Looking back on the history of the human world, one can see the evolution of the way people have expressed themselves. People have utilized things such as the following: art, music, architecture, theatre, technology, photography, and lastly, literature. But primarily focusing on the literature, the goal of this paper is to show that literature as an art can be used to glorify God. Like any art form, time has affected the way literature has been presented. Not only has the style of writing, spelling of words, and the topics that have been written on varied throughout the years but the writers themselves have transformed through the ages.
The ability to read and write is a privilege that many have never gotten the chance to experience. This was even more prominent in the past. This opportunity to read and write was only awarded to those involved in the church, mainly the Pope and those directly beneath his rank. As the world has progressed through time, this privilege has been granted to larger and larger circles of people. With this progression, authors have used this tool to express themselves and it has been an invaluable tool at that. Different genres have emerged such as the following: drama, romance, tragedy, satire, comedy, etc. Many believe that those things pertaining to religion cannot mix with those that do not. However, in the case of literature, both opposing sides involved in religion are able to incorporate their beliefs using the art form known as literature.
People have realized the potential that literature allows for. Christian authors have especially realized the power that words can hold. Many notable men and women have emerged in this art form but some notable writers that express Christian faith are the foll...
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...es and locations of where both were born factors in.
Even though Rivers and Lewis differ on their approach to the Christian faith, both are able to convey the message of love that the Gospel has to offer. Both individuals were impacted by the love of Christ and they could not help but express that through the art of literature. Both individuals have proven the point that Christianity can be expressed in a wide range of art forms, including literature. Their efforts reflect a rigorous and biblical approach to the following question: can literature be used and used well for the glory of God? C. S. Lewis expertly shows his God-given ability to utilize his imagination and take the reader into a whole new world. Francine Rivers expertly illustrates the setting, develops the characters, sets the mood for the reader, and still manages to convey Christian ideals and morals.
The Bible, for many centuries, has impacted society, culture, and religion in innumerable ways. Included in the Bible’s impact, is fictional literature (Erickson, 2015). Biblical allusion, defined as an ancillary reference to Scripture ("Definition," 2015), can be a useful tool for fiction writers to draw the attention of the reader to certain biblical truths. Mixed in with the writer’s style and language, biblical allusion, assists in building plot lines, themes, and influence over the reader’s beliefs (Erickson, 2015). Nevertheless, the real magic of biblical allusion lies within the author’s creative genius and ability to infuse biblical themes, metaphors, images, and characters in with the story to allow the audience to reach certain
Yet the Reverend also uses the word 'beautiful' and appreciates the wonders of the natural world. Certainly, a sense of something beyond the pragmatic permeates Maclean?s story. This ?something? is incarnated in Paul, who obviously does not conform to a narrowly-defined description of a ?good Christian.? He is a rabblerouser adrift in the world, a sophisticated ladies? man and gambler who squanders what is seemingly ample journalistic talent. Paul, however, is also effortlessly artistic, able to break free of his father?s strict fishing instructions to create his own poetry with a rod. Surely, something holy must reside in the sheer, effortless beaut...
As society continues to change, it is important for Christians to realize that they must respond in new and different ways. The original publisher, Tindale House, published this essay as an informative measure while Baker Academic uses this essay as a way to teach how to evaluate a specific style of writing. This essay's purpose is to not only be a source of information, but also an essay that can be evaluated in order to learn about a specific style of writing.
C.S. Lewis is commonly regarded as one of the most influential Christian apologists during his time. While many recognize him as the writer of “The Chronicles of Narnia,” he was also an out-spoken Christian. He commonly wrote pieces of work that challenged Christians in their faith as well as in their lives. He wrote many non-fiction novels that dealt with this sort of behavior, including “Mere Christianity,” “Miracles,” and “The Problem of Pain.” Even in some of his fictional novels, his writing had many Christian themes as well. Despite being well-known for his novels, he also wrote many poems as well. His poetry dealt with many different subject matters, including morals, war, science fiction, and Christianity. Almost all of his poetry
This book, first required readers not just to read books and earn knowledge of how to write, but it encourages readers to start to write while reading this book. Yaghjian suggests a concrete, clear way to begin to write good theology, thus, to write well is just to start writing it (4). To answer the fundamental question of “what is writing and why do people write?” Yaghjian attempts to answer under the title of “the Sociorhetorical Context of Writing Theology.” To sum up the answer, people write “to communicate people” (5), passing the information “across time and space” (5), because writer has intention to leave behind to his audience.
This paper is written to discuss the many different ideas that have been discussed over the first half of Theology 104. This class went over many topics which gave me a much better understanding of Christianity, Jesus, and the Bible. I will be addressing two topics of which I feel are very important to Christianity. First, I will be focusing on the question did Jesus claim to be God? This is one of the biggest challenges of the Bibles that come up quite often. Secondly, I will focus on character development.
C.S. Lewis was the 20th century’s most popular proponent of faith based on reason. As a child, he created an imaginary world where personified animals came to life, and later, he wrote the book, Chronicles of Narnia. How did he transform from a boy fascinated with anthropomorphic animals into a man of immense faith? His transformation to the Christian religion happened as his fame began to flourish. People wrote him, asking him about his claims about the truth of Christianity (Belmonte, Kevin). As I attended the drama of Freud’s Last Session, I was engrossed into the plot of the play and was constantly thinking about how it pertained to the objectives of the World Literature class. I not only connected the content of the play to its context, but I also reached out to apply the context to a discussion on a broader scale. I then discovered why the context of literature is imperative for true understanding of the w...
Overall, O’Connor use of religious symbols as a literary device has conveyed the message to readers of Christianity and God’s grace. Critics have viewed her work as possessing thought-provoking and deep messages. It is clear that O’Connor attempted to accommodate readers of Christian faith and non-Christian faiths buy painting a picture in a way that most everyone could understand. Her lack of secular censoring in her work along with the vivid characters has helped give new points of view on grace, crime and religion.
Few authors have been able to demonstrate the incredible scope of different genres that Clive Staples Lewis, better known as C.S. Lewis, wrote in his career. Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind upon hearing his name is the mythical land of Narnia. Narnia is the fictional world that the widely popular series “The Chronicles of Narnia” takes place in. This series, enjoyed by adults and children alike, hosts talking animals, a God-like lion, an ice queen bearing many similarities to the Devil, and many other things. This series, like most of Lewis’ other works, is essentially a metaphor for the story of the Gospel as well as lessons for living a Christian life. In much of his writing, Lewis made an excellent and relatable argument for Christianity by his ability to write captivating stories relating to many aspects of Christian life.
Being a devout Catholic, O’Connor’s “faith consciously informed her fiction. The difficulty of her work, she explained…is that many of her readers do not understand the redemptive quality of ‘grace,’ and, she added, ‘don’t recognize it when they see it. All my stories are...
Some works show their true colors right away. Gene Edward Veith’s book, Reading Between The Lines, addresses philosophical ideas, literary sub genres, and reader criticisms in order to ascertain a Christian’s role in literature. He also goes through various historical periods and examines their more prominent works and schools of thought. While a select few of his conclusions about Christianity in relation to the arts have merit, others contain more damaging implications. Specifically, his statements regarding television represent inaccurate and offensive thinking.
A successful writer is he who is able to transmit ideas, emotions, and wisdom on to his readers. He is cable of stirring emotions and capturing the reader's attention with vivid descriptions and clever dialogues. The writer can even play with the meanings of words and fuse reality with fiction to achieve his goal of taking the reader on a wonderful journey. His tools are but words, yet the art of writing is found in the use of the language to create though-provoking pieces that defy the changing times. Between the lines, voices and images emerge. Not everyone can write effectively and invoke these voices. It is those few who can create certain psychological effects on the reader who can seize him (or her) with inspiring teachings, frightening thoughts, and playful games with the language. These people are true writers…
The Bible student, laymen, or pastor will find the principles presented by Fee and Stuart helpful despite the weaknesses presented. The author’s contribution on how to interpret each of the different genres is especially beneficial. The Bible Student will have more knowledge of how to interpret God’s Word when finished with the work. Fee and Stuart achieve their goal helping the reader not only with interpretation, but with application.
Through the use of Christian symbolism, conflicts, and imagery, C. S. Lewis implements his religious background into his literary works.
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