So right now I'm working on a research paper and I'm writing about the book Wise Blood, by Flannery O'Connor. Anyone interested in religion or metaphors and symbolism should READ IT. It's phenomenal. Seriously. Anyway, since I'm writing a paper on the book, I've had to research literary critiques and other works and letters by the author and she's absolutely fabulous. I wish I could meet her (but she's dead so that might be hard... maybe we'll meet in heaven though).
A lot of religious writers use their protagonists as models of perfect faith, or examples for how we should be living our lives. Flannery O'Connor, on the other hand, wrote about people who rejected God, killed people, did self-destructive things, and broke the ten commandments, and despite everything that they did, were shown mercy and redemption. God loves her characters all the same, all the time. She writes to show everyone all the ugliest parts of people; the parts that self-righteous Christians frown upon and disassociate themselves with because they're convinced that the people who do those things are going to hell. But, ironically, the people O'Connor writes about, are probably the same kind of people that Jesus hung out with. Reading her books points out to society that we often condemn and judge the same people that Jesus loved.
I have to admit, I've been a little self-righteous myself at times. That's not to say that I've ever thought I was perfect, but Christians sure can get a little high and mighty sometimes and then all of a sudden start telling people "okay look. You're bad. You don't love God, you don't know God, and you're probably going to hell." But do we know that? No. If those people are worse sinners than anyone else on this earth then we must all be going to hell. Can we really tell who God thinks is bad? Probably not. That's not for us to judge, and Flannery O'Connor indirectly points that out. If we think that people who do bad things must automatically be condemned to hell and not know God because of their actions, then do we really know God?
My point is, read some of O'Connor's works, I promise you won't be disappointed. In case I still haven't convinced you that she's really enlightened and cool yet, I'll include a few of my favorite quotes by her below.
Since I've gotten some new ideas in my head after reading O'Connor, I just thought that I'd express them. It's been a while since I blogged anything anyway, so here's a little food for thought in the meantime.
"Naw I don't think life's a tragedy. Tragedy is something that can be explained by professors. Life is the will of God and this cannot be explained by the professors; for which all thanksgiving."
"Altogether it is better to pray than to grieve; and it's greater to by joyful than to grieve. But it takes more grace to be joyful than any but the greatest have."
"If you believe in the divinity of Christ, you have to cherish the world at the same time that you struggle to endure it."
I have loads of blogging ideas I'm ready to unload, I just haven't had time to get any of them written out yet. More to come, let me just make sure I tackle this beast of a research paper first.
