I finished this last night, but I had to wait a day to properly focus my thoughts. Even now I don't really have an in-depth analysis like I did for Worth A Thousand Words. I just... really loved this fic.
You REALLY ran Asgore through the emotional wringer in this one. Like, it was almost painful to get through the segment with Yosef's dad. You know you did a fantastic job when my heart aches for a fictional character. I genuinely feel that Asgore gets a rotten deal from a lot of artists and authors, however I also kind of think that too many are too forgiving. Asgore did terrible things, unspeakably wicked things. Yes, he did them out of a malaise born form rage, grief, loneliness, and despair. Yes, he is wracked with guilt over his actions. Yes, he offers his own life to Frisk in an attempt to atone.
But he still did them. Whatever the reasoning or rationale, he still took the lives of six children in cold blood. Well, not in this continuity, as Bella was a bit of a little turd... or a bloodthirsty killer borne of repetition and boredom, and we KNOW how that can go. Either way, at the end of the day, no matter how he felt or what pressure he was under, Asgore killed them of his own free will. He is guilty by any definition.
But then you touched on something important. Something that I used in my own story (before I read this, I swear!). See, the pastor at the church I grew up in, Reverend Quill, had a little saying he liked to repeat every now and then. "The only unforgivable sin is the one you don't seek forgiveness for."
I, like yourself, am a Christian. I believe God's Grace extends even beyond the realms of death. And all anyone has to do to be redeemed is simply ask Him for it. I think that's why I love stories about Asgore. Not only do I have a soft spot for stories about Dad's doing their best, but due to both the events of my life and my faith, I love a good redemption story. After all, if a dirty sinner like me can be forgiven, anyone can.
I think I'll leave you with my favorite passage, what I feel is the lynch pin of the Faith, overshadowed only by John 3:16.
Romans 13: 8-10
Owe no one anything, except to love one another; for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery; You shall not murder; You shall not steal; You shall not covet”; and any other commandment, are summed up in this word, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law.
I'm really glad you appreciated the theological aspects of the story! This was the first story I ever wrote since elementary school, and I wrote it in response to a sad theme that I found in a great many UT stories - the idea that the best, healthiest thing you can do when you're weighed down by guilt is learn how to forgive yourself and strive to live a better life from then on. Against that, Robert gives voice to the central doctrines of Christianity. Sins committed against an infinitely holy God are infinitely offensive. You cannot atone for them by just being good from now on. You cannot escape condemnation. You cannot do anything to escape the guilty verdict that a perfectly just God will, and must, pronounce.
It's only against that bleak backdrop that the offer of salvation makes any sense. Jesus came to earth to live the perfect life we should have, and then to die to pay the penalty of all the sins of his people. When a person sees himself as a hopeless, hell-deserving sinners and calls in desperation on Jesus to save him, entrusting himself fully on what Jesus has done, God credits that person with all the righteousness Jesus earned, and declares him "not guilty" because of the payment Jesus made for his sins. And not only that - astonishingly God adopts that person into his own family, changing his heart, making him love and delight in God and in righteousness, and giving him an incredible inheritance in the age to come.
( Romans 8:1–2) There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.
To be sure, the earthly consequences of sin may remain. It's not as if (say) Asgore would never again feel any pain or deep regret from his past actions. That's true for me too. But the **actual** guilt and condemnation - that's gone, instantly and forever. God really does throw our sins into the depths of the sea, where they are gone for good.
Anyway, thanks again for your comments! There's nothing more important to me than Christ and what he has done for me, and I'm glad I could work those themes into a story setting I really liked, and I'm especially glad some folks appreciate the worldview it's trying to convey.
Comment on The Depths of the Sea
JakeTheArmyGuy on Chapter 5 Tue 12 Oct 2021 03:18AM UTC
Last Edited Tue 12 Oct 2021 03:23AM UTC
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CoramDeo on Chapter 5 Tue 12 Oct 2021 04:45AM UTC
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