Bible verses to look at for my character
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Bible verses to look at for my character
I'm really hoping I'm not the only one checking this forum...
The novel I'm working on now is about a very devout Christian demon hunter. Trouble is, while I am a Jesus Follower, I have spent much of my life not being in any way Christian and most of the time I have been, I haven't really been devout. So I don't know what verses she would refer to constantly, out of habit, or what she would have memorized. I saw the thread on comforting verses, which will come in very handy, but I'm looking for anything she could use as an affirmation, verses she might read and pray over in the morning... and really, what I should read (this can be entire books) to get a better sense of her character.
If it matters (I think it does, but I'm not sure how), she's Protestant, prefers Methodist but will go to just about any Protestant church.
Re: Bible verses to look at for my character
You know there are places on the Internet where you could look up Bible verses by topic. Bible Gateway comes to mind. And another place I just found called www.bibleverses.com that has a topical index.
And since you are writing about demon hunting, I am thinking you could focus on the New Testament (in particular the 4 Gospels, Acts, and Revelation) which is not as long. In the Old Testament you might want to read Job and these two passages about Satan/Lucifer:
Is. 14:12-22 and Ezekiel 28:12-19
Hmmm...a Methodist demon hunter? Have you looked up the basic beliefs of Methodists? I would tend to think a demon hunter might have more Pentecostal or Charismatic roots at least.
Hope that helps.
Re: Bible verses to look at for my character
Well, I just looked up all three, and don't really see why being Methodist would conflict with being a demon hunter. Many of the "miracles" that Pentecostal and Charismatic churches see as evidence of the Holy Spirit seem to be things the Catholic church sees as evidence of demonic possession. And she's not exactly taking this stuff on faith--she has personal experience with demons and is fighting them to save her own soul as well as others'.
Honestly, I picked Methodist because I go to a Methodist church, and if I'm going to be accused of evangelizing with my books (which, if I get published and it somehow doesn't get filed under Christian fiction, I fully expect to), I'm not going to go with a faith I don't share.
Re: Bible verses to look at for my character
Take a look at this article and you may understand what I was getting at. http://www.umportal.org/article.asp?id=3808
I was raised Catholic and I have a Charismatic/fundamentalist background. I have been to services where "demons" were being cast out of people. I don't know a lot about the Methodist faith.
Another thing...in Christianity how does one "save his/her own soul"? Most Christian doctrine talks about Jesus dying on the cross for the sins of the world. One does not save one's soul; Jesus did that through his atonement on the cross. I am not sure how the Methodists talk about salvation.
You might also want to check out the 4 spiritual laws, a technique that presents the path of salvation. And once again, I don't know if these are specifically relevant to Methodists.
I can understand why you would want to pick the faith that you know. Just make sure you know it! If you attend a Methodist church, then checking in with a pastor or an elder would be a way to get answers to these questions.
Good luck to you! :o)
Re: Bible verses to look at for my character
Yes, Methodist doctrine follows the "faith alone" path to salvation. Her case is convoluted and I didn't explain it well for fear of TL;DR. Her mom sold her (MC's) soul to a demon through some tricky wording in the deal and now she's trying to get it back. (That was a lot easier to explain than I thought.) Her brother is mostly working on the research end, and she's doing everything she can to maximize the time she has left and save as many people as possible.
Re: Bible verses to look at for my character
I'm not religious, but you mentioned books you should read... have you tried the Bible?
Sorry if that came off as rude, but that IS the best place to get Bible verses.
Re: Bible verses to look at for my character
I have. Unfortunately, it's a couple thousand pages long, and I was kind of hoping not to have to read all of it before starting this novel. I was hoping someone could tell me some specific books *within* the Bible that I should look at.