Peters on the nonsensical "It's just fiction!" argument

Canon lawyer and prolife activist Ed Peters makes the following observations regarding the "it's only fiction" argument as applied to the pro-euthanasia flick Million Dollar Baby, although his comments apply to other things such as The Da Vinci Code, which is also often defended on the grounds that "it's only fiction":

Charley Reese over at LewRockwell.com has an essay, in classic libertarian form, defending the legalization of suicide. There’s a half dozen things wrong with his position, of course; I only draw attention to one small point: Reese’s chiding assertion that people should not be upset by Clint Eastwood’s film Million Dollar Baby and its endorsement of assisted suicide because, get this, it’s “only” a work of fiction, and fiction’s goal is simple entertainment. Hogwash.

I can just hear Reese-as-slave-trader calming abolition fears among his clients: “Relax, folks, Uncle Tom’s Cabin is only a work of fiction. It’s just entertainment.” Or maybe Reese-as-monopolist, calming fears of his fellow robber barons: “Relax folks, Sinclair’s The Jungle is just a work of fiction, and so is Norris’ The Octopus. It’s pure entertainment.” Oh, really?

Strictly speaking, the Book of Job is a work of fiction (albeit divinely inspired). Its purpose, as was that of the other works listed here (to which countless others could be added), was not “to entertain”, but to teach, specifically, to teach the values of their authors. The genre used is not dispositive, but the values promoted make all the difference in the world. Million Dollar Baby’s values are deathly. And a man of Reese’s intelligence should know better.

I'm currently working on a piece for IgnatiusInsight.com that will, I hope, lay to rest once and for all (I wish!) the silly--and dangerous--"It's just a novel!" argument. Stay tuned.

Comments

[Pat Norris]

Well said.

Fiction is probably the best method for explaining a position. This is because the author can do so in a supposedly "real" environment, and he or she can show the benefits of following their position.

Of course it is all contrived. The author obtains the results that he or she wants. There is nothing "just" about fiction.

[R]

As a canon lawyer, I would hope that Mr. Peters would realize what he said about The Book of Job is heretical according to Vatican II and The Cathechism, and contrary to what the Catholic faith has always taught. Sorry to be a wet blanket, but this is very important, and it undermines his argument about euthanasia. Ignatius Press should be more careful about posting comments, without at least an explanation.

It's too bad, because he mentions Frank Norris' The Octopus, one of the best American novels, and sadly ignored.

[Carl Olson]

R: How is what Peters said about The Book of Job "heretical" according to Vatican II and the Catechism?

[Mark Brumley]

R:

I'm unclear about your comments. Would you cite or quote the particular references in the documents of Vatican II and the Catechism that make Dr. Peters' comments heretical?

It may be that Dr. Peters is mistaken in assessing the literary genre of Job to be fiction. But I would like to know the texts of Vatican II and the Catechism that compel Catholics to hold, as a matter of catholic faith, that Job is not fiction.

The argument might be made that Catholic tradition, broadly construed, has regarded Job as a historical figure. It is not clear that that would amount to a position proposed by the Magisterium to be definitively held by all the faithful, but even assuming for the sake of discussion it did, it doesn't seem to follow that the Book of Job is a historical account rather than a poetic elaboration or a work of historical fiction about a historical figure's plight. Consequently, it doesn't seem to follow that it would amount to "heresy" to hold otherwise. It would be helpful to have the specific references in Vatican II and the Catechism that oblige us to hold the Book of Job to be a historical account rather than, say, a fictional and poetic rendition based on a historical figure.

[Ed Peters]

If the accusation of heresy weren’t so silly, I’d get angry. Still, one person posting might represent others wondering, so let me just say that God used many genres to express His written truth, thus there are historical books, poetical works, wisdom literature, legal texts, and so on in the Bible. They are all true, but they aren’t all fact; some Scriptural passages are "made up" stories (or maybe embellishments on germ narratives), but as I plainly said, it's all inspired by God. What is so frightening about fiction in the Bible? Jesus himself put some there when he used fiction to teach the truth; we call them parables. Since we agree on The Octopus, let me ask: is it true, or is it made up?

In the meantime, I’d be happy for help from those who know more about these things in pointing me toward a conciliar or Catechism text that says holding Job to be divinely inspired “fiction” is heretical. May it not be said that I would rather write than read.

[Carl Olson]

Hey guys, it's just a blog. It's just a post. It's just a comment. It's just...

[Ed Peters]

He he he. Good one, Carl.

[Mark Brumley]

If Dr. Peters has fallen into heresy, I am sure he would be the first to alter his position. It would be helpful to him, then, to know how he has done so.

[Dennis_Mahon]

Carl, you might want to take a look at John Garner's On Moral Fiction for the piece you're working on; Gardner had some pretty interesting things to say about Art and the importance of moral fiction.

[mio]

I wonder if R might have been thinking of the Church's insistance on the historicity of the Gospels, and inadvertently extended that idea to Old Testament writings as well.

Lord knows we see enough contemporary scholors blithely denying the historicity of various parts of the gospels, so I agree that comments like Pete's -- even when they don't involve the gospels -- really should include some more extensive explanation.

[mio]

Oops, Ed's, I mean.

[Mark Brumley]

Perhaps so. And given the zeal of the debunkers and rationalist critics, we can understand a certain heightened sensitivity about what is asserted or denied about the Bible in a public discussion.

Even so, we should be careful not to *assume* that assessing the genre of the Book of Job as fiction or historical fiction need have anything to do with conclusions about the historicity of the Gospels, anymore than assessing the genre of the Book of Psalms as psalms or Proverbs as proverbs need have anything to do with the historicity of the Acts of the Apostles.

The Bible contains many types of writing, some of which are historical, some of which aren't. It won't do to say or imply that such-and-such a work is in the Bible, therefore it must be intended to be historical. The genre of the book must be determined by careful study.

Even granting, for the sake of discussion, that comments about the purported fictional nature of Job would have benefitted from more explanation than Dr. Peters' brief observation provided, certainly before people accuse others of heresy they should be certain they are on solid ground and should provide evidence of such a claim.

[Ed Peters]

Mark, Right on. The simple fact is, one can't say everything about every topic every time one writes about it. People should avoid errors in writing, of course, but it's not an error not to say everything that could be said. I try not to hold people answerable for things they quite simply did not say, but that standard is not applied by all, is it. Mio: don't worry about "Pete"; I was about in 4th grade before i realized my name was not "Pete"!

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