@Burlbird - My guess would be that with classics, it's a moot point because they've already been accepted. They stand on their own merits. I think this is a phenomenon more to do with screening the deluge of new submissions. It's an extension of the need to pigeonhole everything into genres. So, an overworked editor sees something dealing with Christian doctrine and says, "we don't do Christian fiction." Ever see Robert Duvall's film, "The Apostle"? Really good film. Duvall wrote it in the 1980s, but in the end had to finance it himself because no studio would touch it. He also directed it and starred in it.
Wow, I didn't expect so many replies so quickly. Thank you. However, I must not have written my premise clearly. The father is ill and dying. The daughter is praying for her father. The mother is already dead. The daughter is healthy. The dead mother appears to the daughter and guides the daughter to accept becoming an orphan. The two neighbor men witness this happening. My big questions is HOW these men react to what they have never even previously thought about. I just don't know how to write their reactions. HELP
Ah..... Understood. That's going to depend greatly on the two men, their backgrounds. Were they raised with religiousness in the home, even if they themselves don't hold to it? Where I live in Puerto Rico, the vast majority of people would come to a conclusion about what they had seen through the filter of religious paradigms because as an epistemology, it holds great sway here, whether the person is a church-goer or not. It has a cultural anchor that affects pretty much everyone. I think in the U.S., people would be a little more secularly skeptical and with so much slush on T.V. looking for ghosts and Bigfoot and Harry Potter and Twilight and True Blood and all that stuff, they might come to a conclusion a little more fictionally fantastical than necessarily plucked from the premises provided by religion.
Thank you Wreybies. You have commented on other pieces I have posted and I have appreciated your depth of thought. The two men are in the Midwest United States. They are middle class working men. Probably only H.S. education, possibly middle factory floor managers due to their middle age. They were raised as Christians but stopped going to church as soon as their parents allowed it, probably right after confirmation. They do not go to church except possibly with their families on special occasions. They know that Mr. Boyd and family are Catholics. I would like the inexperience and the lack of forethought about anything like this ever being something they witness to come through in their dialogue or actions. I don't think they vomit. They may be scared. What are they thinking?? How do they process what they are seeing?
Yes and no. Yes, Christian beliefs are a widespread fact of life and, no, not all so-called Christian publishers publish only stories intended to reinforce religious beliefs. Many just look for ANY religious theme running through a story. You don't have to agree with another man's opinion to respect his views. Now, as far as atheism is concerned, that's always been a curiously misunderstood concept. Many who call themselves atheist are actually agnostic. (For those who don't know the difference - the atheist presents an absolute belief that there is no God, no higher power than man in any shape or form. (Sometimes, looking at how humans behave, I think most other animals are higher power and intelligence than man!) The agnostic believes there may well be some other, higher power of some form... or not. They just accept that they do not know. A=(not) + gnostic=(to know). So then my question immediately leaps forth: Is the mother in the story an atheist or an agnostic? It could go a long way toward explaining her behaviors and reactions to those things surrounding her daughter's death.
Regardless, there is still a Christian fiction genre that differs from writing about a a religious aspect of a character or events in the wider fiction world. Did I post something disrespectful? "Absolute belief" is not the wording I would use. Convinced the evidence supports the conclusion gods are human generated fiction, and/or, there is no evidence therefore no reason to prove gods don't exist to conclude they don't any more than one is agnostic about the existence of invisible pink unicorns are two atheist positions that don't require your implication atheism is an irrational "absolute belief".
Given that the OP asked a question about something being portrayed in a fictional work, can we all agree not to get into a debate over what atheism is or isn't?
ditto that! auntie betty... did you post that in the wrong thread accidentally?... this one is supposed to be about thomas' book...
I did accidentally hack in here Sorry I did find the discussion worthwhile But I'll try to find my thread Thanks for your patience
An important distinction. Much of our western literary heritage is christian themed, coming from christian societies and christian writers. Atheists aren't about to reject all the classics. It's a matter of the nature of the material coming out nowadays. Now there is a christian media industry which produces a lot of dreck and sells it to a market which bases part of its identity on taking in that media without major concerns about quality. There's comparisons to be made with classical hymnal music and christian rock. It's pretty easy to see why non-christians may have great interest in the former and not the latter.
I have no problem with religion in a story, be it a lot or a little. Unless I read preaching and witnessing, that's where I stop reading. Except I did read one of Tim LaHaye's Left Behind books. Boy, talk about a franchise with a Christian niche market.
In a mostly atheist culture there seem to be a large number of people who are drawn to stories which are framed in a religious context. I think that many people like the idea of faith and spirituality, but not strongly enough to adopt it themselves. There are of course many popular stories which have used churches and religion as a backdrop for the story. Eco's 'Name of the Rose' springs to mind. There is also the Dan Brown stories which rely on institutions and conspiracies within the Catholic church. Of course what you are proposing is different, as it is about a personal developing faith that is happening anf how it impacts her family. Are you Christian yourself? Do you have a faith? The only reason I ask is because it can be very difficult to convince an audience of something such as this if you do not understand it yourself. Some things we can fake through the power of our imagination, some things may be difficult. Perhaps this could be a research trip opportunity. Spend time with people who have faith and see how they wear it.
I don't get the problem. We are writing about characters and we can make them believe anything at all. The beliefs of the characters doesn't necessarily have to reflect the beliefs of either the author or the reader. If the story is well written, the reader will love it. Or am I missing something?
