Deeanne Gist - www.deeannegist.com - Inspirational Romance Author

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

Question 2

One of the detectives, Charlie Pasch, is demonstrated to be a complex, flawed and less than stellar Christian. As a believer, what can we learn from him?

Post your answer in the comments section, then scroll down to proceed to Question 3.

posted by Deeanne at 6:04 AM

6 Comments:

Barb said...: Christians ARE complex, flawed and less than stellar, aren't we?! I thought he was real. Jesus was all about real. It's hard to grow if you can't admit who you really are first.
Meg said...: I agree with Barb. He had plenty of problems, and they wouldn't be solved overnight. That's reality. Okay, it's fiction, but you know what I mean.
Deeanne said...: It isn't everyday you find yourself not wanting to like the Christian character. Most of the "unlikeable" Christian characters I've run into are the ones who weren't Christians at all. Were only pretending to be for their own gain.

Griggs was a Christian. And a little too human for comfort. I've heard of authors receiving emails from readers saying that they were "praying for said-author's characters." That always struck me as somewhat amusing and somewhat sad.

I will no longer be able to smirk over such comments. If I ever had an urge to pray for characters, they were the ones that peppered this novel.
Barb said...: Your comment about unlikeable Christians sounds like something out of No More Christian Nice Guys. I've prayed for characters in compelling movies, then caught myself. At first I thought I was just being dumb, but then I thought well, maybe it's good that I just naturally turn to God in a hard situation or when someone needs help. And all of fiction comes from fact, somehow.
C.J. Darlington said...: I think we can learn that we don't have to be perfect to share the Lord with someone. In fact, having an interesting life and being able to talk about different sorts of things helps make us more relatable to those who don't yet believe.
Barb said...: I think nonChristians are often most impressed by our example when we're honest about our failings. When we deal with our failings by acknowledging them and trying harder, or by apologizing instead of trying to cover up. It's the light of truth shining even in the midst of our sin, instead of just the sin sitting there like a depressing lump.