Blasphemy: Is it?
The moment I have dreaded for quite some time is upon me... I have been charged, and with words none too kind: "Awful. Abysmal blasphemy."
It was a risk I took when choosing a character from the bible for my story A Favorite Son. I knew I would be in trouble when I chose to portray Yankle not as a hero, and not as a patriarch of multiple religions, but rather as a flesh-and-blood, cunning young man, at the point when he is about to commit a sin. As you can imagine, his thoughts at this point are far from being holy.
I take the charge seriously, and I respect the opinion of the reader who leveled it at me. I do understand where it is coming from. Perhaps it is hard to see your idol, a legendary figure in your religion, being handled by a stranger in a somewhat precarious manner...
Now, I thought it would be a sensitive moment for me, because for the most part, I have been spoiled: my work has been embraced and loved by so many of you. Strangely, I find this moment thought provoking. So let me ask you, do you this is blasphemy? Perhaps so... I could get away with it if I said that it is my character who thinks these appalling thoughts. I will not. He is my responsibility, because it was my pen who wrote his words:
"I admit, mine is a strange family. You might call it dysfunctional. How it became the cornerstone of multiple religions is quite beyond me. If all those believers out there are as obnoxious as I am, they should take those scriptures with a grain of salt.
And another thing: How my name became the cornerstone of that notorious chain of restaurants, which we here call, with great fondness, the Yankle-in-the-Box establishment, is a complete mystery to me. I guess it happened in honor of my stew. Here in the wilderness, every edible nugget—regardless of where it came from—is considered a delicacy."
Yankle in A Favorite Son
It was a risk I took when choosing a character from the bible for my story A Favorite Son. I knew I would be in trouble when I chose to portray Yankle not as a hero, and not as a patriarch of multiple religions, but rather as a flesh-and-blood, cunning young man, at the point when he is about to commit a sin. As you can imagine, his thoughts at this point are far from being holy.
I take the charge seriously, and I respect the opinion of the reader who leveled it at me. I do understand where it is coming from. Perhaps it is hard to see your idol, a legendary figure in your religion, being handled by a stranger in a somewhat precarious manner...
Now, I thought it would be a sensitive moment for me, because for the most part, I have been spoiled: my work has been embraced and loved by so many of you. Strangely, I find this moment thought provoking. So let me ask you, do you this is blasphemy? Perhaps so... I could get away with it if I said that it is my character who thinks these appalling thoughts. I will not. He is my responsibility, because it was my pen who wrote his words:
"I admit, mine is a strange family. You might call it dysfunctional. How it became the cornerstone of multiple religions is quite beyond me. If all those believers out there are as obnoxious as I am, they should take those scriptures with a grain of salt.
And another thing: How my name became the cornerstone of that notorious chain of restaurants, which we here call, with great fondness, the Yankle-in-the-Box establishment, is a complete mystery to me. I guess it happened in honor of my stew. Here in the wilderness, every edible nugget—regardless of where it came from—is considered a delicacy."
Yankle in A Favorite Son
No comments have been added yet.
