Once there was a prince who upset an evil fairy and was turned into a fruitcake. Only if someone would love him enough to eat all of him would he turn back into a prince. He was passed around from family to princess to servant to family, but no one would eat him, and he remained a fruitcake forever.
All posts by Phil
God Works Even With the Foolish
“And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was.” Matthew 2:9
Since Lars is talking Christmas, let me throw out this holiday thought. The star which brought the Magi to Bethlehem to find the newborn king (cf. Matthew 2:1-12) was either a supernatural event or a natural one. If we say it must be an angel or a divine light shone only for the birth of Christ Jesus, then we have nothing more to say. An astronomer who has written a book on the Bethlehem Star notes this view has had credibility from good men over the years. “The great astronomer/astrologer Johannes Kepler,” Mike Molnar writes, “thought the Star was a miracle accompanied by natural phenomena such as a triple conjunction and a supernova similar to what he observed in 1604.”
But if we hope to find a natural explanation, there are many options and a great deal of research to do. I heard an expert on the radio say that new explanations for the Star of Bethlehem are offered almost every year, and Molnar has a whole book on his explanation of a natural occurrence. He gives a good bit away in the FAQs on his site.
Not long ago I told my girls that the star had to be supernatural because the Bible says it moved before the Magi and stopped over Jesus’ location. Now I am second-guessing. My only thought for this post, small and nearly pointless it may be, is that we know the Lord uses even foolish reasoning for his purposes, so it is entirely possible for the Magi, being astrologers, to interpret the Star’s normal behavior in the sky as guiding them in ways we would believe to be crazy if we could have them explained today. These wise men saw Jupiter approaching a part of the sky, and they interpreted as it to mean a king will be born in Judea. Apparently the astrology all works out for regions to have symbols and planets to have meanings. In this way, the Magi believed they had seen heavenly signs of a Judean king, so they went to Jerusalem to ask about him. Herod’s scribes told them Micah’s prophecy, and they went to Bethlehem.
The Magi may have believed the Star was directing them (moving and stopping) in ways we would not agree had we been there to argue about it, and isn’t that the way God works sometimes. He blesses good-hearted people who run with out-of-context verses. He helps those who have bad theology–not often, but often enough to notice. That’s no excuse of laziness in worship or Bible study, but it is a good reason to praise him for his grace and mercy.
Schultz' Writing Notes
Greg Schultz talks about writing a bit on Ploughshares’ blog.
Craft can be counterproductive. I’ve already registered my suspicions about how-to advice on the craft of writing in a previous post. One problem with the axioms (“show, don’t tell”) and diagrams (Freytag’s triangle, below) of craft is that they turn the act of writing on its head. Freytag’s triangle, for example, is much more effective as a tool of analysis than one of instruction. It can be useful to study a completed story through the lens of the triangle. However, when taken as instruction, Freytag’s triangle, like most craft advice, is more hindrance than help. Like a cookie-cutter, it stamps the uncooked dough. The resulting story, built to satisfy preconceived notions of craft, is likely to have about the same resemblance to real life as a gingerbread man has to a living, breathing person.
Timelapse Snowstorm
Photos were taken every five minutes for 20 hours. The snow fell down, and the drifts went up.
(via 22 Words)
Five E-book Trends
Philip Ruppel, president of McGraw-Hill Professional, notes five trends he says will change the publishing industry.
- Enhanced E-Books Are Coming and Will Only Get Better
- The Device War Is Nearly Over
- The $9.99 E-Book Won’t Last Forever
- The Contextual Upsell Will be a Business Model to Watch
- Publisher Editing and Design Will Be More Important Than Ever
Platt on Rebelling Against the American Dream
Pastor and author David Platt writes:
We American Christians have a way of taking the Jesus of the Bible and twisting him into a version of Jesus that we are more comfortable with.
A nice middle-class American Jesus. A Jesus who doesn’t mind materialism and would never call us to give away everything we have. A Jesus who is fine with nominal devotion that does not infringe on our comforts.
Platt has written the bestselling book Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream
The Night After Christmas: An Advent Ghost Story
Wayne’s car died downtown while a frizzy-headed kid watched. Three sickly children stopped playing under a large electric snowflake when he walked by, and a pale, stained baby, rolling on the sidewalk, began wailing. Now he runs past the shuttered tourist-shop windows, seeing shadows in doorways, twisted faces in car windows, and figures from the corners of his eyes. The rumor can’t be true–that children, murdered by Herod, haunt the streets tonight seeking abusers. Broken sidewalk catches his foot and cracks his knee like a walnut.
Then they come.
Pallid boys emerge from the cracks: grabbing, pulling, twisting, choking.
(Thanks for Loren Eaton for organizing this shared storytelling event. See his post for a list of other stories.)
Reunion: An Advent Ghost Story
Mary Beth hopped through the door spritely, like she’d always done, alighting on a chair. Her dark curls bounced as she glanced around, but he sat gaping. It had been three years since the funeral.
“Why don’t you throw out that sorry wreath I made? Christmas is about hope, grace, life–” She stopped herself with giggles.
His heart skittered. “But, honey, you–ain’t you dead?”
Her impish smile grew. “Darlin’, Death’s been beat.” She reached and lifted him like a newborn. He gasped, then laughed as dawn crashed in with trumpets, announcing a triumphant king’s return.
(Thanks for Loren Eaton for organizing this shared storytelling event. Here is his index post with links to other stories, and I have one more story to share a little later this morning. Merry Christmas.)
Politics is for Storytellers
That’s the line at The Daily Beast, and they’ve asked some authors to rewrite Mr. Obama’s story. I think I need a drink before I read the rest of this.
Advent Ghost Stories
Loren Eaton’s Shared Storytelling: Advent Ghosts 2010 is coming up Friday. I have a couple short-short stories (only 100 words) to post, which I plan to do early and mid-morning. Loren will have links to everyone’s stories, and I’ll link to his index post once it’s up.