The Metaphor
I've been mulling several different ways to present my content. After reading some of the essays for another class, ImageText, my interest in exploring the comic book through a digital animation format has been rekindled.
Many of the texts are concerned with the idea of "Being and Time" -- most relying on Derrida's "Ousia and Gramme" specifically -- and I was reminded of our feeble concepts of time, and God's control and fulfillment of purpose through the time which He created. These stark contrasts, I believe, can be replayed through the example of the human artist and his creation.
The human artist is infinitely more detailed, alive, and "real" than the characters he creates. But, when entering that character's perspective, which is essentially our perspective in relation to God, we see ourselves as the epitome of intelligence and understanding, often times forgetting, indeed ignoring, the role that God plays in the events of our lives.
The comic book artist is the ruler, creator, and determining factor of the events in the work produced. The character(s) within the work, when exploring their own views of the situations in which they are placed, may be understood as willful agents making choices that, in essence, determine the events that result from their heartfelt decisions. The primary interest of compatibilism is understanding the two perspectives of occurrences, and this metaphor effectually represents that.
Genesis 50:19-20 -- 19 But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? 20 You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. 21 So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.
Joseph is speaking of the actions of his brothers -- those who sold him into slavery, intending to rid their household of him. The caravan to which Joseph was originally sold brought him to Egypt. It was God's intention for Joseph to go to Egypt in order that he may provide aide for the upcoming famine. However, this result was dependent upon the actions of the brothers. This is a clear example of the content that I am dealing with, and can be summarized by a verse found in Proverbs.
Proverbs 16:9 In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.
That said, I must make clear that while the animation will be a metaphor of the relationship of God's and man's perspectives and how they are displayed in the philosophy of compatibilism, the profound nature of this relationship and its many implications cannot be addressed in their entirety.
To avoid confusion as to what I am exactly wanting to say, and to hopefully avoid all the 'loop holes' that are bound to happen when depicting the nature of God and His sovereign actions in the earth, I will state plainly that I am exploring the notion of God decreeing what will occur, when it will occur, how it will occur, and why it will occur. Ultimately, it is also He who chooses by whom it will occur, and that is where the character representation becomes relevant because we understand ourselves to be free agents making willful choices.
When the artist sits down with a narrative in mind, he begins to create, from his personal mind, a world for that narrative to take place. These are the five natures of the relationship between the created world and the artist that I have outlined thus far:
1) There is a difference in space and time for the artist and the creation. The artist is able to see and understand all contingencies of the plot that he has set out to create. The character is bound in his understanding because he only knows the world that has been created for him, and in keeping with the God/man relationship, is unaware of future occurances until they are able to be reflected upon as past occurrences.
2) The character can only do that which the artist has enabled him to do and allowed him to do.
3) The character is two-dimensional and 'dead' in comparison to the creator, who is infinitely more alive and real than that which is made by his hand. On a side note, this is not to say that the character is inherently dead, just as we are indeed real and alive creatures in our own right, but rather that when compared to the Creator, the difference is so great that it becomes intelligible. For those Christians reading this, I am aware of the implications when dealing with our being made in the image of God, His choice to become part of the creation, and His making the elect spiritual children of Himself, but I am not dealing with these subjects and ask that you move right along when the nitpicking begins :-)
4) The character is entirely reliant upon the creator for existence, nourishment, understanding, and fulfillment.
5) The creator has the freedom and ability to do as he pleases with his creation.
These points are somewhat broad and perhaps a little abstract, but that's simply because they need to be 'unpacked' more -- something I will not do at this time. I will continue to deal with these issues in future posts, but for now must focus on completing the narrative I wish to tell within this framework.