Friday Night Date Place: Marc Davidson’s Dating Tips Part I

Marc Davidson is a regular on my board who took it on himself to work my side of the street and start a thread on my board about dating. Since I have pressing deadlines on a few projects, I thought that I would collect his tips for the blog.

1. I know this is going to sound rather Zen like, but try to stop thinking about women, and instead, get yourself lost in either your faith, a great cause, or some kind of hobby. This will make you interesting, plus, it will put you in the presence of hot chicks who dig what you dig.

2. Wash your funky behind. There is no greater turnoff than poor hygiene. Take care of yourself, get your teeth whitened if they are yellow, iron your clothes for a change, get a haircut, bathe EVERY DAY Plus, do this for yourself, not for some unknown woman. Never lose site of tip #1

3. Learn to enjoy all kinds of people and listen to their stories: Being a good listener who actually enjoys people is the sexiest thing on the planet, because when you genuinely are interested in other people it has the concomitant effect of them being interested in you.

4. Flirt. And I mean flirt with as many women as possible in all kinds of places. Flirting is an art form that deserves a whole thread to itself. I won't break it down too much, I will just let the women on the board state when flirting works and when it doesn't. I'll say this though, it is important to give a woman a lot of space when flirting so that she does not think you are coming on to her or stalking her. Flirting should make a woman feel really good about herself and you. So much so in fact, that she cannot wait for you to come around to pay attention to her.

5. Learn to give appropriate compliments. But don't tell her how nice her butt and boobs are. Compliment her instead on her smile, her eyes, her intelligence, hard work, etc. I don't know why this is, but most women I know have low self-esteem, they really can use a lot of affirmation. I have the gift of exhortation and encouragement, and this is probably the main reason the women love me (other than fact that I am foine as all get out)

6. Feel good about yourself. Do an inventory and think through what you are really good at, and start thinking about yourself as a person with a lot to offer. If you have trouble doing this, ask a good friend what your positive traits are. Don't compare yourself to anyone else, be the cool guy that only you can be. Being self actualized like this make you a magnet for all kinds of people, especially the ladies, can you dig it?


7. Say hello to her just like you would anyone else. Don't turn it into some huge romantic event, just say "hello', and figure out how to keep the conversation flowing (that's a thread all to itself). Here is the thing though, if she likes you, she will help keep the conversation flowing. If the conversation falls flat, don't worry about it, there probably is no chemistry between you two anyway so it is not going to work. You win some you lose some. Don't take it personally.

8. One way to test whether or not someone likes you is by getting inside their comfort zone and even slightly touching them. If she moves, this might not prove anything, but if she either stays where she is or moves closer, chances are that she might think you're kinda cute.

9. Once you established that there is some real chemistry, she likes you and you like her, invite her to hang with your crew at some really fun event. That way, you can see how she meshes with your friends and how they like her, and you don't wierd her out by coming on too strong.

10. After a couple of group dates where you have established, A) Your friends like her and don't thnk she is a bunny boiler, and B) You still think she is hot and want to get to know her better, ask her out on a one-on-one date. Again, don't make it a big deal, just tell her that you were planning going to some real fun place but don't have anyone to come with, and ask her if she would like to hang come with you. Don't call it a date, let her ask if it is a date, then you can call it a date. If she is all weirded out by the notion of going out with you alone, don't worry, she probably does like you, but just may not be ready for a one on one relationship. Respect that, and just give her time if you really like her. You can still go on group dates. Just give her a lot of space and continue to live your life, and also continue to be really nice to her, and above all, don't pressure her.

His dating tips started going to his head, because his last few tips started getting longer and longer. Thus I had to break this up into two parts. Part two next week.



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Preacher Part II

“It doesn’t matter who you are, or how good you got things. Sooner or later, shit goes wrong for everybody. Sooner or later there comes a time when all you want to do is shout ‘F- You’ to the world.” Johnny Lee Wombat

After reading through the entire run of Preacher, there are several conclusions to draw from Jesse’s (spiritual) struggles and misadventures:

1. You don’t get angry about things you don’t care about. Or don’t think exists. We start with the fact that for him, the existence of God is a foregone conclusion. A friend of mine shared with me that a girl she was dialoguing with revealed that she “only believed in God because I’m mad at God. When I cease to be mad at God, He might not exist for me any longer.” She was pissed that she lived in a society that marginalized women and sexualized their existence, pissed at the list of dos and don’ts people prescribed as the only way to please God, and pissed that we’re not allowed to be pissed at God. Questioning God, being angry at God, isn’t the issue. He’s capable of handling that and wants us to be honest with him. The ironic thing is that Jesse Custer never completes his intended task, but, as it is with all of us, it is the journey for truth that forms him.

“Folks don’t like the truth. That’s the point. It’s easier lyin’. Stops us havin’ to face up to trouble when it comes along to do wrong insteada right.” Jesse Custer

The search for answers from questions without answers isn’t all its cracked up to be. As Jesse found out during the course of his journey was that “what seemed so easy to figure back then has become a hell of a lot more complicated.” There are many reasons for this, not the least of which is the fact that it’s not like we’re owed any answers. We think we are, and the reasons for that I’ll discuss later. Many times, we don’t even understand the questions that we’re asking (again, we think we do. I have a four year old that loves asking me “why?” but when I turn around and ask him “why what?” all he can do is stare at me cutely because I’m supposed to explain to him the question as well as the answer). For that matter, we probably wouldn’t be satisfied with the answers, because, as Jesse learned during his stint as a minister, “folks never believe more than what’s convenient.”

2. We ascribe human notions to a being beyond conception. Jesse does what many of us do, put human characteristics and motivations on God. “You got power, you got to use it right,” he says. You see, and I don’t want to overwhelm you with deep theology but, God is ... big. In order to relate to Him, we project our own humanness on Him; sometimes our foibles and notions of right and wrong. We bring Him down to our level and put Him in an understandable box. So it becomes perfectly understandable that we forget his otherliness.

3. Our frustration stems from a feeling of broken trust. Why bring us into this world of pain? Do you even have a plan? If Genesis has the power to rival God’s, then why would God suffer its existence? Also, knowing what would happen to creation, why do it? We wonder why He has to be so cruel about going about His business. He strikes us as capricious by our way of thinking. Yet, is it really so much for a Creator to ask of His creation that we trust him?

4. We have a low vision of God and an entirely too high vision of ourselves. We’re so quick to blame God for what is wrong with the world around us that we let ourselves off the hook. We have free will and we have a responsibility to our fellow man.

“The Lord announced His great leap forward. Life on earth, not in Heaven, that could think for itself and decide its own spiritual destiny. Men of free will. Every angel in paradise knew what that would mean. Without the love of God around them–tangible, real, as it is in heaven–men on earth would turn from God. Go their own ways. Divide into factions, fight war upon war upon war ...” An adephi.

God created man in His image and gave man free will so that we could choose to love Him. However, we, in turn, have created a God in our image. So that instead of God being complete unto Himself, the Trinity in eternal community–creating from an overflow of that dynamic love– we’ve come to see God as an egomaniac who feeds on love. That is why we presume that he needs a helping hand with His divine plan, that somehow we’d know better how to do things. We’ve fallen victim to our hubris that leads us to believe that the creation has outgrown the Creator and need to be free of His machinations. That is the same pride that believes we could do so much better left to our own devices, without Him.

Again, after all the evil that we’ve seen, the day-to-day violence and degradation that we inflict on one another, man’s ever inventive ways of being cruel to one another, the question becomes not ‘how can we believe in God?’ but ‘how can we keep believing in man?’

“Preacher features more than its share of blasphemy,” one reviewer said. Is this a blasphemous work? My Oxford American Dictionary defines blasphemous as profane talk. To profane, from the same dictionary, is to treat (a sacred thing) with irreverence or disregard. The idea behind profanity is to take something which is high and trample it underfoot. I don’t know if there is disregard at the heart of the book, and if we are to engage people where they are, many are at a place of disregard and outright blasphemy. It doesn’t mean that they aren’t to be engaged with.

Crass in its humor, vulgar in its satire, and hyperviolent, Preacher is not an easy book to wrestle with. You may not like the way in which the tales are told, but it asks challenging questions. Questions that we all ask and we need to be prepared to be held to book on.


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Preacher

Written by Garth Ennis
Art by Steve Dillon
Published by Vertigo Comics

As the inheritor of the “intelligent title” void left when Neil Gaiman’s Sandman run ended, Preacher was on my list of things probably too sacrilegious for me to engage with, must less be entertained by, when it first came out. [The list was essentially Preacher and the movie Life of Brian. I realize that this might sound like an odd stance for a horror writer to have, but, if nothing else, I’m all about freedoms. We’re free to draw moral and comfort lines for ourselves, but we shouldn’t make our personal lines the demarcation for all people. I drew my line there, but this was back in the early 1990s. Obviously, I was in a different place in my faith walk then and I have since gotten to a point where I thought that I could “handle it”.]

This also serves as my “fair warning” that this work isn’t for everyone.

Garth Ennis has always been hit and miss for me. He’s a maestro of violence and mayhem, as seen in his Punisher run, but even that can become tedious when he’s exhausted everything he has to say and the violence seems so pointless. When he’s on, he’s on (Unknown Soldier, Hitman); when he’s off, well, let’s leave it at I still haven’t forgiven him for Goddess. [For those waiting for me to comment on his Hellblazer run, I have so many feelings over that title, both good and bad, that it would require its own review.]

Joe Lansdale, a horror writer who knows a thing or two about injecting fun and mayhem into a work, says in his introduction to the first collected volume of Preacher “It’s our chance to look at the dark side without having to be a part of it.” Preacher has the feel and rhythm of a western, the language and tropes of the horror universe, and more than a dollop of a crime spree yarn tossed in. However, when all is said and done, Preacher is about one man’s search for God. That’s not me making a spiritual leap, that’s seriously the plot of the book. Jesse Custer–J.C., get it?–was a small town preacher losing his faith because what few members of the town that bothered to show up on Sundays did so to sing a few hymns and “then act like savages for the rest of the week.”

This pointed to a deeper problem to him: God had abandoned His creation.

So he decides to search for God: “I’m looking for the Lord ‘cause I figure He’s deserted His creation. I aim to bring Him to book for that little transgression: to confront Him and hear His answer to that charge. He has a obligation to do right by the world He’s made an’ the folks He’s peopled it with. He quits an’ runs, He ain’t facin’ up to His responsibilities.”

“There’s two good places you can look for God: in church or at the bottom of a bottle.” Tulip O’Hare.

So with his gun-toting girlfriend, Tulip O’Hare, and a hard-drinking Irish vampire-cum-best friend, (Proinsias) Cassidy, he heads out. Now’s when I have to explain a bit of the mythology of the comic book, and it’s not nearly as simple as “a guy got bitten by a radioactive spider.” Jesse merges with the spirit of Genesis–the spawn of an angel and a demon, a mix of heaven and hell–which represents a new idea, one that God is afraid of. Genesis gives Jesse the power of the word of the Lord, the word that must be obeyed.

[God left the seraphi (warrior archangels) in charge with the adephi (lesser angels/scientists) doing all the real work. The cast of characters in the book also include the surprising beloved figure, Arsehole Face, and the Saint of Killers (the patron saint of murderers and assassins). Sample storylines include a romp through sexual perversity (“The Gomorrah People”) and Jesse’s pursuit by Herr Starr, of The Grail, a group so focused on the Apocalypse that they fool themselves into thinking that they are about God’s work.]

Still with me?

Where does all of this hate and anger come from? Sadly, a lot of people have been hurt by the church. In fact, most times people who hate church/God have been burned by the church in one way or the other. Jesse Custer had religion forced on him by his family, stemming from his grandmother. Grandma taught that “God’s special because he’s always with you, Jesse. He lives inside you, in your heart, and he sees everything you do and he knows what you’re thinking. Always. God loves you very much because he made you. And God wants you to love him, because if you love him and do good things all your life, he’ll take you away to live with him when you die.”

Let’s pause for a moment and examine her proselytizing technique. For a start, there’s the issue of “witnessing” to kids this way. We have to think about what exactly gets communicated when we use phrases like “live inside you” or “in your heart” because what we are saying might not be (or rather, might exactly be) what kids are hearing. A lot of the time, this type of religious parroting amounts to well-intentioned coercion. Then there’s the issue of whether or not this is even the heart of the Gospel message. Though there’s some truth in her statement, is this what Christ meant when he said “follow me”? Either way, this didn’t play well with young Jesse as he responds with the statement that God sounded “kind of scary” (which He is, but not everyone is ready to think about that aspect of Him).

So Grandma responds by having young Jesse put in a coffin and sunk to the bottom of the river until he accepted God. Go ye forth and make disciples ... by any means necessary.

Another source for this anger is that many people feel abandoned by God, as if He has capriciously left them to their own devices in His creation. This puts me in mind of a prayer by Thomas Merton:

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think that I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this, you will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I will trust you always though I may seem to be lost in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

[to be continued]

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Paying Your Dues

I have nothing against self-published people. I have nothing against “for the love” markets. However, I won’t be joining your ranks any time soon. For everyone that self-publishes in the right way (including getting their work actually edited) and for the right reasons (for example, to fill what they know to be a niche market), there are hundreds with too much time and money on their hands, churning out poorly edited (if edited at all) dreck tarnishing all self-publishing writers.

If writing was easy, everyone would do it. Uh oh. That may be the problem. The Internet and technology have given rise to a whole new class of “for the love” markets and self- (or vanity) published writers. Yes, there is a stigma attached to being published through PublishAmerica and the like. Live and learn.

There is quite the discussion going on over at Shocklines and another over on the Red Light District (and I will take this moment to once again declare my love for Tom Piccirilli). Relax, O sensitive, self-published writers and insecure, “for the love” market writers. We aren’t being condescending, we aren’t saying that you aren’t a real writer, we’re trying to pass on lessons we have learned. You claim to want to hear from pros who have “been there and done that” and possibly learn from their mistakes. Sometimes you are not going to like what they have to say (if their comments strike too close to home for mistakes you are making and currently justifying).

I’ve been blessed to have pros mentor me. I’ve also been smart enough to seek them out and (more importantly) listen to them. If there’s one thing being a member of HWA has done is drummed into my head three things:

-writers deserve to be paid
-money flows to the writer
-rarely is exposure instead of money a good idea

It took me a little over a year to get my first sale. It was another four before I had sales two through five (part of that, however, points to my lack of dedication to my writing career). After that, I started getting regularly published (and much more disciplined about writing). So I understand the desire to see your name in print or where have you. We pour our hearts and soul onto the page and we want some form of validation.

Those of you who want to work on your craft in the small/“for the love” presses, I commend you for wanting to hone your work. You can still do so by submitting your stories to the largest/best markets first.` Working out your craft in exposure only markets usually means you are exposing your crap which wasn’t ready to be published. It will only become your “porn past” that you won’t want to talk about when you start getting regularly published.

This only applies if you’re serious about being a writer. If you just want to see your name in print or simply be a self-published martyr, carry on. Nothing to see here.



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Open Letter to White People

Dear White People,

I’m not racist. Some of my best friends are white.

I realize that ritual is important, but please, I implore you, let Kool and the Gang rest in peace. You really don’t have to play “Celebration” at your wedding receptions.

I’m just doing my part to help with racial reconciliation.

Love, Maurice


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Wedding Rituals

My wife and I “jumped the broom” at our wedding reception (a dark side to the tradition is that the spouse who touches the broom will be the first to die). As an interracial marriage, we wanted traditions from each of our cultures and this was one of mine. As were the African dancers. And the live reggae band. (Yeah, I was in charge of the reception). Having been to some bad white weddings and some bad black weddings, and this being wedding season, I’ve been thinking a lot about weddings.

What’s the point of huge weddings? Actually, they don’t even have to be huge, but that doesn’t make them any less stressful. Rehearsals. Wedding coordinators. Bridesmaids dresses. Hair. Make up. Weather (for outdoor weddings). Cakes. Toasts. First dances. Parent-child dance. Reception food. Music. Ending with people saying “whew! Glad that’s over.” And this is for a simpler wedding. Did I mention the stress? The stress that turns the woman you love into a “bridezilla.” The stress that pits family member against family member (who’s paying for what; who does what; who’s responsible, or supposed to be responsible, for what?). The stress stemming from women planning their dream day from when they are little girls.

It becomes about the spectacle.

Part of this comes back to the downside of our ideas of romance. However, sometimes I wonder if we’ve missed the point of what wedding ceremonies are supposed to be about. It’s about coming together with your community - friends, family, church - to swear before them and God to become husband and wife. The community is both witness and participant (not gift givers and food consumers), pledging to be a part of the couple’s lives and to support the marriage. The ceremony symbolizes God’s relationship with us, a mystical union. And it’s about celebrating with friends and family as the couple begins a new life together.

We’ve turned them into these stuffy affairs that many (okay, yeah, me) dread going to. We run around, expending all of this energy for one day, forgetting that marriage is a marathon. All to gear up for one day, the easiest day at that. For those striving to keep their marriage bed pure, we place a needless obstacle of temptation as we take six months to a year to plan a one day event. No wonder many are left with the confusion of “today I can’t have sex, but tomorrow I can. And the only thing that’s changed is a piece of paper?” The piece of paper is important, but more important is the covenant sworn between man and wife. The ceremony includes rituals that point back to the story of this covenant.

There is good ritual and there is empty ritual. Good rituals help us to tell and remember the story being ritualized. It is a symbol meant to point us back to what is being symbolized. Empty ritual is strictly for show. Done to please others or because others want you to do something. We have no idea why we’re even doing them, so we’re just going through the motions. Since there is power in ritual, it’s important to get the ritual right.

I still look back on my wedding reception with fondness. It was a party, pure and simple - and it took six weeks to pull together. Still a bit of a spectacle, but we wanted our friends and family to celebrate. And we left an hour into it. We love our community, but the day and the party weren’t the point. We had the rest of our lives to attend to.


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Wedding Season

It’s officially wedding season for us. It seems like every other weekend we have some wedding to attend or officiate. It doesn’t help that all of my siblings (one brother and three sisters) are due to get married this year. Today we’re due to attend (with me co-officiating my first wedding) the wedding of our beloved friends, Andy and Jenn. I was asked to share something personal, so I thought that I’d re-create a note exchange Jenn and I had during one of He Who Would be Head Pastor’s riveting sermons during our days at our old church.

Jenn: I’m thinking about breaking up with Andy.
Maurice: Why?
Jenn: I’m not sure. Things are sorta scaring me about us.
Maurice: The relationship getting serious?
Jenn: Yeah.
Maurice: Well, if I were you, I’d break up with him.
Jenn: Really?
Maurice: Yeah. Because it’s scary being with a man who loves you for who you are. Who respects your ideas and opinions. I know that you are certainly used to someone who values you, treasures his time with you, and treats you how you deserve to be treated. It makes me uncomfortable how he loves your son as if he were his own. Andy’s smart, I guess not bad to look at, and is striving to be the man God would have him be. Let’s face it, guys like him, relationships like this, come along all the time, so if I were you, I’d ditch this fool.

A year later, here we are. Once again my advice going ignored.

If you’ll indulge me a prayer for my friends:
We gather to bear witness of the union between our friends, our family, Jenn and Andy. We’re here not just to celebrate with them, but also to support them as they vow before You, O Lord, and before us to become husband and wife. This is a serious undertaking, one that will not always be easy, nor entered into lightly. So Lord, we ask your blessings upon them. We thank You for bringing them into our lives, and the joy they bring. We thank You for bringing them together and allowing us to share in this joyous occasion.


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Friday Night Date Place - The M-Word

“Where exactly in the Bible does it say a man can’t fire off some knuckle children in the privacy of his own neighbor’s living room, while his neighbor is at work because I don’t have a DVD player? Well I don’t know where it says it because the Bible is way too long to read.” –Peter Griffin, Family Guy

Hmm. What would be the best way to begin a discussion on a topic many in the church would find controversial? I know: start with a quote from Family Guy. That won’t get us started on the wrong foot. Brilliant!

Not merely controversial, but downright avoided. Would you feel more comfortable if I referred to this topic as autoeroticism? Frankly, it doesn’t matter what you call it, it is what it is. Masturbation, a topic the Bible is silent on. (Don’t talk to me about Onan unless you want the background of cultura/familyl practices of the day. Too late:

Be honest with yourself: how much guilt and anxiety have you expended wondering whether this behavior is "right" or "wrong"? ... A quick review of Christian literature over the past three decades reveals that pastors, theologians, and Christian authors have very diverse opinions on the matter. A major factor in this range of opinion is Scripture's silence on the subject. We do find Old Testament laws (Leviticus 15, for example) requiring a person who experienced a "discharge" of semen to be ceremonially unclean until evening (the ceremonial laws were, in part, a sobering external reminder of how their hearts were to be set apart when they approached God in worship). Another passage (Genesis 38:1–10) references a man named Onan's refusal to consummate his marriage to his deceased brother's wife. According to Hebrew custom, if a man died before having children, his brother was expected to marry the widow and have children by her to carry on the deceased brother's family line. Onan selfishly didn't want to split his inheritance between two households (that of his brother's wife and that of his own wife). Therefore, he attempted to resolve his conflict by practicing coitus interruptus—withdrawal of the penis from the vagina prior to ejaculation—and "spilled his seed on the ground" in an effort to prevent having children by her. So neither of these passages is really about masturbation. In fact, no Scripture directly deals with the topic. This is where an inside-out way of thinking proves helpful toward creating a "theology of masturbation.")

At best, we can say that masturbation isn’t high on God’s priority list. So why am I bothering to bring this up? First, to wrap up our series on sex (since I define autoeroticism as sex with my favorite person). Second, because people for some reason feel comfortable asking and sharing with me personal questions. Either that, or I have some sort of strange reputation with folks. (I am hardly a master of my domain, which I guess makes me a masturbation guru. Who knows?). Anyway, time and time again, folks come up to mean earnestly wanting to be Scripturally obedient to what God would have them do in this area of their life. Well-intentioned people who have had guilt heaped upon them, typically by the church, who as we’ve discussed, does wonders at teaching on sex. Torturing themselves because of their secret shame, left to wrestle with questions like “is it wrong?” and, having already assumed an answer, “how do I break the habit?”

We may feel trapped in a cycle: we mess up, wrestle with the guilt, are good for a while, then mess up again. Does any of this sound familiar? We fall into patterns of habituation (some would say “addicted” to describe the feeling of out of control behavior). We become preoccupied with the “sin,” whatever it may be, focused solely on it not on the totality of how it plays out in our lives. No, suddenly it is THE issue in our lives, to where even the struggle with it becomes a preoccupation. We develop rituals around it. I’m not saying we light candles and set moods, but there are habits and learned behaviors that form around it. Then comes a moment of weakness, a loss of will power or what have you. Followed by heaping bowlfuls of guilt and shame (and the dogging resignation of being trapped by this behavior).

The thing about this or any other sexual sin is that we tend to make that the biggest sin in our lives. It blinds us to the other sins in our life, the other sins which undergird that one: discontent, pride, lust (note that it comes in third on my list here). We can’t focus on trying NOT to do something. Instead, we need to focus on the good, on training ourselves in doing something else.

The problem of masturbation, if you will, is that it is typically characterized by lustful fantasies (or porn, which can be its own addiction) and isolation. Back to our discussion about habits, constant (however you define this) masturbation leads to habits of arousal that can eventually creep into the marriage bed. After all, it forms us into being individualistic and can create an unreality to our sex lives (or worse a substitute for reality). In other words, we’re back to our primary questions: how does it form us and into what does it form us? Masturbation teaches us that sex can happen outside of a relationship, teaches us that immediate gratification is a part of sex, and teaches us that the whole point is pleasure without the work.

You also need to look at why we do it. An unhealthy way to comfort oneself, go to sleep, or deal with fantasies, loneliness, or pain - none of which will deal with the inner longing for intimacy. For some, solo orgasms represents a legitimate way of dealing with sexual urges and hormonal buildup. But for crying out loud, those of you torturing yourselves over this sin, there are probably bigger sins in your life to be worrying about. Seriously, balance that against sleeping with someone you aren’t married to or cheating on your wife when you find yourself “burning with desire.” However, if you still need guilt, remember this:




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Clive Barker’s The Great and Secret Show

Adapted by Chris Ryall
Art by Gabriel Rodriguez
Published By IDW Publishing

I have been a fan of Clive Barker since he popped on the horror scene with his collections of short stories, The Books of Blood. Based on the eponymous novel, The Great and Secret Show brings to comics a story full of imagination and wonder, as well as a few chills.

The mythology of the story revolves around the dream sea known as Quiddity. Each of us visit this sea three times in our lives: the first night we spend outside of the womb, the night we lay beside our first love, and the last night of our lives. Any more times and we’d go insane. The Shoal is the organization that safeguards it. Randolph Jaffe wants to visit again.

Jaffe, working in the dead letter office, pieces together the existence of The Art and that America has a secret history all of which will lead him to Quiddity. Along his journey to the dream sea he spends time in The Loop, a loop in time, and visits with Kissoon, last of the Shoal and later gets connected with Richard Fletcher, a drug-addicted biophysicist. Fletcher is led to create Nuncio, the stuff to nudge people along the evolutionary ladder. However, Jaffe wants to do things his own way, on his own terms. Nuncio takes hold of both men and they fight, realizing that they have different goals, leading to what will become a battle between good and evil on a grand scale.

And that was just the first issue.

Having not read the original novel, The Great and Secret Show has shades of J. Michael Straczynski’s Midnight Nation or a dash of Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. Chris Ryall seems to have gotten to the heart of the story, one laden with both character and a sense of mystery. Gabriel Rodriguez has imbued his portrayals of ordinary people with aspects of the sinister, grounding the story with a sense of realness.

The Great and Secret Show is rife with spiritual connections. The Show in question is all of creation, what we see as well as what we don’t see. The physical and the spiritual, a world that many stay purposely blind to. Jaffe leads an ineffectual existence, knowing that there’s more to life, knowing that there’s more to creation and he sets off on a journey to change himself.

“Jaffe walked so far heeding the call that he came to a place where the facts were in doubt.”

Jaffe’s pursuit reminded me of Adam and Eve in the garden, seeking “ultimate” knowledge in their own way under their own power. Nuncio is no different than the fruit, with Jaffe pursuing magic for his own/selfish ends. Yet it’s the nature of The Art that fascinates me. The story speaks to the idea that there is a magic side to reality, an acknowledgment and desire to reach the transcendent. To peek behind the veil, a world of unseen spirits, and, despite our supposed need for answers, find answers to questions we hadn’t thought to ask.

We tend to place limits on what faith is and can be, forgetting that there is room for mysticism in faith. Parts of us hunger for something beyond the strictly rational. What I’m calling mysticism, at least from a Christian worldview, would be a deep experience of union and knowledge of divine reality. Wrestling with God’s nearness (immanence) as well as His otherness (transcendence); how He interacts with creation and human history as well as being separate and holy. Not a denial of reason, but seeing its limits and moving beyond it; finding truths in the paradoxes of life and belief. Maybe by embracing the mystical, we can truly catch a vision of God.

IDW Publishing has established themselves at the premiere outlet for horror comics. From Steve Niles’ 30 Days of Night to Clive Barker’s the Great and Secret Show, they have churned out compelling books. The Great and Secret Show crams a lot of story, a lot of mythology, into its pages, yet lends itself well to comic adaptation for quite the riveting tale. I can only hope the rest of the series lives up to the high expectation that Ryall and Rodriguez have set up thus far.


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Fell

Written by Warren Ellis
Art by Ben Templesmith
Published by Image Comics

Warren Ellis is stealing my money again.

As thefts go, $1.99 ain’t bad. Too many comics go for $2.99 or $3.99 for some books making comic book collecting a hobby for the rich more than something kids can readily get into. So Ellis, missing the days when kids could take a handful of change and come away with a slice of pop culture (to paraphrase Alan Moore) decided to do something about it. He set out to create a comic book that was more affordable, self-contained, and wasn’t bogged down in decades of continuity. The hope is that such a book might help solve one of the major problems plaguing the comic book industry: drawing in new readers turned off by inaccessible and rather expensive books.

This all also points to Fell being more an experiment of form as well as business. The book feels flimsy, downright fragile with its 24 pages (not the standard 32), with only 16 of those pages being comics. The other 8 are filled with text about the comic, which makes it the most fun backsection of a comic book since Powers. Each page is basically made up of 9 panel grid, though without Brian Michael Bendis-style talking heads.

Ellis’ “crammed” story telling style is a departure from his other landmark work (Transmetropolitan, The Authority, Planetary, Global Frequency). Ben Templesmith (30 Days of Night) is on board doing a Bill Sienkiewicz impersonation (mind you, I never got Sienkiewicz’s art during his New Mutants run but I thought it was brilliant in Elektra: Assassin. Though that might point to the difference in taste of a teenager vs. a young adult). The moody artwork, not nearly as murky and muddled as his 30 Days of Night work, fits perfectly with the tone of the book.

“You’re living in a broken town, Detective Fell.” –Coroner

Richard Fell has transferred to the worst section of town, as part penance and part opportunity to shine. Irregardless, he is a man in an uncertain world, a detective drawn to sensational crimes, ripped from today weirdest headlines. He’s a bit like Gil Grissom from C.S.I., a bit of a cypher who we will learn about in little glimpses of his personal life between the procedural aspects of the story. Otherwise, all we know is that he is an intelligent, observant detective, quite insightful and looking for the right place to have his talents noticed.

“Ain’t no Jesus in Snowtown, Detective.” –Dock worker

It doesn’t take a detective of Richard Fell’s obvious gifts to determine that this world is screwed up. It is almost like we’re aware that there was a created order, a way how things were meant to be, and somewhere along the lines, things went awry. Whether by design or by working through inadvertent stumbling, Ellis finds himself exploring the doctrine of the fall. We look around creation and realize that something went wrong, that there is something broken about our reality. Fear, doubt, and death have made life scary.

For me it helps to think of life like the elements of story: setting, conflict, climax, and resolution. The setting of life is creation, the world in its entirety, both physical and spiritual. The conflict that enters the story of life would be the fall. The fact that things became off-kilter, people and nature not being the way they were meant to be. There comes a point of climax, a decision that we have to make about life - who are you going to follow as master-teacher? Philosophy, science, Christ - sometimes it takes something outside of ourselves to set things right. The resolution of the story is a matter of who you choose to follow.

Fell, judging from the number of additional print runs the first few issues have had, is well on its way to being a successful experiment. Both grim and eccentric, filled with interesting yet personable characters, Fell is a compressed murder mystery that cleverly examines the despair of humanity. Ellis is clearly having fun and doing some of his finest work here.


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Civil War

written by Mark Millar
art by Steve McNiven and Dexter Vines
published by Marvel Comics

Few events resonate so soundly as to affect the entire super hero community down to their core, even dividing their ranks. Event comics need to have real impact, especially if it wants to justify the additional books it takes, outside of the main mini-series as the story spills into some of the main players’ individual titles, to tell the story. (Yes, nearly two decades later I’m still bitter about Secret Wars II.) We are caught in wave after wave of comic book events, from Identity Crisis to Infinite Crisis over at DC Comics to The House of M as Marvel Comics’ last big event - all of whom had major repercussions for their respective universes.

While at first I thought this was going to be little more than an updated version of Contest of Champions, by the second issue of Civil War, this series promises huge repercussions. I remember when I used to think of Mark Millar as a Grant Morrison hanger-on, back when they co-wrote Aztek: The Ultimate Man and several issues of The Flash together. That was before he exploded with picking up The Authority after Warren Ellis’ classic run without missing a beat and then Wanted and The Ultimates.

The plot follows the folly of the superhero group, The New Warriors. They seek ratings for their reality show and end up trying to apprehend villains clearly out of their league. The unfortunate chain of events turn quickly tragic. Worse still, the devastation, including the motives of the heroes as well as the human casualties, is captured on tape. While there have always been innocents caught in the battles between heroes and villains, this time it leads to the proposal of the Super-Hero Registration Act. It would require superheroes to register their identities with the government, undergo training, and be sanctioned as federal agents. Some heroes, Iron Man and Mr. Fantastic of the Fantastic Four, see this as the next natural step in the role of superheroes operating in society. Others, embodied by Captain America, see it as an assault on civil liberties. Eventuating with many of the cool heroes having to go underground.

This isn’t necessarily new territory. In Legends, John Byrne gave a superficial treatment of the idea of public sentiment turning against the DC universe of heroes. In the context of today’s world, Civil War serves as a commentary on the ever-present threat of the erosion of our civil rights

“Who’s been telling kids for years that they can live outside the law as long as they’re wearing tights?” --A grieving mother

We forget that super-heroes, technically, are vigilantes. We lose sight of that anyone can put on a mask and run around in their long johns. Training heroes and giving them badges, essentially making them agents of the empire sounds reasonable and responsible. So on one level, Civil War is about the letter of the law vs. the spirit of the law, allowing vigilantes to prowl the streets and protect the citizens. On another level, the debate is not about the Law, but about the disrupted social order. When leaders, heroes, inspire followers into action against the imperial order, then they become a threat to the empire. So Civil War becomes a story about who we choose to serve?

Captain America: Super heroes need to stay above that stuff or Washington starts telling us who the supervillains are.
Commander Hill: I though super villains were guys in masks who refused to obey the law.

The “empire,” the state, with its values and its control and order is safeguarded at a price. The price of imperialism, a “new world order” of peace and security, is too often disorder and devastation for their people (if they resist it), escalating economic demands, and social paralysis. Too often in the name of the right things, its citizens are terrorized and intimidated. Be it the U.S. government or the international espionage force known as S.H.I.E.L.D. that Commander Hill leads, the interests of the empire must be maintained.

Serving the Kingdom means pursuing your true purpose. The problem with the New Warriors was that they were in the superhero business for the wrong reasons. They might have wanted to altruistically want to save people, but they did so in the pursuit of fame and fortune, values more consistent with the values of the empire. The values of kingdom living means joining in the mission, as exemplified by Captain America as a Christ figure, to be a blessing to others boiling down to serving one another.

The values of the kingdom run contrary to the ideas of empire. Frankly, it holds the hope of healing the effects of imperial violence. Heroes, by example, can inspire people to renew a spirit of community and call them to take control of their lives and re-establish cooperation. They can foster a sense of community as people learn to come to each other’s aid, restore mutual assistance, and work toward regaining and rebuilding trust. A renewed community of called out (underground) heroes are about tradition. Everyone has fundamental rights, but kingdom living is about social renewal, protecting the poor and the powerless.

Millar does a great job with the pacing, a lot of his “big screen” action, blending nicely with the iconic imagery of the art team. There is a good amount of story crammed into these pages, revolving around characters we’ve come to know and trust. This story, despite it being an “event”, works at a very personal level, telling a very human story - a community divided, friendships betrayed, with the hope of a future reconciliation.



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“Choose Life”?

Indiana’s decision to offer a “Choose Life” license plate could generate millions of dollars for anti-abortion centers seeking to spread their message. The plate, commissioned by the Indiana Association of Pregnancy Centers, reflects a growing trend toward drivers who want to profess their beliefs and interests — and organizations who hope to capitalize on those statements. Indiana currently offers 55 plates and plans to release 10 more in 2007 — including the “Choose Life” plate and another that says “In God We Trust.”

“It’s non-confrontational,” [Dan Steiner, president of the Indiana Association of Pregnancy Centers] said. “It’s positive.”

What part of the abortion debate in this country is non-confrontational? A little over a decade ago, I participated in an anti-abortion demonstration. It was a silent protest: all we did was line the streets of downtown Indianapolis, holding signs (none of the over-the-top pictures of fetuses kind), and not saying a word. I, too, thought that was a non-confrontational approach. I also remember how many times I was spit upon. However, I’m not going to turn this into a dissection of what I believe about abortion (which is what this debate will inevitably devolve into).

That’s a blog for another day.

As I thought about how to tackle this assignment from Intake’s Blog Squad, I began thinking through how my major concerns when it came to protest, taking sides, and raising awareness. Especially when it come to the topic of abortion, I remembered this plea from one of my message board moderators: While everyone's busy worrying about the baby, there's a broken, scared, hurting girl who just had her entire future thrown completely off track (no, I don't mean her superficial plans, I mean her FUTURE. Has anyone else noticed that having kids changes your ENTIRE LIFE?) and is being greeted much more by flack and judgment than counsel and guidance. Everyone's concerned about the future of that baby... what about the life of that girl? I'm not saying forsake one (baby) for the other (mom)... I'm saying, worry about them BOTH.

But, you know, that’s a blog for another day.

So, what do I think about the idea of the government offering plates that convey a controversial and political message such as this? Do I have any ethical or philosophical problems with it? Would I pay the extra $15 for one?

Would I buy one? I’m not a bumper sticker person. I’m not a Jesus fish person. I’m not a license plate person. If I want to help, I help a person. As for the messaged, the temptation is to be quick to say “yay! Our side must be winning” if you see this as a matter of sides and if you’re into demonizing your opponents. However, since I’m in the mood to quote my mod, [I don't think that anyone has the right to persecute anyone else because of what they do, what they choose, or the mistakes that they make (unless they're illegal, in which case the state has a right to procure discipline). Do I think that abortion should be illegal? That's not the issue, is it? Abortion is NOT illegal, and thus, I don't have the right to injure, slander, or abuse anyone who supports it, has done it, or is seeking it. Will I try to convince them to go another way? Heck yes. But will I beat them to a bloody pulp if they don't? Will I behave hatefully? Will I be hurtful? No. Not only does my country, my government not allow for that, but my FAITH does not.]

To me, it comes down to freedom of speech and money is a form of speech. How we choose to spend our money says a lot about who we are and what we believe. We see it in political speech and thus the constant cries for campaign finance reform. We see it in churches when it comes to tithes. As such, freedom means that everyone gets a voice, not just the people we agree with. So before you celebrate too much, know that “the other side” gets to speak also. Raising awareness, via by bumper sticker or by license plate, more points to the self-righteousness of the car owner, no matter the message. But it is expressing their thoughts and what they believe in - which they have the right to do.

Either we believe in free speech or we don’t. No one is forced to buy the license plate. It’s no different that having a bumper sticker, a very expensive bumper sticker, but a bumper sticker nonetheless.

Everyone who wants to go through the bureaucracy of getting their own plate should get a shot/voice. However, it’s important to remember that while you have a right to say what you want, you don’t have a right to be heard.



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The Omen

Craptastic.

WARNING: Do not watch Richard Donner’s original version of The Omen in preparation to see the remake. This smacks of the ill-conceived executive decision to remake classics (say, Hitchcock’s Psycho) by simply shooting the same movie with modern technology. At the very least, we are decades removed from the cultural context of the original, different times with different sensibilities. Tthrowing in tsunami and 9/11 references is typical of the cosmetic changes this version makes to the original.

The premise is rife with creepy sensationalism: the child of the devil is let loose on earth. With our culture’s fascination with all things apocalyptic and conspiratorial, from Left Behind to The Da Vinci Code, The Omen (cleverly released on 6/6/06 - note that I didn’t make the easy joke of “suck/suck/suck”) tries to capitalize as the right movie at the right time. It fails.

The problems for the movie begin early on with the casting of very young leads, Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles, as the unfortunate parents, Robert and Katherine Thorn. Liev Schreiber essentially walks through the movie. Julia Stiles (The Bourne Supremacy, Save the Last Dance) has a yeoman’s task in the thankless role of Katherine Thorn, given little more to emote than “I love my son,” “Things are weird,” and “I’m afraid of my son.” The fact of the matter, however, is that there are no characters you care about in the movie. An ironically cherub-faced Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, who seems to have never slept, gives a suitably blank stared performance as Damien. (Sadly, my favorite character was the boom mike that kept making it into half the scenes of our print of the movie, although) Mia Farrow, who knows from horror turns as the star of Rosemary’s Baby, is marvelously sinister as the replacement nanny, Mrs. Baylock.

Director John Moore, while doing an essentially shot for shot remake, still doesn’t seem to know what sort of movie he wanted to make. It was as if he took the tropes of a modern horror movie (add boo moments here, sprinkle in a few creepy images, then shake the camera randomly because now we’re having “action!”). Maybe this might have worked a few decades ago, but in a media-saturated age where horror movies from Hellraiser to The Ring have certainly raised the bar. The Omen degenerates into a slow moving version of National Treasure, forgetting that it’s the little things that make for a moody, atmospheric horror movie. Even the score detracts from what should have been the prevailing mood of dread, instead aspiring to an adventure thriller.

When the Jews return to Zion
And a comet fills the sky
The Holy Roman Empire rises
And you and I must die
From the eternal sea he rises
Creating armies on either shore
Turning man against his brother
Till man exists no more

You would think that a movie about the anti-Christ would be rich with theological touchstones. Granted, the perspective is from the school of theology that brought us the aforementioned Left Behind series. However, rather than explore what the significance of Damien as the anti-Christ means, Damien is portrayed as little more than a spiritualized Chuckie. The movie doesn’t bother to explore the mythos of the anti-Christ, choosing instead to count on the public’s awareness that “666" is bad and saying that he’s the son of the devil and leaving it at that. There is no context to provide any true chills.

The movie begins with a lie, a conspiracy of clergy (“Give your love to the living”Father Spiletto (Giovanni Lombardo Radice) entreats the grieving Robert Thorn and with Father Brennan (Pete Postlethwaite) motivated by wanting to be saved by Christ for his role in the events) and well-intentioned but still deceptive husband, Robert Thorn. The Omen almost explore’s Robert Thorn’s search for faith. “I know how you feel” he remarks to Damien, noting his son’s unease when they pass a church. Robert Thorn is left with an Abrahamic dilemma of killing his own son (against the familiar philosophical scenario of if you had the chance to kill Hitler as an infant, would you?) even as Damien’s anti-Messianic consciousness quickly develops.

“For only when He is within you can you defeat the devil’s son.” –Father Brennan

The Omen counts on the type of mindset that spends its time in endless speculation about the identity of the anti-Christ and the minutiae of the Biblical end times. My eschatology is simple: Jesus Christ will return. What this will look like, I don’t know. The point isn’t to fret about the details of how or treat the book of Revelation similar to the work of Nostradamus. Nor is the point to paint scary scenarios in the hope of scaring people into heaven. I think that the point is to make sure that I join with God in His mission to be a blessing to the world while I am here.

“Something’s not right.” –Katherine Thorn

The Omen strains too hard, both staying too faithful to and being too self-conscious of the original. The movie goes for the easy jump scenes rather than a building a brooding intense creepfest, too reminiscent of Final Destination 3 than atmospheric chiller. The ending particularly breaks down into utter and complete nonsense due to its poor pacing and story-telling. A remake of a movie regarded as a horror classic should offer a new perspective, instead we have this.

Suck-tacular.


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X-Men: The Last Stand

I didn’t exactly go into this movie with high hopes. The team that brought us the first two entries of the X-Men franchise are bringing us Superman Returns. Now instead of waiting that extra time to let that team deliver the third entry into the franchise, the powers that be decide to rush the vehicle in the hands of director Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, Red Dragon). Ladies and gentlemen, I give you X-Men: The Last Stand.

Way to gut a franchise.

(And I apologize in advance for any insider geek language.)

Even in the comic, there came a point when the allegory for what the “mutant dilemma” stood for had been worn out. For the longest time it stood for racial tensions and it was extended with the backdrop of homosexual civil rights as its relevant social backdrop. However, the storylines became exhausted to the point of having te feel of treading the same ground and in need of an infusion of a fresh plot and fresh villains.

On the plus side, this movie finally gave Halle Berry, as Ororo/Storm, something to do. It seemed a waste to have such a high caliber actress reduced to the sidelines and not given enough screen time. The down side is how they reduced the cast of characters in order to make room for her. Maybe it was just me, but the art seemed especially bleak, as if the filmmakers went out of their way to drain the color, the joy, out of the franchise. To say that some of the characters, Kitty (Ellen Page) and Peter/Colossus (Daniel Cudmore), were under-developed implies they were developed at all. Even the latest addition, Angel (Ben Foster), was more symbol than character.

The movie has several nods to X-Men geeks (read: my people). They do a tribute to the Days of Future Past comic book storyline in the Danger Room, where the team practices how to use their powers in combat. They give us flashes of Sentinels, a tease of a story that could have been. They throw in new characters such as Dr. Hank McCoy/The Beast (brilliantly performed by Kelsey Grammar), Callisto (Dania Ramirez), and Cain Marko/the Juggernaut (Vinnie Jones, who delivers a line familiar to those with his internet video clip). The movie crams a lot of new mutants into it, but doesn’t take the time to tell any of their stories and allow us to connect to them. In fact, the movie is full of cool moments that don’t quite come together as a compelling story.

“Who will you stand with?” –Magneto

The story is set off by the revelation that a pharmaceutical company has developed a cure for being a mutant. This sets off a debate within the mutant community. Mutants were considered the next stage of evolution. The inherent problem of finding your identity in what you claim is strictly biological is that the natural progression of thought becomes if it is biological, it can be seen as against the natural order, an illness. If it’s a disease, it can be cured. That is, if it’s how they’re born, then it can be tested for, possibly “corrected.” So if mutants had found their identity within their mutation, then the idea of being cured was unthinkable. So for a teenagers, Anna Paquin's Rogue for example, already struggling with issues of identity and coming to terms with who they are and wanting to fit in, there is a choice they have to make.

Some mutants decide to follow Magneto (Ian McKellen) who adopts a lot of racially militant language, essentially seeing their dilemma as a purity war. Some of the mutants even refer to their birth names as slave names and the president opts to solve the problem “By any means necessary.”

“You know, sometimes when you cage the beast, the beast gets angry.” –Wolverine (Hugh Jackman)

The other half of X-Men: The Last Stand revolves around death and resurrection. Their journey begins with a resurrection. Dr. Jean Grey/Phoenix (Famke Janssen) returns with her alternate personality, The Phoenix - a being of all desire, joy, and rage, battling for control of her. Her return leads to the death of several characters. Again, this points to a problem with this movie. If you are going to do the Dark Phoenix story, commit to that story. Allow Famke to display the emotional range this story would require. Don’t reduce it to a subplot.

This fanboy take on the classic Dark Phoenix storyline represents that internal battle we face as we wrestle with that part of ourselves we believe to be unchecked, our sense of freedom, individuality, and self-sufficiency taken to extreme. Like Jean Grey, it is our other self, the product of fallen creation, living contrary to what we were created to be. The path of The Phoenix, with its subtle Jean Grey possessed by Phoenix imagery, leaves only entropy and death in its wake.

“Don’t let it control you.” –Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart)

We’re all born with this inner beast, this out of control aspect to ourselves. The struggle is one that Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) especially identifies with. We all have a choice to make, to choose to be what you are. The choice of how to live, of what to be about, is represented in deciding between the way of Professor Xavier (the path of control/help, ultimately leading to peace and reconciliation) and that of and Magneto (unbridled freedom ultimately leading to chaos and death).

“Be what you are, what nature intended.” –Magneto

We are looking for a story to define us, a community to belong to, be it punk (the anarchist story), militia (the story of ”patriotism”), gang (the story of street families), or being a mutant (the story of how they were born). When institutions fail to do what the were created to do, be what they were supposed to be about, other places–not often looking like one expects–will spring up to do their job. Professor Xavier preaches a gospel message of peace and reconciliation. He believes that the best way to spread this message is by providing a safe place for people to work out their questions all the while teaching them ways to discipline themselves so that they can control themselves. Such safe havens involve first being a community, allowing people to have a sense of belonging before believing. People need to find a place to call home, a place to belong, and people to call family. As Storm put it, “we work as a team.”

Phoenix: You would die for them.
Wolverine: Not for them. For you.

Freedom to live as you were meant to live comes at a cost. “If you want freedom, you have to fight for it,” Magneto says. To be formed into the people we were meant to be requires discipline. A choice, community, formation, the path of discipleship is a long and difficult one. As Robert Webber put it “discipleship is a long obedience in the same direction,” but it is a journey worth taking in order to fulfill the vision of a world united.

X-Men: The Last Stand is sadly predictable with an inescapable sense of forced pathos. There is no emotional development to any of the characters. During the course of the movie we lose a lot of beloved characters (no matter what the clip after the credits hints at), the heart of the franchise; but the movie doesn’t move us with their loss, it only plays out the expected cues and tells us we’re to feel moved now. The movie raises a lot of questions and issues, but chooses to not engage or meditate on them. What we are left with is this bleak vehicle-by-numbers that distracts us with cool scenes and action (that can’t even keep the time of day straight). File this in the cabinet with third installments to a franchise that didn’t quite live up to the first two (Alien 3, Blade: Trinity). We can hold out hope for the rumored Wolverine movie.


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Just a Few Pics

Until I have a chance to put the video and the whole gallery on my web site, here are a few pics from Mo*Con.

The Indiana Horror Writers

Our snack of choice, Cthuhlu cookies (thanks to Carrie Rapp!):

Our guest of honor:


The inimitable Chesya Burke:
Some of the ladies from the Maurice Broaddus Message Board:
For that matter, here are all of my wives. When God said no polygamy, it was because He knew better. Having a lot of women in your life sounds like a good idea on paper, til you realize you are being bossed around by more than one voice. So we have my wife-wife, my board wife (and moderator), my con wife, and my other board wife (and mod).
The kid rebellion (for some context, there was a second party going on because folks brought their kids. So there were about 10 kids and at one point, they all turned on Keene - or as we called it, the intervention):
Us in full pastor mode:
In the end, we let the work speak for itself.


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I don’t have time to always check the comments all the places where this rant is posted. If you want to make sure that I see it or just want to stop by and say hi, do so on my message board. I apologize in advance for some of my regulars.

I’m Still the Sinister Minister

Random notes from Mo*Con as I recuperate. The official greeting for Mo*Con apparently is everyone brushing past your host and go straight to my wife to offer her condolences. You’re a funny, funny bunch of people.

Saturday went by with only one hitch. It rained. This didn’t change my plans, however. Apparently a lot of people misunderstood when I said cook out. I don’t do outside. My version of a cookout is that I cook in, you all eat outside. The Indiana Horror Writers hosted Brian Keene at Chez Broaddus. Other notables making an appearance included the literary diva, Chesya Burke, writer Bob Freeman, artist Carrie Rapp, and writers, Tracy Jones and Debbie Kuhn.

[By the way, at not point should the men of Mo*Con, yes, I’m looking at you Michael West, Bob, and Keene, take over conversation to argue the finer points of Days of Our Lives. Not only dominate conversation, due to the stunned silence of the women, but argue with a nerd fervor rarely seen outside of comic book conventions.]

Things I don’t want to hear from Keene ever again: “I can’t quit you, Maurice.”

How good was the party Saturday? Sunday morning it looked like a bomb went off at a horror convention. Bodies were everywhere. The day was a study in contrasts of methods. I agonized over what to say for my introductory and concluding comments. Brian tries to encourage me with:

“I think I’m going to let the Holy Spirit guide me tonight.”
“Um, Brian. You don’t believe in the Holy Spirit.”
“You always get hung up on technicalities.”

Let me tell you, when Brian Keene reassures you by saying “what’s the worse that could happen?” visions of you serving as the greeter in Hell start dancing through your head. Again, this looked like such a good idea on paper. (And I thought I was trying to get fired: our worship pastor had been trying to get a keg for the service. Which, for the record, you can’t do here on Sundays.)

I know what you’re waiting for. You want to know if anyone burst into flames upon entering a church or if there were any lightning strikes. Well, Brian was perfectly charming (too charming: he almost stole both of my board mods from me). The crowd was roughly 50% Keene fans and 50% congregation members. A congregation of non-horror readers. However, all were given food to think about as Brian talked about his spiritual journey. He spoke with an honesty and frankness that really connected with people. Generally speaking, his topic was “why do bad [things] happen to people?”

This was a topic near and dear to my heart as I spent all week blogging on the topic. As I assumed, a lot of people struggle with this very same issue, both “Christian” and “not” alike. Brian’s perspective hit home with a lot of peoople.

After his talk, he took questions and then gave a reading from The Rutting Season, which had several folks in tears. Basically, the overall impression that he left of people could best be observed by the book buying frenzy at the end. And we're planning on using parts of it in our Sunday morning service. In other words, I'm still employed.

Yes, I will have both pictures and video of this up on my web site before too long. I will let you know when it’s up. Right now, I need to sleep for a few days.

Before I end, I’d like to give a special shout out to one of my biggest fans, Brian Keene’s mom. You raised a special boy. I mean that in a good way.

(And extra double thanks to my wife who put up with me having 20-30 folks in our house for a weekend. Though, yes, I’m still doing laundry and dishes.)


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I don’t have time to always check the comments all the places where this rant is posted. If you want to make sure that I see it or just want to stop by and say hi, do so on my message board. I apologize in advance for some of my regulars.

To End All Wars?

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- Abu Musab al-Zarqawi lived for 52 minutes after a U.S. warplane bombed his hideout northeast of Baghdad, and he died of extensive internal injuries consistent with those caused by a bomb blast, the U.S. military said Monday. "As far as the al-Qaida network, we are cautiously optimistic that we have been very successful thus far in the ongoing operations in last five days. We know this is not going to end the insurgency. it will take the people of Iraq to make that decision with their Iraqi security forces," [Maj. Gen. William] Caldwell said.

My brother fought in the first Gulf War. My sister and my new brother-in-law alternate serving over there now. So I don’t take soldiers lives lightly. They have an important job to do, they do it well, and no one wants to see their efforts and sacrifices wasted in acts of futility. After this news we have to ask ourselves, has this been worth it? We are a nation used to pay off moments and right now, after so many of our funerals (and in the end, that’s what matters to us), we need a bigger pay off.

Look, I’m not going to sit here and pretend to be the most politically informed guy. That’s why you’ll rarely read me blog on these topics. So as Joe Ignorant Citizen, who spends more time watching television than reading the paper or listening to NPR, just don’t lie to me. Tell me you want to finish what Desert Storm started. Tell me that we needed someone convenient to hit after 9/11. Heck, tell me that we don’t want to pay $5 per gallon in gas. I may be the worst republican ever, but at least I get that.

I am big on minding our own business, but the reality is that we have interests to defend. Political. Economic. Moral. (Yes, I think there are times we should have acted yet remained strangely quiet or suddenly remembered the phone number of the U.N.) The problem is that it hasn’t been made clear which interests this war is fighting to defend. We had the opportunity to build international good will after 9/11, having gained the sympathy of the nations. We’ve squandered that, leaving only resentment of us for our flexing, being in people’s business, and our arrogance. Even the general sentiment of our own people are wondering what we are doing and when we going to be done.

We need a clear enemy, a clear target, and a clear exit strategy. With our short attention spans, and little to no grasp of the intricacies of international politics, we don’t have the stomach for protracted engagement. After the first Gulf War, we have little stomach for (our) body bags piling up if we don’t understand why. If we don’t understand the nature of our enemy (we still don’t understand why we even have enemies).

Some wars have to be fought. Some tyrants have to be removed, especially when they decide to cross borders. Some acts are so heinous, genocide to the systematic raping of people, that they demand we sit up and take action. There are some wars we aren’t fighting that we should be. With great power comes great responsibility. We’re supposed to set the example. We can’t bully other nations to be like us, especially if their very culture and mindset won’t allow them to be. If we think of political systems as journeys, maybe some nations aren’t in a place for a representative democracy. And who says that they should be. We don’t have to “cowboy up” and go it alone. The geo-political situation is such that more cooperative efforts would be in our best interest.


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I don’t have time to always check the comments all the places where this rant is posted. If you want to make sure that I see it or just want to stop by and say hi, do so on my message board. I apologize in advance for some of my regulars.

Friday Night Date Place - Biblical Loopholes Part II

When last we met on this topic, we began to turn to what the Bible has to say on the topic. As I mentioned earlier, we hear that the Bible says that sex outside of marriage is a wrong. Paul is clear that extramarital sex is a sin. Really? Where? If he’s so clear, why is there such confusion? Rarely have we been shown where it says this or explained why. Now we turn to examine a few other Scriptures and try to peel back the idea of why this is a concern at all.

"Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral." --Hebrews 13:4

My question is ‘‘why?' Why does God place such an emphasis on sexual purity? What is it about sexual immorality above many sins that God keeps singling it out to caution us about? How seriously is the marriage bed to be treated? We aren’t to even joke about it (Ephesians 5:5, talk about sins that strike close to home). I think one reason is because how we view and treat sex is one way that separates us from being “of the world.” There is a sacredness to sex that is difficult to understand. Sadly, the idea of the sacredness, the holiness, how it is to be set apart has been used to justify a whole slough of bad ideas. So I want to concentrate on our two basic questions: how does this form us and into what does it form us? We want to reduce sex to the act, to the mere stirrings of biology no different that eating. As if it is simply about sating a physiological drive. However, how we choose to view sex is what sets us apart from animals.

Gary L. Thomas talks about how the ancient Jews viewed sex. The Holy Letter (written by Nahmanides in the thirteenth century) sees sex as a mystical experience of meeting with God: "Through the act [of intercourse] they become partners with God in the act of creation. This is the mystery of what the sages said, 'When a man unites with his wife in holiness, the Shekinah is between them in the mystery of man and woman.'" The breadth of this statement is sobering when you consider that this shekinah glory is the same presence Moses experienced when God met with him face-to-face (Exodus 24:15-18).

To use our sexuality as a spiritual discipline—to integrate our faith and flesh, so to speak—it's imperative that we understand this: God made flesh, and with it, some amazing sensations ... Within the context of covenant love and mutual service, intimacy should be exhilarating.”

So maybe it’s less about what body parts are going where and when, and more about how we esteem marriage and the covenant of sex between husband and wife.

There are two passages in particular that I wanted to examine that discusses sexual immorality. The first is I Corinthians 5-6. Sexual immorality, in this case the act of incest, is condemned as is the church's attitude of indifference and arrogance. The purity demanded is symbolized as removing the leaven in the Passover celebration. In verse 5:3, Paul passes judgment on the sin. The church has to guard its own membership, not try to Christianize unbelievers by forcing biblical standards on them.

In 6:9-10, Paul gives another list that is headed up by sexual immorality to show how unchristian and sinful their actions were toward one another. Verse 6:12 begins a look at Christian liberties taken too far (almost begging the question ‘‘how far is too far?"). The Corinthians reasoned that physical activities had no impact on one's inner or spiritual life. Using the example that we have an appetite and a stomach so we indulge in eating, therefore if we have desire and the parts we should indulge in sex. Both, after all, are natural processes. Paul denies this. The conclusion to Paul's rebuttal of this is that the body is not meant for sexual license, but for the Lord. Sexual relations is more than just a physical act, it unites two people together, analogous to Christians having been joined in union with the Lord (united spiritually). Anything other than the divinely established marriage union is a perversion. A simple three-pronged argument is put forth in verses 19-20: 1) my body is the temple of God; 2) I have received the Spirit from God to help me against sin; 3) I have no right to pervert and misuse my body because I have been purchased at a price; therefore I am to glorify God in my body.

The second passage is I Thessalonians 4:1-8. Christian holiness requires total abstinence from porneia. The Thessalonians were congratulated on their faith in 1:3, but this did not mean that there was no occasional misbehavior in the church, which is kind of how I see my walk. Holiness requires me to learn to control my own body (v. 4). A wholesome marriage is Paul's antidote for sexual immorality, but that doesn’t negate our necessity to learn chastity as a discipline. Believers are obligated to a higher standard, not to give in to passionate, wanton lust.

I had a couple of questions which kept nagging me. Firstly, I Corinthians 6:18 says "Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body." So I was left with the question ‘‘is sexual immorality a special type/brand/category of sin?' Frankly, while “sin is sin,” I could see how it could be. Few sins so captivate and enslave a person as sexual immorality. It is interesting that the passage that begins the discussion of sexual immorality (v. 12), ends with ‘‘but I will not be mastered by anything.' There is a mystery to sex. A transcendence, if you will, so that it is greater than the bringing together of the parts. An intimacy is created, indicating more than merely parts interacting. All of this can only be correctly expressed in marriage, because few other sins can be used so destructively when engaged in outside of their intentions.

Secondly, what exactly is condemned? I mean, is it the one time sinful act (and in a general sense, you can insert any sin), this sin as a recurring trouble area (what do you say to a person who is struggling with this, but is trying to overcome it), or this sin characterizing their lifestyle (a person indulging their sin)? What is condemned is both the individual act and the lifestyle that can come from it. After reading Romans 1:18-26 (the context for 1:24), I realized, from verse 19, that we all in the same “sin” boat, we all have issues that we struggle with. However, the fact that we struggle with a sin isn’t the end of the story. It’s the fact that we get back up after we stumble that defines us.

I know, I know. Some of you are ready to revoke my postmodern card. I’m not deconstructing the sexual mores presented through our archaic takes on theology. I’m perpetuating a Puritanical mindset, forcing it on a new age that has a new paradigm. We forget that such a high view of sex has always gone against the social mores of the age, lest we forget how pure and chaste the Roman culture was at the time that Paul wrote these words. The teachings chafe. Why listen to the words of men written nearly 2000 years ago? Coming at the Bible looking for loopholes means that we’re coming to this topic already with the wrong heart attitude. By my quick survey of the texts, it’s almost as if Paul is recalling a better time, addressing how we were created to be, the ideal of how sexuality was intended to be. He remembers how the Bible celebrates sex in the Song of Songs and how God created and instituted it, and called it good.


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I don’t have time to always check the comments all the places where this rant is posted. If you want to make sure that I see it or just want to stop by and say hi, do so on my message board. I apologize in advance for some of my regulars.

Dark Night of the Soul Part IV - The Caution

We’ve seen how the dark night of the soul is another step in our spiritual walk. We’ve examined how cliches often fall short in dealing with people going through dark times. Lastly, we’ve looked at the “movements” of the process. During this time, there are three things we need to be careful of:

1) Satan can use this time to further throw you for a loop. I’m not a big “Satan” guy. I don’t blame him for a lot. I don’t stub my toe then start shouting “Satan I rebuke you.” This is mostly a reaction to people who blame him for everything. At the same time, though, he’s very real and represents a very real threat. The name “Satan” means “the accuser” and during these times we are very vulnerable to being accused.

Let’s face it, during this time, nothing seems to gratify you anymore. Not work, not relationships, nothing. In an attempt to feel better, to fill that void, you may be tempted to fill it with whatever temporary gratification that may come your way, be it whatever vice or even a good thing, but still the wrong thing.

2) Be careful of blasphemy. Job chides God for acting unjustly, questioning Him. This differs from the approach his wife wanted him to take (curse God and die, from Job 2:9). Again, Renee Alston puts it like this:

“Give me yourself,” he says, “trust me without these protections, trust me with your pure vulnerabilities.” And I laugh. “And what will you do with them?” I wonder, knowing all too well what this means. The rage wells up within me, like fire.

“And what have you done? What have you saved me from? I have spent a lifetime yearning for you, aching, longing, desiring to be whole more than any other thing. I have brought as much as I could to your feet–passed them over, surrendered my will, and all I have received is silence. This much I have given, and would give more, but for a word, an acknowledgment, a sense of comfort. And yet there is still nothing.

“You ask me to be vulnerable, and I have been. You ask me to surrender, and I stand before you already empty-handed. You ask for my trust, and yet you have never earned it. How can I dare to believe you are good if my life has been filled with so much bad done in your name, if you cannot even respond to all that I have already sought to answer that which I have already asked? I cannot trust what is untrustworthy.”

You might get angry with Him - because things it won’t make sense. This is a fine line to walk, after all, what kind of friendship would we have if we weren’t allowed to be real with each other? On the other hand, He’s God. That settles many arguments for me. I can argue with my wife, there are the rare occasions when I think that she’s lost her mind. But even in the most heated conversation, I’m careful because I can’t unsay things.

3) Spiritus Virtiginis (a “dizzy spirit” that errs in everything) - This is just a fancy way of observing that we are susceptible to spinning all over the place trying to find a solution because we are still in service to our idol of answers. We are trapped in the tyranny of having to do something for the sake of doing something. Gerald May, a psychiatrist, puts it this way:

It seems specifically designed for people like me, people who refuse to relinquish the idea that if only I could understand things, I could make them right…… we desperately try to figure out where we have gone astray. ‘‘What’’s happening here? Where have I gone wrong? Maybe my problem is this…… No, maybe it’’s that…… Perhaps I should try this…… Or that…… I simply must be more diligent! Perhaps if I tried……’’ We make countless resolutions to be more discipline in our lives; we read self-help books, go to workshops, anything we can think of.

Look, true faith is not without hardships, nor is it all that pragmatic. So when problems arise, there are no pat answers. There are no steps. It sucks. Endure it. Hold on. These times of crisis will either break us and cause us to abandon God or break us down and draw us nearer to Him. We, as a community of believers, need to be there for each other. Those cliches might be true, but sometimes people are rarely in a place to hear them. Jesus isn’t going to hold you, but Jesus through us can. We need to be Jesus to those going through times of darkness. When they come to us, we need to honor their unbelief, their struggles, their questions, their doubts. Show them mercy, grace, and acceptance. Love them while they are broken.

Those going through those times need to be faithful. This won’t always look pretty.

I know that we hear all these stories about overcoming faith and God blessing the people who have all these great stories, who said and did the right things; but I know for me, getting through my dark times has never looked pretty. Usually, it involved a lot of being curled up in bed screaming. It might just be you crying out to him until things hurt less. I know it sounds like I’ve tried to have it both ways: questions are good, but don’t get lost, or trapped, in your search for answers, especially for answers that ultimately you won’t find. There is a limit to man’s wisdom, since we can’t understand God’s ways, fear Him and love Him. When the times get bleak, all you can do is reach out for your first tether, your life preserver, your walk, your relationship with Christ

A lot of times we place our love and faith in the wrong things (or good things that aren’t the best things). Confusing our spiritual ideas with some distorted ideas of God. Somewhere along the line forgetting what being spiritual truly means. Sometimes it takes a loss of control to remind us, to re-shape us. Hopefully you will figure out what’s really important about your faith and walk, leading to greater faith.

The journey inward is part of the progress. You have to stick to it. Some people compare this time to God actually “giving” you more responsibility by not guiding you by the hand any more. Kind of like a parent with a teenager, how dealing with them is akin to handling a wet bar of soap: you want to keep them in your hand, but the best way to do so is in a loose grip because the harder you hold onto them the more likely they will just squeeze out. Regardless of imperfect analogies, go before God without pretending. Be broken, empty, terrified. Be honest with your pain, rather than put it behind you. Relief comes through honest dialogue. The more doubt expresses itself, the more it is allowed to be exposed, the easier it can be dealt with. Rather than keeping it inside, eating away at you like cancer. Be vulnerable, but still believe in your darkest moments of unbelief.

God is sitting shiv’ah with us during our dark nights of the soul. Grieving with us. Restoring us. In that we need to have, and can find, hope. Or, as one of my board moderators put it “I suppose, one must find the faith to thrash, and that one's friends must find the faith to let them. To be able to hold onto God, and scream "I DON'T UNDERSTAND THIS!!!!!!"... but to hold on, because in the midst of all whirlwind He's whispering in your ear, "I know you don't. But I do." ...that's the choice that we all have to make in the middle of the darkest nights. Will we hold on. And do we have the eyes to see that it is, in the end, in reality, the only thing that we really have to hold onto... and that it's everything else that is the illusion.”



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I don’t have time to always check the comments all the places where this rant is posted. If you want to make sure that I see it or just want to stop by and say hi, do so on my message board. I apologize in advance for some of my regulars.

Dark Night of the Soul Part III - The Movements

First we defined what the dark night of the soul is and how it is often a part of our spiritual journeys. Then we looked at how many of the cliches we’ve come to spout fall short of being any kind of actual balm. Next we turn to what do we have to offer the person whose life has been blown to crap. For the answer to that, I am going to pillage without apology from an article written by a friend of mine, Rich Vincent, appropriately called “The Dark Night of the Soul.” There are two movements of the dark night. The first is called “The Dark Night of the Senses”. The Psalmist says it best “Darkness is my only friend.” This is a dangerous time because there’s nothing worse than being alone with your thoughts. Your mind becomes your worst enemy:

-you feel lost
-you feel abandoned by God
-you feel alone
-no one understands what you’re going through
-you try all of those familiar spiritual practices which had worked so well for you in the past, but now they only leave you exhausted. You’re prayer life seems impotent, you get no pleasure or answers.
-the harder you try, the worse it seems
-and because of this, you may feel like you’re backsliding

And it sucks. If we’re being honest, the only thing we can do is encourage one another to persevere, it whatever form that takes. A regular on my message board, in responding to why cliches don’t cut it, said that “In my experiences, cliches are sometimes dusted off and trotted to me in lieu of actually interacting with me or joining me on the journey, with the efficacy of a bandaid for a severe leg wound. I can't use words, but I could use an ear, or support getting back on my feet again. God's promises are one thing, but if you twist them into a cliche to fit a situation rather than actually trying to be useful or comforting, you're missing the whole point.” In her book, Stumbling Toward Faith, Renee Alston expresses her frustration this way:

“In my journey toward God, one of the greatest things I have learned is that there is much I do not know. Sometimes that really ticks me off. Why is it that I don’t know what’s going on here? Why isn’t there some kind of answer for me? What kind of God lives in these “I don’t knows”? What kind of God keeps such secrets?

“If there’s anything I’ve learned about not knowing, it’s that it reveals the depth of my trust. Can I trust a God who will not explain himself? Can I trust a God who leaves me not knowing his purpose, his will? Can I trust something beyond the pat answers, the snatched promises, the ways we quiet ourselves when the questioning grows too strong?”

Basically, your life feels stripped of everything and even if it hasn’t been totally stripped, depression will do it. Depression is a natural and necessary expression of grief and we normally experience depression during these times. Depression isn’t lack of faith. Depression isn’t just “the devil trying to get to you.” However, this is not the time to get lost in your thoughts. I’m not saying that asking “why?” is bad, I’m just saying that it will only further exhaust you. It’s an easy trap to fall into, but ultimately a waste of time since there are no answers to be found.

We can ask them but too often we aren’t willing to live with questions. Questions leave us vulnerable, like there’s something missing in our walk. There are 288 question marks in the book of Job. Most of them are from Job and his friends. How does God deal with their questions? Questions were His answer - 78 of the 288 are His. The net result? His questions leave us humbled, awed, and speechless (though, to be perfectly honest, somewhat dissatisfied). St. John of the Cross puts it this way:

The way in which they are to conduct themselves in this night of sense is to devote themselves not at all to reasoning and meditation, since this is not the time for it, but to allow the soul to remain in peace and quietness, although it may seem clear to them that they are doing nothing and are wasting their time, and although it may appear to them that it is because of their weakness that they have no desire in that state to think of anything. The truth is that they will be doing quite sufficient if they have patience and persevere in prayer without making any effort. What they must do is merely to leave the soul free and disencumbered and at rest from all knowledge and thought, troubling not themselves, in that state, about what they shall think or meditate upon, but contenting themselves with merely a peaceful and loving attentiveness toward God, and in being without anxiety, without the ability and without desired to have experience of Him or to perceive Him.

In other words, be quiet and hold on. It’s hard to see any blessings going on during this phase. But during this time, hopefully a few things will be happening: you’ll be learning a greater fear of God and learning a deep spiritual humility. And your patience will be increased. None of this is an easy process and these are lessons rarely appreciated in the learning. Another way to put this is that you gain a new sense of perspective, the problem is that this perspective is usually from the ground since you’ve been knocked out.

Next comes “The Dark Night of the Spirit.” Here’s the true suck part: in a lot of ways, you are on your own. It is your soul being purified. However, God is at work, behind the scenes of your soul, knitting you back together without you even realizing it. The question becomes “why would God choose to purify the soul in a way so painful and frustrating?” It seems almost sadistic. Well, I don’t know. I’m serious, I have no idea. It is here that we often find the limits of our systematic theology and some would say, common sense. I would offer that unless we’ve left room for the mysteries of God as a part of our faith, times of crisis can become faith-shattering. We are slaves to answers, having to know “why” and when the answers are not there, out faith either crumbles or is re-evaluated. St. John of the Cross puts it this way.

Why is the Divine light (which as we say, illumines and purges the soul from its ignorances) here called by the soul a dark night? To this the answer is that for two reasons this Divine wisdom is not only night and darkness for the soul, but is likewise affliction and torment. The first is because of the height of Divine Wisdom, which transcends the talent of the soul, and in this way is darkness to it; the second, because of its vileness and impurity, in which respect it is painful and afflictive to it, and is also dark.

In other words, God’s light can prove so overwhelming that it leaves us blinded, in darkness. God works where we are and sometimes we have to be stripped of a few things to allow Him to work. You may learn the measure of your faith and what faith truly is. Yes, in this darkness feels like God has forsaken you. You become aware of your own failing and things may seem so desperate, you feel that there’s no remedy.

[to be continued]


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I don’t have time to always check the comments all the places where this rant is posted. If you want to make sure that I see it or just want to stop by and say hi, do so on my message board. I apologize in advance for some of my regulars.

Dark Night of the Soul Part II - Cliches Are Not Enough

All we can truly offer the person struggling through this time is encouragement to endure. However, let’s look at some typical responses we have. We - and by “we” I mean us the church and us as friends - like to talk people out of pain when we can’t offer answers. We get pre-occupied with wanting to provide an answer. Too often, that’s to make us feel better, to justify our theology. Our pat answers have become reflex, like we have to or are supposed to say something ... Christian. We repeat the expected vocabulary, the Christian cliches, those over-used verses and phrases that convey little meaning after hearing them so often. To the point where they don’t have any power left, despite their inherent truth. What are some of these Christian cliches?

“All things work for good” or some other rough rendering of Romans 8:28. Look, when I’m in pain, don’t throw verses at me. I’ll take the nearest Bible and beat you with it.
Don’t worry (Matthew 6:33-34). I recently heard this sermon titled “Don’t Worry. Be Biblical.” I thought great, tell me how to do this. This brother went through his list of what we shouldn’t worry about, all the time I’m thinking okay, but what should we do? I mean, this is easy to say, but how does it manifest in our lives? Maybe I was guilty of wanting an answer. What I didn’t need was him repeating the phrase “Don’t Worry. Be Biblical.” He was so in love with his phrase that he kept repeating it as his application point. I guess that I get his point, but I really wasn’t feeling it.
God won’t give you anything you can’t handle. And interesting Christianized version of “that which doesn’t break you makes you stronger”, the only problem is that neither phrase is actually in the Bible.
God’s grace is sufficient.
God always provides/God will make a way.
Nothing can separate us from the love of God.

Sometimes it’s as if we’re blamed or made to feel guilty as if it’s our fault that what ever trouble has hit us entered our lives. We’re made to feel
-that we don’t believe true enough
-that we need to focus on others
-that we aren’t reading the Bible enough
-that we aren’t praying hard enough, sincerely enough, or with the right motives.

I think this is partly because we’re still dealing with this image of God as this cosmic Santa Claus, a failing in how we view God, in what we believe who and what He is. We learn to pray in magic phrases, as if if we get the wording right He’ll answer our prayers. “If it be your will ...[petition, beg, and plead] ... in Jesus name.”

This points to a fear that is real and even valid. The fear that if we confront our pain, our sorrow, struggle with the questions of “why?” and “what did I do to deserve this?”, that our faith may prove itself empty. Many people have a fair weather faith, the kind of faith that Satan accused Job of having. We’re afraid to not know. It’s like answers have become our idols. We throw out these Christian cliches because we think we have to have an answer for everything, forgetting one very important thing: if we have all the answers, what do we need God for?

This starts when you preach a gospel or sell the Bible as something that will have all the answers for everything. Our faith isn’t validated because it solves all of life’s problems. Our testimonies start to sound a lot like what we hear on Oprah. Think about how the Gospel we present is little different that the main message of her mission/show. She presents life changing systems, people adopt them, and their lives are changed. They tell stories of how their problems are solved and the only difference between their story and “ours” is that they don’t cloak their stories in Christian-ese. We’re afraid to face the fact that sometimes we learn more looking for an answer and NOT finding it than we do from learning the answer.

And that’s a scary place to be.

This can lead to a crisis of faith that blows apart all of our systematized ideas. Look at Job’s friends. At the heart of the book of Job is a theodicy, a justification of God, for the age old “problem of evil” argument. It goes something like this: God is good. God is all powerful. But evil exists and bad things happen to good people. Therefore either God isn’t good, He isn’t all-powerful, or He doesn’t exist. Job’s friends had their systematic theology and it solved the problem by blaming man: if bad things happened, you must have done something to earn His wrath. And we still hold to this kind of thinking today. Too many times I talk to people who blame the things that happen in their lives on God punishing them for something. Like He hides in the bushes waiting for us to screw up so he can zap us.

We end up second guessing ourselves, questioning our sincerity, questioning our belief, and what it means to believe. That’s why my favorite prayer is “Lord I believe, help me with my unbelief.” After a while, the Christian vocabulary no longer connects, the Christian cliches that comforted us in sermons during easy or happy times sound empty, and what’s more troubling, our lives don’t seem different from non-Christians. We have the same crap happening to us and we’re just as miserable, but we’re supposed to have all the answers. We have these theological models, our explanations of God, life, the universe and everything, that times of crisis and pain and real sorrow don’t fit into our theology box.

Don’t get me wrong. These things we spout have become cliches for a reason. These are promises made to us and they’re true. However, they sometimes sound weak because of overuse. Real wondering, real doubt, demands more than these trite responses. It’s a delicate balancing act: balancing what we don’t know vs. what we do. There is an honesty to doubt, to saying “I don’t know” and then coming back to those promises.

-all things work together for good, but that seems like false comfort to a grieving parent
-He may not give us more than we can bear, but that doesn’t mean that what we’ve got doesn’t hurt for real
-God doesn’t always provide when we think He should and sometimes what He provides isn’t what we think we need
-He may prepare a way, but what if the way He has prepared for escape is a path of grief, darkness, pain, sorrow, and betrayal?
-and nothing can separate us from the love of God, but sometimes our unanswered prayers make us feel unloved and very separated.

We have to be sure what we’re using the cliches for. Are we spouting them because we think that’s what the person is struggling with and needs to hear? Or are we spouting them because that’s what we’ve been conditioned to say? Are we saying that because we don’t know what else to say and we don’t want to confront the reality of us not knowing, our own doubts, or our insecurities. That seems to be the problem of Job’s friends. They had a lot of right answers, but they were for the wrong problems. Instead of giving advice to make someone feel better, or even shutting up and just be with them, it’s like our first thought is “what’s the Christian thing to say?”

The best things we have to offer is love and acceptance. When talking to people who have had their lives blown to crap, who feel that God has yanked the rug out from under the feet of their lives, we have to allow them to feel. Let them know that it’s okay to feel sad. We have to be God’s arms of comfort. And we have to realize that there’s a time for reassuring promises and a time to shut up, be human, and weep with them.

[to be continued]


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I don’t have time to always check the comments all the places where this rant is posted. If you want to make sure that I see it or just want to stop by and say hi, do so on my message board. I apologize in advance for some of my regulars.

Dark Night of the Soul Part I

Sometimes we’re afraid to show that we’re sad, that we don’t have it all together. We behave like those women from Desperate Housewives. We do the “I’m fine” dance--“how are you?” “I’m fine”--because we don’t want to show any cracks in our walk and we’re not sure that you really want to hear about it if we do. And you know what? Christians are supposed to be happy. At least we’re conditioned to believe that. Why not? We’re supposed to have all the answers. When tragedy pops up, we can have a moment of grief, but we’re supposed to move on fairly quickly. After all, we have the gratitude of salvation and the joy of being forgiven. So somehow prolonged sadness has come to be seen as a lack of faith.

However, some of us find ourselves in places of prolonged sadness. Spiritual ennui. Depression. A dark place where friends, family, and God feel distant. Our Psalm 88 place where darkness is our only friend. Our Job sitting on the mound place, where friends surround you yet you find no consolation in their words. What we aren’t told often enough is that this is a natural step in the critical journey of faith. You see, that conditioning that I was talking about refers to how the main thrust of evangelical thought on getting folks to spiritually progress goes along these phases:

1) to discover and recognize God
2) to start a life of discipleship
3) in order to get to a productive life (which usually translates into find a ministry in the church to get involved with)

For many folks, that’s where the critical journey ends. Well, that's all fine and good, a "purpose driven life" and all that. I get that, but there comes a point where things just don't add up anymore. where the answers that we'd come to depend on don't cut it any more. If those three steps are the end of the journey, then we have to do all manner of intellectual hoop jumping in order to feel that we are still in the faith. Because we’re so uneasy with questioning things, some would say that periods of prolonged doubt would be symptoms of apostasy putting us outside of the faith.

On the other hand, such a phase was part of how the critical journey used to be taught. This stage was what some folks called the perplexity or illumination stage of thought/belief. It marked the beginning of the second half of the critical journey:

4) the journey inward - where your faith hits a wall, what some folks call the dark night of the soul, when God feels especially absent or at least silent.
5) the journey outward - where this time of shattering reflection causes one to turn outward in focus.
6) the life of love - where loving people becomes our (more) natural way of living.

You see the inherent problems, right? some folks get to that wall and don't realize that's a natural part of their spiritual progression and then jump off the train. Right when the key is to hold on and thrash your way through your doubts.

You may not have gone through any real hard times, but guaranteed, the longer you live, the more likely it is that at some point, you’re life will feel blown to crap. We’ve tossed around the Spanish mystic, St. John of the Cross’ phrase “dark night of the soul”. Not every painful experience falls into that specific category. It refers to something more than simple misfortune, but we can learn much about getting through stormy times by learning about getting through those dark nights. Sometimes the dark circumstances are the exact times that God uses to transform us.

Overall, the process looks something like this:
-we feel that God is absent and inactive; He’s gone and we’re alone.
-we’ve come to the end of our ability to be in control.
-the familiar spiritual practices that we had come to depend on, that usually comforted us, instead seem hollow and ineffective
-BOOM! We hit a wall.

It is the feeling that God is not at work, that He has abandoned us, and all of our cries are going unanswered that causes us the greatest pain. All we can truly offer the person struggling through this time is encouragement to endure. However, let’s look at some typical responses we have. We - and by “we” I mean us the church and us as friends - like to talk people out of pain when we can’t offer answers. We get pre-occupied with wanting to provide an answer. Too often, that’s to make us feel better, to justify our theology. Our pat answers have become reflex, like we have to or are supposed to say something ... Christian. We repeat the expected vocabulary, the Christian cliches, those over-used verses and phrases that convey little meaning after hearing them so often. To the point where they don’t have any power left, despite their inherent truth.

[to be continued]:

Dark Night of the Soul II - Cliches are Not Enough
Dark Night of the Soul III - The Movements
Dark Night of the Soul IV - The Caution



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I don’t have time to always check the comments all the places where this rant is posted. If you want to make sure that I see it or just want to stop by and say hi, do so on my message board. I apologize in advance for some of my regulars.

Sins of the Past

This doesn’t go said enough, but I’ve really enjoyed being a member of Intake’s Blog Squad. They pretty much let me blog about whatever I want, however, once a week, we usually get these prompts on issues to write about. The prompt this week has been especially tough for me to put my brain around to have a take on.

The ACLU of Indiana filed the suit challenging a new city ordinance that fines child molesters caught near city playgrounds or other gathering spots for children. Calling the ordinance passed in mid-May unconstitutionally vague, the group said it would make law-abiding citizens unwitting violators of the ordinance and hinder their ability to work, vote and worship.

The ordinance prohibits sex offenders convicted of crimes against children from coming within 1,000 feet of playgrounds, recreation centers, swimming pools, sports fields or facilities when children are around. One exception to the ban is if the offender is accompanied by an adult with no history of sex crimes.

This isn’t the take folks will expect, but all this reminds me of is the fact that ministry is tough. By it’s very nature, ministry means not giving up on folks. We can run around claiming to be about loving our neighbors, that’s one thing; but loving your enemies ... well, that’s tough. It’s a quick way to take the measure of your faith. Some days, I’m convinced that the fact that God bothers to care about any of us is more mercy than we deserve. As quick as we are to ask “How can we believe in God when He allows these people to do bad things?” I’m forced to ask “How can we continue to believe in humanity?”

Some sins follow you around longer than others. Some sins have greater consequences. Yes, there is forgiveness, but there is also penalty. In a lot of ways, there is a digital scarlet letter, and its accompanying social ostracization, for sex offenders. From them registering to neighbors being alerted when one moves into the neighborhood - yes, it’s tough to get on with your life when you become a social pariah, but it’s harder for the folks who were the victims of sexual predators.

The recidivism rate is high. The stakes–when it comes to sexual offenders and predators–is also high. We, as a society, are committed to not taking chances with our kids. Most of me wants to call down imprecatory prayers on the offenders, but a part of me has to allow for the fact that people do repent and people do change.

This even touches how we do church. For one thing, when I look back on the story of the church, we have our own sins: demeaning women, racism, anti-intellectualism, financial scandals, and Lord knows, more than our share of sexual scandals. We’re a lot less likely to repeat our mistakes if we own up to them. And if someone, or a society, holds us accountable. At the same time, church is a place for “sinners,” not all of whom have repented. So, would I “allow” a sex offender into the church? Of course. Would I know where that person was at all times (and for that matter, would everyone know about his past sins so that they could be aware of the situation)? Of course.

Sorry, I’m not a big believer in victimology to begin with and I’m certainly not going to turn abusers into a victimized group. They have every right to try and move past their transgressions and live their lives. Just don’t expect me to feel too bad for them. I’m not there yet. I want to know where they are and how close they are to my kids.


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I don’t have time to always check the comments all the places where this rant is posted. If you want to make sure that I see it or just want to stop by and say hi, do so on my message board. I apologize in advance for some of my regulars.