When a favorite writer lets you down

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FatherMerrin

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Grant Morrison used to be among my top five favorite writers currently working in comics. That changed a few days ago when I came across this passage from one of his more recent books, “Nameless”:
“There’s no denying the God of the Book is a sadistic monster, who gleefully promises to punish even the minor, momentary indiscretions of mortal flesh with agonizing eternal torture in a cosmic concentration camp. He is the closest thing that our planet has to an actual, invisible but overwhelmingly powerful Lovecraftian monster; living in our midst and using its mind-controlled agents to wreak havoc, oppress women, and retard the intellectual progress of the human species. Pretty much anything we can do to wipe this poisonous thought-form, once and for all, off the face of our poor, possessed planet, should be welcomed.”
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As a Christian, I’ll admit reading these words stung me very deeply. They seem to be coming from the same venomous spring of hostility and resentment that atheists draw from (although Morrison is actually a ‘chaos magician’). Even worse, I feel Morrison’s contempt for Christianity is soaked with its own intentional ignorance, at least in the sense of how he appears to be voluntarily dismissing all the positive aspects of the religion. The compassion, the humanity, the hope…it all amounts to naught for Mr. Morrison, who prefers tarot cards to the crucifix. I’m not entirely sure how one is supposed to be better than the other; maybe a chaos magician needs to explain it to me.

I thought Grant Morrison was one of the most intelligent, insightful, and optimistic writers busy in the comic book industry today, but now, I’m having a difficult time enjoying his previous stories, now that I know he hates my guts for placing my faith in a ‘poisonous thought-form.’ Is it possible to still enjoy some of a writer’s output, even though you’re aware he’s so vehemently against everything you believe?

(On a side note, “Nameless” is an incredibly dark and brutal book about an asteroid carrying a nihilistic, life-hating entity bearing down on Earth. Don’t go out of your way to read it unless you’ve got a strong stomach and an even stronger spirit!)
 
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Yeah, I’ve been through this sort of thing many times and that’s why I generally don’t fangirl anymore.

Even though you don’t know the author/actor/what-have-you in a personal way, when somebody creates a work that deeply resonates with you, you do form a sort of bond (“they get me!”). And it’s easy to then start to project your own wants and fantasies on to them.

There’s nothing wrong with it and it’s very human. And it does hurt to find out they weren’t quite the kindred spirit you hoped for. And it can taint your enjoyment of their works.

Now, was this little rant of GM’s in the authors voice, or was it the voice of a character. Are we supposed to like this character? Does the character have a story arc where he starts out in this headspace then changes his mind, or modifies his thinking over time?
 
It’s not from any specific character in the book itself. It’s an excerpt from the book’s afterword, in Morrison’s own words.
 
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I really like the book “The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything”, written by Fr James Martin SJ. You can see how my opinion has soured in recent years.
 
Half way through “Dune” I realized the book speaks about religion quite a lot without one main character not even mentioned theoretically in the book - God. And I realized that when I was a fan of the book series.
Years later I read Frank Herbert’s “Jesus Incident” that replaces God with an A.I. controlling a ship that makes experiments on people. However the ship is criticizing people and the reason why they are tormented is the Crucifixion.
The writer is Frank Herbert. He was talented, without a doubt. He gave me good vibes and bad vibes.
Writers are just people with a lot of imagination and a charisma to write things in a way people are moved. Honesty is key in writing. If the writer is struggling with certain ideas he or she will probably just put them in his or her books without a doubt. A book is mainly about the author, from a psychological point of view. Especially a fictional book.
After getting back to the Church and praying more often and taking Christianity more seriously I have problems reading things that express explicit atheist ideas. I am pickier. I don’t know if this is a Divine inspiration for me or just lack of meekness and patience. But I am grateful for it because it has set me free in a way.
Maybe you lost your favorite author or maybe he is going through a phase (I know my favorite author was already deceased by the time I was reading him) or maybe you just see things that have always been in his books but you only noticed them now.
Pray for him?
On a religious note St. Paul did say that art and science do not last forever. So a fictional book is mostly unlike to contain any deep spiritual universal meaning that God will seek to preserve forever. So no harm has been done except the guy realizes he’s an atheist and wants to say so.
 
Well, he’s actually a chaos magician (I’m not too sure what that means), not an atheist, but I see your point. I love “Dune,” although I’d like to mention the book is more cynical on its outlook towards religion that the movie, where Paul Maud’Dib really DID turn out to be the Messiah - or, at least, a Messiah:

 
FatherMerrin said:
Is it possible to still enjoy some of a writer’s output, even though you’re aware he’s so vehemently against everything you believe?
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I don’t think so.

As a Catholic, Jesus isn’t just our Lord… He is our loving Father, our beloved Brother, our beloved Spouse, and our best Friend.

How can you ever look at someone the same after they go on a tirade insulting all the people in your life you love the most?

I can’t read Dawkins books on biology because I know how much he hates my Father/brother/spouse/best friend…

Also, IMO, people like Dawkins and the fella you described above are not atheists. Atheist means “no belief in gods.”

People don’t generally spew venomous, visceral hatred about mythological figures. When’s the last time you saw someone go on a tirade against the Easter bunny or tooth fairy? (I don’t mention Santa Claus because Santa is real and I believe in him - not joking. I just believe in the historical figure St. Nicholas and look at the myths surrounding him as innocent stories to tell children. But I can honestly look a child in the eyes and say “I believe in Santa Claus.”)

Anyway, Dawkins and this fella and others like him, IMO, are not atheists and it’s wrong to refer to them as atheists. These people are misotheists (one who holds God in disdain, a hater of God).

They hate the very name of the God of Abraham. They froth at the mouth and their blood boils when they imagine God’s Justice (even when their conception of it is way off point).
 
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That’s one of my hardest issues with celebrities. I just want to be entertained by their talent… and they want to tell me how to think, or why I’m wrong for thinking the way I currently do. 😉 And so I see them in their movie… but their performance keeps getting broken in my head by memories of some emotionally overwrought plea for this or that cause.
 
Hello.

I have to be very careful what I read these days. Several times in my life things have gotten derailed from reading “bad” literature. The problem is, as I see it, that you have to read a lot before you can tell the good from the bad, even critics and ratings these days aren’t always helpful. The good thing though is that the older you get and the more you read, the easier & quicker it is to give the reading material a toss when it deserves it. What scares me is that a lot of literature instructors aren’t that moral and kind of anything goes.

Writers are people too, I guess. Give your attention to the good ones, just don’t let your faith be a casualty.

My two cents, please take or leave it.
 
What from your perspective qualifies as “good” or “bad” literature? Would something like “Mere Christianity” by C.S. Lewis be near the top, and “120 Days of Sodom” by de Sade one of the lowest?
 
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