Still reflecting from yesterday, perhaps something is good if it is a gift from God used wisely. I tend to think that sin is a twisting of something good: man is not in essence sin, even though sin has twisted up his every aspect. Are you with me? So, those who are gifted as writers, whether they believe or not, do something good when they write and write well. God’s gift is producing fruit much as a physical tree.
As I’ve thought about this, I’ve come across some things that are likely beyond me to tackle. Such as, “What’s the line between persuasion and manipulation?” I don’t know. But, I mean, if there is tension or conflict in a story, there is likely something at fault. As Christians, we can recognize sin and its influence. And, while I may roll my eyes when books preach to politicize everything, one can also learn what one does not want to emulate.
To clarify, I don’t think writing porn “well” helps anybody. Porn is not good; it is a twisting of something that belongs between a man and woman married to each other. It is inherently not good. Craft and art may be good, or done well, but porn itself can never be good.
At the same time, I don’t think violence is as guarded a subject, right? Illness, scandal, conspiracy, misunderstandings, etc. are all things that can be written about, presumably with good results and in good ways. One can write well about the violence around us, treat it symbolically, or explore it and things related to it. That isn’t a further twisting of creation, but an exploration or warning.
Can writing idolize? Yes. That is not good. The crafting may be skillful, but still result in something not good.
My practical line about this is don’t neglect those you are called to love and don’t skip over real opportunities. The Spirit can affect any and every topic, written, spoken, thought, or done. Write about what you will, but ask yourself whether you are twisting things further or reflecting preexisting twists and turns. (Is that a clear? I officially offer no promise that each of my posts will be well-written! ;))
My realization for the day is that it is not up to us to determine what good can come from something. 🙂 That lays with God. And, while it is good to consider how we can best use our gifts, we can be grateful to God that we receive from the gifts of others, whether believers or unbelievers.
Does trash exist? Yes. Is some stuff not trash but not useless? Sure. Does everything fit onto a nice, clean spectrum over which the majority agree? Woah dogger, no! And that’s ok.
If I can get myself together, I have two or three reviews I hope to write soon. Wish me well with that, and with my poetry project, homeschooling, housekeeping, etc. lol I feel like there is A LOT for me to do right now!
Wishing you well!
I totally get what you are saying! Primarily that there are the levels to describe the world around us: Religious, Secular (which is religious in that it is created and bears the imprint of the creator and is good although tainted) and the Perverse, or the lies of sin, death and the devil. A piece of music may not be religious, but it may be enjoyed as long as it doesn’t cross the line of perversion and evil. Also, there is very much a difference in describing something and prescribing it. It sounds like the books you referred to differed in this regard: one shared sin as a description of something that does happen and the other pushed it like they were prescribing that everyone should believe what the writer wanted them to believe about the topic. I would even go so far as to say that workers with created things, (scientists, writers, etc…) do well as long as they stick to describing. When they prescribe things in a worldview other than a Christian one, we get all sorts of crazy. But perhaps prescribing is just a fancy word for law, and I do suppose their is room for that. I digress. Anyway, interesting things to ponder!