If interested in the series,you can check out my reviews of A Time to Die and A Time to Speak to learn more.
Book: A Time To Die, by Nadine Brandes. Christian, futuristic, dystopian.
Role: Supporting Character; spiritual antagonist
Personality: Detached, somewhat cynical leader.
What he brings to the table: Lamuel is the leader of a people group on the other side of the Wall from Parvin's home. Parvin seeks his help in determining God's purpose for her life.
Spiritual role: Lamuel serves as spiritual antagonist to Parvin's mission in some ways. While she seeks to save her people from themselves, he tells her that, ultimately, nothing she does will matter.
Pastorly/Worship notes: Lamuel draws most of his inspiration from Ecclesiastes. He believes that life is meaningless and one should just muddle along, because nothing really matters. If God has a specific purpose for someone, Lamuel believes that He will reveal it to them. Otherwise, most people are insignificant.
We don't see Lamuel leading worship or anything else formal, but his people do look up to him.
Ninja Status: I'm not sure how to classify him--leave a note down in the comments if you have an idea!
Further Discussion:
Lamuel is an interesting character for the fact that, while both he and Parvin believe in God, he serves as an antagonist to her in some ways. I enjoyed the portrayal that there are differences between believers and that sometimes those beliefs can come into conflict with one another.
While most pastors in Christian Fiction serve the role of an encourager, Lamuel serves an entirely different role. I really enjoyed the fresh take on pastorhood in this novel.
Can you think of any other pastors that serve as antagonists?
Ooh, I like that this pastor isn't all that great. (I know, that probably makes me a bad person. (I'm just very suspicious of pastors in fiction, ok? (I'M SORRY.))) It's just that in real life, people in high positions that are looked up to can be antagonists, if you will, because they have different takes on life and whatever and that can lead people astray so that's cool that it happens in fiction as well. (I like good pastors in real life, obviously.)
ReplyDeleteAs for ninja status, may I suggest (maybe not a belt) but that one guy who comes in and uses strength instead of technique and usually ends up hurting people? It's a bit of a long status title but from what I've read from your post it seems to fit. They think they're being awesome but really they're just jerks.
I'm happy that I found a good example!
DeleteI like the idea for the ninja status. I would just need to find a way to shorten it. Thanks for the comment!