Could Use Opinions on a Touchy Story Idea

There you go again....biased

 

Wasn't meant to be biased, but I guess everyone can read the same post and get a different interpretation as well. Perhaps I worded it wrong so what I meant is that in the story I attempt to separate what is and what is not founded in their religion. The Reverend uses the Bible to justify many of his own beliefs and actions; he uses religion as a shield for his politics. Many people do this, but my goal is to keep in mind while writing that it is not at all a reflection of their religion, just of them.

I don't have a specific question to ask at the moment, but as I said if you have a helpful perspective to add as a... general guide it'd be much appreciated.

 

I will strive to help if I can, sorry to hear that you have had bad experiences with some of us (it's good to get the perspective, otherwise bad experiences can color one's view of it and risk leading to Ad Hominen-based criticisms). I can tell you why we Christians are largely anti-homosexualITY (capitalized because the "hate the sin, love the sinner" distinction often tends to get lost among Christians and non-Christians alike), it's due to the stipulation that homosexuality is a deviation from God's design for humanity and its presence is being considered one of the symptoms of moral decline among a society and accompanies worse things. Personally I don't agree with homosexuality, but if two gay people want to live together and act as a couple that's not my business. This is directly stated in the Bible, along with teachings that we are all sinners and to co-exist peacefully with others where possible. Pro-life is explained as many of us, including myself, believe that life begins at conception ("You knit me together in my mother's womb" Psalm 139:13), thus we see any abortion is killing a baby (something that I think all can agree, when we consider a baby to be a baby notwithstanding, is abhorrent) rather than just removing a collection of cells.

Also, as I said earlier, other religions and ideologies do have similar views on homosexuality (Islam, for one, is harsher on that than we are, and atheistic North Korea is one of the only two countries I know of today where the government still executes homosexuals branding them threats to society - the other being Islamic Saudi Arabia), so you don't need to single Christianity out and if you're interested in exploring other religions for this story it can be done (just for reference, organized LBGTQ groups in Western society also tend to single out Christianity for criticism because we have a larger presence than the others and double standards). On that note I have two questions; what, if anything, are you hoping to accomplish by writing this story? What will happen to the antagonist by the end of the story?

 

I posted earlier...

The whole context is that Edgar is very devout as he learned from his mother, a woman he believes was a perfect reflection of faith. However, he realizes that despite beginning as a person who questioned the things around him, in his grief he conformed to his mother's exact beliefs as opposed to embracing his curious self in a way she loved. The MC is very much Christian and the story spawns from him exploring his beliefs and comparing them to the immoral practices of the tyrannical church rule.

I hate to spoil the end, but honestly nothing happens to the antagonist. The MC offers himself as a sacrifice on the promise that his companions will be allowed to safely leave the town as Edgar blames himself for their situation. Thus the Reverend allows his public execution and assuming that his companions will die in the wilderness anyway, he allows them go.
Rest assured the antagonist isn't the "bad guy" because he's a Christian, he's the "bad guy" because he does things that the MC considers to be against their faith. The Reverend holds public executions and rules by fear. Interestingly though, he comes from the same sort of situation as Edgar. The Reverend took up his father's beliefs as his father was the original Reverend. So in a way they both lose themselves and their own beliefs trying to honor or uphold their parent's legacies.

Perhaps the people in the town rose up against the Reverend, being inspired by Edgar's courage. Maybe the Reverend realized things had to change and found a different way. Could be that things never changed for the town, but at least Edgar's band of misfit friends found their way and built a new life. Or maybe I'll have to write a sequel or let people live with a sense of mystery.

 

Let your character speak for you. That is why I write. I have something to say, and I let me story and my characters say it.

 

Thank you for reminding me of the intent of the story. Christianity is about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, what does your MC think of or believe regarding Him? It sounds like the antagonist in your story could be an extreme version of the Pre-Reformation Catholic Church (as in the one where Martin Luther was a key figure) in being corrupt with power.

The final fate of the antagonist that you mentioned reminded me of the movie "The Wicker Man" (the original one). I would suggest the MC at some point actually reads the Bible and finds out that the antagonist is woefully deviating from actual Christianity. If you want to keep the MC's sacrifice, I say maybe have the townspeople start to call the antagonist's authority into question, or have that while the people serve him for now, that's the moment where things start to turn against him. How does that sound?

 

Edgar is stuck in a world of appearances and actions, but sees a lack of faith. Drawing from two bits of dialogue between Edgar and his best mate, who grows to enjoy Edgar's ideas of change despite feeling unaffected as a closeted atheist.
"How can he (the Reverend) sentence people to die, but teach that the Son already died for their sins? It’s lunacy."
"...We’re supposed to be brought closer to Him of our own will. We’re supposed to marvel out of fear and love for the Lord. Instead, everyone is afraid of mere men."
Another thing implied amid a conversation between Edgar and his mother is that in Edgar's life he maintains a personal relationship with God as opposed to one of simply following "rules." For Edgar, God is a substitute for the father he doesn't have.

The idea is that the MC and probably many others are aware of the Reverend's insane ideals, but Edgar is the only one willing to speak out. He acts because he is mindful of how much the antagonist deviates from the Christian principles of mercy, love, compassion, etc. that they read and are taught about.

That's basically what happens. It's not a world in which Edgar is the only one that sees a problem. His ability to speak out inspires people who previously lived in fear or persecution to stand beside him. After Edgar has died and his closest companions are exiled, the townspeople may begin a new chain of rebellion or yield. It's up to them really. It's just that the ending comes after they are forced to leave, it's not an unhappy or typical happy ending and it is revealed in short that several members of the original group as well as lesser background characters went on to create a settlement.

 

All very interesting. Does the antagonist have anyone else working with him? Does he have a name?

 

He is Reverend James Walker III. He has many people that work directly with him. He has counselors, any hierarchical member of the church such as bishops, as he is the source of law or at least ones he claims Biblical reason for he has significant control over the town's sheriff, Gobias Nelson. Nelson tends to breaches of all sorts. Then under the control of the sheriff and church are the enforcers. They are present as the ones "doing the dirty work." Not all of them are named, but the most significant ones would be... Abel Snyder, Mason Paine, Carl Brady, and John Wagner. (I may add more as opposed to recycling the four.) The only one I would classify as a bad man as opposed to a decent man just doing an ugly job would be John Wagner, the rest have their flaws and decencies. I've kept in mind interesting bits about them and their lives just to remind myself they're human.

As I said earlier the Reverend was put into the same situation as Edgar. In current story time, James's father, the founder and original Reverend, is permanently bedridden and hardly lucid. He took up the mantle at a young age, mid-twenties I'd say, and struggled to carry on in his father's path. At some point in the story, the elder Reverend is assassinated and it becomes a mystery as to who did it. Not only does this send loads more persecution toward Edgar and his companions, but the Reverend spirals. In secret- I'll have to decide how much to let show in the story, James deals with the same doubt as Edgar. He wonders how much of his beliefs are truly his own versus his father's. For all I know, after the story ends maybe he's the one that begins a reform and turns the town into a pillar of righteousness that also allows choice.

By the way, Snap, you're great. I just love how your questions challenge me to think deep about my story and organize my thoughts into a coherent and sensible piece.