What Is “Divine Darkness”?

The Message Behind the Irony

It sounds sinister, or maybe it reads as an oxymoron, but neither was my intention when I chose my trilogy’s title. “Divine darkness” has a much deeper meaning, one that would take three novels to fully explore. I approached one of the main themes, the abuse of religious power, with great care, keeping my focus on corrupted leaders rather than chastising religion itself. Still, there’s no ignoring the many atrocities that have occurred in the name of the divine.

The Divine Darkness takes a critical look at the good intentions of the devout, and how easily wolves dressed in sheepskins can twist the deep passions of others, tricking them into paving their own roads to hell. It examines how good people can become pawns of evil, inadvertently sewing division and spreading chaos by being led to demonize those they perceive as different.

There are roughly 8.2 billion different narratives currently in existence on this planet; each one paints its owner as the hero of the story. While there’s no denying that bad people do exist, and some might even understand that they are villains, I must argue that a significant number of evil acts are committed by people who, in the heat of the moment, believe they are doing the right thing. Whether through justification, dehumanization, or good old-fashioned loyalty, people have found ways to nullify their own culpability in the face of too many horrors. They fashion both swords and shields out of dogma, because that is what their leaders do.

In a world so vastly populated, it’s easy to forget that each person out there is related, even if the ties are so remote that they’re nearly imperceivable. Most of us also want the same things—peace, prosperity, a safe place to raise our children and grow our communities—but we allow differences as minute as personal beliefs drive wedges between us.

So, The Divine Darkness presents a question: Might the differences between us be not the reasons for hatred, but instead the truest, purest test of our ability to “love thy neighbor”?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on my latest post!

About The Divine Darkness: A mysterious apocryphal event transforms nearly everyone on Earth, shaping them according to their worst fears or their most profound beliefs. The streets become inundated with vampires, werewolves, spontaneously combusting humans, and other horrors—all while winged beings rise to the top of the new order, ready to exterminate anyone who threatens their faith.

Circumstances propel two seemingly random strangers to the frontlines. Randy Thomas has an epiphany that inspires him to raise a fervent army of true believers. Alisha Brown finds herself the target of vengeful creatures, while random strangers begin to worship her in awe.

Each has been touched by the hand of fate, and each believes they are humanity’s last hope. But when the laws of reality no longer apply, and no one can trust even their own eyes, belief can become a funny thing…

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