Fiction writers believe in total depravity.

Evil is banal. And the point is emphasized through the use of the obscene: when the violence occurs offstage, the reader creates it and becomes a perpetrator. Goethe famously said, ‘There is no crime of which I do not deem myself capable,’ and O’Connor and Oates imply the same is true of us. You are a molester, I am a murderer. We have, each and every one of us, bodies in the basements of our minds.

-Benjamin Percy, Thrill Me: Essays in Fiction, p. 54

Like what you just read? Enter your email to get updates from Recognizing Christ

Get updates on our book project straight to your inbox. Seeing Christ in Fight Club (And Other Unexpected Places in Culture) is in the works. You'll also get a heads-up on our forthcoming podcast!

Your information will *never* be shared or sold to a 3rd party.