Psalm 44

This psalm really speaks to me. It speaks to anyone who seeks the "living" God. I read it this morning while I read Hebrews 4

It's one thing to worship a distant God who one must surrender to, who is praised but whom one doesn't really have any relationship with. With a far-off God one can believe what one wants to believe. One can have any kind of theology because chances are nothing can "prove" you wrong. But when one serves a living God and asks him for blessings, healings, etc. That's when the rubber hits the road.

So here we have the psalmist saying: our spiritual fathers, our grandparents, etc, all told us about all the great things you did back in the day. They even told us that you fought us. They rested in you! But we don't see any of this in our lifetime or in our own afflictions. What's going on here, God?

When I was reading Hebrews this morning, I once again realized that the entire book speaks about the rest of God...especially the rest found in the living word. Sometimes we read the Bible and suddenly the writer of the book we're reading -- Holy Spirit and the human he inspired to write-- makes some weird comment that doesn't seem to make sense in the context. Then one realizes that was what he was talking about all along. Hebrews 4:1 begins with a discussion of the rest of God and states that the gospel was told to the people in Moses day. Those Israelites were baptized in the water and ate of the passover lamb. Then suddenly at Hebrews 4:12 he suddenly says The Word of God is living and active. I'm like..."What?" But then, I said, YES! YES! You have been talking about the word all along. The rest of God.

Psalm 44

1We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.
2How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.
3For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.
4Thou art my King, O God: command deliverances for Jacob.
5Through thee will we push down our enemies: through thy name will we tread them under that rise up against us.
6For I will not trust in my bow, neither shall my sword save me.
7But thou hast saved us from our enemies, and hast put them to shame that hated us.
8In God we boast all the day long, and praise thy name for ever. Selah.
9But thou hast cast off, and put us to shame; and goest not forth with our armies.
10Thou makest us to turn back from the enemy: and they which hate us spoil for themselves.
11Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.
12Thou sellest thy people for nought, and dost not increase thy wealth by their price.
13Thou makest us a reproach to our neighbours, a scorn and a derision to them that are round about us.
14Thou makest us a byword among the heathen, a shaking of the head among the people.
15My confusion is continually before me, and the shame of my face hath covered me,
16For the voice of him that reproacheth and blasphemeth; by reason of the enemy and avenger.
17All this is come upon us; yet have we not forgotten thee, neither have we dealt falsely in thy covenant.
18Our heart is not turned back, neither have our steps declined from thy way;
19Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.
20If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god;
21Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.
22Yea, for thy sake are we killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.
23Awake, why sleepest thou, O Lord? arise, cast us not off for ever.
24Wherefore hidest thou thy face, and forgettest our affliction and our oppression?
25For our soul is bowed down to the dust: our belly cleaveth unto the earth.
26Arise for our help, and redeem us for thy mercies' sake.

The New Shape of World Christianity: How American Experience Reflects Global Faith

The New Shape of World Christianity: How American Experience Reflects Global Faith 
Mark A. Noll (InterVarsity academic)

Hardcover: 212 pages

Publisher: Intervarsity Press (June 1, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0830828478

ISBN-13: 978-0830828470

The Growing Seed, Fallow Ground, Sheep, Milk

We were reading Proverbs 27 this morning and the following section really spoke to me.

Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds.

For riches are not for ever: and doth the crown endure to every generation?

The hay appeareth, and the tender grass sheweth itself, and herbs of the mountains are gathered.

The lambs are for thy clothing, and the goats are the price of the field.

And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens. Proverbs 27:23-27

At first one could think about it as a kind of verse about accounting and good stewardship. And I guess I could see how it might be speaking about my books and my fabric designs (seeds sown) fields (where I sowed or marketed them) and when the money starts trickling then flowing in. But the more I thought of it, the more it seemed to me that the passage can also be about the process of how we deal with the riches of God's word that is sowed in the fallow or fertile fields of our hearts.


So many times we hear Bible verses preached to us by those who - it seems, anyway-- have just heard a word but who have not really digested it. Consider ministers who talk about why folks are or aren't healed -- yet those ministers have never healed anyone. Or folks who talk about the power of the word -- yet they don't have the full flower of the sowed word in their lives.


So many things in the Bible is about "growing" ....and endurance and patience is often about growing. 
So for now this verse is meaning this to me: we hear the word of God as a seed. But we can't eat the seed immediately. We eat seeds and the seeds grow silently as we digest the word and soon becomes a seed. Then the tender grass will grow in our lives (which might take a while.) Then after we fully have digested the word and broken up our fallow field. Then we can feed the sheep the "tender grass" and the sheep can grow from what we have learned slowly and deeply. And after that they give milk to us. Interesting that loop. We give to the sheep and they give to us. So we don't take spiritual seed primarily for ourselves. There is always giving seed and milk to each other. Until we all get stronger in using and understanding the word of God. 

It connects to the following verses.

An inheritance obtained too early in life is not a blessing in the end. Proverbs 20:21

He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Matthew 13:31

He said, "The Kingdom of God is as if a man should cast seed on the earth, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he doesn't know how. For the earth bears fruit: first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts forth the sickle, because the harvest has come."

— Mark 4:26-29

Reminding myself again about the only cure for this hypochondria

It's terrible to be sick and to have battles with hypochondria. It's terrible to be fat and to have battles with hypochondria or cancer-phobia or diabetes-phobia. Why? Because the world trains people. And the stuff the world teaches us is often so counter to truth. 

(Digression here: I finally had to stop watching two of my favorite TV shows because I am getting so tired of  divorce, marriage drama, sudden accidents, cancer, being used to further the plots. Sure, I know this is something done by screenwriters but it has its effect. People are constantly getting divorced or dropping girlfriends and husbands on TV in situations that are trumped up to be meaningful. I have no doubt this kinda stuff affects people's minds. Such plot tropes are seeds and they plant weeds in the minds of young (and not-so-young) brains.  Okay, digression ends.)

So, anyway, it is very hard to live in a world as a reasonable person because reasonableness is defined as fear. Fear is seen as rationale and adult, hope and trust and trusting God is seen as childish. In fact we live in a world where many Biblical truths are undermined and treated as fairytales. Hope is maligned and even the idea of the power to create our world through our words is mocked. 

Fear creates negative emotions in the body. It creates negative reactions in our actions. There is a spiritual power in the world trying to make us fear. The spirit of fear rules the media. Pundits everywhere talk about how we should fear disease, job loss, Alzhemiers, dementia. But the Bible tells us over and over to conquer fear by trusting in the love of God and by loving our neighbors. 

In Timothy: 

God didn't give us the spirit of fear but one of power, love, and a sound mind. 

In 1 John: 

There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear. 

In the Proverbs:

When you lie down, you will not be afraid. As you lie there, your sleep will be sweet.

Do not be afraid of sudden terror or of the destruction of wicked people when it comes.

The LORD will be your confidence. He will keep your foot from getting caught. 

Do not hold back anything good from those who are entitled to it when you have the power to do so.
When you have the good thing with you, do not tell your neighbor, "Go away! Come back tomorrow. I'll give you something then."
Do not plan to do something wrong to your neighbor while he is sitting there with you and suspecting nothing.
Do not quarrel with a person for no reason if he has not harmed you.
Do not envy a violent person. Do not choose any of his ways. Proverbs 3:24-31

1 Peter 3:8-11

Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:
Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.
For the eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open unto their prayers: but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil.

We are to demolish arguments against God's power. And we are to take captive all the thoughts and making it obedient to Christ's power and love. We have to use the Philippians filter: we have to think of whatever is lovely, true, noble, admirable, faithful, trustworthy, beautiful, of good report, true, virtuous, excellent, praiseworthy. We are to think about out thoughts.

So upshot: I have decided to believe that I am not dying of some horrible disease and to believe that God will keep me well. And if he sees me heading toward sickliness, he is faithful and loving enough to tell me how  to keep healthy. So right now... since God hasn't told me I am dying, I will believe I am healthy.

God will keep those in perfect emotional, spiritual, and physical peace who trust in Him.

Turn your eyes upon Jesus; Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. 

American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile

American Babylon: Notes of a Christian Exile

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (March 16, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0465013678
• ISBN-13: 978-0465013678

Also:

Looking Toward the New Jerusalem
Here's the blurb:

Dark Parable (Vision): The Burning City

Okay, so this morning:


I had a vision of a large city criss-crossed through with rivers. It was a very modern city with high-rises and all the city was ablaze. The fire occurred at night, or it was nighttime when i was seeing it at its most powerful.  The view was a night-time aerial view so I could see the outline of the skycrapers and the outline of the cities and fire everywhere with the rivers running through. It looked as if the city was utterly devastated. The entire city. Not just a part of it. That city was so destroyed it would take years to rebuild it if at all. It didn't look like New York, but it felt like a city where several rivers met. I kept trying to se clear to see what city it was but I was too far away. I couldn't see the writing, but it had many skyscrapers and was surrounded by rivers. (A thought: when I h ad the vision of the seashore with the birds, that was a vision of water. And it took place a few weeks before the Japan tsunami. But I still don't think that the vision I saw was of Japan. So here, I don't think this vision was of New York. But it might have been.  -- or might be-- it felt like a city surrounded by rivers but the rivers themselves were inside land.)

If you do these things you will do well

Then the apostles and elders together with the whole church in Jerusalem chose delegates, and they sent them to Antioch of Syria with Paul and Barnabas to report on this decision. The men chosen were two of the church leaders—Judas (also called Barsabbas) and Silas. This is the letter they took with them:

“This letter is from the apostles and elders, your brothers in Jerusalem. It is written to the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. Greetings!

“We understand that some men from here have troubled you and upset you with their teaching, but we did not send them! So we decided, having come to complete agreement, to send you official representatives, along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm what we have decided concerning your question.

“For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay no greater burden on you than these few requirements: You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality. If you do this, you will do well. Farewell.”  Acts 15:22-29

It amazes me that of all the laws written in the books of Moses, the Holy Spirit told the early church elders (and the Pharisees within the early church) that these were the only portion of the Law the Gentile Church needed to obey. Even more amazing, most of these restrictions are food related. Food is always important to God, it seems. Food has power. And now with modified foods where sugar, caffeine, and other things that control our minds are added to our foods, we really understand how a fruit such as the fruit of the tree of knowledge could be mutagenic (so much so that it could cause man to die) and eye-opening (and not merely hallucinogenic as some substances like poppies and nutmeg are.)

But even more more amazing, these laws which Paul and the early apostles and elders considered so so so important, aren't laws that most Christians today obey.

Okay, so let's see:
 
1) No eating of foods offered to idols. Eating together is often a covenant. I'm thinking that if one thinks of Allah -- the Islamic God-- as an idol...then one should not eat halal foods or foods blessed by priests of religions one doesn't believe in. Now I'm wondering if I should eat foods blessed at some of the most extreme ecumenical dinners.

2) No eating of blood. This doesn't mean not eating any animals, I think. Because God allows meat. Some Christian vegetarians will probably ask, "How can one eat meat without blood?" (They ask this rhetorically.) But I suppose one can always soak out the blood if one wishes. The thing is God gave the Israelites a list of clean and unclean animals. They had to eat lamb for Passover for instance. And lambs have blood last time I looked. So this prohibition probably has to do with the verse "the life of the body is in the blood." In the blood is where the spirit lives, in the blood is where the demonic lives. That is why there are so many stories about "memories" when there are organ transplants. It's often best to pray over blood transfusions when we get someone else's blood. Yeah, i know...flaky talk but hey... there are so many anecdotes out there. True, odd, little stories. So where there is smoke, there is fire.

3) Keeping away from foods that have been strangled. I'm not up on what chemical stuff happens in the body of an animal when it is strangled but hey if God warns against this kind of food...we should take heed.

4) Abstain from fornication and sexual immorality. Well, this is obvious. Not only does sexual immorality bring all sorts of grief and make lives and emotions messy but it enables also sort of demonic activity in the lives of the sexually immoral. But Christians are generally way immoral. (They often say "God will forgive it.) The list of sexually immoral relationships can be found in Leviticus and Deuteronomy. They include the well-known such as homosexuality, adultery, incest...and the not so well-known such as not making love to someone who has already made love with your siblings, descendants, or ancestors.

So... I wonder.... if we set our hearts to do these things, will we do well?

Learning to hear and trust God's voice

The power of believing in a promise revealed in a night dream is a wondrous thing. OR believing in a truth spoken to one's spirit. When I think of the prophet who got the word of the lord but who changed his mind when the older prophet told him otherwise then got himself killed by a lion, I think how wonderfully powerful the Bible is in its declaration of God's nearness. Unlike that prophet, we are to decide: HAS God spoken to me or not? Has God told me about the 6 great works?Has God said?  (The Bible chapter is at the end of this post.) So I have made the decision: If I am given a dream with promise of loveliness, health, etc... I am going to believe it is from God. If I am told how to eat and what to eat in a dream, I will take the guidance as being from God. The world tells us that good things in dreams -- such as my son talking or me getting better-- are wishfulfilment from my mind. But the Bible calls these things God's promises and "words from God."

There is nothing else but our spirit, and what God has told us.There is no proof that what we think we heard is really what we heard. We wonder if it's all in our minds. But we are called to have a relationship that tells us that God is loving and very near us and that "if we hear his voice we must not harden our hearts." It is a difficult thing in a world that depends on "the tree of knowledge of good and evil." It's a hard thing when we want hard facts

and we want communal support to believe that Jesus disarmed the principalities.

But a personal relationship means trusting that God is really with you. So this morning although i was so so so tired and i was on the verge of crying because i have lived since I was 13 with cancerphobia and since i was 28 with sleeplessness issues, I said to God "I will hold on to what you have spoken to me in my spirit."

The stronghold of the human mind is: But why is God so near me? Does God speak to little old me?

The stronghold says, "Has God said?" This is the great temptation said to Eve. So, in answer to this primal temptation, we have to set our hearts to be fixed on the fact that God has indeed spoken to us.

And the power of hopeful and guiding dreams have been to tell me to hope --no matter what.  I have to decide

once and for all that God has spoken in these hopeful and guiding dreams. So hope is here. My friend Jessica says that "false humility says to believe you heard nothing but faith says to believe and hope." This is true.

It is seen as educated to not believe. It is seen as self-caring to be wary of hope and trust.    It's seen as mature to be cynical and to have no hope. And to be "realistic" means looking at the worse case instead of trusting that God has told you to hope. But the real world is not like that. I'm so glad God gave Jessica into my life

because, like me, she works daily to not fall into the world's ideas and so many Christians are only vaguely aware of God speaking to them in dream in such a real "hear his voice" way. And so many are only dimly aware of the real world (as God sees it) in a rare dim kinda way. So it's good I have her for fellowship. 

But we have to be strong  y in the knowledge of God's nearness. To be without God is a nightmare

So many Christians say that God hasn't guided them, or that they've been waiting for him to say something

but God's sheep hear his voice. Jesus said that. So people hear and they just harden their heart because it is hard to believe the good news to think that God is telling you to hope and we are all trained that God is a big CEO in the sky who only talks to important people. It's hard for the human mind to think that God speaks to everyone in dreams. But God has said in the last days He will pour out His spirit upon ALL (not just Christians.)

God has reconciled us to Him. So we have to walk in the spirit. We have to walk in the sensitivity of God's view of the world. Like if God says to you out of he blue, "Don't turn the tv to that channel" or if God says "turn on the radio to the channel." Every day we are either yielding to the flesh (and the world's way of doing things) or to the spirit and learning to trust in hope, love, faith. 

The human way of thinking and the Godly way of thinking are always warring against each other

and the mind of man is so so so so prone to think carnally. So hard to renew one's mind because we are trained from ages to be conformed to how the world thinks and works --that being conformed to the world's ways is the "wise" thing

We are blessed that we have eyesalve to anoint our eyes that we can see. We just have to hold on to what we have seen, and having begun in faith, we must not fall back on the law or worldly wisdom.

Anyway, the good thing is that I am holding on to the promises in those dreams as if God himself had come to me and spoken the word to me himself. God wants to teach us to rely on Christ in us and it's taken me a long long long time to kinda sorta consistently hold to the heavenly vision of things. But I'm getting really better I think. A true spiritual hope, a true conviction and expectation of good and belief in God's continuing work...walking in faith and not by human wisdom or human sight

1 Kings 13 King James Version And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Bethel: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men's bones shall be burnt upon thee. And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Bethel, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. And the king answered and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king's hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Bethel. Now there dwelt an old prophet in Bethel; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Bethel: the words which he had spoken unto the king, them they told also to their father. And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place:For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word of the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobeyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the LORD did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought back. And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him. And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him. And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass. And the prophet took up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him. And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones: For the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Bethel, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass. After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. And this thing became sin unto the house of Jeroboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.

A Tribute to Charles Saunders, one of my Favorite Black SciFi Icon

There are three greats in the annals of Black Speculative Fiction. They are Charles Saunders, Octavia Butler, Samuel Delaney.

Samuel Delaney I have never read. Octavia: I read Kindred. But it's the world of Sword and Soul writer Charles Saunders that I often wish to inhabit, a world that takes in the spirit and cultures of Africa. His stories of Dossouye and Imaro bring the reader to the lost greatness of Africa.  His books are available online or on his website Charles Saunders

Paperback: 256 pages

Publisher: Night Shade Books; 1st ed edition (April 18, 2006)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1597800368

ISBN-13: 978-1597800365

Saunders' novel fuses the narrative style of fantasy fiction with a pre-colonial, alternate Africa. Inspired by and directly addresses the alienation of growing up an African American fan of Science Fiction and Fantasy, which to this day remains a very ethnically homogonous genre. It addresses this both structurally (via its unique setting) and thematically (via its alienated, tribeless hero-protagonist). The tribal tensions and histories presented in this fantasy novel reflect actual African tribal histories and tensions, and provide a unique perspective to current and recent conflicts in Africa, particularly the Rwandan genocide and the ongoing conflict in The Sudan.

Paperback: 212 pages

Publisher: Cornerstone Book Publishers (June 17, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1613420129

ISBN-13: 978-1613420126

The first ever African American 1930s avenger sets out to stop a Nazi plot to subvert a championship fight. From deepest Africa to the streets of 1930s Harlem, the action is none stop. Written by famed novelist Charles Saunders, with interior illos by Clayton Hinkle and a cover by Charles Fetherolf, this is a history making pulp adventure fans do not want to miss.

• 
  Publisher: Sword & Soul Media; First Edition edition (2011)
• ASIN: B00262OF88

Charles R. Saunders, critically acclaimed author of the cult classic Imaro novels, has created yet another heroic-fantasy icon in an Africa of a different place and time. Orphaned at a young age, Dossouye becomes a soldier in the women's army of the kingdom of Abomey. In a war against the rival kingdom of Abanti, Dossouye saves her people from certain destruction; but a cruel twist of fate compels her to go into exile. Mounted on her mighty war-bull, Gbo, Dossouye enters the vast rain forest beyond the borders of her homeland, seeking a place to call her own. The forest is where Dossouye will either find a new purpose in life... or find her life cut short by the many menaces she encounters.

Please post the link to this article to twitter using any of the following hashtags. Pass the word on about Blackscifi.

Twitter hashtag: #blackscifi2012 #blackscifi #christianspeculativefiction #fantasy #blackfiction

Other participants

Check out the other members of this Online Black History Month Event:

Winston Blakely, Artist/Writer-- is a Fine Arts/Comic Book artist, having a career spanning 20 years, whose achievements have included working for Valiant Comics and Rich Buckler's Visage Studios. He is also the creator of Little Miss Strange, the world's first black alien sorceress and the all- genre anthology entitled - Immortal Fantasy.  Both graphic albums are available at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and other online book store outlets. Visit him:  http://blakelyworks.blogspot.com/ or http://blakelyworkstudio.weebly.com/

L. M. Davis, Author--began her love affair with fantasy in the second grade.  Her first novel, Interlopers: A Shifters Novel, was released in 2010, and the follow-up Posers:  A Shifters Novel will be released this spring.  For more information visit her blog http://shiftersseries.wordpress.com/ or her website www.shiftersnovelseries.com.

Milton Davis, Author – Milton Davis is owner/publisher of MVmedia, LLC . As an author he specializes in science fiction and fantasy and is the author of Meji Book One, Meji Book Two and Changa’s Safari. Visit him: http://www.mvmediaatl.com/Wagadu/   and www.wagadu.ning.com.

Margaret Fieland, Author-- lives  and writes in the suburbs west of Boston, MA
with her partner and five dogs. She is one of the Poetic Muselings. Their poetry anthology, Lifelineshttp://tinyurl.com/LifelinesPoetry/ is available from Amazon.com  Her book, "Relocated," will be available from MuseItUp Publishing in July, 2012. The Angry Little Boy," will be published by 4RV publishing in early 2013.  You may visit her website, http://www.margaretfieland.com

Valjeanne Jeffers, Author -- is an editor and the author of the SF/fantasy novels: Immortal, Immortal II: The Time of Legend and Immortal III: Stealer of Souls. Her fourth and fifth novels: Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds and The Switch: Clockwork will be released this spring. Visit her at: http://valjeanne.wordpress.com and http://wwwsistermoon.blogspot.com and   http://qandvaffordableediting.blogspot.com/

Alicia McCalla, Author- writes for both young adults and adults with her brand of multicultural science fiction, urban fantasy, and futurism. Her debut novel, Breaking Free will be available February 1, 2012.  The Breaking Free theme song created by Asante McCalla is available for immediate download on itunes and Amazon. Visit her at:http://www.aliciamccalla.com

Carole McDonnell, Author--She writes Christian, speculative fiction, and multicultural stories. Her first novel is Wind Follower. Her short fiction has appeared in many anthologies and have been collected in an ebook, Spirit Fruit: Collected Speculative Fiction.  Visit Carole: http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/  orhttp://writersofcolorblogtour.blogspot.com/

Rasheedah Phillips,Author--is the creator of The AfroFuturist Affair in Philly. She plans to debut her first spec/sci-fic novel Recurrence Plot in Spring 2012. You may catch her ruminating from time to time on her blog,AstroMythoLosophy.com.

Nicole Sconiers, Author-is also a screenwriter living in the sunny jungle of L.A. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles, and she recently published Escape from Beckyville: Tales of Race, Hair and Rage.  Visit her: http://nicolesconiers.com/index.html 

Jarvis Sheffield, M.Ed. is owner & operator of TheDigitalBrothers.com, BlackScienceFictionSociety.com & BlackCommunityEntertainment.com. Visit him:  http://www.blacksciencefictionsociety.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2stjwb1h216fd


Thaddeus Howze, Author-- is a veteran of the Information Technology and Communications industry with over twenty-six years of experience. His expertise is in re-engineering IT environments using process-oriented management techniques. In English, that means he studies the needs of his clients and configures their offices to optimize the use of information technology in their environment. Visit him:  http://ebonstorm.wordpress.com or http://ebonstorm.weebly.com


Balogun Ojetade, Author—of the bestselling “Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within” (non-fiction), “Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman” (Steampunk) and the feature film, “A Single Link”. Visit him:http://chroniclesofharriet.wordpress.com/

Longing for God: Seven Paths of Christian Devotion

Longing for God: Seven Paths of Christian Devotion 

Richard J. Foster and Gayle D. Beebe (InterVarsity)

Hardcover: 364 pages

Publisher: Intervarsity Press (April 1, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0830835148

ISBN-13: 978-0830835140

For the Beauty of the Church: Casting a Vision for the Arts 

by W. David Taylor

Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Baker Books (March 1, 2010)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0801071917
ISBN-13: 978-0801071911

Think of your local church. Without art--music, song, dance, etc.--it would be a much poorer place. But if protestants have any vision for the arts, it tends to be a thin one. This unique book is an attempt to contribute to a robust, expansive vision for the church and the arts. Its specific aim is to show how the many parts of the landscape of church and art hold together. You can think of it as a kind of helicopter flyover, but one with expert pilots. The guides include the likes of Eugene Peterson, Lauren Winner, Jeremy Begbie, Andy Crouch, and John Witvliet, helping to inspire readers and empower pastor-leaders with a vision of the church and the arts that is compelling, far-seeing, and profoundly transformative.
From the Back Cover
Once upon a time, the church was deeply involved in the arts, leading the way in beauty, technical ability, and even funding. In many churches today the arts are an afterthought at best and forbidden at worst. This insightful book takes you beyond "how we've always done it," beyond fads, beyond mere imitation of the culture, and beyond utilitarianism to develop a robust, dynamic, and substantive vision for the place of the arts--and artists--in our churches.
"The church ought to be synonymous with all good gifts and stewardship of the earth. And it most certainly ought to be synonymous with the stewardship of the arts. For the Beauty of the Church reminds us of this essential truth and many more."--Charlie Peacock, codirector, Art House America; author of New Way to Be Human

"Pragmatic and theologically astute at the same time, For the Beauty of the Church is a gem-packed collection for those navigating between the realms of the arts and the church."--Makoto Fujimura, artist; founder and creative director, International Arts Movement

"One reason the church exists is that our hunger for beauty will not go away. These essays remind us why."--John Ortberg, author of God Is Closer Than You Think and Love Beyond Reason; pastor, Menlo Park Presbyterian Church

"This book is an urgently needed wake-up call for the church! I pray that it will encourage more artists and churches to offer each other their respective gifts."--Marva J. Dawn, author of In the Beginning, God and A Royal "Waste" of Time; teaching fellow in spiritual theology, Regent College

"This book is encouraging, celebrative, and hopeful, but it is also explosive. This conversation is critical not only for its practical suggestions about the arts but also for its bracing theological framework that will help make artistic and spiritual worship the transforming experience God intends it to be."--William Dyrness, professor of theology and culture, Fuller Theological Seminary

Contributors include:

Eugene Peterson
W. David O. Taylor
Lauren Winner
John Witvliet
Jeremy Begbie
Andy Crouch
Barbara Nicolosi
Joshua Banner
W. David O. Taylor is an artist, author, and advocate for the arts. He is a graduate of Regent College and served for eight years as the arts pastor of Hope Chapel in Austin, Texas. He is currently pursuing doctoral studies at Duke Divinity School.


Here is the podcast

When Atheism Becomes Religion

When atheism becomes religion
By Chris Hedges
Published by Simon and Schuster

Free Press

March 2009

Trade Paperback, 224 pages

ISBN-10: 1416570780

ISBN-13: 9781416570783

Here's the blurb:

From the New York Times bestselling author of American Fascists and the NBCC finalist for War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning comes this timely and compelling work about new atheists: those who attack religion to advance the worst of global capitalism, intolerance and imperial projects.

Chris Hedges, who graduated from seminary at Harvard Divinity School, has long been a courageous voice in a world where there are too few. He observes that there are two radical, polarized and dangerous sides to the debate on faith and religion in America: the fundamentalists who see religious faith as their prerogative, and the new atheists who brand all religious belief as irrational and dangerous. Both sides use faith to promote a radical agenda, while the religious majority, those with a commitment to tolerance and compassion as well as to their faith, are caught in the middle.

The new atheists, led by Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Sam Harris, do not make moral arguments about religion. Rather, they have created a new form of fundamentalism that attempts to permeate society with ideas about our own moral superiority and the omnipotence of human reason.

I Don't Believe in Atheists critiques the radical mindset that rages against religion and faith. Hedges identifies the pillars of the new atheist belief system, revealing that the stringent rules and rigid traditions in place are as strict as those of any religious practice.

Hedges claims that those who have placed blind faith in the morally neutral disciplines of reason and science create idols in their own image -- a sin for either side of the spectrum. He makes an impassioned, intelligent case against religious and secular fundamentalism, which seeks to divide the world into those worthy of moral and intellectual consideration and those who should be condemned, silenced and eradicated. Hedges shatters the new atheists' assault against religion in America, and in doing so, makes way for new, moderate voices to join the debate. This is a book that must be read to understand the state of the battle about faith.

Black SciFi events, conferences, and podcasts

We are a passionate fighting people, people aware that some struggles can't be won without a fight. Because of this, we have many in-roads that other US minorities do not have. We have the African-American read-in. We have Black conferences such as Onyx con, Alien Encounters etc. We have Black book festivals and podcasts.

Consider for instance, movies like Akira and The Last Airbender. White film-makers take artistic property with Asian protagonists and replace these Asian main characters with White protagonists. Such a thing could never happen with a Black novel, film, or cartoon. Why? Because Hollywood knows we African-Americans would not stand for it.

During the Civil Rights era, the Asian-American community stood by while Blacks, Native Americans, Gays, Hispanics, fought for their rights. During that time, the Asian American community benefitted from the struggles of other minorities but because they had not join in the fight, they still have not gained the creative power that Black artists have.

Wile it is true, the Black creative world has not totally arrive, we are still a PRESENCE. People notice us. We have grown in force and are involved in and apart of the mainstream. We are in White owned events, conferences, podcasts, and publishing houses. And we have our own events, podcasts and conferences. Those fighters from back in the day would be proud to see how much good their battles have won for us.


Please post the link to this article to twitter using any of the following hashtags. Pass the word on about Blackscifi.

Twitter hashtag: #blackscifi2012 #blackscifi #christianspeculativefiction #fantasy #blackfiction

Other participants

Check out the other members of this Online Black History Month Event:

Winston Blakely, Artist/Writer-- is a Fine Arts/Comic Book artist, having a career spanning 20 years, whose achievements have included working for Valiant Comics and Rich Buckler's Visage Studios. He is also the creator of Little Miss Strange, the world's first black alien sorceress and the all- genre anthology entitled - Immortal Fantasy.  Both graphic albums are available at Amazon, Barnes and Nobles and other online book store outlets. Visit him:  http://blakelyworks.blogspot.com/ or http://blakelyworkstudio.weebly.com/

L. M. Davis, Author--began her love affair with fantasy in the second grade.  Her first novel, Interlopers: A Shifters Novel, was released in 2010, and the follow-up Posers:  A Shifters Novel will be released this spring.  For more information visit her blog http://shiftersseries.wordpress.com/ or her website www.shiftersnovelseries.com.

Milton Davis, Author – Milton Davis is owner/publisher of MVmedia, LLC . As an author he specializes in science fiction and fantasy and is the author of Meji Book One, Meji Book Two and Changa’s Safari. Visit him: http://www.mvmediaatl.com/Wagadu/   and www.wagadu.ning.com.

Margaret Fieland, Author-- lives  and writes in the suburbs west of Boston, MA
with her partner and five dogs. She is one of the Poetic Muselings. Their poetry anthology, Lifelineshttp://tinyurl.com/LifelinesPoetry/ is available from Amazon.com  Her book, "Relocated," will be available from MuseItUp Publishing in July, 2012. The Angry Little Boy," will be published by 4RV publishing in early 2013.  You may visit her website, http://www.margaretfieland.com

Valjeanne Jeffers, Author -- is an editor and the author of the SF/fantasy novels: Immortal, Immortal II: The Time of Legend and Immortal III: Stealer of Souls. Her fourth and fifth novels: Immortal IV: Collision of Worlds and The Switch: Clockwork will be released this spring. Visit her at: http://valjeanne.wordpress.com and http://wwwsistermoon.blogspot.com and   http://qandvaffordableediting.blogspot.com/

Alicia McCalla, Author- writes for both young adults and adults with her brand of multicultural science fiction, urban fantasy, and futurism. Her debut novel, Breaking Free will be available February 1, 2012.  The Breaking Free theme song created by Asante McCalla is available for immediate download on itunes and Amazon. Visit her at:http://www.aliciamccalla.com

Carole McDonnell, Author--She writes Christian, speculative fiction, and multicultural stories. Her first novel is Wind Follower. Her short fiction has appeared in many anthologies and have been collected in an ebook, Spirit Fruit: Collected Speculative Fiction.  Visit Carole: http://carolemcdonnell.blogspot.com/  orhttp://writersofcolorblogtour.blogspot.com/

Rasheedah Phillips,Author--is the creator of The AfroFuturist Affair in Philly. She plans to debut her first spec/sci-fic novel Recurrence Plot in Spring 2012. You may catch her ruminating from time to time on her blog,AstroMythoLosophy.com.

Nicole Sconiers, Author-is also a screenwriter living in the sunny jungle of L.A. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University Los Angeles, and she recently published Escape from Beckyville: Tales of Race, Hair and Rage.  Visit her: http://nicolesconiers.com/index.html 

Jarvis Sheffield, M.Ed. is owner & operator of TheDigitalBrothers.com, BlackScienceFictionSociety.com & BlackCommunityEntertainment.com. Visit him:  http://www.blacksciencefictionsociety.com/profiles/blog/list?user=2stjwb1h216fd


Thaddeus Howze, Author-- is a veteran of the Information Technology and Communications industry with over twenty-six years of experience. His expertise is in re-engineering IT environments using process-oriented management techniques. In English, that means he studies the needs of his clients and configures their offices to optimize the use of information technology in their environment. Visit him:  http://ebonstorm.wordpress.com or http://ebonstorm.weebly.com


Balogun Ojetade, Author—of the bestselling “Afrikan Martial Arts: Discovering the Warrior Within” (non-fiction), “Moses: The Chronicles of Harriet Tubman” (Steampunk) and the feature film, “A Single Link”. Visit him:http://chroniclesofharriet.wordpress.com/