The Devil is available to everyone, but God is a bit more exclusive...

[Vermilion]

According to a fascinating programme on Radio 4 today, discussing the use and portrayal of God in literature and film. Apparently the Devil, due to his more folkloric status, is easier for people to use in their work, whilst they're more leery of God.

Anyway, the idea grabbed me so I was just wondering what you think - does God have a personality? Is the 'traditional' portrayal of him (nightshirt, white beard, deep voice, *male*) valid? Would you prefer to write God or the Devil into your work and why?

Link to the programme here: The Best Tunes

x
V

 

[SensualCealy]

Interesting thought Vermilion.

My first instinct would be God: however, when you think about love making etc, it seems to naturally turn 'dirty' to me. It would be hard for me to write for example " a sex scene about two people meeting at a religious retreat". Would they get all hot and horny blow your mind sex or would they have innocent romantic love making?

Just thinking,
C

 

[rgraham666]

Since I know absolutely nothing about the nature of either God or the Devil I wouldn't include either in my writing.

I've seen plenty of good and evil in my life. So those I write about.

 

[Vermilion]

Since I know absolutely nothing about the nature of either God or the Devil I wouldn't include either in my writing.

I've seen plenty of good and evil in my life. So those I write about.

Never tempted to use a personification of those qualities?

 

[neonlyte]

Thanks V, missed that this morning - I'll 'listen again' later.

God is probably more difficult to write into a story, danger and excitement is the Devil's work, and is probably what most readers want to counterbalance their righteous and upright lifestyle.

I do have, and have had for a long time, a disturbing mental image of God raising his nightshirt to take a leak

By the way, thanks for putting up the comp link earlier in the week, saw it but didn't have the energy to acknowledge.

 

[Vermilion]

Thanks V, missed that this morning - I'll 'listen again' later.

God is probably more difficult to write into a story, danger and excitement is the Devil's work, and is probably what most readers want to counterbalance their righteous and upright lifestyle.

I do have, and have had for a long time, a disturbing mental image of God raising his nightshirt to take a leak

By the way, thanks for putting up the comp link earlier in the week, saw it but didn't have the energy to acknowledge.

You're very welcome. I must admit, it was you I was thinking of when I saw it, but thought there might be others who could take advantage and I didn't want to 'play favourites'

Dare ya to write a little sketch about God taking a leak
x
V

 

[TxRad]

I did a short take on the devil in my non erotic story "The Rivers all Run Dry"
What will happen to the devil when everyone leaves the Earth behind. It also explains the existence of God. Maybe. One day I might do an expanded version. It does have potential, even if no one read it.

 

[rgraham666]

Never tempted to use a personification of those qualities?

I did write a couple of demons into one of my vampire stories. But they were manifestations of power from outside our universe rather than personification of Evil.

I am working on another story with demons in it.

But, as I said, I don't have enough knowledge of God or the Devil to write about them realistically.

 

[Vermilion]

I did write a couple of demons into one of my vampire stories. But they were manifestations of power from outside our universe rather than personification of Evil.

I am working on another story with demons in it.

But, as I said, I don't have enough knowledge of God or the Devil to write about them realistically.

bah. if I waited to have 'enough' knowledge of something before I wrote it, I'd never write

since they're both man-generated concepts I should imagine you could let you r
imagination run wild on them... but people would probably be less offended if you did that with the devil than with god... and back we go to the original post...

 

[cantdog]

Interesting thought Vermilion.

My first instinct would be God: however, when you think about love making etc, it seems to naturally turn 'dirty' to me. It would be hard for me to write for example " a sex scene about two people meeting at a religious retreat". Would they get all hot and horny blow your mind sex or would they have innocent romantic love making?

Just thinking,
C

I wrote a short-short about a preacher. He declaims a psalm while fucking, and so on.

Link o rooti.

 

[WRJames]

According to a fascinating programme on Radio 4 today, discussing the use and portrayal of God in literature and film. Apparently the Devil, due to his more folkloric status, is easier for people to use in their work, whilst they're more leery of God.

Anyway, the idea grabbed me so I was just wondering what you think - does God have a personality? Is the 'traditional' portrayal of him (nightshirt, white beard, deep voice, *male*) valid? Would you prefer to write God or the Devil into your work and why?

Link to the programme here: The Best Tunes

x
V

God is definitely a character in my novels -- one that has become bored with humans and is ready to move on to something else.

 

[cantdog]

bah. if I waited to have 'enough' knowledge of something before I wrote it, I'd never write

since they're both man-generated concepts I should imagine you could let you r
imagination run wild on them... but people would probably be less offended if you did that with the devil than with god... and back we go to the original post...

That's what makes God more tempting to me. I love the idea of offending more people.

I have read with joy many books featuring Lucifer. Neil Gaiman, in The Sandman series, for instance, did wonders with him. Shaw in Man and Superman. But the ones with God in were less reliably fun.

My muse is mute, though. So far, no impulse to write either.

 

[neonlyte]

Dare ya to write a little sketch about God taking a leak
x
V

The common perception of an omni prescient God is a little flawed. It is true enough in the generality of arrangements viz-a-viz Heaven and Earth a certain order is essential to ensure the smooth operation of the planet and to avoid costly errors that might result in a sudden and dramatic rise in heavenly taxes, paid, naturally enough, in souls. If you’ve every wondered why aircraft crash in groups, three or four in the same month then none for a year or so, it is just God’s accountants, Nepotism and Son, balancing the books.

A truly prescient God wouldn’t get the urge to pee in the pre-dawn. He (or she – one shouldn’t necessarily jump to conclusions here) has long wondered if ‘the urge’ signalled prostrate problems on the horizon or whether it was simply easier to pee without all the paraphernalia of Heavenly State being in attendance. “For God’s sake!” he once remarked, hastily looking around and surreptitiously crossing himself before anyone noticed the self-blasphemy, “I only want to take a pee! There is no need for everyone to come along.”

Did they listen? They did not, and they lined up with him on the edge of heaven casting a shadow from Texas to New Jersey.

“Look’s like the heaven’s are going to open,” the taxi driver said as the first spots hit the windscreen; and sure enough a deluge followed and God knew it would be blamed upon him. He preferred the pre-dawn pee. Peeing alone, a gentle shower to sharpen the morning light. He could hitch up his nightshirt, have a pee, scratch his bum, fart, if necessary… without having all those bloody pseudo-biographers taking notes.

© neonlyte 2007

 

[R. Richard]

Rather than take sides, I would prefer to have God and Lucifer duke it out. Winner take all!

 

[Stella_Omega]

Never tempted to use a personification of those qualities?

God isn't a nice guy, according to most Bible accounts...

 

[cantdog]

There are several different views of him. He lies through His teeth over and over and acts capricious in the Eden story, he requires oceans of blood and misery during the Canaan campaign, yet he delivers the Sermon on the Mount with a straight face.

Whereas Lucifer has had enough media exposure that we can vision him forth, a sort of winged figure looking otherwise like a young David Bowie or a young Malcolm McDowell. Manipulative, contemptuous, elegant, undeluded, irresponsible, choleric in a smouldering manner, a figure with concerns literally on another plane from this.

The trouble is, while his persona has accreted some features of certain pagan gods, he exists essentially as a second banana, a foil to God. Any who believe in Satan must certainly also believe in God, and there's no comparison. Satan is massively outranked and cannot exist in God's absence. VP for misery, a minor executive in the big firm, even though there's likely no gray flannel suit. Makes him ultimately unsatisfying.

 

[CharleyH]

There are several different views of him. He lies through His teeth over and over and acts capricious in the Eden story, he requires oceans of blood and misery during the Canaan campaign, yet he delivers the Sermon on the Mount with a straight face.

Whereas Lucifer has had enough media exposure that we can vision him forth, a sort of winged figure looking otherwise like a young David Bowie or a young Malcolm McDowell. Manipulative, contemptuous, elegant, undeluded, irresponsible, choleric in a smouldering manner, a figure with concerns literally on another plane from this.

The trouble is, while his persona has accreted some features of certain pagan gods, he exists essentially as a second banana, a foil to God. Any who believe in Satan must certainly also believe in God, and there's no comparison. Satan is massively outranked and cannot exist in God's absence. VP for misery, a minor executive in the big firm, even though there's likely no gray flannel suit. Makes him ultimately unsatisfying.

Hi Cant A voice of pure reason.

 

[CharleyH]

Hi Cant A voice of pure reason.

(edited to add, a good dose of gorgeous (never knew that) metaphor, too.

 

[Caitano]

edited

 

[Liar]

http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e394/mi_liar/God_South_Park.gif

"What did you expect me to look like, My son?"

 

[cantdog]

(edited to add, a good dose of gorgeous (never knew that) metaphor, too.

I live for good metaphor.

When you in particular use gorgeous to describe me I flush with pride, because you are a daily practitioner of gorgeous. Me, I'm just a patron of the gorgeous. That is, I don't know much about it, but I know what I like.

 

[cheerful_deviant]

I'll use the Devil because she's hot:

http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2007-3/1249307/DevilGirlSm.jpg​

 

[3113]

Angel's Advocate

Writing about God is always a risky business. Look at the Satanic Verses which portrayed Mohammed--and he's not even God, just God's prophet. People get angry enough to try and kill you. Which means you either have to: Make God so vague as to be a inoffensive...and a very dull character indeed or throw caution to the wind and take your life in your hands (like Dogma where God is played by Alanis Morissette.

Now and then, someone finds a good balance (George Burns in "Oh God" wasn't bad--carrying with it the oft-used idea that God can appear as anything to anyone as needed), but really why bother when there's a far easier way to get "God" across in a story without stepping on too many toes, not to mention having to deal with something that most folk view as omnipotent and omniscient? Simply use a representative of God. That way, you can have a character with all those things you want in a character: flaws, desires, needs, ambitions...yet standing for something esoteric like spirituality, goodness, etc.

In short, most writers are more likely to use Angels, Saints or Prophets than God. Which also accounts for the Devil. I mean let's get down to brass tacks here. If we're talking about Western religion's view of God and the Devil, then we're talking about an unequal relationship. The Devil is not equal to God, he's not even anti-God. This is not yin/yang. The Devil is on par with God's representatives: Angels (and if we go for the Christian story of said Devil, than that's exactly what he is, a fallen Angel). This is why, at the end of the story, he's doomed to lose rather than it being an equal contest with the outcome unknown.

Which is to say, yes, the Devil is available to everyone, but I think it unfair to compare him to God. Fairly speaking, the Devil should be compared to Angels who, storywise are also available to everyone.

 

[Jenny_Jackson]

I think the problem is the devil is interesting. God isn't. He's actually a gay guy who runs a hot dog stand on Fire Island. Borrrrrrinnnnnggggggg!!