Archangel Crux: I need help with something...

[Bard Child]

Alright,
I seriously need some responses. I'm working on a Manga/Comic. Called Archangel Crux. Now I have told a friend of mine about it and she has some issues with the plot. I need fellow Christian writers to show me what I'm doing wrong. And how I can correct it..

Here is the discussion.
Well It's about a 19 year old girl named Madison Crawford..
You can if you wish...
SoloBWolf (12:33:58 PM): She is has the gift of Descerning of Spirits and could quite literally see angels and demons. Because of this the local parish priest. Fr Richmond trains her as an Exorcist and she makes a living exocising demons and saining places and objects. Turns out she not well like in hell and perticular demon is after her butt. God sends an Infantry angel to guard her. Infantry Angels are aligned to Michael and are warrior. The angel is named Raidiance and coporlizes to assist Maddi with her work and protect her from the demons that want her soul.
WEISS145 (12:34:20 PM): interesting
WEISS145 (12:34:25 PM): but question
SoloBWolf (12:34:30 PM): fine
WEISS145 (12:34:55 PM): if God is all powerful, why doesn't he just nuke the demon?
SoloBWolf (12:35:40 PM): **shrug*
WEISS145 (12:35:48 PM): kinda a very weak god
WEISS145 (12:36:08 PM): I mean, if God is all powerful, then the demons must be under his command too
WEISS145 (12:36:14 PM): hence they are serving him

What are my flaws with the plot..

[karenee]

Ok...so that's a real life question, actually. If God is so powerful why DOESN'T He just nuke the devil, wipe out sinners and get on with a perfect world?

I don't think that's the flaw in your idea at all.

The fact is, God doesn't just nuke evil. Because He has decided to hold back the final strike, and give people time to turn to Him and accept the gift of Christ's salvation from the destruction He promises for sin, we live in a world full of ugly, wrong, sinful acts and things.

There is also mention of God using angels to protect us in the Bible, and that we wouldn't necessarily always know it when we see one (IF we see one).

I don't really know how you portray your angel, so...my main concern would be that an angel isn't going to BE human, so you'd have to keep an eye on the things you tried to have him do. Unless he's fallen and evil, he won't sin or fall in love, or many of the other things recent books and movies have proposed angels might do. He would also answer to God first and above anything else...and God works mysteriously.

AND...the part about demons serving God...well....*sigh* I'm going to need some help here, I think, from those others who know what they're talking about in this forum, but that is so wrong. I'm not saying God can't control them...but the room they are allowed is part of His whole plan, and perhaps there is more to the whole show than we know about. He sets boundaries. Like in Job...nothing worse than this can happen...so Satan goes right to the line. Actually, I recommend you read Job. It's a great book about how much bigger God is than we think...and shows a little of His power.

Satan is God's enemy by his own choice...and he is limited by God, but because God is so powerful, He permits free will and free choice, even if it isn't the best way He would choose...and He is powerful (and knowing) enough to make the end result good, despite all the people and demons doing the opposite of what He would do.

Ok, I'm babbling, so I'll stop. I'll post back if I find anything interesting on this later.

[karenee]

Another thought... This whole battle isn't about us...it's about God's glory. Angels won't take the credit...if you look in the Bible, they always point people to God and won't take any credit for themselves (or worship, for that matter).

[Bard Child]

I don't really know how you portray your angel, so...my main concern would be that an angel isn't going to BE human, so you'd have to keep an eye on the things you tried to have him do. Unless he's fallen and evil, he won't sin or fall in love, or many of the other things recent books and movies have proposed angels might do. He would also answer to God first and above anything else...and God works mysteriously.

I'm working on Rai's personality.
His main skeleton is that he is Loyal, obiediant, blunt, and not much respect for man. He pities them. He's in human body and has human mannerisms (he's completely corporalized and has be haviors like hunger, bordem, confusion Ect...) I don't know if this is accurate or not, but it would be interesting protryal


Oh here is my friend response.. to you Karenee
WEISS145 (4:57:36 PM): it's not about nuking all evil
WEISS145 (4:57:52 PM): it's about God sending an angel to protect
WEISS145 (4:58:22 PM): I can understand her getting it as a power to fight back for herself
WEISS145 (4:58:27 PM): allowing evil a fair chance
WEISS145 (4:59:43 PM): and where in the bible does it say Angels protect us?
WEISS145 (4:59:49 PM): argh
WEISS145 (4:59:57 PM): uneducated bible thumpers annoy me
WEISS145 (5:00:16 PM): I want sources
WEISS145 (5:01:27 PM): most people who are religious never read the bible

[Bard Child]

I'm Elle, the evil friend of Bard. Pleasure to meet you all, peace! First, I'm not a Christian at all; I'm just a bible scholar for personal reasons irrelevant to religion. I consider myself quite proficient, having studied the earlier (Hebrew) bible in its original language for 14 years. I've only read the Greek Bible a few times so bear with me.

My problem with Bard's idea is that she seems to have a belief that negative things can't come from God. I thought the entire point of monotheism is to accept both sides of the coin, both the happiness and the sadness. Her god is limited only by the things humans can perceive as "acceptable."


I'll start with angels. Angels come from the Hebrew word "malach" which means messenger. Hence, angels do not need to be divine. They could be prophets as well and they don't even need to be in human form. In fact, a noted theologian called Maimonides argues that angels are allegorical and are used to describe the forces of nature. Hence, an angel could be a bunny rabbit, as long as it served a greater purpose.

Now, these demons have no basis in the Hebrew bible. The only two mentions of them is Deuteronomy 32:17 and Psalms 106:37 where they refer to foreign gods. Now, what are demons? Bad things? Well, if you believe in an all-knowing, righteous god, then you have to accept that bad things will happen to you.

I've read Job and actually, I found it to be incredibly telling if you study the Hebrew grammar used. In it, it's shown that Satan works for God, and has to ask permission of God to punish Job. Hence, this idea of God protecting someone from Herself (I am using the Hebrew word Shekina (heavenly presence) for God, which is feminine) is kind of strange for me. I mean, are you saying that you comprehend God's plan enough to know what is demonic and what is holy? I sure can't.

A pleasure speaking to you all! I hope you won't mind this humble outsider's words!

[dgan]

Hey Elle, good to have you here! We have plenty of members that come from different faiths, non-faiths, and pretty much all walks of life. I would encourage you to register a username of your own and become part of our diverse forum family - it only takes a couple minutes and we never harass your email address. Plus, we might get you hooked on Lawhead if you haven't read his work yet!

As for the discussion raised here...well...I must go to my place of employment...I will ponder the most concise way of saying what I think needs to be said... *to be continued*

[dgan]

Bard Child - From what I gather, this is to be fiction. This is the beauty of fiction: it hardly matters what is said, only what is conveyed. Therefore, your main thought when constructing your characters and your plot should not be how realistic or Biblically accurate (textually) it is, but what message you are trying to convey. Obviously, if your message is to show a close correlation to Biblical events, then you would want to concern yourself more with realism and accuracy.

However, I get the idea this is highly fantastical. This causes me to assume you are not trying to reenact similar events described in the Bible, but trying to show a parallel of the Christian fight on a higher plane. If this is indeed the case, it really doesn't matter whether or not you have human angels or superhuman creatures or demons or UFOs or invisible singing horses. That's why it is fiction. Rather, concern yourself with the faith/spirituality details that you want to convey. Do you want to convey that God protects you, that he holds you up in your struggle against evil, or that he puts limits on the powers of evil (as in Job)? Perhaps many of those, or something else entirely?

Ah, but here is the crux of it (pun intended). Who are you writing to? As you have seen, Christians and non-Christians will read the same message differently. Therefore, how you deliver that message depends entirely on who you are writing to. If you are writing to Christians, you will want to (sorry Elle) ignore non-believers opinions of the plot. They can still help you with other aspects of the story, but they are simply going to have a fundamental disbelief of what you are presenting.

If you are writing to non-Christians, then you have to convince them in the first place that a spiritual battle is going on and is a feasible plot. Elle would need to be persuaded that concept is believable, even if she consider it fantasy, before she can enjoy it. Therefore, you could probably devote an entire story just introducing the fantastical concepts, making them 'factual' within the context of the book. For example, most people would not believe in computers eating humans to stay alive, but within the context of the Matrix story it is entirely believable.

So, to summarize: a) decide what you want to convey b) decide who you want to convey it to, and c) decide the best way to convey that message to that audience.


Elle - I would be interested to know what personal reasons other than religion would cause someone to become a Bible scholar? Do you mean that studying the Bible was part of a larger scholarly work, such as studying Hebrew?

I fail to see where in Job it indicates to you that Satan works for God. Just because I need permission from the toll booth or from airport security to proceed does not mean that I work for them. Quite the contrary. It simply means there is a restriction placed on my powers by an even higher power. In Job, God is the higher power. Yet God does not use his power to dictate the decisions of his creation. This is evidenced in the fall of Satan (and fallen angels, who some call demons), the disobedience of Adam and Eve, the failures of David, the death of his own Son, Jesus Christ...I could go on and on. The wonder of God's creation is that he has allowed it (each one of us) to decide if we will follow Him or not. He does not protect his creation, per se, except to put restrictions on Satan so that his creation is not entirely destroyed, thus denying it the right to make that decision which is so important to God. That is why God basically said you can take everything but Job's life. Job still had the opportunity to choose God.

Think of it as making a robot or making a child. The robot will do everything you want and any problem is fixable, while a child is unpredictable at best and often tears your heart to pieces. Yet, why is a child more desirable? Because when they CHOOSE to do what is right and CHOOSE to say, "I love you Mommy", it is a reward you cannot find elsewhere in this world.

That is what God wants. He wants those who choose to believe in Him. That is why evil persists, and why he allows it to persist. It is a reminder of the consequences of our decisions. He wants us to choose Him, but he will not prevent us from walking away.

These are fundamental Christian beliefs that I think make up the construct of Bard Child's story. If you simply disregard these as right-wing Bible-thumping (which you are certainly entitled to do), I'm not sure you will allow yourself to accept what Bard Child considers to be basic truths on which he is basing his story. The same would be true if you chose to write a book about how Satan works for God. I just simply wouldn't enjoy it because it would go against my fundamental beliefs.

I hope this was as non-confrontational as possible. Everyone knows I've never said anything controversial before...

[karenee]

*laugh* dgan, you are always so clear. It is my dream to stay on course like you do when I write. However, it may be possible that our different approaches are useful in their own ways, so I'll still post my thoughts despite the fact that you have covered many points I wish I'd made far better than I ever could.

_______________________

Hi, Elle. Nice of you to drop in. Please visit more often! I certainly don't find you "evil" to question me. It was good of you to make me think harder about what I believe.

Well, to start, say what I will, these are things that scholars have argued for centuries, and for me to think I'll resolve the issue is beyond egotistical. On the other hand, I do want to share my perspective and leave you to decide whether you're going to think I'm unbalanced. I think God has called all His followers to be prepared to share what He has taught them...even if it doesn't seem to be enough to change the opinions of those they are speaking to.

I grew up studying the Bible and learning from people who had studied it...we had classes on a daily basis in school, and I did a paper on the names of God in ninth grade (I think). I'm well aware that many of His Hebrew names are feminine in nature. Frankly, if you want to say She, it doesn't really matter (IMO) because God is above such distinctions...better than either feminine or masculine.I also took two years of intense Bible school, so while I didn't support my thoughts in my previous posts, I have researched a lot of what I know. (I debated about putting this in, because it doesn't really mean anything. Many people who have never gone to a single official class know far more about the Bible than I do, as you most likely do also. However, I do want you to know I'm not pulling ideas out of my cap,even if I don't remember where I found them.)I anticipate continuing to learn for the rest of my life, and would love to read the Bible in the original languages as you do.

The word used for angel is, clearly, "messenger". You are right. On the other hand, most Bible scholars have, for centuries, been certain that these beings are neither human, nor bunny rabbits, but an "alien" creation...though not all messengers may be of an "alien" nature. I'm going to trust that research. As far as protecting people, they are often represented as doing so through their guidance (Gen 24:40,Exo 23:20, Exo 33:2, Numbers 22:23-25) and perhaps in other ways. I'm thinking of the servant to whom was revealed a great army of heavenly warriors, but I can't seem to recall which prophet it was, and can't find the reference to research it further. (Yeah, I know I'd fail debate class, but you most likely know what I'm referring to. Am I way off base there?)

Yes, Demons are New Testament. Satan is the primary opponent to God, aside from sinful people, in the Old Testament. And I can't see any reason why Demons might not set themselves up as gods, actually. (No, I can't prove it.)

Satan is shown as God's opponent many times through the Bible. In Job he comes across as a sleazy lawyer pulling some rule God has chosen to put in place to its limit. I find it reassurring that he needs permission to harm me, but in no way does that mean that he does only what God asks him to, any more than I'm obeying God when I choose to act in a way that I know doesn't please Him. BTW, Revelations also clearly shows that Satan is limited by God and is given a set amount of time before he'll be wrapped up and packaged off to where he can do no more harm. Revelations is rather similar to Job, now that I think of it. *goes back to the subject*

By personal experience, God is perfectly capable of making it impossible for me to follow a certain disobedient path, but watch out when the barriers are removed. *fell in deep and regretted it* You'll have to allow for the fact that I'm coming from the perspective that God is without fault and hates anything that opposes Him (sin, evil, call it what you may) and that Satan has as much free choice as any of us to go against Him, just more power with which to choose.

As far as bad things coming from God...well, I guess most people agree that the experience of judgement is "a bad thing". I won't say God doesn't choose to pull in a storm or an earth quake or allow the repurcussions of our sins to swamp us (though I don't claim to know when He's pushing the calamity and when He's allowing it to happen). He is, after all, "not a tame lion." But I also know He is never evil. He isn't both good and bad, but perfect and without blemish...Holy... and, no, I can't prove it. Somewhere in there the line of faith is drawn, and until one steps over there will be doubt...maybe even afterward *shrug*...disciples of Christ are always works in progress.

This doesn't mean that He won't do things we perceive as wrong in our...limited... wisdom. I mean, the whole Old Testament is full of judgements from God that would make any modern American writhe with perceived injustice. Can I reconcile it? No. I'm not sure we're meant to. If He truly knows all, sees all...etc. then I really don't think I can comprehend Him, and that's ok. I know enough to follow Him and to believe in Him. I trust that I will be proven right...and don't doubt it, though I know it looks illogical and foolish.

So...I think I'm well and truly off topic now.

As far as writing a representation of something noone has conclusive evidence for (such as angels or any religious theme)...the thing that holds me back from just tossing anything out there is this...I don't want to misrepresent God. Though I can't know Him perfectly, if I go against what I do know of Him from the Bible and experience then I fail Him. Writing is a responsibility and a ministry, though most of what I have written so far would probably only be published by a secular publication. I present my view of God and the world when I write, as most authors do, and prefer to do so consciously.

[dgan]

karenee said:

As far as writing a representation of something noone has conclusive evidence for (such as angels or any religious theme)...the thing that holds me back from just tossing anything out there is this...I don't want to misrepresent God. Though I can't know Him perfectly, if I go against what I do know of Him from the Bible and experience then I fail Him. Writing is a responsibility and a ministry, though most of what I have written so far would probably only be published by a secular publication. I present my view of God and the world when I write, as most authors do, and prefer to do so consciously.

That's a great point, and reminds me of something I intended to mention but forgot.

When I say you can make fiction anything you want, you have to keep everything at the same level. For example, you could rewrite the book of Acts, and just change the names and events and call it fiction. However, then it would be highly inappropriate to put in a purple dancing giraffe.

On the flip side, you could do something similar to Dream Thief (an SRL 'oldie') and take a Biblical, spiritual concept and place it in complete fantasy/science fiction. So if you intend on making up this fictitious environment (such as human angels), you must make the rest of the book just as fictitious. You can't just make a real world setting and use Biblically recorded events/methods, and then just throw in random impossibilities or it will be seen as a misrepresentation of what the Bible says.

In other words, you have to make it clear that your story is not based on reality or even on Biblical events, but on a fictitious world you have created from which to convey your spiritual message.

[Bard Child]

But the thing is Dgan..
I wanted to have some biblical events. Like the fall of Sodom and Gomorrah, But I might have to scrap it and fool around with plot agian


On the other hand Elle is steamed that you called her an "non-believer" Can you claifiie. Do you ment Non Christian?

[aprikores]

Okay, after a great deal of soul-searching, I decided to join this merry discussion as a fully functioning member and see what happens. I gave Bard enough grief about this issue. (Hey, the Lord called my people stiff-necked and I sure inherited the condition)
I suppose I should answer the questions asked of me. Dgan, you guessed partially right. I am fluent in Hebrew and that was part of the reason I studied the bible. The second is my dad trained to be a rabbi and it was Daddy/Daughter bonding time. (aka, I'm Jewish) I got extra dessert if I finished the weekly portion and a chapter of the prophets.
Also, I attended a Yeshiva, a Jewish intensive bible study program where I learned bible for five hours a day, five days a week. So I didn't have much choice in the matter!
And yeah, non-believer did bother me. I'm not a non-believer, I believe in many things. It's just minority paranoia, but it just seems a bit dismissive. I may not be a Christian but I am a believer in the same things most people are, hope, peace and all that nice new-age stuff.
I haven't read Lawhead yet, but I may change that. I got a bit turned off by all the "Christian preaching" Lawhead is said to put into his books, but i suppose you shouldn't judge a book by its coverage.
I suppose there might be a disconnect between my beliefs and Bard's, but I have read CS Lewis, Dante, Tolkien, Lady Antonia Fraser and Tolstoy without having a problem. All of them are Christians and I'm sure I could think of many more. I just think that there are universal concepts that I should be able to get, no matter what faith group it is. I assist with a Jewish rabbi's writings and trying to create universality is one of his biggest concerns.
I agree that Bard should use Christian concepts but once you start messing with the bible, you get into dangerous waters. In my own writing, I often use Jewish concepts but create my own world. That;s my big problem with the Left Behind series, it seems to argue that the bible interpretation they feel is the Gospel truth (bad pun, I know)
About the Satan issue, it's the Jewish Satan vs the Christian one. Jews have no concept of many of things Christians find normal (original sin, Satan) so it's a bit hard to argue with something you don't believe in because your faith. Jews see Satan as an angel sent to tempt us so that we can achieve more reward, but that Satan is really just our friend, our coach, pushing us to our limits.
Wow, I've yammered a lot.
Peace be unto you!

[dgan]

LOL. You caught me on that one. Sometimes, those terms I hated growing up still fall into my speech, especially when I get long-winded. It certainly was not my intent to imply that you were a non-believer in God or in general, but rather that you were a non-believer of Christian beliefs. Everyone believes in something (especially atheists, although they often refuse to grasp the concept), so I hope that slip up did not offend you. Now that I know you're Jewish, I'll have a better understanding of your background and hopefully that will aid me in using better word choices.

Let me make one point clear to all: Nothing said on this forum is meant to represent Lawhead's personal views or faith. I find Lawhead's greatest attribute as an author to be that his work speaks to almost everyone, regardless of the reader's belief. Much like C.S. Lewis, as you pointed out, although I would say Lawhead is often even more ambiguous. You certainly don't need to be a Christian to enjoy reading Lawhead.

OK, now that I've got that out of the way, you have the misfortune of being bombarded by Christians who do reside on this forum whenever the matter of Christian faith is brought up. This isn't because we're like over-zealous salespeople at the cosmetic counter (you know, the ones that look like they fell into a vat of Revlon?). We just get excited that someone actually wants to talk about it and we're not even at church!

I have long made it a point to avoid persuasive arguments on this forum, and rather just exchange ideas. This is what brought me to this thread, because there were conflicting ideas causing Bard Child to question exactly how to go about her story.

I believe the reason Bard Child is going to have a difficult time with this is for the precise reason you mentioned: Jews (and many non-Christians) have no concept of many things Christians find normal. This is why I suggested that it will likely be counter-productive to try to interest someone like yourself in a story rooted entirely in Christianity. It would be different if it were some type of innocent adventure with these Christian elements being an underlying theme. In that case, anyone could enjoy the adventure on its own and simply ignore the spiritual aspect if they choose. However, Bard Child's story sounds like it will smack you right between the eyes with Christian ideology.

Now I'm yammering. Bard Child - your plot simply sounds complicated. That, I believe, can make the best story. However, you're going to have to think outside the box to make all those different elements work. I would look back at books you've read, possibly that gave you this inspiration, and see what did and didn't work for those authors trying to balance reality and fantasy. I recall one author did something unique, yet simple, to reconcile a similar problem...what was it...something about a wardrobe...

Although, nearly every type of 'portal' has been beaten to death...perhaps your creative mind will come up with something original.

[kg00ds]

Well, it is nice to get to know you a bit. I found your response here very insightful. Thanks for sharing. Also, for whatever it is worth I would like you to know I did not realize Lawhead was a christian when I first started reading his works. However, there was a clear spiritual aspect to his works which I found delightful. To put it another way before I discovered Lawheads works I read a good bit of R. A. Salvatore's works. They were quite good yet the world views within them bothered me not because they were not christian but because they were anti theistic. I know I am babbiling but all I am trying to say is if you are truly the person you describe yourself as I am sure you will love Lawheads works. In fact I know several christians who will not read his stuff so its not overbearingly christian although it is abundantly theistic.


P.S. If you dont mind ... if and when you start reading his stuff let us know what you think and welcome to our fam here in the forum.

aprikores said:

Okay, after a great deal of soul-searching, I decided to join this merry discussion as a fully functioning member and see what happens. I gave Bard enough grief about this issue. (Hey, the Lord called my people stiff-necked and I sure inherited the condition)
I suppose I should answer the questions asked of me. Dgan, you guessed partially right. I am fluent in Hebrew and that was part of the reason I studied the bible. The second is my dad trained to be a rabbi and it was Daddy/Daughter bonding time. (aka, I'm Jewish) I got extra dessert if I finished the weekly portion and a chapter of the prophets.
Also, I attended a Yeshiva, a Jewish intensive bible study program where I learned bible for five hours a day, five days a week. So I didn't have much choice in the matter!
And yeah, non-believer did bother me. I'm not a non-believer, I believe in many things. It's just minority paranoia, but it just seems a bit dismissive. I may not be a Christian but I am a believer in the same things most people are, hope, peace and all that nice new-age stuff.
I haven't read Lawhead yet, but I may change that. I got a bit turned off by all the "Christian preaching" Lawhead is said to put into his books, but i suppose you shouldn't judge a book by its coverage.
I suppose there might be a disconnect between my beliefs and Bard's, but I have read CS Lewis, Dante, Tolkien, Lady Antonia Fraser and Tolstoy without having a problem. All of them are Christians and I'm sure I could think of many more. I just think that there are universal concepts that I should be able to get, no matter what faith group it is. I assist with a Jewish rabbi's writings and trying to create universality is one of his biggest concerns.
I agree that Bard should use Christian concepts but once you start messing with the bible, you get into dangerous waters. In my own writing, I often use Jewish concepts but create my own world. That;s my big problem with the Left Behind series, it seems to argue that the bible interpretation they feel is the Gospel truth (bad pun, I know)
About the Satan issue, it's the Jewish Satan vs the Christian one. Jews have no concept of many of things Christians find normal (original sin, Satan) so it's a bit hard to argue with something you don't believe in because your faith. Jews see Satan as an angel sent to tempt us so that we can achieve more reward, but that Satan is really just our friend, our coach, pushing us to our limits.
Wow, I've yammered a lot.
Peace be unto you!

[karenee]

dgan said:

We just get excited that someone actually wants to talk about it and we're not even at church!

ROFL, so true!

As far as Lawhead's books...I recommend starting with the Song of Albion series. *predicts an enjoyable read*

[Bard Child]

dgan said:

LOL. You caught me on that one. Sometimes, those terms I hated growing up still fall into my speech, especially when I get long-winded. It certainly was not my intent to imply that you were a non-believer in God or in general, but rather that you were a non-believer of Christian beliefs. Everyone believes in something (especially atheists, although they often refuse to grasp the concept), so I hope that slip up did not offend you. Now that I know you're Jewish, I'll have a better understanding of your background and hopefully that will aid me in using better word choices.

Let me make one point clear to all: Nothing said on this forum is meant to represent Lawhead's personal views or faith. I find Lawhead's greatest attribute as an author to be that his work speaks to almost everyone, regardless of the reader's belief. Much like C.S. Lewis, as you pointed out, although I would say Lawhead is often even more ambiguous. You certainly don't need to be a Christian to enjoy reading Lawhead.

OK, now that I've got that out of the way, you have the misfortune of being bombarded by Christians who do reside on this forum whenever the matter of Christian faith is brought up. This isn't because we're like over-zealous salespeople at the cosmetic counter (you know, the ones that look like they fell into a vat of Revlon?). We just get excited that someone actually wants to talk about it and we're not even at church!

I have long made it a point to avoid persuasive arguments on this forum, and rather just exchange ideas. This is what brought me to this thread, because there were conflicting ideas causing Bard Child to question exactly how to go about her story.

I believe the reason Bard Child is going to have a difficult time with this is for the precise reason you mentioned: Jews (and many non-Christians) have no concept of many things Christians find normal. This is why I suggested that it will likely be counter-productive to try to interest someone like yourself in a story rooted entirely in Christianity. It would be different if it were some type of innocent adventure with these Christian elements being an underlying theme. In that case, anyone could enjoy the adventure on its own and simply ignore the spiritual aspect if they choose. However, Bard Child's story sounds like it will smack you right between the eyes with Christian ideology.

Now I'm yammering. Bard Child - your plot simply sounds complicated. That, I believe, can make the best story. However, you're going to have to think outside the box to make all those different elements work. I would look back at books you've read, possibly that gave you this inspiration, and see what did and didn't work for those authors trying to balance reality and fantasy. I recall one author did something unique, yet simple, to reconcile a similar problem...what was it...something about a wardrobe...

Although, nearly every type of 'portal' has been beaten to death...perhaps your creative mind will come up with something original.

Well I wasn't thinking about a portal I was thinking this will be set in Cali. I want this to be fanstay and action, with some comedy and poking fun at some aspects of Christianty (Eg: Maddi has a St George plushy and St. Joan of Arc bobble head, she finds Chick Tracts hilarious and fundies a source of humor.) There are some dark aspects too, with Madison having the gift of Decernment and can pyscially see angels and demons, it does some heavy pyscological damage to her. Imagine you're eight, and you see an incubus raping a whore. Or a spirit of legalism on your favorite pastor. This kinda stuff makes a person insane. She was sent to pysch ward for a few months twice because of it. She takes medication to dull the mind a bit and drown what she sees. All and all, she sick of see freaks in her room and every else going, "Ragnarok" In her bedroom. She lives in her apartments mainly because of her grandparents are sick her yelling at random moments at nothing.
She torn on denining God and her gift/curse. And being his "demon slayer" and continue to use it, even though it's costing her sanity. The Angel character Radiance, give her some one to lean onto. His role shows her, that you are never alone. Thats is main Christain theme with the manga. When God is there, you are never alone.