St Paul tells us that if we would judge ourselves we would not be judged. How true! The human ego is amazingly selfish and resilient.
The funny thing is that Christians should be as free from their egos as they are from sin and the devil but they are often as bad as the rest of the world. They (we) often disguise our stubborn refusal to be open-minded as "standing up for what's right" or some other excuse.
I'm going on about this because I'm an avid lover of American Idol and any reality show in which expertise (such as talent judges and judges of the law) encounter someone who is a novice or someone who simply doesn't know the rules.
The attitude of some folks never cease to amaze me. As I watch the way folks take criticism -- some of it often brutal-- and see the way their hackles come up when a judge tries to help, I think of a few critique groups I've been in.
I like critique groups. Don't get me wrong. I belong to a few and I have a yahoo group that shares writing information and also does crits: multicultigenrewriters.
1. What I've seen are
1) people who lurk and never crit or put stories up for crits.
2) people who generally lurk but who pop up only when they want something critted.
3) people who belong to other crit groups where everything they write is considered perfect
4) people who argue about the writing world's "stupid rules"
5) people who gossip about you behind your back with other groups (and post your crits to those group) when you challenge them.
6) people who aren't willing to learn because they don't realize they're beginners
7) people who think you're being unkind when you're honestly trying to help perfect their work.
8) people who are mimicking other great works (LOTR knock-offs) and don't have an original bone in their bodies but who think they are "following the rules of the genre"
9) people who are writing thinly-disguised memoirs and who are so personally involved in their stories that when you tell them a character is just too unrealistically evil (or good) you end up with a major meltdown.
10) good kind talented people
11) people who get spiteful when you crit them by giving you a very dismissive critique...just to show how good they really are...and how bad you are.
12) people who are better writers than I am.
The mix is tough and unpredictable -- writers are people-- and at a point in most people's life they simply don't want to grow or want to be told what to do. But there are some good folks out there...and truly I wouldn't have been published if it weren't for the good crittters.
Now, forgetting the way other people react for a minute -- because I can't help how other people behave-- I'lll only talk about the way yours truly -- MOI-- behaves whenever I get a critique on a work-in-progress.
I get into an inward struggle.
If the critique comes from an authority figure whom I respect I'll accept it pretty well. Hey, I have my good points...and listening to authority is one of them. Why remake the wheel? If we all tried to live an experiential life and only believed what we ourselves understood or had experienced we'd all start out as cavemen and forget the works of our forebears. So I'm cool with this kind of critique.
If, however, the critique comes from someone who is not particularly swift, I'll simply say thank you and ignore the critique...telling myself the person is not as published as I am so why the heck should I listen to her?
But even the most uneducated critter often has good points and there is where the inner battle begins. OOOOOOh, my friends! How difficult it is to say "thank you" to someone one does not respect.
And if the critique comes from someone who has a chip against me...wow, it really gets bad then. Because whether the critter is right or wrong, the very idea of giving in to him/her is like eating crow. And crow tastes like crap. I've eaten it before.
Ah well, we have to learn. The Bible warns us against not being able to take criticism. A noble heart is a teachable heart that thanks even its worst teachers. YEah, I just made that up.
Sunday, March 18, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
Decisions, decisions
Well I’ve got to get some wisdom. Have been praying for guidance. I live in a 75 year-old house which needs a LOTTA work. It’s embarrassing to live in, cramped, and I just don’t like living in it. But I like the block and I like my neighbors. And it IS a house, after all. And we must learn to be grateful. But the house has taken a toll on my health, my son’s health, and my life because of mold issues, darkness issues, repair issues and a whole LOTTA issues.
If I had the money to do all the repairs on this house, I’d be doing something that would be good but also useless. The house would be repaired but it would still be cramped, might still be moldy, and all those repairs would not be recouped.
Truly, if I had the money to repair the house, I would probably knock down the house and build a new one on the spot.
In our town there is a non-profit fund that repairs your house for nothing. Did you hear me: nothing! But there is one catch: after they repair your house you must live in it for five years. If you move before the five years are up, you must pay them back.
But there’s also another catch: the emotional spiritual vampire catch. I simply do not like charity and I don’t like people involved in charities. They are like leeches who use your distress to feed their egos and they go about saying things like, “we helped her...her house was such a mess but...” At a Christmas party I met the woman who is in charge of doing this. Alas, she was everything I feared! A white liberal young type who talked a lot about the poor people she helped. I just can’t do it. I feel it would kill my soul to be helped by this woman. And it’s not even a black and white thing. There are black charity leeching types out there also whose souls are fed by humiliating people they help and who get some sick boost from being able to say to one person (or an entire community) that they are ever so helpful. Hey, as the prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?”
Anyway...so now here I am. In this fix...because the house has to be fixed. I’m hoping my book will sell a lot...but is there a chance to get a financial miracle THIS year? With God all things are possible. I just need prayers for guidance and financial reaping for the many seeds I’ve sowed. Trusting God.
If I had the money to do all the repairs on this house, I’d be doing something that would be good but also useless. The house would be repaired but it would still be cramped, might still be moldy, and all those repairs would not be recouped.
Truly, if I had the money to repair the house, I would probably knock down the house and build a new one on the spot.
In our town there is a non-profit fund that repairs your house for nothing. Did you hear me: nothing! But there is one catch: after they repair your house you must live in it for five years. If you move before the five years are up, you must pay them back.
But there’s also another catch: the emotional spiritual vampire catch. I simply do not like charity and I don’t like people involved in charities. They are like leeches who use your distress to feed their egos and they go about saying things like, “we helped her...her house was such a mess but...” At a Christmas party I met the woman who is in charge of doing this. Alas, she was everything I feared! A white liberal young type who talked a lot about the poor people she helped. I just can’t do it. I feel it would kill my soul to be helped by this woman. And it’s not even a black and white thing. There are black charity leeching types out there also whose souls are fed by humiliating people they help and who get some sick boost from being able to say to one person (or an entire community) that they are ever so helpful. Hey, as the prophet Jeremiah said, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?”
Anyway...so now here I am. In this fix...because the house has to be fixed. I’m hoping my book will sell a lot...but is there a chance to get a financial miracle THIS year? With God all things are possible. I just need prayers for guidance and financial reaping for the many seeds I’ve sowed. Trusting God.
Friday, March 09, 2007
Relief Writer's Network
Christian Relief Network
I've created a writing group on Christian Relief Network. It's for black and minority Christian writers. If you wish to join, do drop by. There are other groups out there...and you can also create your own group. -C
Dark Parables -- Ethnic Christian Writers
http://www.reliefjournal.com/rwn/node/78
or go here
Relief Writer's Network
http://www.reliefjournal.com/rwn/
to make your own group....or join one of the other groups there.
-C
I've created a writing group on Christian Relief Network. It's for black and minority Christian writers. If you wish to join, do drop by. There are other groups out there...and you can also create your own group. -C
Dark Parables -- Ethnic Christian Writers
http://www.reliefjournal.com/rwn/node/78
or go here
Relief Writer's Network
http://www.reliefjournal.com/rwn/
to make your own group....or join one of the other groups there.
-C
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Your Word is Truth
Spin
The Bible tells us that the world lies in darkness and cannot receive the spirit of truth. Sooo true. How many times has my head simply reeled when I hear someone doing a job of Scripture twisting! Especially when they're indoctrinated!How many times have I seen court trials or reality shows or even those times when I see something in person (Am not always in front of the tube) only to hear someone give a version of what supposedly happen. Like looking at Anna Nicole's trial and then hearing on the news how it went. I'm like: "Wait, were we watching the same program?" This is not just a matter of taste or of people not "getting" some particular issue or point? Sometimes it is -- no one is perfect and I and other folks can miss stuff-- but often it's just human issues coming in to cloud stuff up.But other kinds of deceptions pop up.
A very cynical friend of mine said, "if it's advertised on TV, it's not true, and it's on tv in order to make money." She included in that list of untruth: mammograms, commercials, etc. Hey it's good to be suspicious of mammograms, headache relievers, sleep aids, ritalin, etc. I mean, "Aren't there other cures out there? Aren't there other procedures?" God has made man upright, The Preacher says, but man has sought out many inventions. Perhaps the thermogram is better than mammos, perhaps not living a stressed life and drinking more water is better than all those over-the-counter or prescribed medicines.
Anyways, lately..there was this big advertising push to tell every woman about human papilloma virus that causes cervical cancer. I, of course, grew suspicious. Partly because mention was not made that HPV was also an STD. Next thing I hear: the makers of the drug were lobbying Congress to make vaccinating young girls with the anti-HPV vaccine mandatory! Ah life! But of course, that's why they were telling us all that lovely news about the virus and scaring us silly. Not because they want to save our lives so much...but because they wanted our money.
When we see a documentary talking about a specific disease we Christians must remind ourselves that the drug company is probably behind the documentary. The drug companies live on our fear. Ciba-Geigy, for instance, are the only company that makes Ritalin. They did a great job of getting parents, teachers and doctors to know about ADD-ADHD. Especially teachers. Why? Because they had to make you know about this "illness" -- an illness that only seems to affect school issues mind you-- that could only be cured by ONLY their medicine. So the search to cure ADD is now over with because well, the one medicine exists to cure it. There's a new film out there about Chronic Illness...and yes, you guessed it...it was made by the folks at Centocor, the folks who make the medicine.
Remember, too, that most drugs are researched by sick people who have seen advertisements for a particular drug...then they ask their doctors to prescribe it for them.
Whore
Another aspect of truth is how the definition of words change. There was a time when the word whore meant someone who had sex for money. But now it also means a girl who sleeps around. And yet, from the way it's used, the definition of sleeps around also comes into the mix. And it often means a girl who sleeps around more than the one who is calling her a whore.
Humans and their need to be self-righteous! Humans and their need to be good in their own eyes! So if a girl has two boyfriends a year and -- ten boyfriends in twenty-years...not to mention a few sexual dates and those friends with benefits, she feels quite right in saying that she is not a whore but that someone else who had three boyfriends in the space of three months is a whore. I swear...it would be funny if it weren't so scary and creepy.
It reminds me of the Book of Hosea where God tells the prophet Hosea to marry two women. One of the women represents Israel and the other represents Judah. Both women, however, are pretty whorish and Hosea thinks their infighting about who is a better wife is laughable.
Another word is "born-again." Jesus said anyone who believes in him must be born-again of the spirit. So why do certain Christians not like the phrase? Because to them it means a person who reads and believes the Bible.
Folks, in an age of media stuff we must learn not to be deceived. We must learn to discern. C S Lewis said it better in his fiction spec-fic books: Those who are the most educated are likely to be the ones most deceived.
Step Up Bring It
Wow, Lately I've really been understanding the meaning of the phrase: "step up" and "bring it."First, on I LOVE NEW YORK! I LOOOOOVED Rico. But he was so laid back. If you want to win the prize, you've got to step up. Then there was AMERICAN IDOL. What's with some of those folks? Are they aiming for the prize or just trying to kinda get in."Bring" all you have. You can't be laid back. You have to go all out.
Now, as a Christians, sometimes we have to not strive...we have to rest in the finished work of God. But at the same time, we have to push violently into the kingdom because the kingdom is not for the faint.If you want the healing given to us through the blood of Jesus to manifest in your life, if you want the gift of the holy spirit, if you want to receive a great reward in heaven, you've got to step up. Too many of us are satisfied with skin of our teeth salvation and with status-quo Christianity.
Don't you want to heal the sick? Raise the Dead? Then folks...READ YOUR BIBLE. BELIEVE IT. REST IN GOD'S FINISHED WORK. That's what you're called to do. The big work, Jesus said, is to only believe in HIS WORDS. That is how we rest. That is how we strive.
In all these areas: the problem of deception and the problem of being a lax powerless Christian, there is one answer: THE WORD OF GOD. Read it. Every day. Meditate on it. Believe it. Trust it. Use its definitions!
The Bible tells us that the world lies in darkness and cannot receive the spirit of truth. Sooo true. How many times has my head simply reeled when I hear someone doing a job of Scripture twisting! Especially when they're indoctrinated!How many times have I seen court trials or reality shows or even those times when I see something in person (Am not always in front of the tube) only to hear someone give a version of what supposedly happen. Like looking at Anna Nicole's trial and then hearing on the news how it went. I'm like: "Wait, were we watching the same program?" This is not just a matter of taste or of people not "getting" some particular issue or point? Sometimes it is -- no one is perfect and I and other folks can miss stuff-- but often it's just human issues coming in to cloud stuff up.But other kinds of deceptions pop up.
A very cynical friend of mine said, "if it's advertised on TV, it's not true, and it's on tv in order to make money." She included in that list of untruth: mammograms, commercials, etc. Hey it's good to be suspicious of mammograms, headache relievers, sleep aids, ritalin, etc. I mean, "Aren't there other cures out there? Aren't there other procedures?" God has made man upright, The Preacher says, but man has sought out many inventions. Perhaps the thermogram is better than mammos, perhaps not living a stressed life and drinking more water is better than all those over-the-counter or prescribed medicines.
Anyways, lately..there was this big advertising push to tell every woman about human papilloma virus that causes cervical cancer. I, of course, grew suspicious. Partly because mention was not made that HPV was also an STD. Next thing I hear: the makers of the drug were lobbying Congress to make vaccinating young girls with the anti-HPV vaccine mandatory! Ah life! But of course, that's why they were telling us all that lovely news about the virus and scaring us silly. Not because they want to save our lives so much...but because they wanted our money.
When we see a documentary talking about a specific disease we Christians must remind ourselves that the drug company is probably behind the documentary. The drug companies live on our fear. Ciba-Geigy, for instance, are the only company that makes Ritalin. They did a great job of getting parents, teachers and doctors to know about ADD-ADHD. Especially teachers. Why? Because they had to make you know about this "illness" -- an illness that only seems to affect school issues mind you-- that could only be cured by ONLY their medicine. So the search to cure ADD is now over with because well, the one medicine exists to cure it. There's a new film out there about Chronic Illness...and yes, you guessed it...it was made by the folks at Centocor, the folks who make the medicine.
Remember, too, that most drugs are researched by sick people who have seen advertisements for a particular drug...then they ask their doctors to prescribe it for them.
Whore
Another aspect of truth is how the definition of words change. There was a time when the word whore meant someone who had sex for money. But now it also means a girl who sleeps around. And yet, from the way it's used, the definition of sleeps around also comes into the mix. And it often means a girl who sleeps around more than the one who is calling her a whore.
Humans and their need to be self-righteous! Humans and their need to be good in their own eyes! So if a girl has two boyfriends a year and -- ten boyfriends in twenty-years...not to mention a few sexual dates and those friends with benefits, she feels quite right in saying that she is not a whore but that someone else who had three boyfriends in the space of three months is a whore. I swear...it would be funny if it weren't so scary and creepy.
It reminds me of the Book of Hosea where God tells the prophet Hosea to marry two women. One of the women represents Israel and the other represents Judah. Both women, however, are pretty whorish and Hosea thinks their infighting about who is a better wife is laughable.
Another word is "born-again." Jesus said anyone who believes in him must be born-again of the spirit. So why do certain Christians not like the phrase? Because to them it means a person who reads and believes the Bible.
Folks, in an age of media stuff we must learn not to be deceived. We must learn to discern. C S Lewis said it better in his fiction spec-fic books: Those who are the most educated are likely to be the ones most deceived.
Step Up Bring It
Wow, Lately I've really been understanding the meaning of the phrase: "step up" and "bring it."First, on I LOVE NEW YORK! I LOOOOOVED Rico. But he was so laid back. If you want to win the prize, you've got to step up. Then there was AMERICAN IDOL. What's with some of those folks? Are they aiming for the prize or just trying to kinda get in."Bring" all you have. You can't be laid back. You have to go all out.
Now, as a Christians, sometimes we have to not strive...we have to rest in the finished work of God. But at the same time, we have to push violently into the kingdom because the kingdom is not for the faint.If you want the healing given to us through the blood of Jesus to manifest in your life, if you want the gift of the holy spirit, if you want to receive a great reward in heaven, you've got to step up. Too many of us are satisfied with skin of our teeth salvation and with status-quo Christianity.
Don't you want to heal the sick? Raise the Dead? Then folks...READ YOUR BIBLE. BELIEVE IT. REST IN GOD'S FINISHED WORK. That's what you're called to do. The big work, Jesus said, is to only believe in HIS WORDS. That is how we rest. That is how we strive.
In all these areas: the problem of deception and the problem of being a lax powerless Christian, there is one answer: THE WORD OF GOD. Read it. Every day. Meditate on it. Believe it. Trust it. Use its definitions!
Sunday, February 18, 2007
But do we really want it?
I'm getting so upset about all this Anna Nicole thing. It's tough seeing someone going self-destructive in the public realm. But we often see this, don't we? Michael Jackson, Anna Nicole, others. We wonder about them.
Right now, though, I just keep getting annoyed at the way judgmental Christians are weighing Anna's worth as a celebrity. Christians, people, are not supposed to be judgemental!!!! None of us are good or perfect.
The thing that has been running through my head, though, is the cruelty of litigation. Folks, if you're in a lawsuit, get out! If you are tempted to be in a lawsuit, think twice! Litigation takes you from your path! It is a demonic distraction. And the human body is not made to be stressed day-in day-out year-in year-out by this kind of thing. I take Anna as an example of what celebrity does. I take her as an example of what fame does to people. I take her as an example of what long-standing mean-spirited litigation does to a human soul.
Lots of sad lessons learned here.
Right now, though, I just keep getting annoyed at the way judgmental Christians are weighing Anna's worth as a celebrity. Christians, people, are not supposed to be judgemental!!!! None of us are good or perfect.
The thing that has been running through my head, though, is the cruelty of litigation. Folks, if you're in a lawsuit, get out! If you are tempted to be in a lawsuit, think twice! Litigation takes you from your path! It is a demonic distraction. And the human body is not made to be stressed day-in day-out year-in year-out by this kind of thing. I take Anna as an example of what celebrity does. I take her as an example of what fame does to people. I take her as an example of what long-standing mean-spirited litigation does to a human soul.
Lots of sad lessons learned here.
Deceitful Bible Study
The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked; who can know it?
Most Christians will agree with Jeremiah’s statement that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and yet...even so, we often think we know our own hearts.
The Word of God states that the Holy Spirit came that the thoughts of many will be revealed.
We can often see when the thoughts of our hearts are evil, but when we read the Bible with self-serving interpretations – especially those interpretations which other Christians also falsely believe– that we are being deceitful and falling into Scripture Twisting.
One of the greatest delusions in Christendom occurs in the way we read into Bible stories things that are simply not there. Our human carnal and fleshly mind "sees" what simply isn’t there. Because our denomination, our preachers, our own mindset "understand" these verses in one way, we don’t really read what the Bible says.
Throughout the generations, false teaching has built upon false teaching and even now we Christians are allowing those false teachings to veil God’s words from us. The funny thing is that one really sees how attached people are to these false teachings when one tries to reason them out of their misguided selfish interpretations.
Often if a verse in the Bible conflicts with a reader’s life-style, the reader is faced with four choices.
(A) Believe that the Bible is the True Word of God and agree that the Biblical verse disagrees with her lifestyle but live unaffected by the Biblical prohibition.
(B) Believe that the Bible is the True Word of God and agree that the verse disagrees with her lifestyle and change her lifestyle.
(C) Believe that the Bible is the True Word of God but that the common interpretation of the Biblical verse prohibiting her lifestyle is the wrong interpretation and is being used by rigid judgmental people to make other people feel guilty.
(D) Believe that the Bible is not the Word of God at all but only a collection of sayings by wise but misguided people.
Racism, sexism, denominational doctrine, all contribute to these false "understandings" of Scripture passages:
For instance RACISM was responsible – IS STILL RESPONSIBLE– for some mis-interpretations:
I have heard many white Baptist ministers preach against interracial marriage when there is nothing in the Bible against it.
A subtle anti-semitism is seen in the Roman Catholic understanding of the Bookf of the Revelation. In Roman Catholic paintings the woman crowned with twelve stars who escapes into the desert represents the Virgin Mary. It is not. The woman represents Israel. And the Roman Catholic notion that the Roman Catholic church is God's first Church is also wrong because the Christian church first consisted of many home churches made up of Jewish and Gentile believers.
Many preachers preach as if the problems between the Jews and the Arabs came about because Ishmael was born. First let’s begin with the very strange assumption that all Arabs are descended from Ishmael. Before Ishmael’s birth, Syria, Egypt, and countless cultures existed. Did these cultures simply disappear and get swallowed up by Ishmael’s descendants? But one can argue that Abraham had other children (Keturah’s children) and grand-children (Esau and the Edomites) who also turned against the Jews. In fact, Esau’s descendants and Ishmael’s slowly merge and it is perhaps the prophecy of Esau’s enmity against Israel that is the major cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
SEXISM is also responsible for folks reading things into Scripture that just isn’t there. Not only sexism but, I dare say, prurience and male wishfulfillment. The interpretations of many stories would be vastly different if we allowed the influence of women preachers more often.
Male preachers have preaches as if the story of Esther is a romantic love story. Why? Because Esther is obedient and beautiful. Many preachers preach about Esther as if she is their true love. When they do this, I can only think they’re in some masturbatory dream and I consider them almost as bad as Xerxes who was nothing more than a rich powerful shallow man who wanted an obedient submissive wife he could show off. Esther was chosen for "such a time as this" because having lost her parents and been raised by her Uncle, she was not the type to challenge anyone. I have no doubt that, unlike Vashti, Esther would have removed her veil and let all the drunken princes of the kingdom look upon her. A perfect trophy wife whose needs are unmet, she marries a man who sees her once a month if that – and who has other lovely women in his harem to deal with. Christian preachers have turned her into a fantasy figure, not the tragic living sacrifice that she is.
Sometimes sexism and racism work together to create misreadings. Sometimes they are even joined to a kind of favortism. Consider the way preachers treat Hagar, Delilah, and Job’s wife.
Hagar is a married woman who is divorced and sent out into the desert with her small child to die because the first wife says in a very racist manner, "Divorce her! I don’t want this slave woman’s child to be heir with my son." I have yet to hear a sermon which addresses Sarah’s racism. Why not? Because many preachers have a childlike attitude that turns some Bible characters into sacred cows who never do wrong, and scapegoats who are always wrong. In this way, although ministers are against divorce and Hagar is a married woman, they are unable to identify with her and see her only as an uppity slave. (They forget that she is a slave who was probably given to Sarah because of Sarah’s and Abram’s lie to the Pharoah – something that would make me not respect Sarah much either. ) In the Bible Ishmael is shown as being a decent fellow. The one possibly questionable act he does –when he was a little kid, mind you– was teasing baby Isaac. And this word is translated as mocking in The King James Version of the Bible. But in other translations it is translated as playing with. Sarah could have been angry because her son was being teased but she would have been just as angry that her son was playing on an equal footing with a half-brother she considered racially and socially beneath him. But ministers never question this.
What ministers do to Job’s wife is equally obnoxious. Just as they –being men– completely ignore Hagar’s pain, they also ignore the pain of Job’s wife. Because they consider Job a prophet, they consider her comment to him, "Curse God and die" as an insult to a prophet. I often want to say to them, "Wake up and smell the coffee, guys. I know men are always ignoring women, but get real here. The woman has lost all her children in a single day, has lost all her property, and is preparing to see the death of her beloved husband!" Male preachers, show their utter lack of understanding of grief by their insistence on thinking Mrs Job was trying to get rid of her husband. Folks, she lost her children. It is very possible she is talking about both of them committing suicide and just giving up on trusting a God who has destroyed them. Which is understandable. T D Jakes even goes so far as to say that when Job is blessed in the end, God gets rid of Job’s wife and gives him a new wife so he can have new kids. But, where in the Bible does it say that? And truly if God did such a thing, it would show that he was concerned only with caring for a man’s pain and not for a woman’s.
As for Delilah, the carnality of preachers, their dislike of "impure races" and their need to be on the side of the favorite is very evident here. True, Delilah is a betrayer. But why do so many preachers want to see her as a prostitute? And why do they see her as a Philistine? This is all misreading, and second-hand readings. Nowhere does it say Delilah is a prostitute or a Philistine. She could be a simple Israelite country girl, or a simple Philistine farmer’s daughter, who gets caught up in powers greater than she can handle. Actually, her name seems more an Israelite name than a Phillistine one. The preachers often forget that the Philistines were threatening to kill her parents. Hey, if one has a choice between betraying one’s lover or betraying one’s parents, what would one do? But there is such a xenophobic mentality in the Christian church, and such a dislike of the "foreign tainted woman" that we can't help but slip in our own racism and sexism when interpreting this story. As in the case of Job’s wife, we have never experienced Delilah’s situation. And yet we feel free to judge these people.
Lord Jesus, you said, "If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit." Jeremiah tells us our heart is deceitful. Help me to see and read what the Holy Spirit and your prophets have written. I want to live an honest life. Amen.
Most Christians will agree with Jeremiah’s statement that the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked, and yet...even so, we often think we know our own hearts.
The Word of God states that the Holy Spirit came that the thoughts of many will be revealed.
We can often see when the thoughts of our hearts are evil, but when we read the Bible with self-serving interpretations – especially those interpretations which other Christians also falsely believe– that we are being deceitful and falling into Scripture Twisting.
One of the greatest delusions in Christendom occurs in the way we read into Bible stories things that are simply not there. Our human carnal and fleshly mind "sees" what simply isn’t there. Because our denomination, our preachers, our own mindset "understand" these verses in one way, we don’t really read what the Bible says.
Throughout the generations, false teaching has built upon false teaching and even now we Christians are allowing those false teachings to veil God’s words from us. The funny thing is that one really sees how attached people are to these false teachings when one tries to reason them out of their misguided selfish interpretations.
Often if a verse in the Bible conflicts with a reader’s life-style, the reader is faced with four choices.
(A) Believe that the Bible is the True Word of God and agree that the Biblical verse disagrees with her lifestyle but live unaffected by the Biblical prohibition.
(B) Believe that the Bible is the True Word of God and agree that the verse disagrees with her lifestyle and change her lifestyle.
(C) Believe that the Bible is the True Word of God but that the common interpretation of the Biblical verse prohibiting her lifestyle is the wrong interpretation and is being used by rigid judgmental people to make other people feel guilty.
(D) Believe that the Bible is not the Word of God at all but only a collection of sayings by wise but misguided people.
Racism, sexism, denominational doctrine, all contribute to these false "understandings" of Scripture passages:
For instance RACISM was responsible – IS STILL RESPONSIBLE– for some mis-interpretations:
I have heard many white Baptist ministers preach against interracial marriage when there is nothing in the Bible against it.
A subtle anti-semitism is seen in the Roman Catholic understanding of the Bookf of the Revelation. In Roman Catholic paintings the woman crowned with twelve stars who escapes into the desert represents the Virgin Mary. It is not. The woman represents Israel. And the Roman Catholic notion that the Roman Catholic church is God's first Church is also wrong because the Christian church first consisted of many home churches made up of Jewish and Gentile believers.
Many preachers preach as if the problems between the Jews and the Arabs came about because Ishmael was born. First let’s begin with the very strange assumption that all Arabs are descended from Ishmael. Before Ishmael’s birth, Syria, Egypt, and countless cultures existed. Did these cultures simply disappear and get swallowed up by Ishmael’s descendants? But one can argue that Abraham had other children (Keturah’s children) and grand-children (Esau and the Edomites) who also turned against the Jews. In fact, Esau’s descendants and Ishmael’s slowly merge and it is perhaps the prophecy of Esau’s enmity against Israel that is the major cause of the Arab-Israeli conflict.
SEXISM is also responsible for folks reading things into Scripture that just isn’t there. Not only sexism but, I dare say, prurience and male wishfulfillment. The interpretations of many stories would be vastly different if we allowed the influence of women preachers more often.
Male preachers have preaches as if the story of Esther is a romantic love story. Why? Because Esther is obedient and beautiful. Many preachers preach about Esther as if she is their true love. When they do this, I can only think they’re in some masturbatory dream and I consider them almost as bad as Xerxes who was nothing more than a rich powerful shallow man who wanted an obedient submissive wife he could show off. Esther was chosen for "such a time as this" because having lost her parents and been raised by her Uncle, she was not the type to challenge anyone. I have no doubt that, unlike Vashti, Esther would have removed her veil and let all the drunken princes of the kingdom look upon her. A perfect trophy wife whose needs are unmet, she marries a man who sees her once a month if that – and who has other lovely women in his harem to deal with. Christian preachers have turned her into a fantasy figure, not the tragic living sacrifice that she is.
Sometimes sexism and racism work together to create misreadings. Sometimes they are even joined to a kind of favortism. Consider the way preachers treat Hagar, Delilah, and Job’s wife.
Hagar is a married woman who is divorced and sent out into the desert with her small child to die because the first wife says in a very racist manner, "Divorce her! I don’t want this slave woman’s child to be heir with my son." I have yet to hear a sermon which addresses Sarah’s racism. Why not? Because many preachers have a childlike attitude that turns some Bible characters into sacred cows who never do wrong, and scapegoats who are always wrong. In this way, although ministers are against divorce and Hagar is a married woman, they are unable to identify with her and see her only as an uppity slave. (They forget that she is a slave who was probably given to Sarah because of Sarah’s and Abram’s lie to the Pharoah – something that would make me not respect Sarah much either. ) In the Bible Ishmael is shown as being a decent fellow. The one possibly questionable act he does –when he was a little kid, mind you– was teasing baby Isaac. And this word is translated as mocking in The King James Version of the Bible. But in other translations it is translated as playing with. Sarah could have been angry because her son was being teased but she would have been just as angry that her son was playing on an equal footing with a half-brother she considered racially and socially beneath him. But ministers never question this.
What ministers do to Job’s wife is equally obnoxious. Just as they –being men– completely ignore Hagar’s pain, they also ignore the pain of Job’s wife. Because they consider Job a prophet, they consider her comment to him, "Curse God and die" as an insult to a prophet. I often want to say to them, "Wake up and smell the coffee, guys. I know men are always ignoring women, but get real here. The woman has lost all her children in a single day, has lost all her property, and is preparing to see the death of her beloved husband!" Male preachers, show their utter lack of understanding of grief by their insistence on thinking Mrs Job was trying to get rid of her husband. Folks, she lost her children. It is very possible she is talking about both of them committing suicide and just giving up on trusting a God who has destroyed them. Which is understandable. T D Jakes even goes so far as to say that when Job is blessed in the end, God gets rid of Job’s wife and gives him a new wife so he can have new kids. But, where in the Bible does it say that? And truly if God did such a thing, it would show that he was concerned only with caring for a man’s pain and not for a woman’s.
As for Delilah, the carnality of preachers, their dislike of "impure races" and their need to be on the side of the favorite is very evident here. True, Delilah is a betrayer. But why do so many preachers want to see her as a prostitute? And why do they see her as a Philistine? This is all misreading, and second-hand readings. Nowhere does it say Delilah is a prostitute or a Philistine. She could be a simple Israelite country girl, or a simple Philistine farmer’s daughter, who gets caught up in powers greater than she can handle. Actually, her name seems more an Israelite name than a Phillistine one. The preachers often forget that the Philistines were threatening to kill her parents. Hey, if one has a choice between betraying one’s lover or betraying one’s parents, what would one do? But there is such a xenophobic mentality in the Christian church, and such a dislike of the "foreign tainted woman" that we can't help but slip in our own racism and sexism when interpreting this story. As in the case of Job’s wife, we have never experienced Delilah’s situation. And yet we feel free to judge these people.
Lord Jesus, you said, "If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the pit." Jeremiah tells us our heart is deceitful. Help me to see and read what the Holy Spirit and your prophets have written. I want to live an honest life. Amen.
Monday, February 05, 2007
BLACK CLASSIC READING LIST
Angelou, Maya.I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings (1969)Armstrong, William H.SounderBaldwin, JamesGo Tell It on the Mountain (1953)Another Country (1962)Going to Meet the ManBambara, Toni Cade.Gorilla, My Love (1972)Baraka, Amiri (LeRoi Jones).The Amiri Baraka / LeRoi Jones Reader (1991)Brooks, Gwendolyn.Blacks (1987)Butler, Octavia.Kindred (1979)FledglingWild SeedChildress, Alice.Trouble in Mind (1955)Cooper, Anna Julia.A Voice from the South (1892)Cruse, Harold.The Crisis of the Negro Intellectual (1967)Cullen, Countee.On These I Stand (1947)Delany, Martin R.Blake; Or the Huts of America (1859-61)Douglass, Frederick.Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an AmericanSlave (1845)The Heroic Slave (1853)Dove, Rita.Thomas and Beulah (1986)Du Bois, W.E.B.The Souls of Black Folk (1903)Due, TananariveMy Soul to KeepThe BetweenDumas, Henry.Play Ebony, Play Ivory (1974)Ellison, Ralph.Invisible Man (1952), selected essaysEquiano, Olaudah.The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, orGustavus Vassa (1789)Evans, Mari.I Am the Black Woman (1970)Fuller, Charles.A Soldier's Play (1982)Gaines, Ernest J.Of Love and Dust (1967)Bloodline (1968)Lesson Before DyingThe Autobiography of Miss Jane PittmanA Gathering of Old MenGrimke, Charlotte Forten.The Journals of Charlotte Forten Grimke (1988)Haley, Alex.Roots (1976)Hansberry, Lorraine.A Raisin in the Sun (1959)Harper, Frances E. W.Complete Poems (1988)Harper, Michael.Images of Kin: New and Selected Poems (1977)Himes, Chester.If He Hollers Let Him Go (1945)Hughes, Langston.Mulatto (1935)The Big Sea (1940), selected poemsThe Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain." Nation 23 (June1926): 692-94The Best of Simple (1931)Selected Poems (1959)Hull, Gloria T., Patricia Bell Scott, and Barbara Smith, eds.But Some of Us Are Brave: Black Women's Studies (1982)Hurston, Zora Neale.Mules and Men (1935)Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)Hughes, Langston.Jacobs, Harriet.Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl (1861)Johnson, James Weldon.The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man (1912)God's Trombones (1927)Kennedy, Adrienne.Funnyhouse of a Negro (1964)Larsen, Nella.Quicksand (1928), Passing (1929)Lorde, Audre.Zami: A New Spelling of My Name (1982)McKay, Claude.Home to Harlem (1928)Morrison, Toni.The Bluest Eye (1970)Beloved (1987)Sula (1973)Song of SolomonTar BabyNaylor, Gloria.The Women of Brewster Place (1982)Petry, Ann.The Street (1946)Sanchez, Sonia.I've Been a Woman: New and Selected Poems (1978)Shange, Ntozake.for colored girls who have considered suicide /when therainbow is enuf (1977)Toomer, Jean.Cane (1923)Walker, Alice.The Color Purple (1982)Walker, David.David Walker's Appeal, in Four Articles (1829)Walker, Margaret.For My People (1942)Jubilee (1966)Washington, Booker T.Up from Slavery (1901)Wheatley, Phillis.Selected poemsWideman, John Edgar.Brothers and Keepers (1984)Wilson, August.Fences (1986)Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1988)The Piano LessonWright, Richard.Native Son (1940)Black Boy (1945)Wheatley, Phyllis.Complete Works (1988)X, Malcolm & Alex Haley.The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965)
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Christian and Black
Sometimes, as in my forthcoming novel Wind Follower, all things work together wonderfully. Sometimes I'm pretty conflicted. I mean: Am I a Christian or am I black? Of course the two shouldn't be opposed to each other. But many African-Americans find it problematic to be both Christian and black. Especially because of the history of white Christian slaveholders. Many Blacks have become Muslims. Which is weird because Islamic Slavery existed before the atlantic slave trade...and still exists along with racism in many Islamic countries. Indeed, when people talk about slavery, they often talk as if it ONLY existed in the US and ignore what is happening in Sudan and other places.
But back to me.
When I think of myself as a black woman, I want to talk about Justice ... and the modern folks in Christianity want to talk about other issues. Although Christianity is about justice, and mercy and grace, and equality. I often find myself with strange bedfellows. Such as victims of cruelty and discrimination who may not be Christians, and who may hate Christians. Of course, on the other hand...often the folks who said they were Christians were affected by some other philosophy, religion, or world mindset. For instance, nowhere in Christianity is racism affirmed. Quite the opposite. And if we think of the Crusaders, they picked up their idea of "holy war" from the Islamic idea of holy war. We Christians never cared much for a holy kingdom on earth. But you know what I mean.
When I think of myself as a Christian, I remember that evil is in everyone and I can't take sides...although I really, really, really want to. What to do?
I'm very pleased with Wind Follower. In that book (coming June!) I show that sexuality is healing, that racism exists, that there are issues of injustice. It comes from the part of me that is very black, and very Christian, and very woman, and very screwed up. It's a lovely, lovely, book. I'm hoping the rest of my works will be as balanced, and as lovely, and as evangelical.
But back to me.
When I think of myself as a black woman, I want to talk about Justice ... and the modern folks in Christianity want to talk about other issues. Although Christianity is about justice, and mercy and grace, and equality. I often find myself with strange bedfellows. Such as victims of cruelty and discrimination who may not be Christians, and who may hate Christians. Of course, on the other hand...often the folks who said they were Christians were affected by some other philosophy, religion, or world mindset. For instance, nowhere in Christianity is racism affirmed. Quite the opposite. And if we think of the Crusaders, they picked up their idea of "holy war" from the Islamic idea of holy war. We Christians never cared much for a holy kingdom on earth. But you know what I mean.
When I think of myself as a Christian, I remember that evil is in everyone and I can't take sides...although I really, really, really want to. What to do?
I'm very pleased with Wind Follower. In that book (coming June!) I show that sexuality is healing, that racism exists, that there are issues of injustice. It comes from the part of me that is very black, and very Christian, and very woman, and very screwed up. It's a lovely, lovely, book. I'm hoping the rest of my works will be as balanced, and as lovely, and as evangelical.
Sunday, January 28, 2007
How to tell when you have the wrong pastor
1: Your minister has no tact and either embarrasses you in front of the entire congregation or smiles surreptitiously at the deacon or the assistant minister whenever he sees you. Also...if your minister gossips.
2: Your minister steals or forgets to return the tapes, books, CD's, and DVD's you've lent him, or pockets the check with your tithe (or offering)...you know the one...when you accidentally wrote the check out to him instead of the church.
3: Your minister says racist things as if they were Biblical. Indeed, your minister IS racist and all the visiting ministers who visit your church share his racist opinions.
4: Your minister is too busy to speak to you. He says things like, "Don't you have a friend you can talk to about this?"
5: Your minister thinks the gospel is about telling people about their sins instead of telling people about God's love and mercy through Christ.
6: Your minister hangs out with the richer, smarter, more influential people more than he does anyone else.
7: Your minister has a strong agenda and 50% of his sermons are propaganda gearing his listeners toward the same sexual, political, or social agenda. In fact, he twists all Bible sermons into his agenda. And your minister hates you if you disagree with him on his agenda.
8: Your minister doesn't understand that the Bible is the Living Word of God. He either thinks "the Bible is just a book like any other." Or he says thinks like, "why do people read the Bible so much? Reading it once is enough." Or your minister believes the Bible is the word of God but simply doesn't read it. He spends more time on the internet, or watching TV, or talking to pals on the telephone.
9: Your minister is way too young but thinks he's the voice of wisdom.
10: Your minister doesn't realize that the word "minister" means to serve. He walks about as if He's Christ himself.
11: Your minister is very jealous of the teaching/preaching/healing/comforting gifts of other people in the congregation.
12: Your minister is cruel. This kind of minister often prides himself/herself on her adherence to the Bible. They will say to a perfect stranger: "Don't you know you'll go to hell, you horrible sinner?"
13: Your minister lusts after men and women in the congregation. Often the lusting isn't apparent except to the one being lusted at. My husband was often the object of the lust of a gay minister we had. Very uncomfortable.
14: Your minister is petty, bitter, cynical, and vaguely psychotic. This kind of minister is often divorced, has an issue against women, and spends most of coffee-hour mocking his ex-wife.
15: Your minister has gotten too used to your distress and simply doesn't try to help you. This isn't really noticeable in a large church but if you're in a small church (less than 50 people) and you've been sick for a long while and the minister hasn't gathered people together to pray for you in a prayer session...then it's time to worry.
Of course, you might be the only one who actually notices these flaws...so the best thing is to keep your mouth shut...and slowly leave the church if the minister doesn't change...when you can't take it anymore.
-C
Wind Follower June 2007 Juno Books
www.geocities.com/scifiwritir/Publications.html
carole.mcdonnell (at) gmail (dot)com
2: Your minister steals or forgets to return the tapes, books, CD's, and DVD's you've lent him, or pockets the check with your tithe (or offering)...you know the one...when you accidentally wrote the check out to him instead of the church.
3: Your minister says racist things as if they were Biblical. Indeed, your minister IS racist and all the visiting ministers who visit your church share his racist opinions.
4: Your minister is too busy to speak to you. He says things like, "Don't you have a friend you can talk to about this?"
5: Your minister thinks the gospel is about telling people about their sins instead of telling people about God's love and mercy through Christ.
6: Your minister hangs out with the richer, smarter, more influential people more than he does anyone else.
7: Your minister has a strong agenda and 50% of his sermons are propaganda gearing his listeners toward the same sexual, political, or social agenda. In fact, he twists all Bible sermons into his agenda. And your minister hates you if you disagree with him on his agenda.
8: Your minister doesn't understand that the Bible is the Living Word of God. He either thinks "the Bible is just a book like any other." Or he says thinks like, "why do people read the Bible so much? Reading it once is enough." Or your minister believes the Bible is the word of God but simply doesn't read it. He spends more time on the internet, or watching TV, or talking to pals on the telephone.
9: Your minister is way too young but thinks he's the voice of wisdom.
10: Your minister doesn't realize that the word "minister" means to serve. He walks about as if He's Christ himself.
11: Your minister is very jealous of the teaching/preaching/healing/comforting gifts of other people in the congregation.
12: Your minister is cruel. This kind of minister often prides himself/herself on her adherence to the Bible. They will say to a perfect stranger: "Don't you know you'll go to hell, you horrible sinner?"
13: Your minister lusts after men and women in the congregation. Often the lusting isn't apparent except to the one being lusted at. My husband was often the object of the lust of a gay minister we had. Very uncomfortable.
14: Your minister is petty, bitter, cynical, and vaguely psychotic. This kind of minister is often divorced, has an issue against women, and spends most of coffee-hour mocking his ex-wife.
15: Your minister has gotten too used to your distress and simply doesn't try to help you. This isn't really noticeable in a large church but if you're in a small church (less than 50 people) and you've been sick for a long while and the minister hasn't gathered people together to pray for you in a prayer session...then it's time to worry.
Of course, you might be the only one who actually notices these flaws...so the best thing is to keep your mouth shut...and slowly leave the church if the minister doesn't change...when you can't take it anymore.
-C
Wind Follower June 2007 Juno Books
www.geocities.com/scifiwritir/Publications.html
carole.mcdonnell (at) gmail (dot)com
Saturday, January 27, 2007
My favorite peoples
I don’t know what it’s like to live in a country of homogeneous people. I’m from the United States, a North American, born in Jamaica in the West Indies but raised in Brooklyn and New York. I’m a multiculturalist at heart. And I have certain multicultural tendencies. For instance, I have favorite "peoples" – that is, there are certain tribes of the world that I love, that I tend to click with really well.
First, in no particular order, I’ll tell about my top favorites: African-Americans, Hispanics (especially Puerto Ricans and Cubans), Jews, Italians, Irish, Native Americans, and Arabs.
Now, for my favorite people: Jewish People.
I suppose that should be the case because I was raised in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood. Lots of Italians and West Indians there too. The funny thing is that Jewish folks also like me. It’s a lucky thing because sometimes a person is on the outside of a group looking in. Many minorities, for instance, look up to the larger white culture or to the White Anglo-Saxon culture. Sometimes they even lust for the other cultures at the cost of denying our own culture. That’s why there are such slang words as bananas, apples, oreos (where are minorities are one color on the outside and another color on the inside.)
But self-loathing aside, it’s wonderful when one likes one’s own people and also like other people. And it’s especially good if one is liked by people in the other group.
The City that now exists, the city of heavenly Jerusalem is my true city. It’s of all those who love and rely and trust in Yahweh. We live on earth now. But the City now exists – according to the New Testament, according to Jewish writings in and about the Torah. I know some Christians think that when we die we go into soul-sleep but they’re mistaken. The city of God is alive and well. As are all its citizens on earth and in heaven.
However, some folks on earth are not of that city. Indeed, they often hate people who belong to Shiloh’s great city. This annoys me because I’m also a citizen of earth – for the nonce– and I don’t like being hated. But what really upsets me is when people from God’s city – those of us who call that great city "home"– hate the people in the world, or have prejudices against certain people. And I especially hate it when people hate Blacks (the ethnic group I belong to) and Jews (the ethnic group which is my favorite people)
It is good if we have a love for our own race –there is nothing wrong with that and Blacks have had to deal with a lot of self-loathing because American society has told us to hate ourselves, our skins, etc. All races have been chosen by God for specific reasons. African-Americans are called to do something great, I’m sure. The Jews are called the Chosen People because God chose them to bring His word and His savior to the world. And other ethnic groups also have chosen destinies.
But we must not hate our brother – whether he belongs to our ethnic group or not. If we do not love our brother whom we have seen, how can we love God whom we have not seen?
First, in no particular order, I’ll tell about my top favorites: African-Americans, Hispanics (especially Puerto Ricans and Cubans), Jews, Italians, Irish, Native Americans, and Arabs.
Now, for my favorite people: Jewish People.
I suppose that should be the case because I was raised in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood. Lots of Italians and West Indians there too. The funny thing is that Jewish folks also like me. It’s a lucky thing because sometimes a person is on the outside of a group looking in. Many minorities, for instance, look up to the larger white culture or to the White Anglo-Saxon culture. Sometimes they even lust for the other cultures at the cost of denying our own culture. That’s why there are such slang words as bananas, apples, oreos (where are minorities are one color on the outside and another color on the inside.)
But self-loathing aside, it’s wonderful when one likes one’s own people and also like other people. And it’s especially good if one is liked by people in the other group.
The City that now exists, the city of heavenly Jerusalem is my true city. It’s of all those who love and rely and trust in Yahweh. We live on earth now. But the City now exists – according to the New Testament, according to Jewish writings in and about the Torah. I know some Christians think that when we die we go into soul-sleep but they’re mistaken. The city of God is alive and well. As are all its citizens on earth and in heaven.
However, some folks on earth are not of that city. Indeed, they often hate people who belong to Shiloh’s great city. This annoys me because I’m also a citizen of earth – for the nonce– and I don’t like being hated. But what really upsets me is when people from God’s city – those of us who call that great city "home"– hate the people in the world, or have prejudices against certain people. And I especially hate it when people hate Blacks (the ethnic group I belong to) and Jews (the ethnic group which is my favorite people)
It is good if we have a love for our own race –there is nothing wrong with that and Blacks have had to deal with a lot of self-loathing because American society has told us to hate ourselves, our skins, etc. All races have been chosen by God for specific reasons. African-Americans are called to do something great, I’m sure. The Jews are called the Chosen People because God chose them to bring His word and His savior to the world. And other ethnic groups also have chosen destinies.
But we must not hate our brother – whether he belongs to our ethnic group or not. If we do not love our brother whom we have seen, how can we love God whom we have not seen?
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Afros
Okay, about Isaiah Washington's slur against his co-worker. The "f" word. It's pretty rude to say anything that will hurt a colleague or an entire group of people. He shouldn't have said it. That said, folks in hollywood DO seem to get upset over certain kinds of prejudice while they indulge in others. And they DO seem to pick on certain folks more than others. For instance, if a black person does something socially unacceptable, the media treats it as if it's the crime of the century. Their attitude reminds me that racism in the supposedly liberal media is alive and well. We must not forget that most of these media folks probably had childhoods where they didn't really know any black people. They may have microphones in their hands and they might be pontificators but at heart they are not socially-educated about racism and its subtleties. They DO believe that black women and men are touchy and overly-sensitive and apt to go overboard emotionally. That's their deep-seated idea but they don't realize they have it.
They also are unaware of their prejudices against non-normal physical attributes. Of course they are all into beauty and cosmetic surgery and looking good for the cameras. But it goes even further. For instance, on idol chat, Rosanna and Kimberly were mocking Justin Guarini's afro, comparing his hair to Bozo the clown. On E's commentary on the golden globe fashions, the hosts -- and Miss Jay a black person with transgender issues should know better-- got a lot of laughs mocking Vanessa Williams and Will Farrell's hair. Why? Because of the afros and curly hair. Why should curly hair and afros bring knee-jerk laughter? Yet, all over television there is a continued mockery about afros which shows that subtle racism is still alive.
On American Idol, Simon Cowell (or the producers) always set up fat or disabled people or oddballs as a butt for laughter and Hollywood poo-poohs their cruelty but don't really fire any one. Nor do Hollywood execs fire people who mock are disdainful of Christians and Catholics or fat people.
Ah yes! They are pretty sneering about Christians. I can tell you all the types of Christians who pop up in TV shows: the innocent indoctrinated not too bright young girl with simple faith. The intellectual who leads those with simple faith but who tolerates their beliefs because they're obviously not as deep as he is. The innocent searcher who grows to realize his religion is too old-fashioned and intolerant. The crazed abortion-clinic bomber. The deluded believer who believes God actually guides him and talks to him. The cruel judgemental evangelical with no sensitivity to other people who thumps his Bible. Ah I could go on. So, yes, there is a bit of imbalance there about how "offended" Hollywood gets when certain groups are picked on.
Ah brothers and sisters! We can do nothing about the world, but we can do something about ourselves. As Christians we mustn't pick and choose what offends us. The world can do that. Not us. Some of us don't get mad when another denomination is picked on, but we get mad when our denominati0n is mocked. Some of us get mad when Christians are slammed but we don't mind when Blacks or Jews are picked on. Let us search our hearts. Remember what the apostle John said, "if you don't love your brother, you are a murderer. And no murderer has eternal life" That's pretty clear. We Christians are often ready to put Christian homosexuals in hell, why aren't we just as willing to put Christian racists in hell? The blood of Jesus covers every sin.
Saturday, January 20, 2007
Musical Cues
Musical cues
One of my pet peeves in movie-viewing are musical cues. You know what I mean: the music that cues you to what the main characters are feeling. Whether a rising swelling, sweet, horrifying, throbbing, musical cues are placed in films and TV shows to help us see the character's heart. Without musical scores --or even laugh tracks-- a movie or TV show might fall flat.
Often, however, the cues go overboard, giving us knee-jerk disdain (making us hate, mock, or pity people for no good reason except that some musical chords or melody have been added to train us to hate, pity, or mock. Musical cues are also used for knee-jerk sentimentality. Often --usually-- it is used when the writing hasn't been strong enough. The swelling crescendo pops up and suddenly we think of a character as noble. Or the tinka-tinka of a playful melody is added to a scene and we think of a character as childlike.
It's a wonderful and manipulative art form. And I'll allow that most art forms --especially drama-- is manipulative. But what really annoys me is when the cues are used to tell us that a person's viewpoint on a particular issue is the right viewpoint, indeed THE right view for ALL viewers everywhere.
We Christians have seen television drama or comedy shows where some "liberal atheist intellectual thinker" is having a discussion about a spiritual point (or with a Christian) and although the atheist's thinking is stupid and worldly and not that deep, suddenly the simple intrusion of a musical cue tells the viewer know that the atheist intellectual thinker is Solomon himself -- so wise in his worldly disdain for religion.
Every abortion discussion I've ever seen in a film has musical cues to let the viewer know which side has scored the enlightened point.
I don't know what we'll do about this kind of thing. All we can do is train our children to understand that just because the music tells us to feel one way about a scene we are not required to accept the music's dictates. Feeling is a choice, and a character isn't right just because the music tells us he is.
One of my pet peeves in movie-viewing are musical cues. You know what I mean: the music that cues you to what the main characters are feeling. Whether a rising swelling, sweet, horrifying, throbbing, musical cues are placed in films and TV shows to help us see the character's heart. Without musical scores --or even laugh tracks-- a movie or TV show might fall flat.
Often, however, the cues go overboard, giving us knee-jerk disdain (making us hate, mock, or pity people for no good reason except that some musical chords or melody have been added to train us to hate, pity, or mock. Musical cues are also used for knee-jerk sentimentality. Often --usually-- it is used when the writing hasn't been strong enough. The swelling crescendo pops up and suddenly we think of a character as noble. Or the tinka-tinka of a playful melody is added to a scene and we think of a character as childlike.
It's a wonderful and manipulative art form. And I'll allow that most art forms --especially drama-- is manipulative. But what really annoys me is when the cues are used to tell us that a person's viewpoint on a particular issue is the right viewpoint, indeed THE right view for ALL viewers everywhere.
We Christians have seen television drama or comedy shows where some "liberal atheist intellectual thinker" is having a discussion about a spiritual point (or with a Christian) and although the atheist's thinking is stupid and worldly and not that deep, suddenly the simple intrusion of a musical cue tells the viewer know that the atheist intellectual thinker is Solomon himself -- so wise in his worldly disdain for religion.
Every abortion discussion I've ever seen in a film has musical cues to let the viewer know which side has scored the enlightened point.
I don't know what we'll do about this kind of thing. All we can do is train our children to understand that just because the music tells us to feel one way about a scene we are not required to accept the music's dictates. Feeling is a choice, and a character isn't right just because the music tells us he is.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Sir, we want to see Jesus
"Sir, we want to see Jesus John 12:20"
The Bible is full of incidences where "certain men" show up at opportune time. A "certain man" drew a bow at a venture and killed Ahab. A "certain man" told Joseph’s brother which road Joseph had taken. A "certain man" put the poisonous gourd into the pot of stew. Sometimes the names of the "certain men" are probably known to the Bible authors, sometimes not. Sometimes the "certain man" seems to be helping God’s will, sometimes he seems to be helping Satan. Sometimes we even see a "certain woman." But always, whether man or woman, God’s messenger or Satan’s, the certain person comes at a most important time in the life of the Bible character, and thus an important time in the life of Israel and/or Christ’s church.
On Palm Sunday, certain men from Greece told the disciples, "We want to see Jesus." What timing!
Jesus had recently brought Lazarus from the dead and Jesus had entered into Jerusalem where the people were in expectation and intended to make Jesus their king. Remember Satan’s temptation in the wilderness: "I’ll make you king of all the world"? Here was another temptation. Would Jesus allow the people to make him king?
Some have said the men from Greece probably wanted answer to the deepest questions of meaning, philosophical questions that they sure Jesus could answer. Others have said these men probably wanted to take Jesus to their cities where Jesus would be honored and free from the danger of death. Some don’t consider the men from Greece at all, because it seems –at first glance– that Jesus didn’t consider these men either.
But what does Jesus do when he hears that the men from Greece want to see him? He says, "My hour has come. Time for a grain of wheat to fall to the ground and die so that there will be a great harvest."
Like the call Paul received in a dream, "Come to Macedonia and help us" so Jesus is reminded by "certain men" that the rest of the world need to see Him. These men from Greece came at the exact time Jesus needed them to come. Jesus was Perfect God and Perfect Man, but Temptation is a tough thing. Whether or not Jesus actually needed to be reminded of his primary reason for living – to bring many sons to God– God sent him a reminder anyway. The Bible tells us that "because of the glory He saw ahead of Him" Jesus endured the shame of the cross. If Jesus was in danger of forgetting what his purpose was, here was the moment. The crowds were calling to him, they even seemed ready to believe in his gospel. But when the men from Greece arrived, Jesus remembered: He didn’t come on earth only to make Israel believe the gospel. He didn’t come to live one perfect human life and then die and be forgotten. He came to die, that he might live forever and might cause others –including those not in the fold of Israel– to also live forever. He had come for the salvation of the certain men from Greece.
All of us are born with a life’s purpose. As is evident from the amount of people in prisons, and the wrong jobs, many people simply miss their purposes. All our purposes have one simple goal: to bring many people to Christ, to bring many children to God.
Whether we are called to be artists, firemen, teachers, pastors, nurses, lawyers – whatever we do, we are doing for God’s glory and to help people see Jesus. A Christian artist must remember that those outside the family of God must be given an opportunity "to see Jesus." A Christian teacher must remember that she is teaching young minds to think so that they will not be deceived by the world’s views. A math teacher can show the beauty and order of nature, a health teacher can teach the beauty and order of the human body. A Christian nurse shows God’s love but also keeps the unsaved alive, giving them more time for them to live and "see Jesus."
Many times people lose sight of their original purpose in a particular job? When was the last time you realized that the world needed to see Jesus?
Prayer: Lord, help me to understand how my work helps me to show Jesus to others.
Carole McDonnell’s fiction, devotionals, poetry and essays have appeared in many publishing venues, in print and online. She is the author of a How to Write and Teach Bible Studies which is available for free download from ebooks-and-authors (dot) com She lives with her husband, their two sons, and their ferocious tabby Ralphina in upstate New York
The Bible is full of incidences where "certain men" show up at opportune time. A "certain man" drew a bow at a venture and killed Ahab. A "certain man" told Joseph’s brother which road Joseph had taken. A "certain man" put the poisonous gourd into the pot of stew. Sometimes the names of the "certain men" are probably known to the Bible authors, sometimes not. Sometimes the "certain man" seems to be helping God’s will, sometimes he seems to be helping Satan. Sometimes we even see a "certain woman." But always, whether man or woman, God’s messenger or Satan’s, the certain person comes at a most important time in the life of the Bible character, and thus an important time in the life of Israel and/or Christ’s church.
On Palm Sunday, certain men from Greece told the disciples, "We want to see Jesus." What timing!
Jesus had recently brought Lazarus from the dead and Jesus had entered into Jerusalem where the people were in expectation and intended to make Jesus their king. Remember Satan’s temptation in the wilderness: "I’ll make you king of all the world"? Here was another temptation. Would Jesus allow the people to make him king?
Some have said the men from Greece probably wanted answer to the deepest questions of meaning, philosophical questions that they sure Jesus could answer. Others have said these men probably wanted to take Jesus to their cities where Jesus would be honored and free from the danger of death. Some don’t consider the men from Greece at all, because it seems –at first glance– that Jesus didn’t consider these men either.
But what does Jesus do when he hears that the men from Greece want to see him? He says, "My hour has come. Time for a grain of wheat to fall to the ground and die so that there will be a great harvest."
Like the call Paul received in a dream, "Come to Macedonia and help us" so Jesus is reminded by "certain men" that the rest of the world need to see Him. These men from Greece came at the exact time Jesus needed them to come. Jesus was Perfect God and Perfect Man, but Temptation is a tough thing. Whether or not Jesus actually needed to be reminded of his primary reason for living – to bring many sons to God– God sent him a reminder anyway. The Bible tells us that "because of the glory He saw ahead of Him" Jesus endured the shame of the cross. If Jesus was in danger of forgetting what his purpose was, here was the moment. The crowds were calling to him, they even seemed ready to believe in his gospel. But when the men from Greece arrived, Jesus remembered: He didn’t come on earth only to make Israel believe the gospel. He didn’t come to live one perfect human life and then die and be forgotten. He came to die, that he might live forever and might cause others –including those not in the fold of Israel– to also live forever. He had come for the salvation of the certain men from Greece.
All of us are born with a life’s purpose. As is evident from the amount of people in prisons, and the wrong jobs, many people simply miss their purposes. All our purposes have one simple goal: to bring many people to Christ, to bring many children to God.
Whether we are called to be artists, firemen, teachers, pastors, nurses, lawyers – whatever we do, we are doing for God’s glory and to help people see Jesus. A Christian artist must remember that those outside the family of God must be given an opportunity "to see Jesus." A Christian teacher must remember that she is teaching young minds to think so that they will not be deceived by the world’s views. A math teacher can show the beauty and order of nature, a health teacher can teach the beauty and order of the human body. A Christian nurse shows God’s love but also keeps the unsaved alive, giving them more time for them to live and "see Jesus."
Many times people lose sight of their original purpose in a particular job? When was the last time you realized that the world needed to see Jesus?
Prayer: Lord, help me to understand how my work helps me to show Jesus to others.
Carole McDonnell’s fiction, devotionals, poetry and essays have appeared in many publishing venues, in print and online. She is the author of a How to Write and Teach Bible Studies which is available for free download from ebooks-and-authors (dot) com She lives with her husband, their two sons, and their ferocious tabby Ralphina in upstate New York
Monday, October 16, 2006
Christian Bravery
I had an interesting little temptation this morning. I was writing a general email to folks -- from my other screenname- in which I talked about being a born-againer being in a book of transgendered persons. I realized that one of the people was a liberal who disliked born-againers. I was about to remove her name from the general address SEND TO and send her a solitary email in which I removed all mention of being a born-againer. But the Lord reminded me of what destroys the seed...the cares of the world and when persecution comes people are disloyal to Jesus and deny him. It took bravery but I sent the general email.
This morning I was listening to a Christian program which showed a tape of what had happened on the View where poor Elizabeth -- the bornagainer-- was being slammed by Rosie O'Donnell. Rosie was saying fundamental Christianity was just as bad as fundamental Islam. And I was just stressing out. I was shouting to the hubby: "Turn the channel! Turn the channel! You know I HATE being hated."
But God reminds us that if the world hated him, it would hate us.
I can only pray that God will strengthen me that I no longer fear the hatred of the world. That's the only way to conquer in Christ...be loyal to him.
This morning I was listening to a Christian program which showed a tape of what had happened on the View where poor Elizabeth -- the bornagainer-- was being slammed by Rosie O'Donnell. Rosie was saying fundamental Christianity was just as bad as fundamental Islam. And I was just stressing out. I was shouting to the hubby: "Turn the channel! Turn the channel! You know I HATE being hated."
But God reminds us that if the world hated him, it would hate us.
I can only pray that God will strengthen me that I no longer fear the hatred of the world. That's the only way to conquer in Christ...be loyal to him.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Possible Christian sub-genres
Okay, I was pondering all the various kinds of fiction genres and sub-genres out there in the secular world. Am thinking it's a shame that we Christian writers don't have more types of writing. Basically it's romance, scifi, fantasy, historical, and I know of someone who writes Christian Asian chick-lit. . Found myself creating some Christian sub-genres.
Christian ecofiction
Christian business fiction
Christian cyber-punk
Christian urban fiction
Christian erotic fiction
Christian ethnic fiction
Christian feminist fiction
Christian outcast-fiction.
Christian lad-lit
Christian missionary-fiction (I think my novel Windfollower might fall into this category.)
Ah we could go on. I think I just want the Christian publishing world to really challenge the secular world.
-C
Christian ecofiction
Christian business fiction
Christian cyber-punk
Christian urban fiction
Christian erotic fiction
Christian ethnic fiction
Christian feminist fiction
Christian outcast-fiction.
Christian lad-lit
Christian missionary-fiction (I think my novel Windfollower might fall into this category.)
Ah we could go on. I think I just want the Christian publishing world to really challenge the secular world.
-C
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Well,
I spent Saturday at the annual NY state right to life convention. Things really are way worse than I would ever have guessed. Way worse. And downright scary.
In addition to the usual stuff -- post abortion healing, resources for children who were created by rape and incest, the big thing being discussed was involutary euthanasi and brain death. What I came away with was the terrible knowledge that greed, scientific racism, and medical arrogance are totally out of hand and dwindling away at our rights. I also got my cynicism about the media renewed.
I always knew the media was pretty jaded. After all, Margaret Sanger and her Negro Project and anti-semitism and anti-hispanic mentality are all well-known but one never sees the media mentioning it. One of her most famous lines, (other than the one in which she told in her letters how much the KKK loved her for her eugenics plans) was the one where she stated, "We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population...and we don't want this idea to get out to its more rebellious members." Or her comments in her book Women and the New Race where she talks about the need to sterilize the genetically inferior races" and even called for coercive sterilization, mandatory segregation and rehabilitative concentration camps for inferior Blacks, Hispanics, poor Whites, and Catholics. A couple years ago when Martin Luther King's daughter spoke at the convention, against Sanger's Planned Parenthood, she gave such statistics that I just thought..."oh my God!!! At this rate of abortion (and incarceration, and black-on-black crime) no wonder the black percentage of the population is dwindled to zip.
BUT the way the media totally ignores the fact that planned parenthood is a genocidal tool against blacks just annoys the heck out of me. They keep statistics hidden. And it really makes one wonder about how racist our society really is.
But what really got to me was the lack of rights and the manipulation of semantics when it comes to the notion of life. One guy http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/ talked about futile-care law. That's a law that says that even if the sick person and her relatives have declared that she wants to live no matter what, that the hospital bio-ethics committee has the right to overturn the family's request. This law is in several states, and was first signed by George Bush (a pro-lifer?) in Texas. Do I even have to say that this law has been used more on minorities, the poor, the disabled?
Then there is a law that is due to come into action in NY. This law concerns the organ donor check box on one's driving license. At present the law pretty much states that your family has the last word as to whether your plug can be pulled or you can be declared brain dead. In November, that right is taken out of your family's hand. If you end up in a hospital and the doctors think you should be declared brain dead or that your quality of life will be futile, they can take your organs without asking you.'
And this is where the creepy science fiction stuff comes in. Oh sure, we know that the medical world has always kinda aligned itself with arrogance, racism and cruelty. After all, there was the Tuskegee Airmen experiments where they didn't treat black men for syphillis just to see what happened with folks dying from the disease in the last stages. And there was Hitler's experiments. But now!!! We keep thinking we're enlightened.
I spent Saturday at the annual NY state right to life convention. Things really are way worse than I would ever have guessed. Way worse. And downright scary.
In addition to the usual stuff -- post abortion healing, resources for children who were created by rape and incest, the big thing being discussed was involutary euthanasi and brain death. What I came away with was the terrible knowledge that greed, scientific racism, and medical arrogance are totally out of hand and dwindling away at our rights. I also got my cynicism about the media renewed.
I always knew the media was pretty jaded. After all, Margaret Sanger and her Negro Project and anti-semitism and anti-hispanic mentality are all well-known but one never sees the media mentioning it. One of her most famous lines, (other than the one in which she told in her letters how much the KKK loved her for her eugenics plans) was the one where she stated, "We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population...and we don't want this idea to get out to its more rebellious members." Or her comments in her book Women and the New Race where she talks about the need to sterilize the genetically inferior races" and even called for coercive sterilization, mandatory segregation and rehabilitative concentration camps for inferior Blacks, Hispanics, poor Whites, and Catholics. A couple years ago when Martin Luther King's daughter spoke at the convention, against Sanger's Planned Parenthood, she gave such statistics that I just thought..."oh my God!!! At this rate of abortion (and incarceration, and black-on-black crime) no wonder the black percentage of the population is dwindled to zip.
BUT the way the media totally ignores the fact that planned parenthood is a genocidal tool against blacks just annoys the heck out of me. They keep statistics hidden. And it really makes one wonder about how racist our society really is.
But what really got to me was the lack of rights and the manipulation of semantics when it comes to the notion of life. One guy http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/ talked about futile-care law. That's a law that says that even if the sick person and her relatives have declared that she wants to live no matter what, that the hospital bio-ethics committee has the right to overturn the family's request. This law is in several states, and was first signed by George Bush (a pro-lifer?) in Texas. Do I even have to say that this law has been used more on minorities, the poor, the disabled?
Then there is a law that is due to come into action in NY. This law concerns the organ donor check box on one's driving license. At present the law pretty much states that your family has the last word as to whether your plug can be pulled or you can be declared brain dead. In November, that right is taken out of your family's hand. If you end up in a hospital and the doctors think you should be declared brain dead or that your quality of life will be futile, they can take your organs without asking you.'
And this is where the creepy science fiction stuff comes in. Oh sure, we know that the medical world has always kinda aligned itself with arrogance, racism and cruelty. After all, there was the Tuskegee Airmen experiments where they didn't treat black men for syphillis just to see what happened with folks dying from the disease in the last stages. And there was Hitler's experiments. But now!!! We keep thinking we're enlightened.
Since certain organs can only be harvested by a living person, we need to have ways to have the person be still living yet still conveniently be called dead. There are 30 criterias for deciding if a person is brain-dead. (or heart-beating donors or neo-morts.) But the games tht are played. For instance, there is something called the non-heart-beating donor. That's a brain-dead person who has been taken off the monitor and whose heart is not "beating" And if the heart doesn't start beating on its own in the amount of time the hospital (and hospitals make about $1 million on each transplant) then the hospital can start taking the organs. But of course the definition of a beating heart, the amount of time it takes a heart to actually start beating after its been hibernating and healing, and the Apnea Test which is supposed to test if someone is brain dead actually damages the heart even more...are all administered by the hospital. Not to mention that the UDDA (Uniform Determination of Death Act) allows that a body can still be healing, still be breathing, still feel pain while the organ is being removed (that's why they give pain killers and paralyzing medicines to brain dead people when they operate on them so the brain-dead person doesn't flinch or wince or jerk from pain.)
And what really got me was the bio-ethical definition of "person." A human nonperson can be a comatose person, a disabled person who doesn't understand what it is to will to be alive therefore has no power to will to be alive, an unborn life, a normal young baby who cannot understand the nature of life. They passed out the latest journal fro, the Kennedy Institute of Healthcare Ethics -- the biggest most important bio-ethical institute in America-- and to say that my mouth opened when I saw words that could easily have been used by Hitler or slave-owners, and the greed and the desire to treat humans as a natural resource. We also had a disabilities advocate. The disabilities advocate were for Terri Schiavo but of course the media made it look like only nutty right-to-lifers were. And looking at the statistics of disabled, minority, severely disabled children, disabled or mentally-impaired old people, and the poor that have been subjected to the greed of medical science...well, it just made me want to weep.
I began to suspect at this rate in the next twenty years we will have a country where senile parents, disabled children, and poor blacks will become rarer and rarer. And when i thought of that, I said to myself..."I'm gonna work on my Daughters of Men book!" That's the book that had eugenics, racism, and a world with no weak people in it. I got my passion about that book back.
Anyway, the first thing I did when i got home was tell my son he's gotta get his name off that organ donor registry. Young Poor Black young men have good organs and fit into the genocidal plans really well. The statistics are staggering. -C
If you wish look around at the following sites you can get a better view than my ravings.
http://www.wesleyjsmith.com/blog/
http://www.all.org/
http://www.stemcellresearch.org/
http://www.cloninginformation.org/
http://www.frc.org/
http://www.biotechpolicy.org/
www.usccb.org/prolife
http://www.fotf.org/ (See Citizenlink)
bioethics.gov
http://www.nysrighttolife.org/
www.nrlc.org/federal/CCPA/DemsBlockProgress.html
newyork.democratsforlife.org
http://www.thechristophers.org/
http://www.hh76.com/
http://www.prolifeli.org/
http://www.nycf.info/
Carole McDonnell Wind Follower June 2007 Juno Bookswww.geocities.com/scifiwritir/Publications.htmlcarole.mcdonnell (at) gmail (dot)com
Monday, September 04, 2006
Long journey to publication
I've got to say, that God has been very good to me and people --friends, strangers, etc-- have always been kind to me. A sweet grace and favor, that. So I was always getting helpful letters from editors and agents.
I started with a YA novel called The Herring Run which almost was picked up by Walker Books except that they said it was too episodic. The editorial assistant actually sent me a copy of the notes the editorial board had taken in deciding on the book. It was sooooo close. That was about ten years ago and I didn't really know much about writing.
That novel because Black Girls have always loved cowboys. Long story. But I tried to turn Herring Run into an adult novel. A collection of stories. I sent it to an agent I met at a conference. She said it was very melodramatic and boring and that I should really understand cause and effect and feel the emotions of the characters.
I began working on Treasures of Darkness. I sent it to an agent I met at a conference. He loved the beginning but said it went nowhere and that he wouldn't make enough money to feed his cat. Met a former editor at an art show and he said the story was drawn out. About 100 pages for the first night kinda thing.
I wrote Daughters of Men for Paul Witcover when he was editing for Harpercollins. HE liked it a lot and was really pondering buying it but then he left harper. He emailed me to say I should join some online writing and critting groups such as oww-sff and to show him DOM whenever I finished it.
I sent DOM to Rachel Vater at Don Maass but she said I was being redundant. I had to learn to show tension. I had to stop repeating myself. And my characters were always sitting down. She said to try to improve it.
I had to write a short story for an antho Brandon Massey was doing on black horror. Brian Jacobs was also doing an antho called Genre Noir. I figured I'd write a story called Father Gorgeous about a gorgeous semi-atheist priest who doesn't believe in the supernatural but who meets a demon. It missed out on the anthology because -- my usual problem-- my short stories never know when to quit. IT had two "beats" so I decided to make it a novel. I began fiddling around with it. It's about 66 pages but Lord knows what'll happen to it.
In the meantime I started writing Windfollower. It started out as a short story which I was writing for a contest. I like ballads so it was based on the Elizabethan ballad, "the trees they grow tall." But the contest came and went and I realized it was trying to be a novel. The flow of the story came so quickly that I said to myself, "this'll be my quick little shallow piece. I'll just toss it off. It'll be meaningless and just romance. Not as complicated or full of worldbuilding as DOM." Little did I know!!!! It became a story about a shamanistic culture meeting a monotheistic imperialistic racist country....with the Lost Book. Battles with demons and gods.
I sent it to Rachel. She said she had to turn it down because I still had that redundancy problem. I'm ebuddies with Cindy Ward who is the market maven for Speculations. NOTE: It is a weird thing in life that one cannot give without receiving, and all the folks who give tend to receive wonderful stuff...especially if they weren't expecting anything. There was an antho that Juno was doing -- best spec romance-- so I sent it to Cindy. She said thanks then emailed me to say that Paula Guran at Juno Books was really really really looking for good stories. She said I should send the story to Paula. So I sent DOM -- I sent mega synopsis and plot points and character studies and glossaries of DOM and just the synop and first 40 pages of windfollower. I told her however that I had been published in about 7 anthologies -- four or five fiction-- and I told her that with me "one word to the wise is sufficient." If she told me something, she could trust me to understand what she said...if she gave me a day or two to figure out what she meant. She figured she'd trust that I could write.
Because I had sent so much of DOM, she assumed DOM was the better written piece. I told her that DOM was written about five years ago and I really hadn't touched it in about two years. I said that actually Windfollower would be more finished of the two. But I sent her the first 200 pages of a 545 page octopus (Times New Roman no less) and Windfollower. I told her Windfollower was waaaay religious and she said the Juno guidelines said "No Christian fantasy...but Windfollower didn't seem religious like that...more spiritual."
She looked at both books and said she'd definitely go with Windfollower and she wants to do DOM except that DOM needs "a lot of work."
So that's about it. I tend to think it's just one of those grace of God things. Because she's been pretty cool about me fixing and repairing. I think it was because Wind follower is so odd and Cindy had said a good word for me and God had just given me grace and Paula was so desperate. All combined together.
As for what I want to do now, a part of me wants to work with DOM cause it's already finished and it's such a flaky world. But another part of me feels like I like Father Gorgeous and it's centered in this world. Like Windfollower, it's about the "real world" By this I mean, it has demons, humans, spiritual choices and both stories are things that have happened to missionaries or to people who have encountered the demonic. Unlike Dom which is truly creative....and deals with really far off fictive stuff that hasn't really happened.
Carole McDonnell Wind Follower June 2007 Juno Bookswww.geocities.com/scifiwritir/Publications.htmlcarole.mcdonnell (at) gmail (dot)com
I started with a YA novel called The Herring Run which almost was picked up by Walker Books except that they said it was too episodic. The editorial assistant actually sent me a copy of the notes the editorial board had taken in deciding on the book. It was sooooo close. That was about ten years ago and I didn't really know much about writing.
That novel because Black Girls have always loved cowboys. Long story. But I tried to turn Herring Run into an adult novel. A collection of stories. I sent it to an agent I met at a conference. She said it was very melodramatic and boring and that I should really understand cause and effect and feel the emotions of the characters.
I began working on Treasures of Darkness. I sent it to an agent I met at a conference. He loved the beginning but said it went nowhere and that he wouldn't make enough money to feed his cat. Met a former editor at an art show and he said the story was drawn out. About 100 pages for the first night kinda thing.
I wrote Daughters of Men for Paul Witcover when he was editing for Harpercollins. HE liked it a lot and was really pondering buying it but then he left harper. He emailed me to say I should join some online writing and critting groups such as oww-sff and to show him DOM whenever I finished it.
I sent DOM to Rachel Vater at Don Maass but she said I was being redundant. I had to learn to show tension. I had to stop repeating myself. And my characters were always sitting down. She said to try to improve it.
I had to write a short story for an antho Brandon Massey was doing on black horror. Brian Jacobs was also doing an antho called Genre Noir. I figured I'd write a story called Father Gorgeous about a gorgeous semi-atheist priest who doesn't believe in the supernatural but who meets a demon. It missed out on the anthology because -- my usual problem-- my short stories never know when to quit. IT had two "beats" so I decided to make it a novel. I began fiddling around with it. It's about 66 pages but Lord knows what'll happen to it.
In the meantime I started writing Windfollower. It started out as a short story which I was writing for a contest. I like ballads so it was based on the Elizabethan ballad, "the trees they grow tall." But the contest came and went and I realized it was trying to be a novel. The flow of the story came so quickly that I said to myself, "this'll be my quick little shallow piece. I'll just toss it off. It'll be meaningless and just romance. Not as complicated or full of worldbuilding as DOM." Little did I know!!!! It became a story about a shamanistic culture meeting a monotheistic imperialistic racist country....with the Lost Book. Battles with demons and gods.
I sent it to Rachel. She said she had to turn it down because I still had that redundancy problem. I'm ebuddies with Cindy Ward who is the market maven for Speculations. NOTE: It is a weird thing in life that one cannot give without receiving, and all the folks who give tend to receive wonderful stuff...especially if they weren't expecting anything. There was an antho that Juno was doing -- best spec romance-- so I sent it to Cindy. She said thanks then emailed me to say that Paula Guran at Juno Books was really really really looking for good stories. She said I should send the story to Paula. So I sent DOM -- I sent mega synopsis and plot points and character studies and glossaries of DOM and just the synop and first 40 pages of windfollower. I told her however that I had been published in about 7 anthologies -- four or five fiction-- and I told her that with me "one word to the wise is sufficient." If she told me something, she could trust me to understand what she said...if she gave me a day or two to figure out what she meant. She figured she'd trust that I could write.
Because I had sent so much of DOM, she assumed DOM was the better written piece. I told her that DOM was written about five years ago and I really hadn't touched it in about two years. I said that actually Windfollower would be more finished of the two. But I sent her the first 200 pages of a 545 page octopus (Times New Roman no less) and Windfollower. I told her Windfollower was waaaay religious and she said the Juno guidelines said "No Christian fantasy...but Windfollower didn't seem religious like that...more spiritual."
She looked at both books and said she'd definitely go with Windfollower and she wants to do DOM except that DOM needs "a lot of work."
So that's about it. I tend to think it's just one of those grace of God things. Because she's been pretty cool about me fixing and repairing. I think it was because Wind follower is so odd and Cindy had said a good word for me and God had just given me grace and Paula was so desperate. All combined together.
As for what I want to do now, a part of me wants to work with DOM cause it's already finished and it's such a flaky world. But another part of me feels like I like Father Gorgeous and it's centered in this world. Like Windfollower, it's about the "real world" By this I mean, it has demons, humans, spiritual choices and both stories are things that have happened to missionaries or to people who have encountered the demonic. Unlike Dom which is truly creative....and deals with really far off fictive stuff that hasn't really happened.
Carole McDonnell Wind Follower June 2007 Juno Bookswww.geocities.com/scifiwritir/Publications.htmlcarole.mcdonnell (at) gmail (dot)com
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Discovery, not attainment
Jesus told His disciples: "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."
Fallen human nature cannot help but strive. And Christians, who should know so much more and so much better because our Lord told us not to strive in this way, seem always to be striving.
We are to "die daily." 1 Cor 15:31
We are to "stand still and see the glory of the Lord."
In our weakness, God’s strength and power is made perfect because His grace is sufficient to do wonders and is made perfect in our weakness.
Jeremiah tells us in 10:23 "O Lord, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."
Paul tells us, "When we are strong, then we are weak."
When we strive, and attempt to do things in our own will and strength, the power of God cannot flow.
Psalm 127 states, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman wakes but in vain."
Jesus tells us often in the Scriptures to "repent and believe." He wants us to repent from the lesser sins, yes, but the GREAT sin he wants us to repent of – the Sin the Holy Spirit will convict the world of– is the Sin of unbelief. This is the father of all sins: we do not believe a word God says to us. It is the same sin Adam and Eve encountered when Satan said to them, "Has God said?" Deep in our hearts we are at enmity with God and we don’t trust Him or believe His promises and His good will toward us.
The gospel is God’s good news to humanity, and the gospel is primarily about what God has done for us. The Bible is full of God’s precious promises, and these promises are about God’s perfect will for us. We are to strive in faith, not by doing our own strength, and not in our will. We are to strive to rest and stand in the truth we have discovered in His words.
The Bible is full of God’s promises waiting to be discovered. The theme of discovering the truth is everywhere in the Bible:
Thy words were found and I ate them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good
"Precious Promises."
"A treasure found in a field."
But because fallen human nature cannot help but strive, we forget that it is the discovery of truth that sets us free. We can work and work to our heart’s content, but if we do not discover a truth, and rest in that truth, the truth cannot work in us.
St Paul tells us, "Not I, but Christ."
God tells us that "without me, you can do nothing."
He tells us to "take no thought for our life."
He tell us to "trust in the Lord with all our hearts and to lean not unto our own understanding.
God tells us "Come unto me all who are heavy-laden and I will give you rest...ye shall find rest for your souls."
He tells us to "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him."
He tells us that "God watches over His word to perform it."
The promises of God, therefore are discovered and believed in. All the blessings of God – health, prosperity, spiritual growth– are to be discovered and accepted. They are not to be accepted by faith, and attained through reliance on God’s spirit working within us.
God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.
God has blessed us
God has given us favor
God has set us free.
We shall not want.
God supplies all our needs.
God gives seed to the sower.
If we "know the truth" the truth sets us free. Consider electricity and gravity. These truths existed since the beginning of time but could not be applied to our lives until they were discovered. One of the great truths of the Bible is that "All things are yours." These things – healing, prosperity, blessings– are ours already. Just as Jesus has already saved all men, but in order for people to accept that salvation, they must hear about it and accept it.
We are told to
"bring every thought captive to the knowledge of Christ." 2 Corinthians
"not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds."
"fight the good fight of faith."
that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but are spiritual and pull down mental strongholds."
We know that we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. But, at the same time, we don’t understand that this work consists in "only believing." We work by reading the Bible and discovering a promise or truth and setting our hearts to believe in it and to storm heaven with our trust. The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. The violent are those who with a trusting heart decide they will rest in the promise and in no other truth. The striving work we must do is to be careful what we hear. We must trust God’s spirit within us and within His work to make us holy. And we must meditate on and live in God’s word in order that we will not be pulled into the worldly way of thinking. God’s ways are not our ways. And the more we listen to the world, the more unconvinced we become about God’s ways. When this happens, we allow ourselves to become enslaved to sin, sickness and death. We stop believing that the blood of Jesus, the word of God, and the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed us from sin, sickness, poverty, and death.
So then, let us strive to enter into God’s rest. In the day when we hear God’s voice, we are not to harden our hearts as the Israelites did when they saw God’s works and disbelieved. We are not to harden our hearts as Pharoah hardened his. We are not to harden our hearts as the disciples did when Jesus performed the miracles of the loaves. (Mark 6) We are to trust God, open our hearts to his power and love, and rest in His truth. We are to enter into God’s rest and to cease from our own works.
God tells us, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my strength."
The Word tells us, "The flesh profits nothing."
He tells us that all the wonders of salvation are the gift of God lest anyone should boast.
This means that just as we accept salvation of our souls by faith, so we accept the salvation of our bodies, emotions, and all aspects of our lives by the same faith. When we first accept Christ, we trust that He will sanctify us wholly. Indeed, the Bible states that Jesus was wounded for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we WERE healed. God calls those things that are not, as though they were. And even when our godparents accept salvation for us as children, they are believing by faith that we are already saved adults.
Jeremiah 9:24: Thus saith the Lord, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exerciseth lovingkindness, judgement, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight."
All this is summed up in these words from our Lord: "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."
If you abide in me
Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord...and in God’s law he meditates day and night.
This one thing I do forgetting what’s behind I press toward the high calling of Jesus Christ.
I am the true vine...abide in me
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your strength
We love him because he first loved us
and my words abide in you
Take heed how you hear
For they considered not...
He who has little, the little he has shall be taken away
The Seed is the word of God...the sower comes to take the seed
then you shall know the truth
My people perish for lack of knowledge
Where there is no vision the people perish
the word did not profit them because of their unbelief
Your father knows what you need before you ask him.
My word is truth
I am truth
and the truth shall set you free.
If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.
The promises of God are yea, and Amen.
The Word of God is alive and active and sharper than a two-edged sword
The words of God are health to all your flesh
Whom the son sets free is free indeed.
That we might serve Him without fear all the days of our lives.
Jesus, who has freed us from the law of sin and death
Perfect love casts out fear
If he gave us his son freely, how will not freely give us all things?
Godliness profits in this life as well as the next
Moral: Read your Bible and be blessed by meditating on the Scriptures and the Promises of God.
Lord, let me trust in your love, care and power in my life and rest in them. Amen.
Carole McDonnell’s fiction, devotionals, poetry and essays have appeared in many publishing venues, in print and online. She lives with her husband, their two sons, and their ferocious tabby Ralphina in upstate New York. Her novel, Wind Follower, will be published in June 2007 by Juno books.
Fallen human nature cannot help but strive. And Christians, who should know so much more and so much better because our Lord told us not to strive in this way, seem always to be striving.
We are to "die daily." 1 Cor 15:31
We are to "stand still and see the glory of the Lord."
In our weakness, God’s strength and power is made perfect because His grace is sufficient to do wonders and is made perfect in our weakness.
Jeremiah tells us in 10:23 "O Lord, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."
Paul tells us, "When we are strong, then we are weak."
When we strive, and attempt to do things in our own will and strength, the power of God cannot flow.
Psalm 127 states, "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Except the Lord keep the city, the watchman wakes but in vain."
Jesus tells us often in the Scriptures to "repent and believe." He wants us to repent from the lesser sins, yes, but the GREAT sin he wants us to repent of – the Sin the Holy Spirit will convict the world of– is the Sin of unbelief. This is the father of all sins: we do not believe a word God says to us. It is the same sin Adam and Eve encountered when Satan said to them, "Has God said?" Deep in our hearts we are at enmity with God and we don’t trust Him or believe His promises and His good will toward us.
The gospel is God’s good news to humanity, and the gospel is primarily about what God has done for us. The Bible is full of God’s precious promises, and these promises are about God’s perfect will for us. We are to strive in faith, not by doing our own strength, and not in our will. We are to strive to rest and stand in the truth we have discovered in His words.
The Bible is full of God’s promises waiting to be discovered. The theme of discovering the truth is everywhere in the Bible:
Thy words were found and I ate them.
O taste and see that the Lord is good
"Precious Promises."
"A treasure found in a field."
But because fallen human nature cannot help but strive, we forget that it is the discovery of truth that sets us free. We can work and work to our heart’s content, but if we do not discover a truth, and rest in that truth, the truth cannot work in us.
St Paul tells us, "Not I, but Christ."
God tells us that "without me, you can do nothing."
He tells us to "take no thought for our life."
He tell us to "trust in the Lord with all our hearts and to lean not unto our own understanding.
God tells us "Come unto me all who are heavy-laden and I will give you rest...ye shall find rest for your souls."
He tells us to "Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him."
He tells us that "God watches over His word to perform it."
The promises of God, therefore are discovered and believed in. All the blessings of God – health, prosperity, spiritual growth– are to be discovered and accepted. They are not to be accepted by faith, and attained through reliance on God’s spirit working within us.
God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.
God has blessed us
God has given us favor
God has set us free.
We shall not want.
God supplies all our needs.
God gives seed to the sower.
If we "know the truth" the truth sets us free. Consider electricity and gravity. These truths existed since the beginning of time but could not be applied to our lives until they were discovered. One of the great truths of the Bible is that "All things are yours." These things – healing, prosperity, blessings– are ours already. Just as Jesus has already saved all men, but in order for people to accept that salvation, they must hear about it and accept it.
We are told to
"bring every thought captive to the knowledge of Christ." 2 Corinthians
"not be conformed to this world but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds."
"fight the good fight of faith."
that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but are spiritual and pull down mental strongholds."
We know that we must work out our own salvation with fear and trembling. But, at the same time, we don’t understand that this work consists in "only believing." We work by reading the Bible and discovering a promise or truth and setting our hearts to believe in it and to storm heaven with our trust. The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. The violent are those who with a trusting heart decide they will rest in the promise and in no other truth. The striving work we must do is to be careful what we hear. We must trust God’s spirit within us and within His work to make us holy. And we must meditate on and live in God’s word in order that we will not be pulled into the worldly way of thinking. God’s ways are not our ways. And the more we listen to the world, the more unconvinced we become about God’s ways. When this happens, we allow ourselves to become enslaved to sin, sickness and death. We stop believing that the blood of Jesus, the word of God, and the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has freed us from sin, sickness, poverty, and death.
So then, let us strive to enter into God’s rest. In the day when we hear God’s voice, we are not to harden our hearts as the Israelites did when they saw God’s works and disbelieved. We are not to harden our hearts as Pharoah hardened his. We are not to harden our hearts as the disciples did when Jesus performed the miracles of the loaves. (Mark 6) We are to trust God, open our hearts to his power and love, and rest in His truth. We are to enter into God’s rest and to cease from our own works.
God tells us, "Not by might, nor by power, but by my strength."
The Word tells us, "The flesh profits nothing."
He tells us that all the wonders of salvation are the gift of God lest anyone should boast.
This means that just as we accept salvation of our souls by faith, so we accept the salvation of our bodies, emotions, and all aspects of our lives by the same faith. When we first accept Christ, we trust that He will sanctify us wholly. Indeed, the Bible states that Jesus was wounded for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we WERE healed. God calls those things that are not, as though they were. And even when our godparents accept salvation for us as children, they are believing by faith that we are already saved adults.
Jeremiah 9:24: Thus saith the Lord, "Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exerciseth lovingkindness, judgement, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight."
All this is summed up in these words from our Lord: "If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, then you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."
If you abide in me
Blessed is the man whose delight is in the law of the Lord...and in God’s law he meditates day and night.
This one thing I do forgetting what’s behind I press toward the high calling of Jesus Christ.
I am the true vine...abide in me
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your mind and all your strength
We love him because he first loved us
and my words abide in you
Take heed how you hear
For they considered not...
He who has little, the little he has shall be taken away
The Seed is the word of God...the sower comes to take the seed
then you shall know the truth
My people perish for lack of knowledge
Where there is no vision the people perish
the word did not profit them because of their unbelief
Your father knows what you need before you ask him.
My word is truth
I am truth
and the truth shall set you free.
If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.
The promises of God are yea, and Amen.
The Word of God is alive and active and sharper than a two-edged sword
The words of God are health to all your flesh
Whom the son sets free is free indeed.
That we might serve Him without fear all the days of our lives.
Jesus, who has freed us from the law of sin and death
Perfect love casts out fear
If he gave us his son freely, how will not freely give us all things?
Godliness profits in this life as well as the next
Moral: Read your Bible and be blessed by meditating on the Scriptures and the Promises of God.
Lord, let me trust in your love, care and power in my life and rest in them. Amen.
Carole McDonnell’s fiction, devotionals, poetry and essays have appeared in many publishing venues, in print and online. She lives with her husband, their two sons, and their ferocious tabby Ralphina in upstate New York. Her novel, Wind Follower, will be published in June 2007 by Juno books.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Every Bible story is unique
Every Bible miracle is unique. Often we feel that the main point of the story is to show us that we must have faith. But if we study each miracle carefully, we will see that while faith is present, other occurrences in the story also teach us about how to receive miracles in our lives.
Yes, there is more besides faith.
Here are a few examples of other lessons we can learn from these miracles. I’ll only deal with the miracles done by Jesus.
The raising of the widow’s son
Here is a case where God healed simply because he was compassionate and his heart grieved for someone. The widow didn’t even ask for her son to be healed. Perhaps she was wondering in her heart about how she would live without a son in her old age, but she didn’t expect such a divine appointment. If we understood God’s love, and how faith works by love, what miracles we would have!
The woman with the issue of blood
She had heard that Jesus was healing people and she knew that some considered him to be the Messiah. She searched the Scriptures to see if what she heard about him was true and decided to touch the fringes of his garments – which symbolized the Malachi promise of the Son of Righteousness rising with healing in his wings. Continue confessing the word: She believed what she heard about Jesus and from that moment she kept saying "If I touch him, I will be healed." We don’t know how long she said this, but she didn’t only think this, she spoke this over and over. The law of healing works for all who fall in line with it. She was healed without Jesus being aware of her. This reminds me of the keys to the kingdom can be used by any who understand it. Such laws such as tithing, speaking positively, etc have been used by those outside the kingdom. The gospel is preached to the poor and if one has neither money nor medical help, there is still a savior. Don’t care about other’s people’s opinion of your faith.– She could have been killed because she was unclean because of the issue of blood, but she didn’t have the fear of man that brings a snare.
The friends of the crippled man
This teaches the power of intercession. This paralyzed man doesn’t say anything. His healing comes because of his friends. This certainly teaches that in some cases, a sick person doesn’t have to speak to God about his illness. The prayer of a loving and interceding church can do wonders. What a challenge it is to most modern churches! When someone is sick among us, we should show our love and our faith by going all out to intercede for the person. This doesn’t mean judging the person or exhorting them or trying to get the person to acknowledge his sin. Just simply being obsessed with getting our brothers and sisters well. This story also teaches that sometimes a sin is behind a disease. Jesus told the man to go and sin no more. We assume the man didn’t sin again.
The man beside the pool of Bethesda
This is a miracle about a man who was waiting for one kind of miracle and received a higher form of miracle. This man was always looking for an intercessor to help him, and for a supernatural agency to bring about his healing. This man was in a rut and could only see one way out of his healing. I have no doubt there are supernatural ways of being healed that has nothing to do with Jesus, but some of these are so far-fetched and the person is so alone we must look to Jesus. Jesus wanted him to look to the source of healing. Jesus. Perhaps this would heal the man and make him feel less forgotten and rejected. He was also among other sick folks and in his own mind, there were other folks as sick or sicker than he was. The ones who were sicker had family to help them. The ones who weren’t so sick could help themselves. There is nothing worse than thinking healing has a time or quantity limit and one has to fight with other sick people for the universe’s attention. When Jesus called to him, he must have been surprised to see that God had not forgotten him. This miracle also challenges us to ask ourselves if we really do want to be healed. Some people have gotten used to their sickness because the illness has been with them long. Some people can’t be healed because in their heart they really want to die. This man had been in such a state for so long that he needed to know that God saw him. Like the woman with the issue of blood, and like Lazarus, we understand that it is never too late to have a miracle.
The man born blind (without eyes)
This man was born with a disability and from childhood had been told all the supposed reasons why God made him sick. In many countries even now people think some people are born sick because of something they did in the womb or in a past life or because of family generational sins. Whatever the reason, Jesus told the man that the man was not born to be disabled all his life; the man was born to be healed.
The blind man outside Bethsaida
This is the only healing where Jesus actually asked the sick person if it worked, and where Jesus had to pray twice. Bethsaida is one of the cities Jesus cursed because of their hardened hearts. This shows that sometimes a sick person must be taken away from an atmosphere of unbelief in order to be healed, and after they’ve been healed they must be careful about returning to unbelievers lest they lose their healing.
The raising of Lazarus
This healing shows that Jesus often delays most when helping those whom he loves most. It shows also that delay doesn’t mean denial. It is never too late for Jesus to help. Like the raising of the widow’s son, this healing would seem to be unnecessary. After all, we are taught to believe that if someone dies we simply bury them, but the early church didn’t think so. When someone died, they often prayed for them to become alive again. How wonderful it would be if whenever we hear that someone has died, the first thing we would do as Christians is to pray for them to be returned to us!
The few sick folk in Jesus hometown
This is another case of unbelief. But this is the unbelief of people who think they "know" Jesus. They are like people who have "grown up knowing all about Jesus" and so they don’t want to be enlightened or to see him in a new way.
Carole McDonnell is the author of a How to Write and Teach Bible Studies which is available for free download from ebooks-and-authors.com See her other articles at http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=Carole+McDonnell
Yes, there is more besides faith.
Here are a few examples of other lessons we can learn from these miracles. I’ll only deal with the miracles done by Jesus.
The raising of the widow’s son
Here is a case where God healed simply because he was compassionate and his heart grieved for someone. The widow didn’t even ask for her son to be healed. Perhaps she was wondering in her heart about how she would live without a son in her old age, but she didn’t expect such a divine appointment. If we understood God’s love, and how faith works by love, what miracles we would have!
The woman with the issue of blood
She had heard that Jesus was healing people and she knew that some considered him to be the Messiah. She searched the Scriptures to see if what she heard about him was true and decided to touch the fringes of his garments – which symbolized the Malachi promise of the Son of Righteousness rising with healing in his wings. Continue confessing the word: She believed what she heard about Jesus and from that moment she kept saying "If I touch him, I will be healed." We don’t know how long she said this, but she didn’t only think this, she spoke this over and over. The law of healing works for all who fall in line with it. She was healed without Jesus being aware of her. This reminds me of the keys to the kingdom can be used by any who understand it. Such laws such as tithing, speaking positively, etc have been used by those outside the kingdom. The gospel is preached to the poor and if one has neither money nor medical help, there is still a savior. Don’t care about other’s people’s opinion of your faith.– She could have been killed because she was unclean because of the issue of blood, but she didn’t have the fear of man that brings a snare.
The friends of the crippled man
This teaches the power of intercession. This paralyzed man doesn’t say anything. His healing comes because of his friends. This certainly teaches that in some cases, a sick person doesn’t have to speak to God about his illness. The prayer of a loving and interceding church can do wonders. What a challenge it is to most modern churches! When someone is sick among us, we should show our love and our faith by going all out to intercede for the person. This doesn’t mean judging the person or exhorting them or trying to get the person to acknowledge his sin. Just simply being obsessed with getting our brothers and sisters well. This story also teaches that sometimes a sin is behind a disease. Jesus told the man to go and sin no more. We assume the man didn’t sin again.
The man beside the pool of Bethesda
This is a miracle about a man who was waiting for one kind of miracle and received a higher form of miracle. This man was always looking for an intercessor to help him, and for a supernatural agency to bring about his healing. This man was in a rut and could only see one way out of his healing. I have no doubt there are supernatural ways of being healed that has nothing to do with Jesus, but some of these are so far-fetched and the person is so alone we must look to Jesus. Jesus wanted him to look to the source of healing. Jesus. Perhaps this would heal the man and make him feel less forgotten and rejected. He was also among other sick folks and in his own mind, there were other folks as sick or sicker than he was. The ones who were sicker had family to help them. The ones who weren’t so sick could help themselves. There is nothing worse than thinking healing has a time or quantity limit and one has to fight with other sick people for the universe’s attention. When Jesus called to him, he must have been surprised to see that God had not forgotten him. This miracle also challenges us to ask ourselves if we really do want to be healed. Some people have gotten used to their sickness because the illness has been with them long. Some people can’t be healed because in their heart they really want to die. This man had been in such a state for so long that he needed to know that God saw him. Like the woman with the issue of blood, and like Lazarus, we understand that it is never too late to have a miracle.
The man born blind (without eyes)
This man was born with a disability and from childhood had been told all the supposed reasons why God made him sick. In many countries even now people think some people are born sick because of something they did in the womb or in a past life or because of family generational sins. Whatever the reason, Jesus told the man that the man was not born to be disabled all his life; the man was born to be healed.
The blind man outside Bethsaida
This is the only healing where Jesus actually asked the sick person if it worked, and where Jesus had to pray twice. Bethsaida is one of the cities Jesus cursed because of their hardened hearts. This shows that sometimes a sick person must be taken away from an atmosphere of unbelief in order to be healed, and after they’ve been healed they must be careful about returning to unbelievers lest they lose their healing.
The raising of Lazarus
This healing shows that Jesus often delays most when helping those whom he loves most. It shows also that delay doesn’t mean denial. It is never too late for Jesus to help. Like the raising of the widow’s son, this healing would seem to be unnecessary. After all, we are taught to believe that if someone dies we simply bury them, but the early church didn’t think so. When someone died, they often prayed for them to become alive again. How wonderful it would be if whenever we hear that someone has died, the first thing we would do as Christians is to pray for them to be returned to us!
The few sick folk in Jesus hometown
This is another case of unbelief. But this is the unbelief of people who think they "know" Jesus. They are like people who have "grown up knowing all about Jesus" and so they don’t want to be enlightened or to see him in a new way.
Carole McDonnell is the author of a How to Write and Teach Bible Studies which is available for free download from ebooks-and-authors.com See her other articles at http://www.isnare.com/?s=author&a=Carole+McDonnell
Saturday, December 17, 2005
I love you just the way you are
Remember Mr Rogers’ Neighborhood? I do. I really liked him. Not the show, though. A bit too slow for me. And I just never clicked with the denizens of the Land of Make Believe. But, as I said, I liked him a lot. My friend, Yvonne, never liked him though. She says that as a kid she’d watch him and when he said, “I like you just the way you are!,” she’d think, “How can you like me just the way I am? You don’t even know me.”
That’s Yvonne. Very keen and dedicated to truth. Yvonne is Jewish. And an agnostic. Her dad was killed in Auschwitz. She is one of the most honest agnostics I have ever met. There are remarkably few of those. She will say things such as, “I know there is something...someone...but I just can’t get past this business of God having a personality or desires.”
But back to her assessment of Mr Rogers. You know...she really does have a point there about that saying of his. I suspect we all somewhat feel that way about folks who say they love us. After all, they don’t know us. And the Christian answer – that God loves everyone because He is so loving– well that doesn’t quite sit well with most of us either. We don’t want to be loved by someone who loves everyone. We want to be loved by someone who sees what little goodness or virtue we have.
My question then, today is: “Have you ever accepted God’s love for you? Have you accepted his praise of you? Have you accepted his thankfulness for you?”
Carole, I hear you thinking, are you saying that God praises us? I thought we were supposed to praise Him???!!!!
Well, of course God praises you and loves you...because He is loving to all His creatures. But also because of Who you are.
Didn’t He praise Job? (Yes, I know...look where that got poor Job.) Didn’t Jesus see the young rich ruler’s heart and love him?Wasn’t Abraham called a Friend of God?Wasn’t Enoch saved because he pleased God?Wasn’t David called “a man after God’s own heart?”Didn’t Jesus pick about 400 people who followed him, then established closer bonds with seventy, then of that seventy chose twelve. And of those twelve, didn’t he have three best friends – Peter James and John? And of those three close friends, didn’t he choose John as his best friend?Aren’t there 144, 000 people who are called Companions of the Lamb who will remain at Jesus’ side forever?Aren’t there two thrones especially appointed for two people who will sit one at his right hand and one at his left?
Okay, so now someone else might say that like Mary we are all “full of grace” and “acceptable in the Beloved.” And someone else might say that this kind of thing smacks of favortism. I don’t think so. In favortism, the favored and unfavored ones have no choice. A loving and good child will be loved. No, one does not have to earn one’s love. As has been said over and over, God loves everyone and he knows how frail we are. But – scary thought– the Bible declares over and over that the Lord laughs at the wicked. Yes, I know...we are constantly being told God loves the sinner but hates the sin. Probably...but do you really want to play that game? Do you really want to fall into presumptuous sin and say “I know God hates this sin, but since he loves the sinner...well, I’ll just risk that?
I think – given my druthers– I’d druther shine a little brighter than the rest of my beloved brothers. No skin of the teeth salvation for me, no mere normal regular Godly love for me.
When I look at my husband I think, what a sweet-souled person! I know God sees that. Some of my friends simply amaze me by their sweetness, goodness, and piety. Some aren’t so sweet, but they’ve got such strength of character and such a capacity for suffering for God that well I know God stares at them everyday amazed. Yes, I could name them all. My friend, Rain, who picketed the local Walmart – the only picketer mind you– with a “Don’t sell guns!” sign in her baby carriage. My friend, Milvia, who is battling lymphoma and who helps so many others in addition to picketing the abortion clinic every Saturday. My friend, Yvonne, who is way more saintly in her behavior than many of the Christians I know. Yes, I cannot see the goodness of everyone so I’m not saying that I know whom God loves and doesn’t love. But I do think there are folks out there whom God loves very deeply, and in ways that are more profound than the love he has for the child molester, or the nominal churchgoer. Just as Jesus saw the heart of the rich young ruler and loved him, so He sees the heart of many a Christian and loves them in a uniquely special way. Somehow they become one of the inner circle.
Yes, God loves us just the way we are. But we don't have to stay that way. And our friends love us just the way we are. But why not make our friends' hearts swell with love when they ponder our great souls and noble deeds?
Prayer: Lord, let me live a life where my character and personality make you love me very much.
Easy Way to Write Bible Studies -- www.easywaytowrite.com/bible_studies.html
Carole McDonnell’s fiction, devotionals, poetry and essays have appeared in many publishing venues, in print and online including www.compulsivereader.com, www.thejoyofmovies.com and www.curledup.com. Her website is www.geocities.com/scifiwritir/OreoBlues.html She lives with her husband, their two sons, and their ferocious tabby Ralphina in upstate New York.
That’s Yvonne. Very keen and dedicated to truth. Yvonne is Jewish. And an agnostic. Her dad was killed in Auschwitz. She is one of the most honest agnostics I have ever met. There are remarkably few of those. She will say things such as, “I know there is something...someone...but I just can’t get past this business of God having a personality or desires.”
But back to her assessment of Mr Rogers. You know...she really does have a point there about that saying of his. I suspect we all somewhat feel that way about folks who say they love us. After all, they don’t know us. And the Christian answer – that God loves everyone because He is so loving– well that doesn’t quite sit well with most of us either. We don’t want to be loved by someone who loves everyone. We want to be loved by someone who sees what little goodness or virtue we have.
My question then, today is: “Have you ever accepted God’s love for you? Have you accepted his praise of you? Have you accepted his thankfulness for you?”
Carole, I hear you thinking, are you saying that God praises us? I thought we were supposed to praise Him???!!!!
Well, of course God praises you and loves you...because He is loving to all His creatures. But also because of Who you are.
Didn’t He praise Job? (Yes, I know...look where that got poor Job.) Didn’t Jesus see the young rich ruler’s heart and love him?Wasn’t Abraham called a Friend of God?Wasn’t Enoch saved because he pleased God?Wasn’t David called “a man after God’s own heart?”Didn’t Jesus pick about 400 people who followed him, then established closer bonds with seventy, then of that seventy chose twelve. And of those twelve, didn’t he have three best friends – Peter James and John? And of those three close friends, didn’t he choose John as his best friend?Aren’t there 144, 000 people who are called Companions of the Lamb who will remain at Jesus’ side forever?Aren’t there two thrones especially appointed for two people who will sit one at his right hand and one at his left?
Okay, so now someone else might say that like Mary we are all “full of grace” and “acceptable in the Beloved.” And someone else might say that this kind of thing smacks of favortism. I don’t think so. In favortism, the favored and unfavored ones have no choice. A loving and good child will be loved. No, one does not have to earn one’s love. As has been said over and over, God loves everyone and he knows how frail we are. But – scary thought– the Bible declares over and over that the Lord laughs at the wicked. Yes, I know...we are constantly being told God loves the sinner but hates the sin. Probably...but do you really want to play that game? Do you really want to fall into presumptuous sin and say “I know God hates this sin, but since he loves the sinner...well, I’ll just risk that?
I think – given my druthers– I’d druther shine a little brighter than the rest of my beloved brothers. No skin of the teeth salvation for me, no mere normal regular Godly love for me.
When I look at my husband I think, what a sweet-souled person! I know God sees that. Some of my friends simply amaze me by their sweetness, goodness, and piety. Some aren’t so sweet, but they’ve got such strength of character and such a capacity for suffering for God that well I know God stares at them everyday amazed. Yes, I could name them all. My friend, Rain, who picketed the local Walmart – the only picketer mind you– with a “Don’t sell guns!” sign in her baby carriage. My friend, Milvia, who is battling lymphoma and who helps so many others in addition to picketing the abortion clinic every Saturday. My friend, Yvonne, who is way more saintly in her behavior than many of the Christians I know. Yes, I cannot see the goodness of everyone so I’m not saying that I know whom God loves and doesn’t love. But I do think there are folks out there whom God loves very deeply, and in ways that are more profound than the love he has for the child molester, or the nominal churchgoer. Just as Jesus saw the heart of the rich young ruler and loved him, so He sees the heart of many a Christian and loves them in a uniquely special way. Somehow they become one of the inner circle.
Yes, God loves us just the way we are. But we don't have to stay that way. And our friends love us just the way we are. But why not make our friends' hearts swell with love when they ponder our great souls and noble deeds?
Prayer: Lord, let me live a life where my character and personality make you love me very much.
Easy Way to Write Bible Studies -- www.easywaytowrite.com/bible_studies.html
Carole McDonnell’s fiction, devotionals, poetry and essays have appeared in many publishing venues, in print and online including www.compulsivereader.com, www.thejoyofmovies.com and www.curledup.com. Her website is www.geocities.com/scifiwritir/OreoBlues.html She lives with her husband, their two sons, and their ferocious tabby Ralphina in upstate New York.
Friday, December 16, 2005
Unwanted Bedfellows
I was watching the lastest chapter of VH1's The Surreal Life, the Omarosa vs Janice version and ... well, let's just say that Omarosa was downright evil and mean. Hey, Janice Dickinson is not the sanest person, but she didn't seem cruel to me.
Interestingly enough both were religious in their own way. But what amazed me was that at the end of the episodes, after being downright nasty to Janice, self-righteous Omarosa (speaking to her mom on the phone) declares, "She needs Jesus, Mama." Yep, I coulda cringed. Why, oh why, do some Christian people say that in such a self-righteous way? Hey, we all need Jesus.
That kind of situation just makes the rest of us Christians look like cruel pious self-involved folks. It didn't help matters that she was black. Gosh, I cringed.
So that's one bedfellow I have to deal with. Since Ms Omarosa is a Christian and all.
But then there was President Bush. I neither like nor dislike him. He's human with vices and virtues like the rest of us. Although....truth to tell the way many Bible-believers act, one would think he was a prophet sent by God. Call me cynical but I am very suspicious of every human being. Especially ones who use my religion. And it annoys me no end that a mere person could cause so much divisiveness among Christians. I mean, I suspect only the anti-christ would get Bible-believing Christians arguing with each other. It seems as if only the truly elect would know that Bush is saintly or otherwise.
Over the past three years I have lost my liberal friends because I defended the president, and lost Bible-believing friends because I criticized him. Okay, I'm against abortion, against capital punishment, against the Iraqi War, pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian homeland. This is what kinda happens when you're a Christian who is a minority in the United States. But Christianity in America has sooo many political definitions, well....let's just say that we are living in dangerous times when have to totally praise or totally reject politicians, and when we define our faith by what we think about politicians. WWJD?
I am sure there are folks out there who cringe that I am their bedfellow. They want Christians to be seen as nice, kind, nonjudgemental. Hey, I'm nice, kind, non-judgemental. But there are certain things I say -- certain Biblical things-- which will definitely annoy a few folks. "Why does she say that? Doesn't Carole know that talking about Jesus being God's son kinda annoy folks? Doesn't Carole know that talking about Christianity just makes her look like some unenlightened uneducated Black person? We Blacks have outgrown that." That kinda stuff. Well, I believe what I believe. And while many modern folks have given up their faith in Christianity (not other religions mind you, because it seems that only Christians are treated like idiotic unenlightened persecuters) I will not be shamed into tossing away my religion.
So ... as it is, I -- like many Christians-- have strange bedfellows. And if I want to be accepted by many American Christians, it appears I must follow a particular political line. Everything is so darn cut and dried now. In my story, Homecoming at the Borderlands Cafe, which will be published in the Jigsaw Nation anthology in March 2006, I manage to pick on both the red states and the blue states. Alas, why don't I learn to ALWAYS praise one group ONLY and to ALWAYS pick on the other.
Interestingly enough both were religious in their own way. But what amazed me was that at the end of the episodes, after being downright nasty to Janice, self-righteous Omarosa (speaking to her mom on the phone) declares, "She needs Jesus, Mama." Yep, I coulda cringed. Why, oh why, do some Christian people say that in such a self-righteous way? Hey, we all need Jesus.
That kind of situation just makes the rest of us Christians look like cruel pious self-involved folks. It didn't help matters that she was black. Gosh, I cringed.
So that's one bedfellow I have to deal with. Since Ms Omarosa is a Christian and all.
But then there was President Bush. I neither like nor dislike him. He's human with vices and virtues like the rest of us. Although....truth to tell the way many Bible-believers act, one would think he was a prophet sent by God. Call me cynical but I am very suspicious of every human being. Especially ones who use my religion. And it annoys me no end that a mere person could cause so much divisiveness among Christians. I mean, I suspect only the anti-christ would get Bible-believing Christians arguing with each other. It seems as if only the truly elect would know that Bush is saintly or otherwise.
Over the past three years I have lost my liberal friends because I defended the president, and lost Bible-believing friends because I criticized him. Okay, I'm against abortion, against capital punishment, against the Iraqi War, pro-Israel, pro-Palestinian homeland. This is what kinda happens when you're a Christian who is a minority in the United States. But Christianity in America has sooo many political definitions, well....let's just say that we are living in dangerous times when have to totally praise or totally reject politicians, and when we define our faith by what we think about politicians. WWJD?
I am sure there are folks out there who cringe that I am their bedfellow. They want Christians to be seen as nice, kind, nonjudgemental. Hey, I'm nice, kind, non-judgemental. But there are certain things I say -- certain Biblical things-- which will definitely annoy a few folks. "Why does she say that? Doesn't Carole know that talking about Jesus being God's son kinda annoy folks? Doesn't Carole know that talking about Christianity just makes her look like some unenlightened uneducated Black person? We Blacks have outgrown that." That kinda stuff. Well, I believe what I believe. And while many modern folks have given up their faith in Christianity (not other religions mind you, because it seems that only Christians are treated like idiotic unenlightened persecuters) I will not be shamed into tossing away my religion.
So ... as it is, I -- like many Christians-- have strange bedfellows. And if I want to be accepted by many American Christians, it appears I must follow a particular political line. Everything is so darn cut and dried now. In my story, Homecoming at the Borderlands Cafe, which will be published in the Jigsaw Nation anthology in March 2006, I manage to pick on both the red states and the blue states. Alas, why don't I learn to ALWAYS praise one group ONLY and to ALWAYS pick on the other.
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Lovely and Amazing
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Well, keep your fingers crossed. I’ve sent off one of my stories to the editors of the “Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror stories of 2005" or something like that. It’s the biggie that Ellen Datlow of Scifi.com edits. It’s a reprint anthology, of course. The story I sent was published this year in Fantastic Visions III, an anthology of fantasy stories published by Fantasist Enterprises. If I do say so myself, it’s one of the best stories I’ve ever written....probably one of the best stories ever written in this universe or the next. I say this with all humility because Heaven knows I kept reading the published story wondering how the heck such a wonderful feat of imagination came from this addled brain. Writing a good short story is very hard and some of my published stories are workmanlike, competent, but not great. I kinda cringe when I see them, knowing they could be much, much better. Imagine my amazement, then, when I found I had written a perfect story. It’s about a knight crusader returning from fighting evil in the Holy Land who realizes that Christendom is also full of human evil. The knight is noble and yet approachable. He has a worldweariness that is not mere tiredness, but is a yearning to see the good in his fellow man, especially Christians. The story picks on Christendom yet Christianity and the love of Christ is all through the story. I would go on praising myself but you probably won’t believe me so I’ll let all this self-praise rest for the nonce. Now, am hoping the Year’s Best editors think the story a good one. As a former lit major, I would like my story to make it into posterity, and getting into this anthology would be one of the neat ways to go about that. Whether they think it’s a great story or not – and I hear they really like cutting edge stories and maybe this story isn’t cutting edge– it’s now in their inbox. So while pondering the story’s possible fate, I ended up talking with my beloved about story characters. There are two basic school of thoughts about art. One school says “art lifts a mirror to life and shows us the world, warts and all.” The other says “art should show the greatness of the human soul.” I tend to fall squarely in both categories. I like lifting a mirror to life but I also like showing extremely noble characters. I really think that Christian Art should definitely be hopeful, loving, or faith-filled. Yes, it must show the world’s evil. But it should show the evilness of evil, the goodliness of goodness, and the loveliness of love. It’s good to see a movie where human nature is examined and where evil is not excused (or shown as hip) and where goodness is shown as real and brave and not mocked. I’m sitting here wondering if there are any stories out there that has these elements. I tend to avoid Christian fiction because there is often something preachy or patently false and unreal about them. But strangely some of the most wonderful Christian stories or film have come from secular writers who are either hidden Christians or who have inhaled enough of popular Christianity to come up with a great spiritual story. For instance, if you ever get around to seeing the Danish film “Festen” (or Celebration) try to see it. It’s about a son who confronts his father for sexually abusing him and his twin sister. The main character’s name is Christian. And his battle with bravery and with his patriarch-loving relatives is near Biblical. Another great film is “A prayer for the dying” starring Mickey Rourke. That’s rated R, I think. A really great Christian film that would never cross any Christian’s door because it has so much sex, perversity, etc, is “The Bad Lieutenant.” Raunchy yet full of redemption. But you have to be able to wade through all that filth to get to the spirit. Some great G-rated lovely films that show the greatness of the human spirit are Endurance – an Ethiopian autobiography about an Olympic runner. It’s a real lesson in faith as a race. There is also Chariots of Fire, and the Hindu Indian film Lagaan, although all those prayers to Krishna might turn many Christians off. Well, I must finish writing today’s entry. I’ve got mega-work to do and writing this blog seems to be yet another one of my ways of avoiding finishing the great American Novel. I’m still wondering if I should go see “A history of violence” – just to see if I can find anything of spirit in it (while I lust over Viggo). And I’ll definitely go see Narnia. Because well...it’s beautiful and gore-free. And because it is lovely and because Aslan is such a wonderful Christ figure. And because the book is altogether lovely and amazing. |
Reality TV and the ritual of judgement
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Reality TV and the ritual of judgement. The current TV season is winding down. The last episode of America’s Next Top Model will soon be here and gone. After the winning would-be Top Model is crowned and I am proven right (or wrong) I shall have a few days of withdrawal before, mercifully, the new season of American Idol arrives. In the meantime, I shall have to tide myself over with Wife Swap, Trading Spouses, The Apprentice: Martha Stewart, Iron Chef America, Surreal Life, Judge Judy, and Judge Joe Brown. Yes, I admit it: I love reality shows. I like them because the best ones are unpredictable, unlike the average Lifetime movie --or the average Indie film which is predictable in its own indie way. In reality tv, one sees real people – not stereotypes created by Hollywood writers. I especially like reality TV shows because they remind me of the Great White Throne Judgment of God. The Great Throne Judgement? Oh, yes! Definitely! The greatest fun of Reality TV is the ritual of judgment. This is when the truth is declared, the hidden evil or goodness revealed, the sufferer rewarded, the hard work and heartache justified. As Christians we have been taught that the actual world in which we live is not the real -- or final-- world. St Paul tells us in the sixth chapter of the letter to the Hebrews that this world was formed by the Spirit of God and what appears to our senses was born from what is invisible: God''s Word. We walk by faith, not by sight. On a totally secular level, this means that Christians – especially poor Christians, powerless Christians, minority Christians– are taught to understand that true power is not something the world understands. Here the rich and the arrogant seem to have power, but in reality (spiritual reality) it is the poor in spirit who have true power -- God-- on their side. The power the world respects, however, is often on the side of those who have a gift of appearing better, wiser, more intellectual than their less worldly counterparts. But what does this have to do with Reality TV shows? Remember how good you feel when the truth --as you see it-- is finally apparent for all to see? Remember that wonderful feeling when the judge is on your side? This is especially wonderful when you were poor, tired, powerless. Remember the O J Simpson trial? Whether O J was guilty or not, the “Judgment” for his acquittal was seen as a vindication by those minorities who have learned never to trust the police. The Jury “proved” the blind justice system blind. Or, on a personal level, remember your worst enemy, the one who slickly got you fired although you kept to the high road? Remember the day – through no fault or sneakiness of your own– she slipped up really badly and all her hidden evil side was finally revealed? The last judgment at the end of these episodes is very much like the last judgement the righteous and the oppressed look forward to. They may not see the deliberations, but they see the unveiling of reality and the ceremony when the victor''s crown is given. It is also the judgment the unrighteous fear. As Christians, many of us have been made poor because we do not boast. We have made ourselves powerless because we do not engage in tit-for-tat vindictive vendettas. The poor, powerless, and oppressed long for the day when a righteous judge will hear their cause, or declare the rightness of their cause. And we want this from a judge we can trust. The judgment of TV judges hold the highest place of honor in my reality-show-loving mind. Schadenfreude aside, we love watching Judge Judy or Judge Joe enlighten the self-righteous plaintiff or unrepentant defendant. I suspect this is why so many people prefer to air their dirty laundry with TV judges rather than in the local county courthouse. We know Judge Judy. She’s tough but she’s fair. The same for Judge Joe Brown. We don’t trust the local judge...who is either too white, too black, too rich, too poor, too religious, too non-religious to give us a fair hearing. And so, yes! I LOVE reality tv. And I love God. Yes, as a Christian, I know my sins are wiped away by Jesus’s wounds, and I will not have to face the judgement. And I know I probably am as deluded and self-righteous as some of the folks Judge Judy enlightened this week, but I can’t help it. I still want to be justified even a little bit. Just to hear the words from my Lord: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” |
One Night with the King
You might not have heard this but another religious movie has been in the works for the past year. This one is being made by a Christian production company and will be called “One night with the king” and it’s based on the story of Esther. Already I dislike the title. I shouldn’t, of course, but the title is so dang romantic. And Esther, which is a great story of God’s protection and timing, is not romantic.
Somewhere along the way, though, we Christians have begun thinking of it as a great love story, and of Esther herself as the perfect symbol of submissive wifeliness. Perhaps the story has been in the hands of too many male ministers. We need to hear a woman minister tackle the story.
Let’s start with the king: Xerxes or (as the name is transliterated into Hebrew/English) Ahauserus. Xerxes was a braggart. Sure he had conquered more than his fair share of kingdoms and certainly had a right to brag. We Christians accept this because arrogance is perfectly normal for a king and certainly an arrogant male needing to be enlightened is considered a fairly popular romantic theme. After all, the woman who tames such a guy...well, it’s the old good girl/bad guy thing. This kind of pairing happens so often in Christian romances that one wonders why Christian women would want to read stories about women taming workaholic braggarts. We should be a bit more enlightened than to be attracted to guys like that, I think.
As the story goes, Xerxes gives a great dinner party, lasting 180 days, in order to show off. And in the middle of all his showing off, he suddenly gets the very drunken idea that he wants to show off his wife. Basically, he wants a veiled Arabian woman from whatever century that was to put herself on display for all his drunk friends. Vashti, his wife, (rightly, I think) refuses, giving him a snide answer. The men in the palace become quite upset about this and convince the king that if the women in the kingdom hear about how uppity Vashti has been to the king, the women will all start back-talking their husbands. And in that neck of the world (then as now) women’s equality with men is a major offense!
Christians have written tomes about how horribly unsubmissive Vashti was to do this. I think they’re wrong. I understand that when Esther enters the story we all want to be on her side, but does this mean we have to demonize Vashti. After all, maybe Vashti wasn’t so proud as all that. Maybe God used her integrity to get her to lose her place as queen. Yes, let’s think about that one for a moment. And for another moment.
Enter Esther. Raised by her uncle Mordechai, she is already shown to be a wounded soul who owes a male authority figure very much. Raise the stakes: she is beautiful. Is this not the perfect trophy wife for a king such as Xerxes? She will never question him, and she is perfect for a king who regards the external. So, she is perfect for him...but is this the perfect guy for her?
Of course not! Esther probably wanted a husband and a house in her neighborhood. instead of all that palace intrigue. Who wants to live among foreigners and away from one’s people? Who wants a husband who has five hundred concubines and secondary wives? Who wants a husband whom one can only see when it please him...or else? And remember, Vashti, the former queen is still in the harem. She’s demoted, mind you. She’s not out of the picture. What gets me is that many Christians seem to think that this story is a love story and that Esther actually falls in love with the king. Where does it say this in the Bible? Alas, nowhere. But films are replete with it. Needless to say, I’m not going to waste my time seeing the film...should it arrive at a theater near me.
Easy Way to Write Bible Studies -- www.easywaytowrite.com/bible_studies.html
Carole McDonnell’s fiction, devotionals, poetry and essays have appeared in many publishing venues, in print and online including www.compulsivereader.com, www.thejoyofmovies.com and www.curledup.com. Her works appear in various anthologies including “So Long Been Dreaming: Post-colonialism in science fiction,” edited by Nalo Hopkinson and published by Arsenal Pulp Press; “Fantastic Visions III,” published by Fantasist Enterprises; “Then an angel came along,” edited by Julie Bonn Heath and published by WinePress Publishing, “Jigsaw Nation” published by Wildside Press and “Seasoned Sistahs: writings by mature women of color.” She is currently working on two Bible studies: “Hagar, Vashti and other Scapegoats of Bible study” and “The Easy Way to Write Bible Studies" and two SF/F novels based on the Bible, "The Daughters of Men" and "The Windfollower.” Her website is www.geocities.com/scifiwritir/OreoBlues.html She lives with her husband, their two sons, and their ferocious tabby Ralphina in upstate New York.
Somewhere along the way, though, we Christians have begun thinking of it as a great love story, and of Esther herself as the perfect symbol of submissive wifeliness. Perhaps the story has been in the hands of too many male ministers. We need to hear a woman minister tackle the story.
Let’s start with the king: Xerxes or (as the name is transliterated into Hebrew/English) Ahauserus. Xerxes was a braggart. Sure he had conquered more than his fair share of kingdoms and certainly had a right to brag. We Christians accept this because arrogance is perfectly normal for a king and certainly an arrogant male needing to be enlightened is considered a fairly popular romantic theme. After all, the woman who tames such a guy...well, it’s the old good girl/bad guy thing. This kind of pairing happens so often in Christian romances that one wonders why Christian women would want to read stories about women taming workaholic braggarts. We should be a bit more enlightened than to be attracted to guys like that, I think.
As the story goes, Xerxes gives a great dinner party, lasting 180 days, in order to show off. And in the middle of all his showing off, he suddenly gets the very drunken idea that he wants to show off his wife. Basically, he wants a veiled Arabian woman from whatever century that was to put herself on display for all his drunk friends. Vashti, his wife, (rightly, I think) refuses, giving him a snide answer. The men in the palace become quite upset about this and convince the king that if the women in the kingdom hear about how uppity Vashti has been to the king, the women will all start back-talking their husbands. And in that neck of the world (then as now) women’s equality with men is a major offense!
Christians have written tomes about how horribly unsubmissive Vashti was to do this. I think they’re wrong. I understand that when Esther enters the story we all want to be on her side, but does this mean we have to demonize Vashti. After all, maybe Vashti wasn’t so proud as all that. Maybe God used her integrity to get her to lose her place as queen. Yes, let’s think about that one for a moment. And for another moment.
Enter Esther. Raised by her uncle Mordechai, she is already shown to be a wounded soul who owes a male authority figure very much. Raise the stakes: she is beautiful. Is this not the perfect trophy wife for a king such as Xerxes? She will never question him, and she is perfect for a king who regards the external. So, she is perfect for him...but is this the perfect guy for her?
Of course not! Esther probably wanted a husband and a house in her neighborhood. instead of all that palace intrigue. Who wants to live among foreigners and away from one’s people? Who wants a husband who has five hundred concubines and secondary wives? Who wants a husband whom one can only see when it please him...or else? And remember, Vashti, the former queen is still in the harem. She’s demoted, mind you. She’s not out of the picture. What gets me is that many Christians seem to think that this story is a love story and that Esther actually falls in love with the king. Where does it say this in the Bible? Alas, nowhere. But films are replete with it. Needless to say, I’m not going to waste my time seeing the film...should it arrive at a theater near me.
Easy Way to Write Bible Studies -- www.easywaytowrite.com/bible_studies.html
Carole McDonnell’s fiction, devotionals, poetry and essays have appeared in many publishing venues, in print and online including www.compulsivereader.com, www.thejoyofmovies.com and www.curledup.com. Her works appear in various anthologies including “So Long Been Dreaming: Post-colonialism in science fiction,” edited by Nalo Hopkinson and published by Arsenal Pulp Press; “Fantastic Visions III,” published by Fantasist Enterprises; “Then an angel came along,” edited by Julie Bonn Heath and published by WinePress Publishing, “Jigsaw Nation” published by Wildside Press and “Seasoned Sistahs: writings by mature women of color.” She is currently working on two Bible studies: “Hagar, Vashti and other Scapegoats of Bible study” and “The Easy Way to Write Bible Studies" and two SF/F novels based on the Bible, "The Daughters of Men" and "The Windfollower.” Her website is www.geocities.com/scifiwritir/OreoBlues.html She lives with her husband, their two sons, and their ferocious tabby Ralphina in upstate New York.
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I used to watch a lot of paranormal stories on TV. To be expected, I had a childhood filled with annoying demons, ghosts, and the lot. The w...
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Am getting back into The Constant Tower. WOW!!! It's so good to be back into a fantastical world. The nobility, the beauty, the angst --...
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I once had a white friend in my writer’s critique group ask me, “Why do you always write about mixed couples? That’s a very bad habit of you...
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Two really great sermons sent to me by my friend Rose-Marie of http://pen-of-the-wayfarer.blogspot.com Jackie Pullinger is the lady who min...
