Religious Influences?

Discussion in 'Setting Development' started by Lord Malum, May 6, 2011.

  1. digitig

    digitig Contributor Contributor

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    I know one Christian who specializes in writing erotic speculative fiction, and the Bible includes the Song of Solomon. Another Christian writer I know has his characters swear in English, Japanese, and Russian. Both of them published, by the way. Avoidance of profanity and erotica are cultural matters, not really Christian matters. But they're part of your culture, so of course you will reflect that in your writing.
     
  2. hiddennovelist

    hiddennovelist Contributor Contributor

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    Off topic, this totally reminded me that I had a church teacher who had the class glue the pages of "Song of Solomon" together because they didn't think we should read it. Makes me laugh.

    On topic, I don't have a problem with religious beliefs being included in one's writing as long as it isn't beat-you-over-the-head ridiculous. There are some writers, though, that I won't read because it's so over the top that I almost feel like they're trying to brainwash me. ;)
     
  3. VM80

    VM80 Contributor Contributor

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    Interesting thread.

    I'm Catholic officially, although I don't identify or agree with the church on many issues.
    I don't go to church and prefer to see any 'spiritual' feelings I may hold as something internal and personal.

    I don't think I've touched on religion in my writing. There are messages of good vs evil, and doing the right thing etc. - which I guess could be 'moral' issues, although pretty broad and not related to any one religion.

    I agree with what's been said above. Characters you create don't have to 'share' your views at all.
     
  4. eMotive-

    eMotive- New Member

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    I wouldn't say I've had religion impede upon my writing per se because I don't usually delve into areas that are forbidden by Christianity.

    However, I do like to link things with Greek Mythology and archaic Greek/Roman religion, and I don't really see it as contradicting my religion or blaspheming.
     
  5. VM80

    VM80 Contributor Contributor

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    ^^
    'Forbidden'? How so?
     
  6. eMotive-

    eMotive- New Member

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    Premarital/Extramarital Sex, that kind of stuff :D
     
  7. Show

    Show Contributor Contributor

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    I delver into 'em. You can't have very good conflict without some sinners to make examples out of. :p One can delve into the effects of it without promoting it.
     
  8. JeffD

    JeffD New Member

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    Drayzon, you are not alone ;) The most I will write about sex would just say that the couple had sex. Stephanie Meyer did the same thing, and she wrote 4 straight romance novels. Just goes to show you that romances can be pure and innocent in writing.

    Plus what is the point in using swear words anyway? I guess sometimes they can be a little humorous or show extreme anger, but for that little chuckle or extra detail on anger I don't think it's worth it. That's just me though I guess.
     
  9. VM80

    VM80 Contributor Contributor

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    ^^
    Realism? People swear.

    I guess for me it gives some 'spice' to it.
     
  10. teacherayala

    teacherayala New Member

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    I am a Christian, and if I looked closely enough at my writing, I would probably find some philosophical underpinnings to it. I think that what we believe, whether it be philosophical or religious, creeps its way into our work because literally it is the way that we understand the universe and what it means to be a human being. Literature is also a means whereby we understand the world around us and why our characters act the way that they do.

    I don't write something that is overtly Christian, having read my share of "Christian" fiction over the years and long since been turned off by the overly preachy plots and characters. I find that writing that type of fiction just tends to perpetuate a kind of mold that the authors squeeze characters into. Whatever flaws they tend to have are easily taken care of, as if Christianity is some kind of magic.

    I don't necessarily shy away from religion, however, as a potential avenue for understanding human nature. The fact that religion/humanism exists, and that it forms a part of some people's identity keeps me fascinated with it. Biblical allusions are also a part of literary history as much as mythological allusions, so I don't necessarily feel that I am less of a writer by using/not using. Whatever tools are in a writer's toolbox, I think that they should feel free to use.

    I also try not to take anything personally when I'm reading something that critiques religion or Christianity. Joanne Harris, one of my favorite writers, is really quite anti-organized religion as a general rule, but it doesn't keep me from enjoying what she writes. Her characters are always interesting, and her plots intricate and moving.
     
  11. Islander

    Islander Contributor Contributor

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    But... does that mean you don't have violence, greed, theft, and so on in your stories?
     
  12. JeffD

    JeffD New Member

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    I guess it would depend on the genre you are writing then eh? Since my current work is fantasy, it is my world, so therefore the swear words aren't in my world. Perhaps I could make up swear words that are unique to this planet that some of the characters would say.

    You see, I can't say that I never cuss, because I'm sure that I have in the past year at least four times. Quite often I cuss in my head too haha.

    Lowering my standards just so a book can feel real to a reader just isn't worth it to me, I can't give the excuse "Oh that's just my character that spews out those words in hatred towards other in a time of rage, not me." because my name is attached to the "By:" on the title page.
     
  13. Jessica_312

    Jessica_312 New Member

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    Well I had a catholic upbringing and because of that I tend to have a bit of a fascination with angels and demons, so they tend to make an appearance in my work (even if it's a more subtle or metaphorical appearance)
     
  14. Drayzon

    Drayzon Member

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    That's where I'll tend to disagree. Avoidance of profanity and erotica is very much a Christian matter for me. I just don't believe that this is an area I can touch. I'm not saying that those who do are wrong and I'm right. Not even close. Everyone has their own convictions, so I am not here to judge anyone, but for me, that's how it is.
     
  15. Trish

    Trish Damned if I do and damned if I don't Contributor

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    I am an atheist and when religion comes up for a character I write it. I don't think it's preachy or anything and I'm not against it. I don't think I'm your average atheist though. I very much have a fascination with all religion and research it and find it very interesting. I don't have anything necessarily against any religion, it's just not for me. I have my reasons. I'll write about religious people though, because I understand where they're coming from I think. So I don't think my stories come across as necessarily atheist. At least I don't think so. I could be wrong, but I don't think they do because being an atheist doesn't define me, so I don't believe it defines my writing.
     
  16. mammamaia

    mammamaia nit-picker-in-chief Contributor

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    as i'm a practicing philosopher [my 'day job'], i write about religions, but only in the sense of them being the nonsensical constructs of various human societies [no personal offense intended there, believers... just explaining what my writings are based on] and how they arose, how they influenced humankind's behavior in the past and do so today...
     
  17. VM80

    VM80 Contributor Contributor

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    Ok, playing devil's advocate: what about other immoral actions (worse than swearing)? Is there violence in your fantasy world?

    Do you think what a fictional character says or does really reflects on who you are?

    I don't necessarily think that's the case.
     
  18. marina

    marina Contributor Contributor

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    I think it would be very difficult, and maybe counterproductive, to not allow your core beliefs inform your characters. We tend to write what we know, what feels organic, and so our characters' attitudes and opinions reflect ourselves, if even in small ways.
     
  19. dizzyspell

    dizzyspell Active Member

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    If you're a good writer though, it's not an excuse. Making your story seem real is what you're supposed to do. And like others have said; what about crime and violence? A thoroughly moral story would be a bore.
     
  20. teacherayala

    teacherayala New Member

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    One can't "tone down" a character who is villainous out of a misguided sense of Christian virtue. Literature should reflect humanity--in all of its glory and in all of its flaws. When people are talking about avoidance of erotica and the like, (I think anyway) they're not necessarily saying that placed in the context of plotting and character development that they can't ever include sex or violence. But instead the idea is that if you are dealing with the hard-cold reality of life, you do so in context as honestly as possible based on your own philosophic/religious world view. Personally, I don't create characters to be carbon copies of myself, but to appear as living, breathing human beings. If a writer wants to actually create something worth reading, then he/she has to be real with situations and characters as much as possible. That's just my opinion on the matter. One of the best things my parents did for me was to not censor my reading material--even though my father was a Baptist pastor. I grew up with 4 (or more) different library cards that I used fairly regularly. I always lived down the street from a library, and I read like a banshee. I am forever grateful to them that they recognized my ability for decent moral discernment even at a young age and that they never told me I couldn't read a book due to its content.
     
  21. JeffD

    JeffD New Member

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    Perhaps I just have a different interpretation of morality than the rest of you since it seems most of you are atheists.

    All of the religious scriptures that I read include war, crime, death, famine, plagues, and all sorts of bad stuff. Some of that stuff was even wrought down by God Himself.

    Jesus Christ was a man of peace yes of course, He never struck anyone. Once He found out that the local Jerusalem(ites?) had turned the Temple, His Father's house, in to a marketplace He went in to a rage, threw tables around, and released the pigeons that were being sold. He could take the ridicule, the beating, the crucifixion, and several other atrocities, but decimating His Father's house was unforgivable.

    I will defend my family's and country's freedom with violence. I don't delight in bloodshed but if someone is threatening my freedom I will kill them. I am in the US Army after all, and I'm deployed right now so the chances of me having to kill someone are high, but fortunately in 9 months I haven't had to. Also another thing being in the army, 95% of the people cuss, and like 50% of those people cuss 4 times as much as the average person (these statistics are all made up but they feel about right), plus everyone is always trying to download porn, people have 1 TB hard drives filled with pornography. I don't cuss or watch the porn even though it's running rampant out here in Afghanistan, so please don't think I'm sheltered in any way from this sense of "realism".

    Writing about violence and crime are different than describing a detailed sex scene or writing out the words that one of the foul mouthed characters say. Plus I'm not going to get gory and write fiction about the violence that will make people with weaker stomachs feel sick. Like I've said before, it's unnecessary.
     
  22. Killer300

    Killer300 Senior Member

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    I myself am an atheist, and a pretty hardcore one in some ways, and it probably does influence my writing. It just is too much of a part of my personality for it not to, however the way it does is very subtle. Mainly, even if my story has supernatural beings, there not only isn't a god, but there is the theme of cold reality. For example in ,"Addiction and Needs," a story I recently wrote, even though the main character is a vampire(a supernatural one for I actually have toyed with making science based ones) none of the characters have things like souls, there isn't an afterlife, and the vampires are sort of still evolution based, they are humans infused with a weird magical substance basically.

    Now, I actually have written stories with a god before, but in those, I took an... interesting approach. Namely, god is just another person who happens to be omnipotent. God makes the same mistakes as the rest of us, suffers from the same emotional weaknesses, and is actually shown as being an immature child. Now, in this case they were fan fiction for a series called,"The Melacholy of Haruhi Suzyima," which involves similar step up to begin with, but something tells me if I wrote a story with gods I'd still do the same.

    But anyway, I don't try to restrict my own views from entering the writing, unless it's important to the story for it not to. Now, I won't necessarily actively inject them, but I won't try to purge them from the story either. The same goes for my political views, unless the story demands that no politics or religion enter, which probably wouldn't be a very interesting story for me to write usually.

    As for censorship, I'm immensely against it. This means my writing many times is barely within the rating it is in, like Teen and so on, but this isn't because I go out of my way to introduce violence or sex or what have you. I just want the world and the characters in every way, including the ways that perhaps would disgust people. If a character cusses a ton, than they will cuss a ton, I'm not going to censor their voice. The same goes for their actions. Now, I do put limits when a specific rating is in question, but even then I always find myself testing the boundary with that rating.

    Anyway, well, I got carried away.:) Hope this was at least interesting to look at, and none of this is meant to offend anyone.
     
  23. Kio

    Kio New Member

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    I'm a Christian, but I take care into excluding such beliefs. There was a time where I became Atheist and had these beliefs get into my story, where the concept of god was demeaned and how humans were able to conquer their own lives.

    Instead, I put in the values of other world religions, depending on the character. Each and every character has a different religion, with my MC believing in a Great Spirit, similar to that of the Natives, considering she herself is an Aboriginal. Therefore, her expeiences and the lessons taught to her will be centred around nature and respect for all living things- a bit like the opposite of science and how the man belongs to the world, not the world belonging to man.

    Same goes for my Hindu MC who retains some of the core concepts of Hinduism, partakes in the practices, and has experiences based on his religion. So, though my story is heavily based on religion, Christianity is not included. I take great fascination in culture and, what I've found is that religion is practically the core of almost every culture. People's lives revolve around their faith and, though some people may want to deny it, it dictates lives, for better or for worse.

    So to answer the question; no, I don't let my Christian values get into my story. However, I do let other religions take a role in my story.
     
  24. chaoserver

    chaoserver New Member

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    My Atheism certainly has made its way into my writing, though I have even written from the perspective of god as most know him. So I cant say that this cripples my style of writing, and has a general positive effect for critical thinkers.
     
  25. Lord Malum

    Lord Malum New Member

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    So a couple days ago, I found myself inthralled with an idea of an atheist soldier dieing in combat. When he gets to hell (think Dante's hell) he convinces the fallen angels to once again take up arms against heaven. They're goal was to democratize heaven and pardon those souls who lived decent lives with their only crimes against God being disbelief or blasphemy.

    It's my first ever full on religiously influenced idea and it caught me completely off guard!
     

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