SF & Fantasy Writer, Healthcare IT Consultant, Recovering Academic
This is part of a series of posts about the value of speculative fiction in understanding religion.
I’m editing an anthology of science fiction and fantasy stories about religion called Strange Religion, planned to be out in April. So … Read the rest
We’ve determined that God’s trustworthiness can’t be assumed because of how the Bible portrays His character. He does not deceive wantonly, but He has no qualms about deceiving His opponents to further His goals.
How are we to know that … Read the rest
God’s trustworthiness is taken as foundational for many Christians or presumed on the basis of His other attributes (e.g. His absolute goodness), but this is theologically tenuous because the Bible attests that God engages in deceptive behavior.
Sometimes this is … Read the rest
Generally we play by the rules of grammar in creative writing because readers will be put-off or confused by our failure to abide. Grammar is the fabric of the language. There is no English without English grammar. Even a nonsense … Read the rest
I’m regularly surprised when my readers spy ideology lurking in my writing, as if the presence of an argument or even a sensitive topic in a work of fiction is proof that the author is trying to seduce the reader … Read the rest
We construe transcendent God through analogies: God as a loving father, a just or cold-eyed judge, a suffering savior, as Jesus of the Gospel, as victor over Death, as jealous tribal god of the Hebrews, as (war)lord of hosts… Read the rest
Some commentators and translators of the Heart Sutra, leave the mantra at the end untranslated. So sometimes we find:
“The mantra of the perfection of wisdom is stated thus: gate gate pāragate pārasamgate bodhi svāhā.”
and sometimes we … Read the rest
The formula “Freedom is Slavery” seems Orwellian but a version of it is true. Freedom is not slavery to a regime, government bureaucrats, a master race, one’s work, or another person, but to good sense, to rationality. Why is this? … Read the rest
The only advice I’ve heard about passive voice in fiction is: Don’t Use It. This is me offering more nuanced advice.
Readers with a passion for grammar, second languages, or scientific writing will likely know … Read the rest
Mark Twain famously quipped that a writer who cannot think of a word to substitute for the word “very” should substitute “damn,” so as to form phrases like “damn beautiful” and “damn important.” The writer’s editor will delete “damn” and … Read the rest