Hymn for Walpurgisnacht
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Tuesday, August 31, 2010
13 Ways' Kool New Kindle Page
Amazon update. Here they did a good job adapting the book cover to the Kindle advert.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Friday, August 27, 2010
13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird now available on Kindle for $2.99
Electronic books are cheaper so you can buy lots more and not have the look of my office. "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" is now available on Kindle for $2.99. Don't have a Kindle? You can now download Kindle applications to most PCs and smart phones. I have it on my Blackberry Curve. Enjoy.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Belief and Damnation on Flight 1220
A recent poll showed that 1 out of 5 Americans believes President Obama is a Muslim. Coming back from a Bible retreat, my friend agreed that that was kind of silly. However, he wanted to see what Obama's response would be to, "Do you believe all people who don't believe in Jesus go to Hell?" What an awesome question that would be! It is the make-or-break question for a Christian because, if you say yes, you're a Christian, and, if you say no, you're not - as Christopher Hitchens puts it - "in any meaningful sense a Christian".
At the core of Christianity is salvation versus damnation. The answer to the age-old question is in Jesus Christ. We often forget that and, as most American Christians would take the bait and say no, most have abandoned the core value of their faith. These Christians who deny the exclusivity of Christ are cultural Christians, not unlike the cultural Jews of the Old Testament who didn't follow God. Not surprisingly, they were the majority also. They were born into, but not born again. From John 3, verse 3: In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." Jesus described salvation/Christianity as a life-changing experience, NOT something you're born into.
In "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird", the 149 souls on Flight 1220 are all in different points along the spiritual walk. On one end you have the Musgrave family, on a mission trip to the remote Amazon region. Their salvation is secure and it should be no surprise little Morgan Musgrave - who blurts out the gospel to Paul the moment they meet - plays a key role later on in the story.
The Montoyas are still in a cultural Christian rut while Sonia Petra is the only active believer among the survivors. Although Sonia will go through a time of anger toward God in "The Mountaineer" sequel, her faith is strong. The Montoyas will be shaken out of their spiritual paralysis by the events of Flight 1220 and move toward Christ in time to deal with Bill's life-threatening illness that is soon to be diagnosed. Paul Thurber, the "13 Ways" protagonist, is a young, cultural Christian with some idea, albeit nebulous, of who Jesus is. I am very familiar with him; he is based on myself as I was 20+ years ago.
In the nightmares from 1999 to 2009, Paul was not me; that is, I was not in the dreams. It was just easier to tell the story through Paul's eyes using my personality to color him. Now Paul's salvation - while inferred - is not fully revealed because there is that element between ultimate reality and doctrine that we cannot penetrate. Paul falls, as I did, in that broad swath of people who have heard a weak version of the gospel and haven't rejected it nor have they sought it with any passion. He is confronted with his own mortality in an era of his life in which he is not spiritually mature.
The salvation by Jesus question is not as cut-and-dried as it looks, but it is still a yes-or-no question. The key word is "believe"; If you believe in Jesus Christ, you go to Heaven, and, if not, Hell. Belief denotes a frame of reference exists. If someone asked me if I believed in the Tazmanian Jaguar God and, upon saying "No", found myself in Hell I'd definitely cry foul. I would have to know what the Tazmanian Jaguar God is before my reply would be binding. The Bible teaches that we will be judged by what we know. We are "under the law" [Romans 3:19] by varying degrees. This is why the person who hears the gospel clearly and rejects it is in far more danger of Hell than the aborigine who only knew a cross necklace that his persecutors wore around their necks.
Paul's almost comical view of faith is a sharp critique of Christianity as it exists in America today. In one scene, he gets tangled up trying to pray during the turbulence, hijacking a few phrases his Christian uncle used to use. The prayer becomes a bunch of babbling nonsense. It was a metaphor for the big problem so many people have (and I had) in being able to talk to God in their own language.
Salvation for us is a one-time event that is ongoing. By that I mean salvation has a definite beginning but the journey with God grows from that point. The Bible teaches that the opposite is also true; damnation has a starting point and grows progressively worse. Anyone who studies the development of a monster like Hitler or Stalin can see how that dynamic works. For me, I give thanks that I will never know that firsthand. God has saved me through Jesus Christ.
I like the idea that God doesn't just speak through visions and dreams on Flight 1220. He also talks directly to Paul through the Being, speaking through the bodies of the passengers and crew with that authoritative - sometimes male, sometimes female - voice. He is around Paul, and Paul realizes He's always been around. Every saved soul has that intimate truth revealed to them; God has always known us and loved us more than we can possibly imagine. God is very real. That is what I wanted to convey most in "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird". That is why His Word stands today on solid ground after thousands of years of attacks upon it. Like those people who believe in Him, the Word endures forever.
At the core of Christianity is salvation versus damnation. The answer to the age-old question is in Jesus Christ. We often forget that and, as most American Christians would take the bait and say no, most have abandoned the core value of their faith. These Christians who deny the exclusivity of Christ are cultural Christians, not unlike the cultural Jews of the Old Testament who didn't follow God. Not surprisingly, they were the majority also. They were born into, but not born again. From John 3, verse 3: In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again." Jesus described salvation/Christianity as a life-changing experience, NOT something you're born into.
In "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird", the 149 souls on Flight 1220 are all in different points along the spiritual walk. On one end you have the Musgrave family, on a mission trip to the remote Amazon region. Their salvation is secure and it should be no surprise little Morgan Musgrave - who blurts out the gospel to Paul the moment they meet - plays a key role later on in the story.
The Montoyas are still in a cultural Christian rut while Sonia Petra is the only active believer among the survivors. Although Sonia will go through a time of anger toward God in "The Mountaineer" sequel, her faith is strong. The Montoyas will be shaken out of their spiritual paralysis by the events of Flight 1220 and move toward Christ in time to deal with Bill's life-threatening illness that is soon to be diagnosed. Paul Thurber, the "13 Ways" protagonist, is a young, cultural Christian with some idea, albeit nebulous, of who Jesus is. I am very familiar with him; he is based on myself as I was 20+ years ago.
In the nightmares from 1999 to 2009, Paul was not me; that is, I was not in the dreams. It was just easier to tell the story through Paul's eyes using my personality to color him. Now Paul's salvation - while inferred - is not fully revealed because there is that element between ultimate reality and doctrine that we cannot penetrate. Paul falls, as I did, in that broad swath of people who have heard a weak version of the gospel and haven't rejected it nor have they sought it with any passion. He is confronted with his own mortality in an era of his life in which he is not spiritually mature.
The salvation by Jesus question is not as cut-and-dried as it looks, but it is still a yes-or-no question. The key word is "believe"; If you believe in Jesus Christ, you go to Heaven, and, if not, Hell. Belief denotes a frame of reference exists. If someone asked me if I believed in the Tazmanian Jaguar God and, upon saying "No", found myself in Hell I'd definitely cry foul. I would have to know what the Tazmanian Jaguar God is before my reply would be binding. The Bible teaches that we will be judged by what we know. We are "under the law" [Romans 3:19] by varying degrees. This is why the person who hears the gospel clearly and rejects it is in far more danger of Hell than the aborigine who only knew a cross necklace that his persecutors wore around their necks.
Paul's almost comical view of faith is a sharp critique of Christianity as it exists in America today. In one scene, he gets tangled up trying to pray during the turbulence, hijacking a few phrases his Christian uncle used to use. The prayer becomes a bunch of babbling nonsense. It was a metaphor for the big problem so many people have (and I had) in being able to talk to God in their own language.
Salvation for us is a one-time event that is ongoing. By that I mean salvation has a definite beginning but the journey with God grows from that point. The Bible teaches that the opposite is also true; damnation has a starting point and grows progressively worse. Anyone who studies the development of a monster like Hitler or Stalin can see how that dynamic works. For me, I give thanks that I will never know that firsthand. God has saved me through Jesus Christ.
I like the idea that God doesn't just speak through visions and dreams on Flight 1220. He also talks directly to Paul through the Being, speaking through the bodies of the passengers and crew with that authoritative - sometimes male, sometimes female - voice. He is around Paul, and Paul realizes He's always been around. Every saved soul has that intimate truth revealed to them; God has always known us and loved us more than we can possibly imagine. God is very real. That is what I wanted to convey most in "13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird". That is why His Word stands today on solid ground after thousands of years of attacks upon it. Like those people who believe in Him, the Word endures forever.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
"13 Ways" is not an altar call but a conversation starter
A Christian movie producer recently asked me, "Why is this film important to the Christian audience?" Just in time for this question I had been reading a recent issue of USA Weekend with an article titled, "Holy-wood's next big hits". It noted many of the Christian-themed films did not have an altar call or an overt Christian message. Writes Cathy Lynn Grossman, "Their goal in making films is to move people with universal themes that create conversations while the credits are still rolling." That is also my goal with this story. I wanted to get inside people's minds by getting them inside Paul Thurber's mind and then shocking them with the rapid-fire events of Chapter 13.
I am not belittling overtly Christian movies like "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants". They play an important role. But most Americans are clueless about Christianity as I was; the only difference between Paul Thurber and I is that I had blonder hair. The films that moved me the most were "It's a Wonderful Life" (watched 50+ times), "Groundhog Day" and "Fargo" (watched about ten times each). It wasn't until after I met Jesus Christ that I found these movies were being used as platforms for sermons. "Wonderful Life" was a profoundly philosophical and theological tale disguised as a mass-appeal Christmas classic. "Groundhog Day" was a redemptive story that, while being hysterically funny, was also a brilliant Bible study piece. "Fargo" was a superb expose on the power of sin and how it takes over our lives. Those three movies met me right where I was in my life and had a positive impact on my thinking.
"13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" uses the classic Wallace Stevens poem of the same name to begin each chapter. Stevens wrote of the fear of death in his "13 Ways", something at the very heart of the human experience and - here is the really significant point - something that is inextricably linked to sin itself which is the true cause of death. I feel it meshes perfectly with the airplane story. That night I woke up from the first "13 Ways" nightmare ten years ago, I had the name for my story as well. The poem is even woven directly into the story; the mysterious "Shadow" is taken from the 11th Way and mentioned on Page 187.
Back to the theme of this post, my goal was to put the reader in Paul's brain, have them bond with him, and then show them how Paul's approach did not work. His point of view is the point of view of 95% of all the people who ever lived so it was rather easy to get the audience to identify with him. That everything goes the other way guides the audience to another reality, true reality. Paul does not seem like a sinner trying to escape the will of God. Jerry Lundegaard, Bill Macy's hapless car dealer in "Fargo", commits a crime, but Paul is only trying to be a hero. Or is he? The culmination of this analysis of Paul's thoughts are in Chapter 10 when he comes face to face with an older version of himself.
So don't expect "13 Ways" to have an altar call. Neither is it sailing along on a wing and a prayer. The message is that God is in control and can overturn everything, providing us with real peace and eternal contentment.
I am not belittling overtly Christian movies like "Fireproof" and "Facing the Giants". They play an important role. But most Americans are clueless about Christianity as I was; the only difference between Paul Thurber and I is that I had blonder hair. The films that moved me the most were "It's a Wonderful Life" (watched 50+ times), "Groundhog Day" and "Fargo" (watched about ten times each). It wasn't until after I met Jesus Christ that I found these movies were being used as platforms for sermons. "Wonderful Life" was a profoundly philosophical and theological tale disguised as a mass-appeal Christmas classic. "Groundhog Day" was a redemptive story that, while being hysterically funny, was also a brilliant Bible study piece. "Fargo" was a superb expose on the power of sin and how it takes over our lives. Those three movies met me right where I was in my life and had a positive impact on my thinking.
"13 Ways of Looking at a Blackbird" uses the classic Wallace Stevens poem of the same name to begin each chapter. Stevens wrote of the fear of death in his "13 Ways", something at the very heart of the human experience and - here is the really significant point - something that is inextricably linked to sin itself which is the true cause of death. I feel it meshes perfectly with the airplane story. That night I woke up from the first "13 Ways" nightmare ten years ago, I had the name for my story as well. The poem is even woven directly into the story; the mysterious "Shadow" is taken from the 11th Way and mentioned on Page 187.
Back to the theme of this post, my goal was to put the reader in Paul's brain, have them bond with him, and then show them how Paul's approach did not work. His point of view is the point of view of 95% of all the people who ever lived so it was rather easy to get the audience to identify with him. That everything goes the other way guides the audience to another reality, true reality. Paul does not seem like a sinner trying to escape the will of God. Jerry Lundegaard, Bill Macy's hapless car dealer in "Fargo", commits a crime, but Paul is only trying to be a hero. Or is he? The culmination of this analysis of Paul's thoughts are in Chapter 10 when he comes face to face with an older version of himself.
So don't expect "13 Ways" to have an altar call. Neither is it sailing along on a wing and a prayer. The message is that God is in control and can overturn everything, providing us with real peace and eternal contentment.
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