Student Question

Who is Pastor Dan in conflict with in the book Unwind?

Quick answer:

Pastor Dan in Unwind is in conflict with societal laws supporting unwinding and tithing individuals. He opposes these practices, which are backed by the government, despite being a law-abiding citizen. His internal conflict arises from his Christian faith, which respects authority and tithing, yet morally opposes using human lives in such a manner. He disagrees with Lev's family's decision to tithe a child, believing it contradicts true Christian values.

Expert Answers

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Pastor Dan's inner conflicts center around the fact that he does not support unwinding. In addition to that, Pastor Dan completely disagrees with the concept of tithing a person. Those two beliefs of his put him in conflict with the societal laws. Unwinding is supported by the government, and Pastor Dan is a law abiding citizen. His faith causes him to believe that the people in leadership have been put there on God's authority; therefore, it is his Christian duty to believe that the decisions of those leaders are somehow part of God's overall plan. His morality flat out disagrees. The Christian faith also encourages believers to tithe a tenth of their blessings. Lev's family has 10 children, so they believe that they need to tithe a child. Pastor Dan believes in tithing, but he doesn't think it should be done with a human life.

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