Breaing boundaries?
When I lived in Nigeria, 19 years ago, there were
months of unpaid salary but I would never eat foods cooked with dog, cat, frog
or snake meat. These are delicacies in some cuisines but I wasn’t brought up to
see such as food! My family kept dogs, cats, rabbits and even monkeys as pets
and they feature in my books [Their Journey, Stories for Younger Generations, Stories
from The Heart and my poetry collections].
It would have been breaking the boundaries of my ethics. During the
Biafra War in Nigeria, some people broke their food boundaries to survive. I’m
sure in God’s eyes, they didn’t break any boundary; my opinion. Did Prophet
Hosea break boundaries marrying a harlot?
I recently published a Christian fantasy fiction
about Eliana, a sex worker, in ‘The Captive’s Crown’ who found redemption! This
resulted in some graphic scenes. Did I break boundaries of Christian genre
conventions? For some Christian readers, this read might break their reading
boundaries. To encourage such readers, please skip Chapters 17&18 [pages72 -81] . Should I have been more abiding? I have been
blessed reading about characters that were doctors, scientists, etc and
marvelled at things I never knew. I break my reading boundaries when I read –
sci-fi, pirates, horror, etc as a beta reader, a reviewer or simply out of
curiosity. I am always blessed!
I was encouraged by 2 specific reviews on ‘The
Captive’s Crown’ and I remembered Colossians 3:17 –“Whatever you do, whether in
word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus…” Other amazing reviews
on Amazon gave me food for thought – our filthiness in God‘s presence before
Lord Jesus made us clean, acceptable and righteous by His blood is what
happened to Eliana. How did our brother, Apostle Peter, feel when he was
commanded to break his food boundary by eating ‘unclean’ animals in Acts 10:
12-15 in the Bible? I like to think that Papa God uses that example to
demonstrate that our love for all people should be sincere as said in Romans 1:16 -18 in the Bible.
Would you break boundaries in your writing to prove
a point? Can you give examples of people you know in the Bible, who broke
boundaries or conventions with Jewish traditions?
Sophia Anyanwu is British Nigerian, lives in SE London and is an Educationist. She is a multi-genre writer and poet. She is a member of the Association of Christian Writers, UK. All about Sophia and her books are available on her website: www.olusolasophiaanyanwuauthor.com and Amazon.
#amwriting #fantasy #romance #reviewer #ACW #game #christianfiction #ACW
#TheCaptivesCrown
Sophia, thank you for being brave enough to step out and break boundaries and open enough to admit it. It is not always easy. I did it with Legacy of the Mimics and received some flack for it (seriously), but we/I write what we/I feel God is leading us to write - that is what matters. Your blog is so encouraging and reassuring, thank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the encouragement, Brandon. Blessings.
DeleteWhat an interesting and thought-provoking piece, Sophia. I suppose we all have our own limits and views on what is acceptable in God's eyes. I would immediately think of Francine Rivers' Redeeming Love and her take on the Gomer story. Some of it very painful to read, but such a good piece of work. I'd love to know what others think.
ReplyDeleteGood points about Redeeming Love - which I read many years ago, and thought verywell presented.
DeleteThanks for your encouragement, Ruth.Blessings.
DeleteI feel we need to read around, note what is going on, try to write within our faith beliefs. Funnily enough, some of what others write (eg Ruth L!) I wouldn't - but I am guessing much of what I do, they would not! Readers can choose books: we don't need to be unnecessarily fearful of upsetting them, nor of God's disapproval. Would we do certain things ourselves? Do we need to be as graphic as some contemporary authors? I feel quite sad that other believers might say that we should not criticise in our fiction some common Church practices or 'inauthentic' behaviour, but I'm well aware that Christians do bad things, or hide who they really are - sometimes for what they think are good reasons. All stuff to think about. What makes you sad when you read a book? Read Sally Rooney's novels, and think about how we can write with more positivity than people find in their ordinary daily lives as told in these stories... Very good post to make us think!
ReplyDeleteThanks for your encouragement, Clare. Blessings.
ReplyDeleteA great article, Sophia. A topic very close to my heart. I get irritated with some of the no-go areas in Christian fiction in traditional Christian publishing when actually that is focused on a very narrow aspect of what might be considered sin. It's ok to describe violence or proud thinking but not ok to have characters swear or have sex. I don't believe in pushing boundaries for the sake of it, but for the sake of a story whose overall purpose is redemptive then why not?
ReplyDeleteThanks for your encouragement, Katherine. I agree with you. Blessings.
DeleteExactly what has presented itself to me whilst writing my first attempt of an historical fiction (still in draft). For my characters to be ‘real’ they might do things & say things I wouldn’t be comfortable with personally. Sex & swearing are two obvious areas. I’ll be happy to see what experienced editors think! But also my conscience might have some wisdom. Thanks for your post Sophia…bullseye!
ReplyDeleteReally blessed me this, John! Thanks for the encouragement. Blessings
DeleteWith fiction, you have permission to break boundaries and the truth is no matter what you write, someone will have something to complain about. Personally I think as far as you are right with God, that’s what matters. But we all have personal convictions and invincible boundaries both self made and truama made. It’s not about right or wrong, but about what’s right for you in line with God. As far as we don’t judge others. I enjoyed this blog thanks
ReplyDeleteAmanda
Thank you for your encouragement, Amanda.Yeah, we shouldn't judge. Blessings.
ReplyDelete