re So Welcome! 😀 It’s a great article and it really helped me out! 😉 And what KIND OF MERCH ARE YOU WORKING ON!? I neeeed to know!
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@freedomwriter76 Your welcome! Oh and my merch…hmmm…well I’m doing some Michigan apparel (I’m a Michigander), I’m doing some nature conservation fundraising, and I’m doing some verse sweaters, and some line art designs.
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@wilder-w. EPIC! Sounds like fun! 😀
@wilder-w
Embrace the weirdness.
“Everything is a mountain”
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So I’ve always been taught at a young age what is bad to say. I learned about the 10 commandments at a young age (never was able to memorize them but I still learned what they meant). One of those is do not take the Lord’s name in vain. I learned that meant not to use God’s name in a bad way.
Embarrassing but kind of funny story on this: I was watching the Lego movie with my cousin and one of the lines Emmet says is: O my G-O-S-H. I decided to take it a step further and say O-M-G. 😱 and my cousin widened his eyes and said, ” Do you know what that means.” I chuckled and said no. I was honestly just trying to have fun and really had no idea what that meant. I had just heard it in some kids movie. After he told me, I went way overboard in some people’s eyes and couldn’t even say O my Gosh out loud anymore. The closest I got was O my goodness. It’s still embarrassing. My face was so red after he told me and I actually made the excuse that I had to use the bathroom and just sat on the floor in there and cried. 🥺😭 To this day, my face goes red when I think of that story and I can’t say, watch or read bad language anymore without cringing or in some really bad cases getting a stomach ache.
@sarafini
I’m sorry that was so embarrassing. That’s probably the most need-to-plug-my-ears moment in The Lego Movie. At least you didn’t say it in front of anyone else. I always knew OMG was bad, but ‘gosh’ was a different story. That took a bit longer to realize.
On the bright side, it’s good that you know it’s wrong at all. I have some Christian friends who say those words, and I honestly wonder if they know it’s wrong at all. They get shushed a lot, but it’s mostly treated as a joke.
“Everything is a mountain”
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