Faith Kindred

Torture may be a justifiable misfortune (though I’m leaning against this), but necessary evil is an oxymoron.

Hm… the problem with that though, David, is that the Bible condones war as a necessary evil, but says nothing about torture.

This is what we logic fanatics call a slippery slope. If you go so far, you’re going to have to go all the way to the end.

If you took that same argument— that torture is bad, but it’s better than letting thousands…[Read more]

Hm. I guess I missed that part.
No, I didn’t read the unabridged version. I wanted to so badly, but we looked everywhere (and I mean everywhere) and couldn’t find it.
So I picked up an abridged version and read about the abridging process, and it sounded like it was only stylistic editing. Well, turns out I was wrong, so I’m still looking.…[Read more]

It says what he had been before. A Shepard if you remember. And he didn’t start out bad. He was a perfect little innocent fellow who played his flute through the meadow as he watched the sheep. You did read the unabridged version, didn’t you?

Yes! His name fits him perfectly. 😀 I think a lot of the reason I liked Luigi was because he was obviously so refined and educated, so it was intriguing to imagine how he fell to where he was, and what he had been before.

In regards to those who start out bad, I would say you still have to understand why they’re like that in the first place.…[Read more]

Yep, Edmond’s number one for me. And that’s a good point about how much his early innocence had to do with how much you love him when he turns vengeful. What about those who start out bad though? What hope is there for them to be loved by the reader? Or, do you not want them to be loved? What then? Something must be attractive.

Oh, and Luigi…[Read more]

Yes, that makes sense.

Here’s the question then. This person that you’re torturing, supposedly at least, has been engaged in a war against you. He has been killing your soldiers, and would kill you if he got the chance. Does that justify it? Especially when you consider that the information he has could likely save thousands of lives?

The only…[Read more]

According to the dictionary, torture is, “The act or practice of inflicting severe pain on someone to force them to do or say something.”

I think the issue would be that it is undeserved. I see no sin in holding a secret.

Yes, good points, Hope.
I’ve got absolutely no problem with good guys using mental manipulation. It’s torture I’m not sure about.

I’m going to suggest a tentative thought. You can still have a non-villain employ torture without promoting it. Just because it’s not the villain torturing someone doesn’t mean it’s right to do it.
If it’s essential…[Read more]

My favorite messed up protagonist? Sydney Carton. Bitter, cynical, lazy, slovenly, drunken— the list goes on and on.
Yet he’s a great character because we all know what it’s like to want something we cannot obtain (Lucie in this instance) and to work incredibly hard at the most thankless job imaginable and still see nothing come of it.
Or even…[Read more]

Good point, the distinction between mental manipulation and torture.

Great, you started a thread. I was going to do that later if no one else had. 🙂

This is a question I’ve thought about on and off. Under normal circumstances, of course, torture would be something I’d only have bad guys use. By this I mean physical torture. If the situation were serious enough, I’d have no problem letting good characters use some…[Read more]

I have a friend who’s MC is bitter, spiteful, and revengeful at the beginning of the book. And yet I love her. Part of it is that I can see the character’s past; what has made her like this, and I sympathize. Part of it is that the character is hurting, though she doesn’t show it (and covers it with bitterness, etc.). And part of is is that I know…[Read more]

That is a great question, and unfortunately one I haven’t studied. I going to set forth this premise though. What we are looking for is not a lack of any mention against torture, but something that would cause us to accept it in certain situations despite the fact that treating people that way in general is wrong.

And by the way, you should…[Read more]

I see

Why don’t you include the – in the title then?

My apologies, Master Yoda. I didn’t say you weren’t wise, I said you weren’t refined.

There’s a big difference. *cough* Excuse me. Big difference there is.

Old wise Yoda is. Like many many library compiled. Yoda write many book he does. No room for imagination he has when facts overcrowd his brain they do.