Is God "okay" with gore in a "Christian" book. First, let me say-and I will probably say this often-that God doesn't really separate fiction-or anything for that matter-into "Christian" and "secular", we do (at least that is my personal belief). You see, God created everything so I don't believe anything in and of itself is bad. Now, we, as flawed beings, tend to pervert these "bad things" such as weed, sex, food, beauty, etc.
Now with that said, it is my personal belief that there isn't anything wrong with gore, even when writing a "Christian" book. Here are some reasons why I don't have a problem with gore...infact, I love gore. One of my favorite shows is The Walking Dead....and that is the goriest show I have ever seen!!!. We digress, though. So here are some reasons why I don't think it's bad.
#1. The bible, if it were written as a novel, would be one of the most gory books you could imagine...and just think of the movie!!!! Just a few examples I can think of off of the top of my head are when Saul, I believe it was, killed and cut into pieces a cow (I think), then had each peace delivered to the twelve tribes explaining that the cow would be them if they didn't...well...do something...I can't really remember. Lets see...another example would be any battle in the old testament. I mean, to believe the battles were like the old school cartoons of GI-Joe or He Man, where everybody is fighting or shooting weapons at each other and there isn't one drop of blood spilt...well...it's just naïve. Battles were brutal, filled with blood, and chopped off limbs and heads, or guts sliced out of one's stomach. These are just a couple of examples the bible has (not to mention the martyrdom of the apostles and other first century believers...and Jesus).
#2. It is my opinion that having a story or novel with gore in it has the potential to lead a non-believer to Christ. Now, I know this probably is not a usual thing, however God uses even non-believers to influence the destinies of others. For me, gore is an evangelism tool. You see my first published book is a collection of three stories, all faith based. The last one has quite a bit of gore: a guy getting ripped apart by aliens, and a scene with a head rolling down the corridor. Personally, I don't think it is too gory....but....I am a fan of gore. The reason I specifically wrote that particular story is because when I was younger I hated Christian literature, so I wanted to reach a group of people like me when I was in Jr. High. My last story in the book has both gore and the Romans road literally written out in the book. It is my hope that one day some non-believer will be given my book by a friend (or pick it up to read it) who knows he/she likes gore and come to know Jesus through reading that particular story.
So, there you have it...my opinion about gore and the Christian fiction. To take it a step further, I would say God might "inspire" gore and even bless a Christian novel with a lot of gore in it.
Please feel free to comment if you agree, or disagree. Looking forward to reading some of your responses.