the imperfect disciples

Fantasy author Ty Johnston’s blog tour 2011 is running from November 1 through November 30. His novels include City of Rogues, Bayne’s Climb and More than Kin, all of which are available for the Kindle , the Nook  and online at Smashwords. His latest novel, Ghosts of the Asylum, is available for e-books as of November 21. To find out more, follow him at his blog tyjohnston.blogspot.com.

The late author John Gardner defined the “proper function” of a fictional hero was to provide moral and noble examples to the rest of us, to inspire by their actions and ideals. Gardner, as well as Leo Tolstoy, came from a literary school that suggests heroes are examples of ideal characters, of those most loved by God (or gods, in the ancient sense). True art, for Gardner and Tolstoy, reflects the ideals of God.

Obviously not all works of fiction fall into such definitions, though Gardner referred to such art as “unimportant” and even “trivial.”

Some writers might find these notions limiting, but I am not such a writer. I generally prescribe to Gardner and Tolstoy’s notions of proper art, at least within my own writings. While I can imagine myself outside the boundaries suggested above, I rarely do so, at least not since fiction writing has become my career. However, my heroes do not always fall into the type who are good examples of those whom God would love. Sometimes my heroes, and other characters, are the opposite, those who are warnings of how not to behave, to live.

For a writer to utilize characters who represent God’s ideals, or the opposite, it takes some thinking about the nature of such ideals, and it takes some thinking about sin and God’s laws for humanity.

First off, what is sin? Often sin is described as a breaking of God’s law, but why are certain actions considered sins? Why did God decide to make a sin a sin? Why are certain elements of the human element disapproved of by God?

One answer is that God’s laws reflect His own holiness, that God’s laws reflect His own personal character. I cannot and do not doubt this defining, but as a fiction writer, I look at the notion of sin a bit differently. Perhaps God provided us with his laws because they are good for us, because he loves us and wants the best possible for us. Perhaps sins are forbidden because it logically makes sense for them to be forbidden.

Perhaps stealing and murder are sins not only because they are abhorrent to God, but because they are disruptive to us as humans. And maybe that’s why such sins are abhorrent to God in the first place.

Perhaps we are forbidden to worship other gods because it is not only detestable to do so, but because it is silly and illogical. From a Christian point of view, there are no other gods than God, so worshiping anything else is a worship of nothing. Worshiping a rock accomplishes nothing but self delusion, as would worshiping the sun or the ocean or any number of things often worshiped by our ancient ancestors.

I do not mean to suggest this is the only way to look at sin or God’s laws, nor that my ideas on this subject are perfect. I am not trying to make a philosophical or spiritual argument here. I merely mean to point out that these are some of the notions behind my own thoughts of sin within the contexts of my fiction.