Don’t look for this story in your local newspaper. Do you think it would get covered if Christians tried to get a book “killed” by its publisher?
In May, Random House abruptly called off publication of the book. The series of events that torpedoed this novel are a window into how quickly fear stunts intelligent discourse about the Muslim world.
By way of Power Line.
Harrison Scott Key says, “I’m just not convinced that the Protestant Evangelical Church can do art.” He lists several problems.
On this subject, I came across this passage in Les Miserables last night, which I believe gets to the heart of the matter.
We must say, by the way, that the hatred of luxury is not an intelligent hatred. It implies a hatred of the arts. Nevertheless, among churchmen, beyond their rites and ceremonies, luxury is a crime. It seems to disclose habits which are not truly charitable. A wealthy priest is a contradiction. He ought to keep himself near the poor. But, who can be in contact continually, by night as well as day, with all distresses, all misfortunes, all privations, without taking upon himself a little of that holy poverty, like the dust of a journey? Can you imagine a man near a fire, who does not feel warm? . . . The first proof of charity in a priest, and especially a bishop, is poverty.
I watched I am Legend tonight. I enjoyed it. It will make a great discussion film for those of us who enjoy talking philosophy and such after seeing a film. The gospel is in this movie, and I suspect some reviewers saw it and hated it.
The darkness hates the light to a degree.
If you don’t know the story, I’ll brief it for you. An air-born and contact virus breaks out in New York City and spreads across the world. 90% die; 9.9% become dark-seekers. The remaining are immune to the virus somehow. Robert Neville is the lone man on Manhattan island, what he calls Ground Zero. He believes he can stop the virus by staying there and working out vaccine.
Neville believes he is one man against a world turned bad, and in that role he plays a type of Christ. “God didn’t do this,” he says, “We did.” We made the world a hellish place. We turned ourselves into monsters—seekers of darkness.
And what does God care? He sits in his heaven, and all is right with the world as far as he’s concerned. But God is not absent. He still has a voice, directing, moving. Why he’s whispering may be a good question, but does it matter how he speaks if we refuse to listen? “The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.”
The cure for humanity is in the blood. Whose blood? That’s the final question.
When I got to the end of the story, I wondered how many bad ideas have some of us dressed up in biblical language. We need redemption. The closing song in this movie said we could find that redemption only in ourselves. That’s the human struggle, isn’t it? Can we save ourselves? Are we the hope we’ve been looking for?
If we saw ourselves as dark-seekers, we’d know there is no hope in us.
I did some painting on the garage over the weekend, and in between caught a few movies on DVD, and one actually in a theater.
You’ll marvel, I am sure, to learn that I was the only person in the country who hadn’t yet seen Pirates of the Caribbean. I’ve remedied that omission now.
There were some sword fights, which is (it goes without saying) always good. Having been watching Douglas Fairbanks movies recently, it was interesting to note that movie sword fights are basically what they were back then, except that Fairbanks’ old tricks are passé now, so that the choreographers have to come up with increasingly improbable new tricks.
Someday somebody may want to try a realistic fight. Just for the novelty of the thing.
Nah, that’ll never happen. Continue reading Weekend movies
The story of the appalling shooting incident at Tennessee Valley Unitarian Universalist Church seems extremely strange, judging from early reports.
The shooter is described as hating liberals and homosexuals. But he’s also described as hating the Bible and all churches.
He appears to have been a deranged man with a wide range of resentments.
In any case, his actions were evil.
I was composing a funny blog entry in my mind today. The premise was that I’d pretend to come clean with you, and admit that I’m not Lars Walker, Norwegian Avoidant has-been author, but Dwight Krupinsky, an insurance adjustor from Spokane with a wife and kids, who’s created this false identity for some reason I never entirely worked out.
It came to nothing, but I had identity on my mind.
Then I stopped for groceries after work, and used my credit card at checkout. I have an old credit card from a certain issuing bank, and it features a picture of me. The bank came up with the picture-on-the card gimmick on the theory that a card with the owner’s picture would be harder to use fraudulently (this was when a lot fewer people had internet access). I don’t think they’ve pushed the program for years, but every time they replace my card, it still has the picture.
It’s actually become counterproductive. Continue reading I’m not the man I used to be
Dennis Ingolfsland over at Recliner Commentaries passes on a report from WoodTV 8 in Grand Rapids, MI:
Christian publisher Zondervan is facing a $60 million federal lawsuit filed by a man who claims he and other homosexuals have suffered based on what the suit claims is a misinterpretation of the Bible.
Because the “Gay” movement is all about, you know, live-and-let-live.
The folks at Faith by Hearing suggest we seize our commutes with loads of MP3s.
Here’s a picture of three members of the Declaration Committee, working hard on incorporating the 600th revision requested by the Continental Congress, in wool suits and without benefit of a word processor. You can tell by the look on Jefferson’s face that he’s about ready to knock those bifocals off Franklin’s puss and tell him, “If you know a better way to put it than ‘Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes…’ then why don’t you just do the next draft yourself, you old gout-sack?”
But they soldiered on, and did one another no recorded violence. Such were the sacrifices that bought us our liberty.
Some pertinent quotations from each of the three:
“Let me add that only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters.” (Benjamin Franklin, 1789.)
“(R)eligion and virtue are the only foundations, not only of republicanism and of all free government, but of social felicity under all governments and in all combinations of human society.” (John Adams in a letter to Benjamin Rush, Aug. 28, 1811.)
“God who gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time. Can the liberties of a nation be secure when we have removed their only sure basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that those liberties are the gift of God?” (Thomas Jefferson. One of the quotations inscribed in the Jefferson Memorial, Washington D.C.)
(The quotations above are all found in Christianity and the Constitution, by John Eidsmoe.)
This global cooling we’re obviously experiencing means we had a pretty dismal spring, but summer so far has been rather splendid. Tonight was exquisite, and there were dragonflies around Crystal Lake.
I love dragonflies. They look sort of like little airborne Viking ships, and they search and destroy mosquitoes. That’s my idea of a good neighbor.
Mitch Berg over at Shot In the Dark memorializes the charge of the First Minnesota Regiment at Gettysburg, July 2, 1863. It was one of the most remarkable battle actions in history, but it suffers in memory because it happened the same day that Joshua Chamberlain and his Vermonters* had that little dustup you saw in the movie Gettysburg.
I was a corresponding member of the First Minnesota reenactment group back in the ’80s, but I was unemployed at the time and unable to buy equipment and so become active. It was my destiny to be a Viking, and I guess that’s for the best. For one thing, it’s more authentic to be a fat Viking than a fat Civil War soldier.
Ever argue with somebody about homosexual marriage? Then you’ve heard the question, “What harm does it do to your marriage if two men or two women get to enjoy the same institution?”
This is, of course, a diversionary tactic. Obviously nobody’s going to break into your home and force you to become a sodomite. (Not right away, anyway.) The effects on individual families will happen over a long period of time. The immediate effects will be on your ability to do business and to practice your religion freely.
Think I’m being alarmist? Read this column from Patrick McIlheran in the Milwaukee Journal (link from Feddie at Southern Appeal). And don’t think it’s just businesspeople who’ll be forced to violate their consciences. It’ll be church schools and charities and parachurch organizations too. The churches themselves will come under the hammer a little later, but it’ll happen.
Note in particular the comments below the column. Notice how people are saying, in essence, “Homophobes are bad, and bad people ought to be punished.” That’s what liberal openmindedness has sunk to: “I believe in freedom of conscience for all people, as long as they agree with me. If they disagree with me, of course, they’re wicked and must be purged.”
This election matters, because judges matter. Don’t kid yourself about that.
Meanwhile (now that I’ve depressed you sufficiently), enjoy Independence Day!
*Correction: Should read “Maine.” Thanks to Bill for the heads-up.