I've been thinking a lot about "absolute truth" lately, what that means, what faith is. All kinds of philosophical sorts of things that I can't explain. I've tried to explain them, but I can't. But, I have come to some new understandings of things, which is neat. I just wish I could share them. Perhaps later.
Also I've been thinking about writing a lot more recently. The stumbling block I am coming to, where does my faith fit in with my writing? If I write a story about renouncing sin and becoming a faithful Catholic, this is considered "preachy" and closed-minded and were it ever to be published, it would be relegated to the "Christian/Religious" section of the bookstore where no "educated" people who like "real literature" would ever look and read it. (Actually being Catholic, some Protestants might call it "demonic" so you wouldn't even find it in the Christian section. :P)
If I write a story about trying to be a faithful Catholic and falling into despair because of it and finally "coming to the light about how antiquated religion is and everything is really relative", this would be considered "forward-thinking" and "art" and would probably top the Times best-seller list.
This is not saying that I'm even a good enough writer to write anything that would pass as "good literature" anyway. But the truth of it is, anything I would write now would have to be upstanding and clean and idealistic and it would certainly talk about faith and Catholicism somewhere. And I guess I fear that because of the subject matter, it would never be given its "due" in the literary world. I would never be taken seriously.
Although in the end I suppose that's not what it's about anyway. Any of it. Faith, writing... these things are a part of you, and they're not supposed to be about pleasing anyone else. Faith is living for the glory of God. When you have faith, writing becomes a part of that. Writing for the glory of God, and not for the world.
I guess I just think it might be nice to write something and have people read it and maybe learn something about themselves, as opposed to ignoring it outright just because it's "Christian".
But I guess all writers face the same problems in some form or another. We all have our prejudices.
I shall have to be clever.