tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8414014228932722460.post7635981398819980820..comments2023-08-19T02:43:59.124-05:00Comments on Meaningful Suspense: The 13th Tribe by Robert LiparuloAdam Blumerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17696092864807465658noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8414014228932722460.post-28521135946134691172012-04-07T11:50:20.386-05:002012-04-07T11:50:20.386-05:00Thanks for your reply. Each believer needs to stud...Thanks for your reply. Each believer needs to study the Scriptures and decide where he or she stands on this issue. Scripture is clear what God desires of His church. No corrupt communication should proceed from our mouths, and that would extend to our pens. <br /><br />Readers are smart. They understand when deeds (such as thefts or murders) are presented as evil and not to be emulated. But bad language presented in dialogue form literally invites readers to "speak" those words in their minds. (The same could be true of a bedroom scene that evokes lustful thoughts.) Such communication can offend them and grieve their hearts, and God does not want us causing offense. If, in the pursuit of realism, you were to write, "He cursed," readers know he used bad language but are not invited to think the actual words. That's a big difference and perfectly acceptable. <br /><br />I'm among many who are on the side of shunning any corrupt communication in literature that is labeled "Christian." In fact, many of us read Christian fiction for the very purpose of finding great stories that lack bad language. Thanks for your thoughtfulness in this issue. I think God blesses that kind of attitude. I still look forward to reading your novel; it sounds very exciting. Thanks again.Adam Blumerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17696092864807465658noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8414014228932722460.post-88950475468945270192012-04-06T12:00:00.900-05:002012-04-06T12:00:00.900-05:00Hi, Adam. I've been giving your concern a lot ...Hi, Adam. I've been giving your concern a lot of thought and prayer. I realized that I consider the phrase that bothers you to be only an expression with no power to invoke an eternal curse on anyone (which is true, but I understand that words and thoughts do have power, so we have to be careful). Thinking of it as a mere expression, I've wondered why readers have no problem with a story that involves children being shot, vigilantes taking the law into their own hands, a women being kidnapped--but have an issue with an utterance of a grieving, angry, and frustrated father. It seems a bit legalistic to me. <br /><br />However, I respect your thoughts on the subject: I fully understand how terrible it is to wish eternal damnation on anyone, and it's something that you can't abide, in real life or in fiction. I get that. Not all fiction has to depict the darker aspects of life simply to be "true to life." I care about people and don't want to offend them or grieve their hearts. While I can't possibly please everyone, this is something that I can address. I have submitted a revision to that line, making Jagger's response more of an innocuous grumble than a curse. It should be reflected in the next printing. I commend you for the heart you have for people, and thank you for nudging me to take another look at this line.Robert Liparulohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11342363559577049321noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8414014228932722460.post-25100981157922389012012-04-04T17:46:47.097-05:002012-04-04T17:46:47.097-05:00Sorry you feel that way, Adam. If someone shot my ...Sorry you feel that way, Adam. If someone shot my nine-year-old son in the back, I'd say what Jagger says in the story. Maybe I'd think better of it eventual, but while I'm holding him and he's bleeding all over me, you can bet I would feel that way. Frankly, I can't imagine not cursing the person who shot my son. I'm afraid that makes me human. It is, by the way, the only language of any kind in the novel.Robert Liparulohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11342363559577049321noreply@blogger.com