#christian storytelling

[brainypixel]

We are excited to welcome you all to the first installment of our new blog series, "The Theology of Storytelling", now available on the Brainy Blog!

Check out "Introduction of Terms" below!

[artist-issues]

there is a huge difference between “magic” as in, “the fairy-tale symbol for a another dimension of good or evil being manifested/a fantasy word for ‘superpower’”

and “magic” as in: “real-world sorcery.”

HUGE difference. Sorcery happens in the real world. It’s when creatures worship created things instead of their Creator. It’s when humans get played by real demons and think they’re tapping into something better.

But “magic” in stories is not always that. Weirdly it sometimes references sorcery. But it’s not always sorcererous. The Fairy Godmother from Cinderella is a symbol; she’s a rewarder of good ethics, and her “magic” just makes that agency a little richer and sparklier. But the witch from Snow White? She’s a character who references real-world sorcery. The same way the Huntsman references real-world people-who-hunted-for-a-living.

That is the difference. Sorcery vs. storytelling magic.

[kalissimsblog]

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[beginnerblueglass]

The Christian Themes in My Chemical Romance's The Black Parade

Let me start by saying that as a Christian, I believe that God is the Creator of all things, including creativity, art, imagination, and storytelling. He is the God of those things, and His signature is on every part of the universe. The story of who God is - His nature and character - and His plans and purposes for His creation can be summed up in the word "gospel," or "good news." The gospel is not just something that is true or contains truth; it is the underlying Truth over, in, and behind all of reality.

I believe that any artist (regardless of what they believe) who spends enough time genuinely and honestly aiming for truth to put in their art, will eventually, intentionally or unintentionally, hit God.

Do I believe that Gerard Way and friends were trying to tell a story about Jesus? No, probably not. But they were trying to tell a story about life and death, sin and forgiveness, heaven and hell, and many other things that fall within the Bible's purview. The Truth comes out when we let it.

Believe it or not, The Black Parade is full of the gospel. If one were to hear me say this and then just listen to a few songs in isolation, one might think I was crazy, or possibly a heretic. BUT HEAR ME OUT OKAY

The story of the Patient, a man dying of cancer, as he reckons with his life, death, sins, and possibility of redemption.

The End.

We open with a very Shakespearean introduction to the story we are about to hear. It is clearly describing a funeral, and we are told that our narrator "expects we won't cry" at this "tragic affair." The Patient seems indifferent towards his own tragedy until the breakdown, where he screams,

"Save me! Get me the hell out of here! I'm too young to die!"

Dead!

The song opens with a declaration of the Patient's root problem:

"If your heart stops beating" "Then your heart can't take this" "Found a complication in your heart, so long"

His heart is the thing that is sick, the thing that is killing him. His physically failing heart makes a stinging metaphor for the condition of his spiritual heart.

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it? 'I the LORD search the heart and test the mind, to give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds'" Jeremiah 17:9.

The Patient is confronted with the question,

"If you get to heaven, I'll be here waiting babe, did you get what you deserved?"

Basically, "If you got to heaven, I'd be wondering if that was the right call."

It's fascinating to hear the Patient vacillate between longing for death and being terrified of death. This song reveals that he's suicidal, and seems to welcome the end.

"Wouldn't it be grand? It ain't exactly what you planned, and wouldn't it be great if we were dead?"

But again, the breakdown reveals his deeper feelings:

"If life ain't just a joke, then why am I dead?"

What is the purpose of a life that ends with death? How can this be the way it's supposed to be? Well, here's the thing. Humans were not originally created to die; death is a consequence of sin. Our eternal soul recoils from the idea of being removed from our body and the earth, and it is indeed unnatural. These are questions that everyone should ask themselves at some point in their life: What is death? Why do we die? How is this a part of the plan?

God is a professional redeemer, and He in fact used death itself to break death's choke-hold on us, forgiving us of our sins (the cause of death) thanks to the sacrificial death of Jesus on the cross. The believer can now say, "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (1 Cor. 15:55). I listened to this album for the first time when I was 15, and while I believed in God, I hadn't given Him my life yet; I didn't really understand Christianity. These questions filled me with dread, and I avoided MCR for years because they freaked me out. In the meantime, I put my faith in Christ, and my questions surrounding death and afterlife began to be resolved. When I revisited the Black Parade, I was so pumped to be confronted with these existential conundrums, and able to answer them with confidence! I am not perfect, but I am God's work in progress. Death and darkness still scare me sometimes, but the deep dread the Patient struggles with and tries to cover up with a rash longing for a quick death, "a pistol by the hand," are not my struggles, praise God. Okay okay okay, I'll get back to the actual story.

This is How I Disappear

The Patient feels himself slipping away, and is at once afraid and relieved to be alone. Relieved, because,

"I'm just a ghost, so I can't hurt you anymore"

He describes himself or his situation as "unforgivable," and alludes to some deep dark secret sins that he is terrified to reveal.

"There's things that I have done you never should ever know"

He also expresses more uncertainty about his chances of heaven, and seems to know that his destination is a bit more south.

"Tell me if it's so that all the good girls go to heaven" "You want to see how far down I can sink?

Welcome to the Black Parade

A recollection of the time his father asked him,

"Son, when you grow up will you be the saviour of the broken, the beaten, and the damned?"

The Patient's father can act as a stand-in for God, who calls us to be imitators of Christ, the Saviour. We are called to feed the hungry, give water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, aid the sick, visit the prisoner, lift up the broken, welcome the stranger, be family to the lonely, and share the good news of salvation with the sinner, the damned.

The Patient is swept away by the Black Parade, who are kind of like the ferryman - the parademen I guess. They are leading him to his destination in the afterlife. It seems that on the way they are also showing him a replay of scenes from his life, which will prove to be his trial of sorts, the evidence for why he is going where he is going. He is caught up in the optimism of childhood and honouring his father's legacy, but still declares his perceived inability to live up to what was asked of him,

"I'm just a man, I'm not a hero, I'm just a boy who had to sing this song. I'm just a man, I'm not a hero, and I don't care."

To him, these are the actions of a hero, not a flawed mere mortal.

I think it's interesting that he has mentioned heaven multiple times, but has seemed afraid to do any more than allude to hell, but those seem to be the two options. He received a call, a mission from his father, and commission (a Great Commission?) from his Maker. How did he do?

I Don't Love You

The first vignette the Patient is greeted with is a past scene between him and an ex-girlfriend. There are a lot of references to being "beaten" in this song. How well did the Patient do in fulfilling his calling to be a saviour of the beaten? Not well apparently.

"Sometimes I cry so hard from pleading, so sick and tired of all the needless beatings, but baby when they knock you down and out is where you oughta stay."

I'm not sure about the voicing of this song. Is it all him? All her? Do they go back and forth? I don't know, but it still paints a powerful picture of a painful breakup, an ugly part of the Patient's history.

Also I want to highlight this line, since it comes up later,

"Maybe when you get back I'll be off to find another way."

The Sharpest Lives

The next piece of evidence in the Patient's trial: a life that he squandered away in joyless hedonism that benefitted no one, not even himself.

"I said in my heart, "Come now, I will test you with pleasure; enjoy yourself." But behold, this also was vanity. I said of laughter, "It is mad," and of pleasure, 'What use is it?'" Ecclesiastes 2:1-2

Also the reference to the sun, a common motif in Ecclesiastes, in which all the affairs of man occur "under the sun."

"A light to burn all the empires, so that the sun is ashamed to rise"

House of Wolves

Now this song is not about the Patient's relationship with God (that comes later), but with religion. The sad thing is that we are all liable to fail in being a saviour for those around us. The Patient was burned by religious experiences.

There's a mix of the church's failures and the Patient's misunderstanding of Christian doctrines. He perceived two-facedness in the church's back-to-back statements that he was "an angel," beloved of God, and also "a bad man." This is just the biblical doctrine of sin; we are at once God's immensely precious children for whom He would literally die, and vile sinners who commit atrocities against God and the people around us on the regular, and need the forgiveness Christ offers in order to be acceptable. However, the church's treatment of him proved hypocrisy, misrepresentation of God's heart for the lost, and a lack of Christ's love on their part. When he was a damned sinner in need of a saviour, the church spit on him, kicked him when he was down, told him that he would never find a home with them, and threw him to the dogs.

The Patient ended up doubling down on his sin, purposefully identifying with it, and treating the things of God with sarcasm and contempt. He gleefully acknowledges his sin, spelling it out ten times, and his certainty of going to hell, but without a hint of repentance.

"Well I said hey, hallelujah, I'm gonna, come on sing the praise, and let the Spirit come on through you, we've got innocence for days. Well I think I'm gonna burn in hell"

Mama

Whoo boy, what a song. Scared the bejeebers out of me when I was young. Now it just makes me think of the Screwtape Letters.

So the Patient has been deposited at his destination and is writing a letter to his mother, opening with the chilling statement,

"Mama, we all go to hell"

The "we all" he's speaking of are either his fellow soldiers or his fellow sinners as a whole. See, this is when we find out that, perhaps in an effort to follow his father's wish that he be a hero who fights for the broken, the Patient became a soldier and fought in a war. This also further reveals his penchant for running towards death, possibly seeking a heroic, "glorious" death. This caused a breach in his relationship with his mother, whom he is now either warning about the terrors of hell, or celebrating her eventual journey there herself, or both. It reminds me of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16.

We learn a little more about his deep dark secrets, finding out that they were done with his gun in the war. He still keeps the details to himself though. And of course,

"So raise your glass high for tomorrow we die," "If the dead are not raised, 'Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die.'" 1 Corinthians 15:32.

The song is full of weeping, wailing, and teeth gritting screams, calling to mind Jesus' description of hell,

"(They will) be thrown into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth" Matthew 8:12.

Sleep

It was all a dream, a nightmare, a vision. He's not dead, but still laying in his hospital bed, soon to die. Only now he knows what is awaiting him, and has to decide what he will do with this brief second chance.

Let me just leave this here:

"Some say, 'Now suffer all the children,' and walk away a saviour, or a madman and polluted from gutter institutions." "But Jesus called them unto him, and said, 'Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.'" Luke 18:16 KJV "Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse." - CS Lewis, Mere Christianity

A Bible verse and a CS Lewis reference?? As far as I can tell, this is the only reference to Jesus in any MCR song, and isn't it interesting? I gasped the first time I noticed this lyric.

After being brought to face his utter failures at being the saviour he was called to be, and the severe consequences of his sin, the Patient is now contemplating the nature and character of the Saviour. No one can be a truly effective saviour on their own, not unless they have been saved by the Saving One. The question of whether Jesus really is the Son of God is the most important question anyone can ask.

But the Patient is stubborn, and weak. He repeats again and again that he's "not sorry for what he did," and he doesn't feel bad. He has completed step one: realizing the weight and enormity of his sin, knowing that he deserves hell. Now he's wrestling with step two: repenting from his sins and realizing that Jesus is bigger, and able to save the worst of sinners and forgive the worst sins, and He wants to save and forgive. It's like the Patient knows and is afraid of that, and refuses to repent, feeling like he's "unforgivable" and undeserving.

"Don't you breathe for me, undeserving of your sympathy"

He decides that he will sleep for the rest of his short life, avoiding the heartrending business of redemption. However, he can't stop the visions of the awful things that he's seen.

Cancer

The Patient's decision to avoid repentance affects the few remaining relationships that he has. He is preparing for that funeral from the beginning of the album, soaking in the agony and despair, lamenting that he will never marry, refusing to resolve his relationships.

Disenchanted

Alone now, the Patient quietly thinks over some good memories, and about the wasted potential of his life. Childhood, and the beginning of his life, was good. He was not without hope at one point, but can only be disappointed with how his life turned out. He is, in fact, sorry and feels bad about what he did and didn't do, but what now?

"I hate the ending myself, but it started with an alright scene,"

Everything he tried to find meaning in turned out to be worthless in the end.

"Vanity of vanities! All is vanity. What does a man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?" Ecclesiastes 1:3. "You're just a sad song with nothing to say about a lifelong wait for a hospital stay"

But at the end there's a glaring question and challenge, one that demands an answer (and calls back to I Don't Love You):

"So go, go away, just go, run away. But where did you run to? And where did you hide to find another way?" "Jesus said to the twelve, 'Do you want to go away as well?' Simon Peter answered Him, 'Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.'" John 6:67-68.

Famous Last Words

"Where's your heart?"

Here's the answer, the end. He reaches out and grasps the forgiveness offered to him and chooses life, for however long he has, even if he'll be alone.

"Honey if you stay you'll be forgiven, nothing you can stay can stop me going home."

Honestly, can there be a better ending? The Patient chooses life, eternal life, chooses love ("so demanding," but worth it all), he accepts forgiveness, claims it, acknowledges his weakness ("I'm so weak!"), claims his home in God's kingdom. He never thought he'd be here saying these words, but stranger things have happened. Throughout his life he has variously feared death, been suicidal, risked his life on the battlefield, killed, been indifferent towards death, been resigned to death, and been in despair of death. Now though, he is finally awake (no more sleeping) and unafraid. Now he knows that death isn’t the end. His true home awaits. *Insert Gandalf quote*

"End? No, the journey doesn't end here. Death is just another path, one that we all must take. The grey rain-curtain of this world rolls back, and all turns to silver glass, and then you see it (...) White shores, and beyond, a far green country under a swift sunrise."

Home.

[genshinlesbian]

just finished the Focalors execution cutscene and we’re about to face the whale. Had to pause and write down my thoughts because the religious symbolism here has me in a CHOKEHOLD

Fucking primordial water in the Oceanid’s veins to turn them human is what turns them back again? This is my body and blood?? Remember you were water and to water you shall return????

Moreover there is literally a character with the title “The Father.” Navia’s grief for her father is a constant theme. Do you see the vision here.

Hydro elements consists of three central figures, two intrinsically linked as the same person, split into humanity and divinity. The first created the second who suffers under the burden of holding faith in the first. One sacrifices herself with a device that suspiciously resembles a crucifix (or guillotine. Sigh. French people) to return power to the third.

Then he VERBATIM fucking goes and FORGIVES THE NATION’S ORIGINAL SIN?? Now he’s about to go face the LEVIATHAN???

brb I guess I’m adding “allegory for Christ” to the reasons I love Neuvillette so much….

Edit: The flood came. As in The fucking Flood From Noah’s Ark. walking on water casting the nets etc. the disciples were fishermen. FUCKING. PURIFICATION BY THE WATER?? BAPTISM, HELLO PEOPLE????

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

For submission Saturday:

I feel like my faith and sexuality are inherently tied as an aroace Quaker. Being able to find strength in the emphasis on friendship - its importance, even as far as a metaphor for relationship to god - within Quaker writings is really affirming.

I'm pleased that there's this whole sphere of people who have a different language and approach to understand the significance/depths of "queering" friendship. Whether that's in a specifically queer way, or in a spiritual accompaniment way - recentering friendship is less a foreign concept. Perhaps it's not surprising from the Religious Society of Friends (though it's not always a perspective shared across meetings) but it means the world to me: like a calling to be a dedicated Friend in all ways.

(Your blog brings me so much joy btw, thank you!)

Oh, I love this so much!! It makes my heart sing to hear you've found a faith community that affirms and enriches you so wholly <3

It's Storytelling Saturday! Share your story.

[dadbodbuck]

i know 911 is the lapsed catholic show but. can we PLEASE get a non christian storyline. i want to see more of chimney and the lees and their altar for kevin!!!! i want to see ravi going to temple or reciting a sutra or engaging with whatever religion he grew up in!!!! i want those relationships explored and referenced with the care and complexity that bobby and eddie get!!!!! TIM ARE YOU LISTENING I'LL DO ANYTHING

[whoiskt]

"And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?" Genesis 22:7

"The Story of Isaac" by Leonard Cohen | "The Little Prince" directed by Mark Osborne | "Poor Isaac" by The Airborne Toxic Event | "Castlevania: Nocturne" by Clive Bradley | "We are Gods! We are Wolves!" by LE LOUP | "The Last of Us" by Naughty Dog

[kaisertheadvisor]

This is only scratching the SURFACE of the elaborate lore involving the Brood at this rate.

[humanradiojmp]

I managed to watch most of the GLITCHX 2024 video. Seeing the different spotlights for the up and coming indie series was super fun and inspiring. But what personally stuck out to me was the interview with Final Space’s creator Olan Rodgers.

Hearing his experience about pitching his show and getting it picked up only to face roadblock after roadblock and getting essentially screwed over was both terrifying and oddly motivating.

I say this because the past year, I’ve been working on conceptualizing a TV series of my own. I’ve been working off and on the show bible and learning things about film and storytelling more seriously than before. That and I’ve been thinking hard what I actually want to do with this story; how I want it to be made (since I’m currently back and forth between live action or animated) and what elements are important to the story.

and there are some things I don’t want to negotiate on or give up (mainly the faith elements, but other things as well).

 and what was being said in the interview kind of solidified that if I have an idea I want to do, and there are things that kind of need to be a part of it to make it what it is, then it’s likely I’ll have to fight tooth and nail for them.

Because something I've been thinking about a lot is how unconventional it is. it's going to be hard, I think, to find a studio that'll want to make it and make it the way it's intended to. this is something I've worked on for two years. none of that time I want to go to waste.

honestly, when I get to the point where I do pitch it, I’m hoping and praying God will reveal the right place to sell it to. That’ll understand the vision and honor it. And if no current studio is the right place, God will provide what’s needed to make this passion project of mine a reality.

[artist-issues]

Also, I don't know if I've ever said this, but sometimes I feel it needs to be said—no human-made story is ever going to get Christianity exactly 100% right, whether in metaphor or in allegory or in symbolism.

Because Christianity is reality. It the framework upon which everything else hangs. So it would be like if I made a movie about elephants. I could go out and document an elephant's whole life from start to finish. I could produce a faithful account of what the elephant was feeling and thinking. And I could dramatize it without fudging the facts or skewing the truth observed about that elephant in any way.

But when you look at it, it'll still just be A Story About an Elephant. It won't be the elephant. And because it's not all-inclusive, because it's not everything there is to know about the elephant right down to its atoms and ancestry and how many breaths it took and what every other animal thought of it, etc., it won't even be a perfect explanation of the elephant. It'll just get super close.

Because stories are communication. But communication has nuance and suffers from limitations. Especially clear and impactful communication. So, while I might say something true about elephants by making a story about them, I'll never be saying the whole and perfect truth about elephants. Just like you can use a story to say something true about Christianity (or any truth) but you'll never be saying the whole and perfect truth about Christianity.

Besides, God already did that. So relax and be earnest--you're just shining a spotlight on truth. You're not inventing it or breaking it down exhaustively.

[kalissimsblog]

Return to normalcy: Part 2

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Text below the cut

A short time later, Xavier sees Christian and his daughter, Rosalie, across the playground, heading their direction. Finally, Xavier thinks to himself.

Luna notices him too.

“There he is. Took him long enough.”

Xavier nods in agreement.

Christian approaches and smiles.

“Hey guys. I’m here.”

“I see that. Glad you could make it.” Luna says.

“Sorry, I was actually trying to be on time, but a certain little miss decided it would be funny to hide my shoes. My only pair of shoes, mind you. She found it pretty amusing, didn’t you, Rose?”

Rosalie giggles. Definitely her father’s daughter.

The twins laugh at the thought of Christian frantically searching around the house for his shoes while Rosalie watches on.

“So, where were they?” Luna asks curiously.

“Toybox. Probably should have looked there first.” Christian replies. “I’ve got a little prankster on my hands and I don’t know how to feel about that.”

“Like father, like daughter,” Xavier replies.

“Ain’t that the truth,” Christian says.

Christian walks Rosalie over to the others, waves a greeting to Cassie and returns to the table.

“So, how’s it going?” 

“Same old, same old,” Xavier answers.

“Alright, I suppose.” says Luna.

Christian raises his eyebrows questioningly, but decides not to push it further. 

“Okay, then.” 

He takes a seat at the table across from them, looking slightly disheveled, but otherwise looking well. Months ago, Xavier didn’t think he would see him like this again. Truthfully, he thought Christian was too far gone to be helped, that he’d lost his brother for good. But seeing him here now, he’s thankful that things worked out. Christian is noticeably more relaxed, just enjoying life as it’s meant to be. Luna caught on to this as well.

“You look good, Christian. And dare I say… happy?” she says.

Christian looks taken aback for a brief moment and nods. 

“I guess that’s what you can call it.”

A slight smile plays on his lips and he continues.

“Is this what it’s like to live like a normal person? Like, for real, I’ve been missing out.”

Xavier smiles and nods.

“Yes. Most of us don’t have to deal with all the bullshit that you did.”

“I could get used to this.”

“As you should,” Luna says “You deserve it.”

“I should probably stay out of relationships for a while, huh?” Christian asks.

Thinking of Christian’s track record, it probably was in his best interest to not date anyone, for the time being at least. Almost every partner he’s had in the past has been manipulative, toxic or not interested in anything serious. He really needs to work on himself before committing to someone else, in Xavier’s opinion anyway.

“Might be a good idea,” says Xavier. “At least until you’ve got things figured out.” 

“Single it is, then. Got it.”

Christian goes silent, closing his eyes and taking in the sunlight, the breeze ruffling his dark hair. He breathes a sigh of relief, his body relaxing further. It’s so odd to Xavier to see his brother so chill and unbothered. It’s a refreshing change from everything that has happened over the past several years. As Luna said, he deserves it. For the first time in a long time, Christian was truly happy and it was a sight to see.

[alexlibris-bookart]

One more completed custom ordered leather journal. The symbol is hand-carved from specially prepared leather, hardener, and gilded.

[kimberlyandcotv]

It's been a while since I've done anything related to these characters. but someone drew Kimberly for ArtFight and it motivated me to draw Kimberly and Co. again. I've been meaning to do this meme for a while because I think it's absolutely hilarious, and totally fits these two. This would also apply to Fabian and Janett, with Fabian as the singer and Janett as the screaming fan.

Thinking about the actual plot for the characters, if Isla were to go back into music and singing, Nathan would 100% be her biggest supporter and fan. He'd probably be one of the few that motivates her to pursue it again and be there when she's facing roadblocks.

[stuckasmain]

“This is a story about a woman”

Don’t you see? It never mattered what the duke did next! In the movie he gets his jaw rocked by Zidler and disappears. In the musical he leaves in a huff after Satine herself tells him off. Does he retaliate? Maybe. Personally I think out of embarrassment and lack of stake (satine) he probably gave up- the theater would go back into financial debt.

However it doesn’t particularly matter as both versions of the story is Christian telling their story back to us. The explanation is the simplest of them all… he doesn’t know. He never returns to the Moulin rouge despite living across from it, he goes into a deep depression for months- he wouldn’t know or ask. This is satines story not the Duke and hers ended.

One of the biggest criticisms is actually one of the best small details.

[blessedarethebinarybreakers]

hopefully this sends okay! i wrote this a bit ago and posted it on my art blog but i wanted to share for Storytelling Saturday <3

Rainbow.

The rainbow is 

God’s promise

That we will not be destroyed

No wave of terror

Swallowing all of us before our very eyes.

I think of this,

God's promise

In the wake of another hateful act

My beloved and I holding each other tightly

Saying I Love You I Love You I Love You

God Help Us God Help Us

Repetition gets Your attention

At least so my study Bible says

I look for

God's Promise

In the spray of the road

In windows

On cars and clothes

And the sky

To see the bow hung up

To see signs of safety

We hang flags and

God's promise

At every door post

On our bodies

Like the blood of the Lamb

Angel, Pass over us

Beloved

There is sanctuary here

I am holding to

God's Promise

Gripping at the colors that symbolize

The wholeness of me 

And I plead:

Hear Your grieving children, God

Do not destroy us

Do not let us be destroyed

Amen, Amen, Amen.

Powerful. Thank you so much for sharing <3

It's Storytelling Saturday! Share your story.