Rick Riordan
asked
Rick Riordan:
Someone asks: "If you value diversity so much that you can have gay characters in your stories, why don't you include any Christians in your stories?" (I won't reply directly, because I don't want you getting any blowback for your question).
Rick Riordan
I am not sure why you assume there are no Christians in my books. Some of the Christians, in fact, are the same as the gay characters. Nico di Angelo, an Italian from the 1930s, is most definitely Roman Catholic, though he doesn't talk a lot about his relationship with his religion. Will Solace, born outside of Austin, Texas, was raised a Protestant.
I'm not sure what proper Christian rep would look like in your opinion, but to me, it is someone who tries to follow the teachings of Christ -- love, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, grace, care for the unfortunate, turning the other cheek even to your enemies. There are quite a few heroes like that in the books, and I imagine some of them are Christian.
Matthew 25: "For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me."
The Christians probably would not announce themselves as Christians with speeches and T-shirts and flashy cross necklaces, but let their deeds and their attitudes speak for them:
Luke 11: "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Deuteronomy 15: “Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
They would above all follow Jesus' greatest command to love one another:
John 13: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
And this means they would love and show kindness to everyone, not just other Christians:
Matthew 5: "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Again, I see lots of characters like that in my books. Some of them, I imagine, are Christians.
I could go on, but I hope that answers your question. It raises an important point: How can you tell when a character, or a person in real life, is a Christian? To me, the best Christian rep is found in characters (and real people) who try to follow the example of Christ. As in all ages of the world, we never have enough people who actually do that.
I'm not sure what proper Christian rep would look like in your opinion, but to me, it is someone who tries to follow the teachings of Christ -- love, kindness, mercy, forgiveness, grace, care for the unfortunate, turning the other cheek even to your enemies. There are quite a few heroes like that in the books, and I imagine some of them are Christian.
Matthew 25: "For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; I was naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me."
The Christians probably would not announce themselves as Christians with speeches and T-shirts and flashy cross necklaces, but let their deeds and their attitudes speak for them:
Luke 11: "And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
Deuteronomy 15: “Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you."
They would above all follow Jesus' greatest command to love one another:
John 13: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
And this means they would love and show kindness to everyone, not just other Christians:
Matthew 5: "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."
Again, I see lots of characters like that in my books. Some of them, I imagine, are Christians.
I could go on, but I hope that answers your question. It raises an important point: How can you tell when a character, or a person in real life, is a Christian? To me, the best Christian rep is found in characters (and real people) who try to follow the example of Christ. As in all ages of the world, we never have enough people who actually do that.
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