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Best use of hymns and bible quotes in fiction?
November 19, 2015 at 12:38 pm
I have noticed that non-religious or anti-religious fiction has very powerful usage of religious hymns and quotes, This one here is my favorite, as they approach bertrand to arrest him for teach evolution.
Antoher great piece is the reference to ecc.3:1 in farenhiet 451
Quote:"To everything there is a season. Yes. A time to break down, a and time to build up. Yes. A time to keep silence and a time to speak."
Another great piece, that I cannot find a reference for unfortunately is in the anime full metal alchemit, its towards the end when roy's men move to the northern front to start a coup, their on the train heading to their death and it starts playing, come all ye faithful
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
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RE: Best use of hymns and bible quotes in fiction?
November 19, 2015 at 12:53 pm
(This post was last modified: November 19, 2015 at 1:04 pm by The Grand Nudger.)
To create a general sense of foreboding before you drop the hammer on expendable characters? That's my favorite use, anyway.
-"And lo, the lord did see all that he had made, and it was good", Jeremy chuckled, as he set the final charge.
-"Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves' eyes" he whispered into the delicate folds of her ear. The table was set, the scalpel gleamed in cruel anticipation; and he, love lorn, yearned for release.
I am the Infantry. I am my country’s strength in war, her deterrent in peace. I am the heart of the fight… wherever, whenever. I carry America’s faith and honor against her enemies. I am the Queen of Battle. I am what my country expects me to be, the best trained Soldier in the world. In the race for victory, I am swift, determined, and courageous, armed with a fierce will to win. Never will I fail my country’s trust. Always I fight on…through the foe, to the objective, to triumph overall. If necessary, I will fight to my death. By my steadfast courage, I have won more than 200 years of freedom. I yield not to weakness, to hunger, to cowardice, to fatigue, to superior odds, For I am mentally tough, physically strong, and morally straight. I forsake not, my country, my mission, my comrades, my sacred duty. I am relentless. I am always there, now and forever. I AM THE INFANTRY! FOLLOW ME!
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RE: Best use of hymns and bible quotes in fiction?
November 19, 2015 at 1:14 pm
Samuel Jackson's awesome misquotation of Ezekiel 25:17 in Pulp Fiction deserves mention:
“The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee.”
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RE: Best use of hymns and bible quotes in fiction?
November 19, 2015 at 1:26 pm
I like the off-kilter rendition of "All Things Bright And Beautiful" in Beneath The Planet Of The Apes, as the mutants worship the god that made them (this is the best version I could find):
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
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RE: Best use of hymns and bible quotes in fiction?
November 19, 2015 at 1:35 pm
You can fix ignorance, you can't fix stupid.
Tinkety Tonk and down with the Nazis.
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RE: Best use of hymns and bible quotes in fiction?
November 19, 2015 at 2:12 pm
Dark Star:
Bomb#20: In the beginning, there was darkness. And the darkness was without form, and void.
Boiler: What the hell is he talking about?
Bomb#20: And in addition to the darkness there was also me. And I moved upon the face of the darkness. And I saw that I was alone. Let there be light.
The granting of a pardon is an imputation of guilt, and the acceptance a confession of it.
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RE: Best use of hymns and bible quotes in fiction?
November 19, 2015 at 2:15 pm
Ooh yeah, how could I forget that one?
"Intriguing. I wish I had more time to discuss this."
"Why don't you have more time?"
"Because I must explode in 75 seconds."
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
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RE: Best use of hymns and bible quotes in fiction?
November 19, 2015 at 3:26 pm
You guys ever read the last question by Isaac Asimov?
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
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RE: Best use of hymns and bible quotes in fiction?
November 19, 2015 at 4:14 pm
Yes...
The fool hath said in his heart, There is a God. They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, there is none that doeth good.
Psalm 14, KJV revised edition
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RE: Best use of hymns and bible quotes in fiction?
November 19, 2015 at 5:25 pm
(This post was last modified: November 19, 2015 at 5:26 pm by Cyberman.)
One of the best shorts in any genre, never mind sci-fi. And not a dirty limerick in sight.
At the age of five, Skagra decided emphatically that God did not exist. This revelation tends to make most people in the universe who have it react in one of two ways - with relief or with despair. Only Skagra responded to it by thinking, 'Wait a second. That means there's a situation vacant.'
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