Today, we are looking at the last example in our series on the story of humanity—the ultimate Negative Change Arc. This role of this arc is played by those who ultimately reject God and His Truth.
The Negative Change Arc is similar to the Positive Change Arc—the MC starts out believing a Lie. However, though the MC wrestles with this belief for a time, he eventually re-establishes it. This ends up destroying both his Want and his Need.
The Negative Change Arc is not to be mistaken for the Negative Flat Arc, though they are also quite similar. But, while the MC of a Negative Flat Arc doesn’t budge on his belief in the Lie, the MC of a Negative Change Arc will acknowledge the Truth—and even consider it for a time. In the end, like the Negative Flat Arc, the Lie will destroy him.
There are actually three different types of Negative Change Arcs—the Disillusionment Arc (believes Lie, comes to believe a darker, harsher Truth), the Fall Arc (believes Lie, comes to believe a stronger, worse Lie), and the Corruption Arc (sees Truth, comes to believe the Lie).
We’ll only be looking at the Corruption Arc during this series, since I believe that every person has been offered a glimpse of God and His Truth (though some more than others). As the Bible says in Romans 1:20, “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse.”
If you don’t quite understand the Negative Change Arcs yet, don’t worry… I’ll be looking at them in more detail during our Plots and Character Arcs series. But, for now, here is the template:
SETTING:
Place: Earth
Time: Eternity
MAIN CHARACTER:
Name: Man
Background/Ghost: Man used to live in perfect harmony with God, but he disobeyed and became an enemy of God.
Character’s Specific Truth:He needs God
Character’s Specific Lie: He does not need God
The Thing the Character Wants: To be like God; to rule himself
The Thing the Character Needs: Salvation from his sins
ANTAGONIST:
Name: Satan
Relationship to MC: His master and tempter
Background/Ghost: He used to serve God in Heaven, but became filled with his own pride. His rebellion against God ended up failing, and he was cast out along with the third of angels who followed him. He now preys on Man, using him to fulfill his purposes until he finally gets his chance to destroy God.
His Lie: He will prevail against God
His Want: To be like God
How does the protagonist get in the way of the antagonist’s goal?: Satan will only use Man until he no longer becomes useful to him
The connection/similarities between the antagonist and protagonist: They both want to be like God
The conflict/differences between the antagonist and protagonist: Satan is just using Man to get his own Want
The stakes: If Satan wins, he will become like God. If Man wins, he will also become like God.
HOOK: (Believes Lie) Man has been banished from the Garden of Eden and struggles in a sin-cursed world. However, he refuses to look to God for help, instead bent on proving his own power.
INCITING EVENT: (First Hint Lie will not save or reward) God gives Man a warning when He sends a flood to wipe out all but eight people. This vast display of power shows that God will not be so easy to conquer or one-up.
FIRST PLOT POINT: (Lie now completely ineffective; makes a move towards Truth) At the Tower of Babel, Man’s grand attempt to band together and become higher than God is foiled. This was basically God informing them that even their greatest attempt is nothing compared to His power.
FIRST PINCH POINT: (Halfhearted attempts at Truth only half effective) Entering into the Adventure World where Man is divided and constantly sinning against one another, it becomes increasingly harder for him to accomplish his goal of uniting to conquer God. He sometimes comes closer to the Truth, sometimes moves further away from it, but he never shows enough interest in it.
MIDPOINT (SECOND PLOT POINT): (Moment of Truth: Glimpses Truth, rejects Truth, chooses worse Lie) After years of struggle, Man knows deep down that he cannot hope to conquer God, but he continues on—either through repeated rebellion, or through attempts to earn favor with God.
SECOND PINCH POINT: (Lie is effective, but destructive) As the world becomes increasingly evil, it seems that Man may finally be able to band together once more to be as powerful as God.
THIRD PLOT POINT (LOW-POINT): (Complete failure to gain either Want or Need) During the rule of the Antichrist in the Tribulation, Man is given a taste of what it would be like to rule himself. Little does he know that, with each passing moment, his chance to be redeemed is slipping away.
CLIMAX: (Last ditch-attempt to salvage Want) At the battle of Armageddon, Man gathers together under Satan to try to conquer God.
CLIMATIC MOMENT: (Total destruction) God descends from Heaven and defeats Satan and Man with the word of His mouth. Man is cast into Hell forever.
RESOLUTION: (Aftermath) While descendants of the mortal Christians will once again rise up against God after a period of 1,000 years, the rebellion will be quickly crushed, and they, too, will end up in Hell.
(Note: As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, the Negative Change Arc—specifically, the Corruption Arc—shares elements with both the Negative Flat Arc and the Positive Change Arc. This is why many of the plot points in the Negative Change Arc are similar to the plot points in those arcs.)
Comment below your questions or thoughts!