King provides last bastion of biblical morality in popular fiction

[Bev Vincent]

I thought this was a fascinating article in the Catholic World Report


Stephen King: Best-Selling Author, Horror Novelist—and Christian Moralist? | Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views

For King, there is no question that evil exists, that demons are real and must be defeated before they are allowed to defeat us. Perhaps this is the greatest gift King gives to his readers—to remind us that evil will never triumph if we are able to recognize it and refuse to invite it into our lives, remaining willing to look to God to help dispel the demons.​

 

[skimom2]

I thought this was a fascinating article in the Catholic World Report


Stephen King: Best-Selling Author, Horror Novelist—and Christian Moralist? | Catholic World Report - Global Church news and views

For King, there is no question that evil exists, that demons are real and must be defeated before they are allowed to defeat us. Perhaps this is the greatest gift King gives to his readers—to remind us that evil will never triumph if we are able to recognize it and refuse to invite it into our lives, remaining willing to look to God to help dispel the demons.​

I've always thought Mr. King was the most moral writer I've ever read. He doesn't blindly follow any particular doctrine--it's a practical morality that I can believe in--but there are very clear moral lines drawn, with a lot of love, faith, and forgiveness between those lines.

 

[GNTLGNT]

...and he does it without preaching...something Koontz would be well served to learn...

 

[misery chastain loves co.]

One minute he made a deal with the devil for his success(do you guys remember that long ago rumor? )and now the Catholic World Report is writing about him in a positive light. Only Stephen King would this happen to. The man has come full circle. Perhaps he'll be the next Pope.

 

[staropeace]

One minute he made a deal with the devil for his success(do you guys remember that long ago rumor? )and now the Catholic World Report is writing about him in a positive light. Only Stephen King would this happen to. The man has come full circle. Perhaps he'll be the next Pope.

The Catholic church got attention when William Peter Blatey wrote the Exorcist. It seems there was a rise in interest with everything spiritual.

 

[blunthead]

One of the qualities I've always appreciated about sK is his spirituality as expressed in his stories. He's wise in this way, and I can tell that he has his own relationship with his Higher Power.

 

[Rrty]

Based on some things he said during the Revival tour, I kind of wonder if King is mostly an atheist (albeit one who hopes for the existence of God).

Bev, out of curiosity -- and I ask because of the paragraph you decided to quote -- do you believe in a God? And if King didn't include his religious background in his works, would be the lesser for it?

 

[Bev Vincent]

I don't believe in a God. I quoted that paragraph because it seemed to sum up the gist of the article.

 

[mal]

I've always had a sense of his morality through his books. I've always been a God guy (whatever that means) and have wondered whether ethics and morality could exist without some sort of moral code existing to begin with.

 

[Kurben]

There is no doubt that King is a moral writer. His characters often discuss that aspect. I remember the children in IT having a pretty deep discussion about it. Or it might have been when they were grown up but it was there and it is not uncommon. But i wouldn't call it a biblical morality. It is more of a "common sense morality" if theres exist such a thing. Sometimes it goes hand in hand with other doctrins and sometimes not.

 

[skimom2]

There is no doubt that King is a moral writer. His characters often discuss that aspect. I remember the children in IT having a pretty deep discussion about it. Or it might have been when they were grown up but it was there and it is not uncommon. But i wouldn't call it a biblical morality. It is more of a "common sense morality" if theres exist such a thing. Sometimes it goes hand in hand with other doctrins and sometimes not.

Yep, he definitely dances to his own piper--no single dogma represented. There's a sense of a belief in Someone--a belief in the White--but definitely not entirely KJV Christian. It makes his stories universal, in a sense. There's a belief in the core goodness (or maybe Goodness) in the world that makes my heart happy.

 

[Mr Nobody]

I might be wrong, but hasn't he said/written that, while he believes in God, he has little or no truck with organized religion? So, you don't need a church to pray, or a minister/priest/whatever to act as a conduit?
I wonder if I am wrong now, because tbh that is more or less in line with what I think, though I doubt very strongly that there is a God, or that He/She/It would be anything/one is worth worshipping given what's allowed to go on in the world (which then goes into an 'Is God Almighty or not?' spiral of flim-flammery and endless conjecture, so...*sidestep*), but if there is then whatever He/She/It actually is, is so far beyond our comprehension as for its (shorthand) thoughts, actions and motivations to be completely beyond us - and they would naturally have to be on a cosmic scale, rather than just focusing on minutiae per life. And...immortal. So imagine how annoying weekly singing would be. It'd have to be like having a mosquito humming in your ear every few seconds of your life.

But, back to the topic. If SK is a moral writer it's because he's telling us the truth about the world via fiction, and is (IMO) a genuinely good guy. And contrary to what the various religions would have you believe, you don't actually need religion for that.

 

[HollyGolightly]

Wow!!! on this, though I think all Constant Readers have always known that the "master of horror" holds up the mirror for us all. Sometimes the most seemingly pious characters are the most despicable, driven to evil, by evil. Evil can be as deeply personal as good. And the more you think yourself good, the more evil lurks about trying to change your mind. King's best characters, in my opinion, are the ones who are deeply good without even realizing it - this is almost always the case with his "heroes" - they rarely realize what a gift they are . It's my belief, and the belief of the Catholic church, that even when you don't believe in God, he believes in you. And who we are speaks far more about us than when and where we practice our faith. Rock on, Sai King. I'm so proud to be a Constant Reader, even before this article.

 

[blunthead]

I might be wrong, but hasn't he said/written that, while he believes in God, he has little or no truck with organized religion? So, you don't need a church to pray, or a minister/priest/whatever to act as a conduit?
I wonder if I am wrong now, because tbh that is more or less in line with what I think, though I doubt very strongly that there is a God, or that He/She/It would be anything/one is worth worshipping given what's allowed to go on in the world (which then goes into an 'Is God Almighty or not?' spiral of flim-flammery and endless conjecture, so...*sidestep*), but if there is then whatever He/She/It actually is, is so far beyond our comprehension as for its (shorthand) thoughts, actions and motivations to be completely beyond us - and they would naturally have to be on a cosmic scale, rather than just focusing on minutiae per life. And...immortal. So imagine how annoying weekly singing would be. It'd have to be like having a mosquito humming in your ear every few seconds of your life.

But, back to the topic. If SK is a moral writer it's because he's telling us the truth about the world via fiction, and is (IMO) a genuinely good guy. And contrary to what the various religions would have you believe, you don't actually need religion for that.

I guess that's "to be honest"?

 

[Mr Nobody]

I guess that's "to be honest"?

Yes, sorry. Didn't mean to use email shorthand. *slaps self on hand*

 

[blunthead]

Yes, sorry. Didn't mean to use email shorthand. *slaps self on hand*

Well, alright then.

 

[Grandpa]

Mr. King talks some of his views on things spiritual in an interview with Terry Gross on "Fresh Air."

Stephen King On Growing Up, Believing In God And Getting Scared : NPR

 

[blunthead]

Mr. King talks some of his views on things spiritual in an interview with Terry Gross on "Fresh Air."

Stephen King On Growing Up, Believing In God And Getting Scared : NPR

That's a great interview. Of sK's thoughts I found the following underlined most interesting...

KING: On God and the afterlife and all that. It's certainly a subject that's interested me. And I think it interests me more the older that I get. And I think we'd all like to believe that after we shuffle off this mortal coil, that there's going to be something on the other side because for most of us, I know for me, life is so rich, so colorful and sensual and full of good things, things to read, things to eat, things to watch, places to go, new experiences, that I don't want to think that you just go to darkness.

But as far as God and church and religion and the Buddy Rosses and that sort of thing, I kind of always felt that organized religion was just basically a theological insurance scam where they're saying if you spend time with us, guess what, you're going to live forever. You're going to go to some other plain where you're going to be so happy. You'll just be happy all the time, which is also kind of a scary idea to me.

I wonder if being happy all of the time would bother me.

 

[Kurben]

That's a great interview. Of sK's thoughts I found the following underlined most interesting...

KING: On God and the afterlife and all that. It's certainly a subject that's interested me. And I think it interests me more the older that I get. And I think we'd all like to believe that after we shuffle off this mortal coil, that there's going to be something on the other side because for most of us, I know for me, life is so rich, so colorful and sensual and full of good things, things to read, things to eat, things to watch, places to go, new experiences, that I don't want to think that you just go to darkness.

But as far as God and church and religion and the Buddy Rosses and that sort of thing, I kind of always felt that organized religion was just basically a theological insurance scam where they're saying if you spend time with us, guess what, you're going to live forever. You're going to go to some other plain where you're going to be so happy. You'll just be happy all the time, which is also kind of a scary idea to me.

I wonder if being happy all of the time would bother me.

I think it is scary because to make an existence in this life or the next interesting you want change. If you were happy all the time you would sooner or later get bored. And being bored all the time is horrible. A really scary condition. Change, even if there isn't any major changes, are very important.

 

[kingricefan]

...and he does it without preaching...something Koontz would be well served to learn...

You just knocked me on my *ss, buddy! Didn't think I'd ever hear you say a negative word about Dean-o. Koontz does tend to get a little preachy at times, but it's usually a good thing. He is way more optimistic than Steve, mostly.