Fiction is safe in a way, my friend. When you assert theological ideas and beliefs you tend to polarize your audience into an agreement/disagreement dichotomy whereas fiction allows for a poetic license and a willing suspension of disbelief on the readers' part.
Some of my characters like Jay Randall make me wince - especially the way he treats his literary shepherd/love interest, Melody Bride. Jay is conflicted like me - he allows me to explore consequences of my own flawed personality that inevitably lead to bad choices. Ouch!
I see so much untapped potential in you and the path of least resistance to allowing that to blossom is through literary art and fiction - it allows you to indulge in allegory like John Bunyan or modern fiction such as Michael Phillip's, A Rift in Time, which I know you'd enjoy and I can see you writing in this genre
Hey, John!
Thank you for saying that out loud. It helps me to hear it in so many words, and further encourages me along the fiction path. I do have some rather outré thoughts that I wish to explore in considerable detail, and I don't (usually—except in my more cynical moments) want to alienate my readers.
I've just now looked at Michael Phillip's Amazon pages... Talk about prolific! I'll have to give him a read.
Thank you once more, John, for your kind encouragement. :D
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I am reading a Michael Phillip's book presently. Legends of the Celtic Stone - huge read with lots of history. He actually writes similarly to @johnjgeddes.
What John said to you though is true . You have a vast library of knowledge and an endless imagination that can be used to tell your story (whoever you are) through your aliases....Duncan Palmer, Creatr, or?
Thank you for the encouragement, friend.
There are two fictional universes that I'm most interested in; the antediluvian world, and the New Heavens and New Earth. They are both fictional only in the sense that they are not directly accessible to our observation. I have very strong beliefs about both.
I published this limited "backgrounder" about them here on Steemit a couple of days ago. Both universes are remote enough to be more or less "safe," but both are (I think) misunderstood by most, and consequently full of surprises that are interesting--at least to me.
I recently placed second in a fiction contest here with a story set in one of those universes. :) I hope to write more stories in both.
Hey, my Old Friend John!
I today had occasion to revisit this post, and rediscovered your very thoughtful and encouraging comments. Thank you again for the boost they gave me then, and again now!
The occasion is an attempt to revisit my fictionalized antediluvian universe--consequent to a challenge from another friend of mine who knows my proclivities to submit a story to "Silence and Starsong," a new 'Zine looking for Sci-Fi and Fantasy stories penned with a Christian worldview.
But there's a third-order effect also now operating, thanks to re-reading your remarks.😄
I am part of a "band of brothers" in our local church with whom I share a large common overlap of belief, while diverging strongly in one area that I consider of paramount importance. My efforts to persuade them span years, and have thus far been ineffective. Your renewed encouragement has me imagining stories to slip past their impenetrable mental armor, perhaps resulting in them actually thinking about my viewpoint.
Blessings, my friend!
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Hi Creatr,
Sorry for the delay in replying - I should check my replies more often. I still stand by my remarks - I think you'll find the fastest way to a person's heart is through a story. Jesus used stories all the time to teach spiritual truths and reach hearts. I have a friend I've known since I was 17 - he's a classical anarchist and we bump heads all the time. He once asked me if I would shelter him from the law if the police came looking for him...Um, NO! He is constantly asking about my beliefs and believes his religion is anarchism as mine is Christianity. He's not wrong, but after all these years a mutual respect has set in. I'm never going to argue him into the kingdom and besides, the Lord told me he doesn't need salesmen. Yeah, that was a slap in my face. So now, I'm a little closer to him and he's a bit closer to me. If I'm the only Bible he's ever going to read, God help him! I pray every night for Him to help me--maybe that's the point of all this...I kind of think it is.
Wow, I also should check my replies more often; just now seeing this...
Thanks for the added commentary, and the poignant personal example.🙏
Amen! I will pray that the LORD softens and opens your friend's heart to the incredibly good news of Jesus' Kingdom.😀
And perhaps you and your friend are more closely aligned than you imagine; While I'm at it, I'll also pray that the LORD might open your eyes to see that Jesus' Kingdom is indeed "anarchy" in the sense of "no (other) rulers." The first Christians' insistence that "Jesus is Lord" clearly said to the powers at that time that "Caesar is NOT." My flavor of anarchy has room for none but THE "Blessed and ONLY Sovereign," Jesus.
Now you've got me trying to imagine a story that might draw you and your friend even closer.
And, since my last message, I've nearly completed the story I was hoping to write for publication. I'm beginning to believe that I may yet make the 30 September deadline. The tale, whether or not the magazine accepts it, will--God willing--eventually become part of my antediluvian series here on Hive.
Great to hear from you again, John.
BTW, remember the Good Samaritan story?
If your friend ever does come to you seeking shelter from "the law," I hope the Lord will bring that story to mind.🤣
BLESSINGS!