A Bit of Fiction

[mishalak]

I probably won't go anywhere with this, but I'm writing this out anyway.

"Writers, as a matter of course, offend the divine." It was one of those comments that R___ was famous for. Like a post modern Socrates he would occasionally spout off on a subject as a way to get a good debate going.

I was in the mood so I rose to his bait, "Well that's ridiculous, how could a writer offend god? Surely he's above such things."

"Well not all writers, factual ones don't, but writers of fiction are making up universes where they are god. And so of course that would offend the divine."

That put stories by atheists in an interesting light, double-ly damned, provided our divinity cares what they think. "What if the writer wrote stories that the creator intended? Meant to glorify him? Don't they avoid the responsibility of being a god much like a paint by numbers artist avoids doing actual art?"

R___ guffawed a bit at that. "Oh that's not avoiding being a god, it is just being a god while following the rules set out for another one. That's no more inoffensive than impersonating a god would be, especially since unlike with a paint by numbers canvas there is no evidence that the creating writer wants us to imitate him."

"Or evidence to the contrary, really, that god cares one way or the other."

"Perhaps, but would you want to take the risk of offending a god jealous of his prerogatives? And there is evidence he is, after all look how many writers end up badly after just one or two works. Mark my words, the deity is out to get them," he said with a smile.

Comments

[don-fitch.livejournal.com]

Do writers "offend the divine"? In a sense, they challenge it, I suppose. But it seems to me that response to this depends on one's Divine. Mine doesn't (or don't, since I'm more like a pantheistic agnostic) get at all huffy about such things, and is more likely to be slightly amused than anything else. In my book, amusing The Divine is A Good Thing. But then, I've never been comfortable with the idea of a Divine that exhibits characteristics I'd not find acceptable or respectable in my next-door neighbor, or in myself.

[mishalak.livejournal.com]

I just thought it would be fun to play with the idea of god as a hack writer. And that explains away some of god's less charming habits. "My life was miserable, why did you do that to me oh god?" "Because otherwise my story would have been boring. Now do something exciting."