In this episode, I combine my exploration of religion and entertainment as I discuss recurring religious themes in literature, movies, and television. I also explore ways in which authors can portray people of faith in a positive light. This material is based on a lecture I gave in my writing seminar under our mentor, award-winning science fiction author David Gerrold.

Hello, this is Chris Young. Welcome to Episode 107 of Contemplating Life.

This podcast bills itself as being about disability, religion, politics, entertainment, and anything else I want to talk about. For this episode, we’re going to have a crossover between religion and entertainment as I explore religious themes in literature and media.

A huge spoiler warning. This episode spoils plot details from the following:

• “The Red Badge of Courage” (1894 novel) by Stephen Crane
• “The Citadel” (1937 novel) by A.J. Cronin
• “South Pacific” (1949 Broadway musical) by Rodgers and Hammerstein, as well as the 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning book “Tales of the South Pacific” by James A. Michener, upon which it is based
• “Cyrano de Bergerac” (1897 play) by Edmond Rostand
• “The Phantom of the Opera” (1910 novel) by Gaston Leroux, as well as Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 2010 musical sequel “Love Never Dies.”
• “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” (1950 children’s novel) by C.S. Lewis
• “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (1965 film) by George Stevens
• “The Outsiders” (1967 young adult novel) by S.E. Hinton, as well as the 1983 film adaptation directed by Francis Ford Coppola
• “Star Wars Episode I – The Phantom Menace” (1999 film) by George Lucas
• “Blade Runner” (1982 film) by Ridley Scott
  “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan” (1992 film) by Nicholas Myers, as well as the 1984 film “Star Trek: The Search for Spock” (1984 film) by Leonard Nimoy
• “Short Circuit” (1986) by John Badham
• The New Testament
• and last but not least, Season 5 of the hit Netflix series “Stranger Things.”

I’m serious. If you don’t want any of these spoiled, especially the ending of “Stranger Things,” do not proceed. You can’t just quit when I get to the part about “Stranger Things.” Because once you listen to any of this episode, it’s going to spoil the end of that show.

Over a recent 10-day stretch, I binge-watched all 42 episodes of “Stranger Things.” Even if this podcast spoils the ending, I still recommend you watch it.

Proceed with caution. You were warned.

In 1965, filmmaker George Stevens directed the epic film “The Greatest Story Ever Told”. While the honor of having that title is self-proclaimed, one can understand why it is titled such. The film depicts key moments in the life of Jesus of Nazareth from his birth in Bethlehem through his death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. It originated from a 1947 half-hour radio series based on the four Gospels of the New Testament.

I told you I was going to spoil the New Testament. In case you didn’t hear, in the end, Jesus dies and then rises from the dead three days later. Sorry, I spoiled that.

That radio drama was in turn adapted into a novel by Fulton Oursler. The film is adapted from Oursler’s novelization.

Whether or not you are a believer in the Christ story, you have to admit that with over 2.6 billion Christians in the world today and God only knows how many before that over the past 2000 years, it is the most influential story (for better or worse) in recorded history.

The key element of the story is that the Savior’s death and resurrection brings redemption to all. This story is so powerful that we continue to retell it in various forms. But I’m not just talking about epic biopics like “The Greatest Story Ever Told”, the 1927 Cecil B DeMille silent film “King of Kings”, the 1959 film “Ben-Hur,” and other epic films. I’m talking about a more subtle retelling of the Christ story throughout literature.

I first became aware of something called the “Christ figure” in literature when I was in eighth grade. The class was assigned the classic Civil War novel “The Red Badge of Courage” by Stephen Crane. Initially published in 1894, it is the story of a teenage Union soldier named Henry Fleming who deserts his unit after believing the battle is lost. He is overcome with guilt when he learns later that his side won the battle.

Along the way, he befriends another soldier named Jim Conklin, who eventually dies in battle. My eighth-grade liturgy teacher taught me that this was a “Christ figure” character. She said it was a gimmick that writers use to retell the Gospel story. The clue was that the character’s initials were J.C. and that they died. The main character is redeemed or transformed somehow through the death of this character in the same way that theoretically all people are redeemed, saved, transformed, whatever, by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

My initial reaction was, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” I vacillated between thinking it was a coincidence, the teacher was just crazy, or it was a cheesy gimmick used by the author because they couldn’t come up with an original story of their own. They just rewrote the Christ story in a different setting. I was somewhat offended that someone would take what appeared to be an ordinary action-adventure story of the Civil War and turn it into a backdoor way to preach the Gospel.

I have to admit, I never read the story. It was discussed in class. The important parts of the plot would be taught by the teacher. She talked about anything that would be on the test. All I had to do was pay close attention in class. I learned through experience that I didn’t need to read the entire work.

Fast forward to my sophomore year of high school. Here’s another book I was supposed to read and was able to BS my way to a passing grade without actually reading the entire novel. It was the 1937 novel “The Citadel” by A.J. Cronin. Set in 1924 Scotland, it is the story of a young doctor named Andrew Manson who goes to work in a small Scottish town. He discovers that the sanitation in the village is horrific and leads to much disease. He goes about attempting to correct the matter. Along the way, he meets, falls in love with, and marries a schoolteacher named Christine Barlow. And guess what happens to the character with the word “Christ” in her name? She gets hit by a bus and dies.

Again, the teacher tells us that Christine is a Christ figure in the story. She comes into his life, redeems him, and dies. And he is the better for it. My teacher explained that not only is there symbolism in her name, Christine, but the name Manson was symbolic as well.Throughout the Gospelsl, Jesus often refers to himself as “the Son of Man”. Alternatively, Manson represents mankind who is redeemed by the Christ figure.

I was similarly unimpressed by this gimmick. I couldn’t believe that the so-called great literature worthy of being taught in school was being so… what was the term I was looking for? “Unoriginal,” perhaps? All because it was stealing the plot from the Gospel.

On the final exam, there was a question, “Why did Christine have to die? I wrote, “Because she was the Christ figure and the Christ figure always dies in these types of stories.” If it had been an oral exam, the teacher would’ve heard my answer dripping with a sarcastic tone. I thought this whole “Christ figure” gimmick was BS to begin with, so I was going to give a BS answer. Much to my surprise, the test marked that answer as correct. I couldn’t believe it.

A year later, I discovered the works of S.E.Heton and her 1965 classic young adult novel “The Outsiders”. It is a coming-of-age story about 14-year-old Ponyboy Curtis and his friend Johnnycake. The book was famous not only because it was a great story, but also because the author wrote it when she was a teenager.

By the way, Johnnycake was spelled all one word. His actual name was Johnny Cade. He got that nickname because he loved to eat cake.

At one point in the story, the main characters encounter a small church that is on fire, and there are children trapped inside. Three of them rush into the building to save the children. Two of them came out with only minor injuries, but the building collapsed on Johnny and broke his spine. Guess what happened to him? He dies.

This one snuck up on me. It wasn’t a reading assignment for a class. I read the book because it was highly recommended and highly popular. It wasn’t obvious that Johnny was a Christ figure. On the other hand, he literally “descended into hell” (quoting the Apostles Creed) to rescue innocent people from the flames. Throughout the story, he’s referred to simply as Johnny or Johnnycake. If he had gone by the name Johnny Cake with two words capitalized, I would’ve realized his initials were JC sooner. But once I got to the part where he landed in the hospital, I remembered that a few pages earlier, he had left a note and signed it “J.C.”

I slammed the book shut, threw it across the table, as best I could given my disability, and mumbled a long string of expletives. Once I realized that Johnnycake was JC, I knew he was a goner. So, in that famous death scene in the hospital where Johnny finally kicks the bucket and, in his dying words, tells his friend Ponyboy, “Stay gold.” I already knew he was going to die, but it really meant something. This was nearly 50 years ago, but as I recall, the story brought me to tears.

Now I got it. I get why they did it. It took a story about a bunch of teenage kids that I had grown to care about before I got the point. I never read “The Red Badge of Courage” and probably wouldn’t have gotten very attached to the characters if I did. I couldn’t identify with the young Union soldier during the Civil War. I certainly wasn’t going to care much about some Scottish doctor in 1927 and his schoolteacher wife in “The Citadel,” even if I had read the entire novel. But here was a story that spoke to me, and it suckered me in.

Ever since then, I’ve noticed it been propping up in other places. Even though my high school put on the production of the musical “South Pacific”, it wasn’t until some years later, while watching the film version, that I realized why Lieutenant Joe Cable had to die.

I never had the opportunity to read the classic play Cyrano de Bergerac, but I recently caught the 2021 movie “Cyrano” starring Peter Dinklage. Once I realized that Christian was going off to war, I knew he wasn’t coming back.

When I learned that the girl in “The Phantom of the Opera” was named Christine, I kept expecting her to die, but she didn’t. I was almost disappointed. She was a redeeming character, but in my opinion, the story fell short because she didn’t die. At least not until that ill-fated follow-up by Andrew Lloyd Weber, “Love Never Dies.”

In the 1950 classic children’s novel “The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis, he explicitly explains that the death and resurrection of the lion, Aslan, is to teach the children about the death and resurrection of Jesus.

Probably the most clever example of the phenomenon was in the 1986 film “Short Circuit” starring Ally Sheedy and Steve Guttenberg. It is the story of a cute little robot named “Number 5” who becomes sentient. Upon awakening, he becomes obsessed with gaining knowledge. He runs around for several minutes repeating the phrase “need input, need input” until he finally declares, “Number 5 is alive.”

By the way, if you are familiar with the Enneagram personality typology, the robot Number 5 is most definitely a type 5. The only other numbered robots in the film are Number 1 and Number 2, and they fit the Enneagram types as well. The author must have known the Enneagram theory.

Number 5 was built by a military contractor, but he ran away with his two human friends. After a final showdown with the military bad guys, he ends up dying. At this point, there is nothing to suggest it fits our pattern. It’s just a character that died. In the final scene, Sheedy and Guttenberg are driving down a winding road in a van with the robot’s remains in the back. They are reminiscing about how he changed their lives and speculate that a part of him will always be with them. Suddenly, Number 5 reboots and declares once again, “Number 5 is alive!”

While we now have our requisite death and resurrection, we still have a question of his name. To seal the deal, the robot then says he wants to be known not as “Number 5” but as “Johnny 5”. While it’s not like he had the initials JC or went by Christian Computer or something, the initial “J” is a clear indicator of the author’s intent.

There is symbolism in a couple of areas. John’s Gospel describes Jesus as “the Word made Flesh.” In other words, Jesus is God’s word incarnate. The robot becomes alive through the acquisition of knowledge or words. So he is incarnate of words.

In Luke 24, we have the story of two disciples on the road to Emmaus. They are reliving the events of Jesus’ arrest, crucifixion, and death. They encounter a stranger who travels with them as they are recounting the stories of Jesus. He explains to them how it was foretold in Scripture that the Messiah would have to suffer and die. They share with him the ceremony of the breaking of the bread, and suddenly they realize that the stranger among them was Jesus resurrected. The stranger then disappears. In the movie, our disciples discover who Number 5 really is and experience his resurrection as they are traveling down a road. The parallels cannot be a coincidence.

I suppose, to a lesser extent, the events of Star Trek II and III, in which we have the death and resurrection of Mr. Spock, could qualify him as a Christ figure, although it’s too late to change his name to something appropriate. Spock’s sacrifice saves the crew of the Enterprise. The story is built around the friendship between Kirk and Spock. John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” Spock’s final words before he dies are, “I have been and always shall be your friend.”

In the 1982 sci-fi classic “Blade Runner,” Batty has his hands pierced by a nail in his final fight with Decker. A few moments later, he dies.

One of my dearest friends is named Judy Chapman, and of course, my name is Chris. I’ve often wondered whether she is the Christ figure in my story or I am the Christ figure in her story. We both benefited personally and spiritually from our friendship, so I suppose that, in many respects, both are true. By the way, I’m not trying to sport a Messiah complex. Fortunately, neither one of us is dead yet.

Many months ago, I wrote a version of this essay for my writing class. I decided this was a good time to turn it into a podcast episode because I recently added another one to the list.

For several years, I’ve intended to watch the popular Netflix series “Stranger Things.” The first part of the fifth and final season was released on Thanksgiving. More episodes were released on Christmas Day, and the series finale was released on New Year’s Eve. With all the hype about this series ending, I decided to check it out. I started watching the day after Christmas and, about 10 days later, completed my marathon of all 42 episodes.

The main character is a girl named Eleven because she was the 11th child in a top-secret government experiment studying a group of children with various mental abilities, such as telekinesis and the ability to project their consciousness into other people’s minds over great distances. She has the number “011” tattooed on her forearm. I often wondered why it was a three digit number. Are there really that many kids in the program? Anyway, she escapes the lab where she was raised and befriended by a group of kids in the fictional town of Hawkins, Indiana.

Her new friends decide to call her “El” – short for Eleven. However, in season 2, episode 5, we learn that her real name is Jane Ives. She is adopted by the chief of police, and her name becomes Jane Hopper, but her friends still call her El or Eleven.

Throughout the series, assisted by her friends, she uses her mental abilities to battle a variety of monsters from an alternate dimension they call “The Upside Down.”

In season 2, episode 7, we meet a girl named Kali who is child 008. She has the ability to project images into people’s minds and make them see whatever she wants them to see

Late in the series, we learn that Henry, child number 001, was the strongest of them all, and he was the villain behind everything that happened in the series. He has evolved into a monster that the children named Vecna after a Dungeons and Dragons character.

There is a scene in which Henry 001 holds his tattooed arm up against Eleven’s arm with 011 tattooed on it, and it becomes more apparent that they are the opposite of one another. That explains to me why they used three-digit numbers.

Initially, the story said these children obtained their supernatural powers because their mothers were given psychedelic drugs. However, in the final season, it is revealed that all the other children were created because their mothers were given blood transfusions from Henry/Vecna/001.

The government kidnapped Kali and was using her blood to infuse pregnant women in an attempt to make more superpowered children El rescued Kali, and together with their friends, they set up a battle against Vecna and other monsters. They will seal off all of the portals to the alternate dimensions.

Kali suggests to El that even if they succeed, the government will continue to try to kidnap them for their blood, create more superpowered children, and reopen portals to the Upside Down dimension, unleashing the monsters yet again. Kali believes that they should stay in this other dimension and be destroyed along with it as a sacrifice to save the earth from future evil.

Long before Kali hatched this plan, I knew that El was not going to survive. My guess was that she would experience some sort of death and then magically be resurrected.

Her name, “Jane,” was one clue. I would’ve preferred her last name to begin with “C,” but the “J” name was good enough. Furthermore, “El” is the Hebrew word for God. For example, El Shaddai means God Almighty. Elohim means God Most High.

She is most definitely a Messiah character who saves the world by destroying evil that springs forth from an underworld.

Although she initially rejected Kali’s plan to sacrifice themselves and eliminate the possibility of creating more superpowered children who could be weaponized by the government, in the end, the portal to the Upside Down closes permanently, and the entire Upside Down dimension is destroyed with Kali and Eleven inside. They sacrificed themselves to save the world.

Or did they?

In an epilogue, we see the kids gathering for another session of Dungeons and Dragons. Mike, as the dungeon Master, spins a tale that Eleven might have survived. He speculates that Kali, who was mortally wounded in the Upside Down, used her psychic abilities to make everyone think that El stayed inside the Upside Down when the portal closed and the dimension was destroyed. He speculates, El survived and went off to live a peaceful life somewhere else in the world. One by one, her friends all declare that they believe this is what happened.

This is the most detailed parallel Christ story I have ever encountered. The early Christians witnessed the death of their Savior. Yet, legends arose that he wasn’t really dead. Eventually, not only did the people who knew him come to believe that he had resurrected, but millions of followers for the next two millennia continue to believe so without any evidence.

If anyone listening can come up with other instances of a Christ figure, please let me know. I’m not just talking about any character that sacrifices their life. I need something more concrete, such as initials JC, Chris, or Christine as a name, but especially a death and resurrection.

My writing mentor, award-winning author David Gerrold, graciously allowed me to take over the class recently and share my thoughts about the role of religion in literature, movies, and TV. Here are some of the points I made in that presentation was also included a briefer version of the above discussion of Christ figures.

So let’s talk religion…

The latest data from the Pew Research Center for 2023 shows that 84.4% of the world’s population has a religious affiliation, leaving only 15.6% without one. Christianity represents 30.7%, Islam 24.9%, Hinduism 15.1%, Buddhism 6.6%, and other religions the remaining 7.1%.

US data from 2020 reports 69.7% Christian (45.6% Protestant and 21.8% Catholic). In that same survey, 23.3% are nonbelievers and 7% are non-Christian (1.4% Jewish, 0.8% Muslim).

The bottom line is, we should not ignore the role of religion in society.

Despite the dominance of religious beliefs, religion is under attack in our society, and rightly so. Throughout history, there have been massive examples of how religion has been used to foster hate and even create wars, from the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition (which no one expected), the Salem witch trials, and white Christian nationalists. Debates over abortion rights are intimately tied to religious beliefs and have resulted in great divisiveness in our society.

In contrast, religion has been a positive force for change. Many denominations promote social justice, equality, care for the poor, the elderly, and the disabled, and opposition to capital punishment.

The amount of hypocrisy expressed by politically active people of faith has inflicted significant damage on the brand of Christianity. Similarly, Islam has suffered from its association with terrorist activities. Other religions have suffered criticism sparked by their more radical members.

I look at it in light of the commandment, “You shall not invoke the name of the Lord in vain.” By claiming to be Christian and living lives contrary to Christian principles, they damage the name of Jesus. People rightly claim, “If that’s what it means to be Christian, count me out.”

I think there is a tendency in science fiction to presume that religion will not be an issue in the future. However, a 2023 study found that about 51% of scientists in the United States reported having religious beliefs, including believing in God or a higher power. While this is significantly lower than the general US population, it’s important to note that 33% of scientists specifically reported believing in God, and 18% believed in a universal spirit or higher power. I find it difficult to believe that a significant number of these scientists of faith are engaged in the pseudoscience of creationism. Science and faith are not as incompatible as they seem.

Let’s look at some examples of faith and religion in science fiction. Because our mentor, David Gerrold, first came to fame by writing for Star Trek, let’s start there.

In some respects, Vulcan philosophy has made a religion out of “logic.” Vulcans spend considerable time meditating to suppress their emotions. Isn’t prayer simply a directed form of meditation? Vulcans are ritualistic people who show great reverence and honor to their ancestors, who are the foundation of their beliefs. Note that there is nothing physiologically tying Vulcans to their lack of emotion. The Vulcans and Romulans come from a common origin, but when the Vulcans adopted logic, they chose a system of belief based on logic and built their culture around it. Meanwhile, Romulans indulged their emotions and became warriors.

Klingon culture reveres its founding ancestors, is a ritualistic society, and most definitely believes in an afterlife. Warriors who die honorably are rewarded in Stovokor, while the dishonored spend an eternity of torment in Gre’thor. This is similar to Norse mythology, which we see represented in the Marvel Universe by Thor and related characters.

Speaking of superheroes, isn’t Superman reminiscent of Hercules? Furthermore, his name is Kal-El, and his father is Jor-El of the house of El. As we explained earlier, “El” is Hebrew for “God.”

Moving along, Star Wars is rife with mythology and religious themes that Lucas tapped into in creating the Star Wars universe. Belief in the Force is often referred to as a religion. Admiral Motti says to Vader, “Your sad devotion to that ancient religion hasn’t helped you conjure up the stolen data tapes.”

While we often think of “A New Hope” as a hero’s journey for Luke, it is also a journey of faith for Han Solo. Early on, he sarcastically says, “Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid.”

“You don’t believe in the Force, do you?” said Luke.

Solo replies, “Kid, I’ve flown from one side of this galaxy to the other. I’ve seen a lot of strange stuff, but I’ve never seen anything to make me believe there’s an all-powerful Force controlling everything.

However, by the time the rebels take off to destroy the Death Star, he leaves Luke saying, “Hey, Luke. May the Force be with you.” While that doesn’t necessarily mean he has become a full believer, he’s no longer the skeptic he once was, and he respects what Luke and Obi-Wan can do with the Force. This respect grows throughout the remaining films.

And hold onto your helmets, Star Wars fans, but I’m about to make a case that Darth Vader is a Christ figure. WHAT? Consider this… In Episode I, “The Phantom Menace,” we learned that Anakin Skywalker a.k.a. Darth Vader, was the result of a virgin birth. And even though, unlike Jesus, he turned to the dark side, eventually his death saved his son and ultimately defeated the evil Empire.

‘sWhat about resurrection? Well, at the end of Episode VI ”Return of the Jedi” we see the ghost of Anakin smiling down upon the victory celebration, accompanied by the ghosts of Yoda and Obi-Wan.

One can argue that Star Wars is more fantasy than sci-fi. Introducing religious themes into fantasy and horror is easier because they already deal with supernatural elements. Still, I do not believe religious themes are out of place in hard science fiction. I don’t think religion is going away anytime soon.

In the past few episodes of this podcast, I talked about Old Testament prophets. I think that the role of a prophet provides rich ground for storytelling. I explained to my classmates that prophets I got about predicting the future. Rather, they are about calling people back to their core principles. I gave them a brief overview of some of the material I covered a few episodes ago in this podcast. I talked about Abraham Lincoln, JFK, and MLK as modern-day prophets.

I also discussed the David and Nathan story in which a prophet’s guidance can be personal and one-on-one.

There is a tendency to portray people of faith as being irrational, superstitious, and uneducated people who lack the capacity for critical thinking. While it’s easy to portray religious beliefs in a negative light since there is so much hypocrisy among people of faith, I challenge my colleagues to find ways to respect that some people actually live out the precepts of their religions genuinely.

Most of the people in the class are either atheists or agnostics. So I realized, their challenge is how do you get inside the mind of a religious person? I asked them to consider that a person who is not hypocritical about their religious beliefs might not be so different from you. I explained as follows…

Scripture is primarily mythology. It’s not history. It’s not science. It’s stories that may be factually inaccurate but reveal deeper truths, which are the foundation of a particular religious tradition. Are superhero stories any different? Isn’t sci-fi our modern mythology? YouTuber Damien Walter thinks so. Our mythology contains cautionary tales and morality stories, just like the mythology of religious believers. Do our superheroes always behave completely honorably? Not always. Neither do biblical heroes. Case in point, David.

Let’s look at the concept of Angels and Demons for a moment. Scripture scholars say that angels are a socially created construct because pre-Christian people could not conceive of God speaking directly to people. So they presumed there must be messengers called angels who delivered the Word of God. Demons, of course, are fallen angels.

Further, we understand that angels and demons are metaphors for good and evil. Although the official position of the Catholic church is that angels are real, all three of the priests I worked for, who were pastors of St. Gabriel the Archangel Catholic Parish, taught that belief in angels was not an essential part of Catholic belief and expressed their personal doubts about the existence of angels. They thought of Angels and Demons primarily as metaphors for good and evil.

Let’s try together all of these pieces. If Scripture is useful mythology to teach fundamental values, and angels and demons are metaphors for good and evil, is perhaps God simply an anthropomorphic expression of the ideals of order over chaos, love over hate, and good over evil?

The young people in Stranger Things joined with their supernaturally powered friend to battle evil. That battle cost the life of Eleven, but her spirit lives on within them. They keep her memory alive. Whether she actually resurrected or not is irrelevant. The same can be said for Jesus of Nazareth.

I told my friends in my writing class that although I am no longer able to attend services regularly, given my health and disability, I miss coming together once a week to celebrate shared values with like-minded people.

There is comfort in ritual. In secular society, we celebrate with ritual. We eat certain foods on Thanksgiving. We sing Happy Birthday. We place a wreath on the grave of the unknown soldier on Memorial Day and Veterans Day. We celebrate Independence Day and New Year’s Day with rituals. Even atheists give gifts on Christmas. These are communal expressions of our shared values. It is human nature to do so.

Imagine an organization that met weekly, began with the National Anthem and the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag. Readings from the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution, or the Federalist Papers could follow that. It might include speeches from political leaders whose values you share.

Along the way, you encounter another community member and discover they are undergoing medical, emotional, or financial crises, and you wish them well. Is that different from “I will pray for you”? Perhaps during the service, you celebrate your shared values in meaningful rituals. If such an organization existed, would you attend? If so, are you that different from people of faith who gather to worship?

Where do we go from here? How can we incorporate religion into our writing in a credible, positive, and meaningful manner?

You don’t have to directly retell the Christ story to illustrate the power of sacrifice, redemption, or even resurrection.

Resurrection?

Yes, every time we undergo some sort of personal transformation or growth, we die to our old selves and become someone new and better.

Telling stories of love and friendship wherein one person plays the role of a prophet who helps another character become their better selves is fertile ground for storytelling.

I told my colleagues that my hope for and challenge to all of them is that they consider the role of faith and religion in thier stories. I challenged them to try to portray people of faith in a positive light. Don’t presume that the vocal hypocrisy of many people of faith represents all of us.

Please do call out the hypocrisy and hatred expressed by those who abuse religion.

Perhaps, create characters who try to reform their community. Tell the story of a prophet who speaks up for what is right and tries to reform their religious communities, which are not practicing the kind of love, respect, and forgiveness that is the core of our major religious traditions.

If you’re going to portray characters from real religious traditions, not ones you made up on your own, please do your research. Reach out to someone who is knowledgeable about that faith and ask for feedback from a beta reader. Try to find empathy for those who have been misled by religious leaders who preach hate or divisiveness. They are the product of their upbringing.

In my writing seminar, each week we gather with people who believe in the things I believe in. We believe in the power of the written word to educate, entertain, enlighten, and possibly inspire. We discuss our shared values and experiences. An educated and experienced leader guides us on our journey.

There is a ritual to our gathering. We are greeted by our leader individually by name. One guy is teased for not showing up on time. Another guy always asks about homework. I described other things that go on in the class that serve as comforting rituals for our gathering. Each week, David signs off with words that could be described as a closing prayer or blessing. He says, “Stay safe. Stay sane. And have bail money.”

I then asked the group, “Are we not a community of faith?”

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I will see you next time as we continue contemplating life. Until then, fly safe.