The Lost Genre Guild Promotes a “New” Genre in Fiction

Though I am a newbie blogger and had never heard of the term “blog tour” prior to a few months ago, I am happy to lend my blog to the Lost Genre Guild for a moment. If you head over to the Christian Science Fiction & Fantasy Blog Tour, you will see they just completed a three day blog tour for the Lost Genre Guild. I have been following the tour this week with interest.

According to the Guild’s website their mission is to:

“. . . raise the awareness and respect for Biblical speculative fiction, and to encourage, educate and support the writers of such fiction.”

The following blurb from their website explains their mission in more detail:

“Welcome to the literary home for artists, editors, agents, promoters, and fans of Christian sci-fi, fantasy, and supernatural thrillers. Spec-fic is the best selling secular genre, but few Christian authors have been connecting with fans. Demographics show that many Christian genre fans are online. The Lost Genre Guild's been laying infrastructure for Viral Marketing, or, word-of-mouth buzz to promote our lost genre.”

I’m a fan of science fiction. I can’t tell you how many times my husband and I have gone into Blockbuster and said, “I’m in the mood for a sci-fi movie” only to leave empty handed. In my opinion, there can never be too many science fiction stories. However, I’ve noticed something. Mainstream science fiction is usually built upon the philosophy of humanism. As a former humanist and current follower of Christ, that’s kind of a bummer.

Here’s something else that’s a bummer. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone into a Christian bookstore or perused the Christian fiction titles at Barnes & Noble and Borders and thought, “I’m in the mood for something sci-fi” only to leave empty handed. No offense to Christian women’s historical fiction, but when I was little, I cried when my mom tried to dress me in ruffles.

What to do?

As a writer and a Christian, I thought to myself, why not write a Christian science fiction novel? So I did. It’s called The Exception, and I am in the beginning stages of looking for its home. Lo and behold, my search led me to the Lost Genre Guild's website, and I immediately thought to myself, “Shew, I’m not the only one!”

At this time, I have ceased calling my novel Christian science fiction in favor of the more general categorization Christian speculative fiction, which includes science fiction, fantasy, and all applicable sub-genres.

You might be asking, “Is every novel categorized as Christian speculative fiction about the apocalypse and that crazy thing you all call ‘the rapture’?” No! Christian speculative fiction differs from mainstream speculative fiction in that it is constructed atop Biblical principles. Other than that, all bets are off!

I hope you will hop over to the Lost Genre Guild's website and learn more about this emerging genre!

Somewhat Random Philosophical Thoughts

For some reason, this "relative truth versus absolute truth" debate is still intriguing me. The other day, I had a little epiphany concerning this verse: In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. (John 1:1 NIV) Afterwards, I jotted down the following thoughts. They all fit together (at least in my brain) even tho they may seem a bit random. Most of them are in the form of questions. (Because I know how postmodern thinkers prefer to ask question rather than declare answers. Heh heh.) Here goes . . .

In the postmodern age, why is scientific truth absolute and moral truth relative? Some might argue that even in science, truth is not absolute. They may say scientific facts are merely ideas for which we have confirmation, but no ultimate proof; therefore, since the ideas are open to re-evaluation, they do not represent absolute truths. But, why would scientists seek to understand the physical world if they thought its laws were ever-changing, mutable, impossible to pin down? If gravity exists today, and tomorrow it does not, what’s the point of scientific inquiry?

Doesn’t science exist because the universe is governed by predictable laws? Today, water boils at a certain temperature based on altitude. Tomorrow, water will still boil at the same temperature based on altitude. The fact that scientists modify their theories based on newly acquired observations, does not mean absolute physical laws do not exist, it just means they are not yet fully understood.

So, if absolute laws exist to maintain physical order in the universe, might absolute moral laws exist also? What if they exist not only to maintain social order in this physical realm, but also to maintain order in the spiritual realm as well? What if absolute moral laws exist primarily for the spiritual realm—to keep it orderly, just as physical laws keep our universe orderly?

For the sake of argument, lets say there are absolute moral truths. These are truths with a capital “T”. And, also for the sake of argument, let’s say there is a spiritual realm, and these Truths are the laws that keep it orderly.

What if we were holding a camera and Truth was our subject? How would we focus in on it, bring clarity to it, observe its details? What if we placed each of man’s religious texts as a lens between our camera and the Truth. Would each text allow us to see Truth with equal clarity?

If a man translated Truth to words 6,000 years ago, might it read differently than the same Truth translated to word today, due to the author’s cultural influences and historical perspective? But wouldn’t Truth still be Truth?

To be continued?

YouWriteOn: A Review of My Reviews

I’m no genius. My day job as a computer programmer reminds me of this often. Ask me to explain code I wrote a month ago. “I dunno, I don’t remember how it works, it just works.” There’s also the time I took one of those online IQ tests, which measured my IQ at 90. I don’t think that number is right. Besides, who cares how many rectangles there are in the dumb picture! Anyway . . .

Despite my inability to claim the title “genius”, I have been writing poetry, short stories, and fiction for a long time, and in the process, I have learned every word, every sentence counts. If it doesn’t strengthen the piece, it doesn’t belong. So, when I submitted my short story, "Steve", for review on www.YouWriteOn.com, I was pretty happy with each and every word, and I was also confident the story would be lifted up by my peers like a wide receiver who just scored the winning touch down. Turns out, I was wrong.

To give you some background, "Steve", is a satirical story about a dreng from the planet Drengle whose mouth is in his stomach and whose stomach is in his right thigh. He’s faxed himself to earth so he can study for his Largu (a dreng version of a master’s thesis) titled, "Human’s and Space Travel: So Close Yet So Far Away". Please click here if you would like to read the entire story.

Here are some of the reviews I received, along with my commentary:

Reviewer 1: I did think that maybe it is a bit too simplistic for the typical, jaded SF reader, but mainstream readers would probably like it more. I don’t know if you read a lot of science fiction or not, but it is quite a sophisticated genre, and really to write SF well, you need to have read a lot of it!

Me: Ah, good point. Simplistic, yes. My science fiction is for the “normal” reader who likes scifi without all the techie whizbangs.

Reviewer 2: I found this lively, amusing at times, and well written and told. I wasn't sure that Steve's reason to visit was very convincing. Found myself asking whether that is all there is to your story.

Me: Lively, well-written. Okay. Amusing “at times”? What does that mean? I thought it was amusing—period. And yes, that’s all there is!

Reviewer 3: . . . it is a pleasant and mildly amusing read.

Me: Again. “Mildly” amusing? Amusing “at times”?!

Reviewer 4: The overwhelming problem with this story is that it is totally implausible . . . because Steve—by your bodily description of him—is so grossly different in appearance and anatomy from any human being that it would be impossible for him to be accepted by any human being . . . You need, somehow, to make his differences from human beings very subtle.

Me: What what whaaaat?! The differences aren’t subtle, that’s the whole point! The humans are so dense they don’t even— Oh, never mind.

Reviewer 5: I really enjoyed this story. Right from the beginning it drew me in and I thought it was a really original idea. I thought it was funny, especially Steve's dialogue and the words and terminology used for Steve's world were very creative. I would have liked the story to be longer though and to see more of Steve's study, as his interaction with the humans was hilarious.

Me: Woo hoo!!!

Reviewer 6: I think this is all right. It just needs to be polished a bit.

Me: Pop! (My bubble bursting.)

In all seriousness, I enjoyed the exchange at YouWriteOn, and I appreciate all the people who took the time to review my work. It was interesting to see how people reacted to it. But was the process helpful? I don’t really know. I mean, how much time do I want to spend tinkering with "Steve"? It’s just a short story after all, and a silly one at that. Its silliness is why I like it, and also why I plan to leave it as is. At least for now. (If you can think of a better title, though, I’m all ears.)

I Want to Be a Sheep (Part 5 of 5)

Eventually, the servers at Google North American Division International Coop, Inc., LLC, Corporation started throwing smoke and emitting high frequency noises so I had to stop googling. Drats. I was forced to stop and think.

People fainting over a man because they think he’s going to transform the country—maybe even the world. Man says “I’m confident we can create a Kingdom right here.”

New Agers, based on the teachings of “Jesus” and various other spirits, say humanity is on the brink of a spiritual awakening.

Emergent church leader says, “(What if Jesus came) to start a political, social, religious, artistic, economic, intellectual, and spiritual revolution that would give birth to a new world?”

Throw out traditional Christian teachings on Satan and the end-times! Sadness, pain, suffering—these things only exist because we humans haven’t gotten it right yet. If we try harder, if we become more spiritual, if we continue to learn, study, gain more knowledge, learn more, study more, evolve more, then pain, anger, hate, murder, oppression—we can eradicate them all! So, what do we need to do? We’ve got to fix it! No. Not just “it”. We’ve go to fix everything! We’ve got to try harder. We’ve got to become better people. We must! Better, better, better, and better! We’ve got to keep getting better, and keep getting better, and keep getting better, and keep getting better, and keep getting—

Does anyone else feel a little overwhelmed?

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30 NIV

I am not divine. Satan wants me to think I am.

No matter how hard I try, I cannot perfect myself or this world. Satan wants me to think I can.

Jesus knows I am limited in my strength, power, and ability. He knows me better than I know myself. He knows which parts of me need broken and recast, which parts need polished and touched up. And he’s there to help me do just that—at any moment, any hour, any time of day, at the drop of a hat, he will help me. When I’ve made a mess, he will help me clean it up. When I’ve been knocked to my knees, He will pick me up. When I’ve been slapped in the face, He will take way the sting. He’s there. He’s there to listen to my cries, my shouts, my praises, my repentance and my grief. He’s there to forgive me, to love me, and carry me when I am weak. To smooth out my rough spots, wipe my tears and cleanse my mind with cool, clean water. What a relief.

Now, that’s what I call a spiritual awakening.

So why do I want to be a sheep? Jesus refers to his followers as sheep: "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." John 10:28 NIV. Does that mean I have to grow wool, crawl around on all fours, and eat straw? Luckily . . . no. Rather, I need to do as Peter said in Acts 2, verse 38: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.”

Yet, I think still hear some naysayers. “What about people who followed Christ’s commandments but never went to church and consciously accepted Him as their savior? What about people who love God, but follow other religions, or people who never had the opportunity to hear the gospel? What about everyone else? Are they all goats who will be sent away to eternal punishment?”

Those are tough questions, and my only response is this: I don’t know. I don’t know and it’s not my job to know. That’s God’s job. He is in control. I am not. He is divine. I am not.

But, I do know this: God is merciful, loving, just, and he hears my prayers.

I also know this: I want to know Jesus—the true Jesus.

I want to be a sheep. How about you?

I Want to Be a Sheep (Part 4 of 5)

So, feeling sufficiently satisfied that the true Jesus does in fact exist, I continued googling. Cerebral masochism perhaps? Google was happy to oblige.

Apparently there is a movement in Christianity which calls itself “emergent”. I have heard the term “emergent church” now and again, but have not given it much attention. Now that I know a little more about it . . . well . . . a hem.

As an aside, I’m not a big fan of denominations, but I do understand why they exist. We are human. As such, we are flawed. We disagree, we divide—sometimes painfully, but also sometimes peacefully, agreeing to disagree. As humans we are also diverse. Some of us like classical music. Some of us like traditional hymns. Some of us like pop music. Some of us like silence. Some like dim lighting and candles, others prefer bright lighting. Some are talkative and out-spoken, others are quiet and reserved.

Christ’s church reflects this diversity. The various denominations disagree on surface issues, like how to conduct weekly church service, but for the most part they agree on the core issue—that as fallen humans we are saved, not through works, but by God’s grace, which is gifted to us when we make the conscious choice to accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior. When I envision the Christian church, I do not see divided denominations, nor do I see a Catholic/Protestant divide. I see a unified group of people who have decided to follow Christ, however uneven and winding the road may be.

Now, back to the emergent movement, and more specifically, to the leaders of the emergent movement. They desire to reach postmodernists, a group of people who are not easily defined but who, for the most part, believe truth is subjective or further, that it is unknowable. The emergent leaders ask a good and valid question. Can we “send” postmodernists the gospel in a way that it reaches them rather than becoming hung up on the postmodernist’s skepticism and distrust? The emergent leaders acknowledge that this skepticism and distrust is often rooted in legitimate grievances with the church. So, they seek to deconstruct the traditional ideas of “Sunday church” and “the Christian walk”, and reconstruct them in ways that are more comfortable and welcoming to postmodern seekers. I have absolutely no problem with this.

I do have a problem with the way some emergent leaders seem to be deconstructing Jesus’ message and reconstructing it to fit harmoniously within the postmodernist’s worldview. In his book, The Secret Message of Jesus, Brian McLaren states, “What if Jesus' secret message reveals a secret plan? What if he didn't come to start a new religion—but rather came to start a political, social, religious, artistic, economic, intellectual, and spiritual revolution that would give birth to a new world?” Sound familiar? (If not, reread Parts 1 and 2. Quiz later.) Further, to make postmodernists feel comfortable, some emergent leaders seem to be teaching a kind of universalism—that is, Jesus came and died to save all of humanity regardless of whether an individual accepts His gift or not. Which means, although a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is encouraged, I guess it is not required. (My bad.) Which means, many paths DO lead to the top of the mountain. I’m OK, you’re OK. It’s all good!

Wait. What just happened?

I smell a rat.

Stay tuned.

I Want to Be a Sheep (Part 3 of 5)

So, where were we? Oh yeah. People were fainting over the democratic candidate and he said something about creating a Kingdom on earth, both of which prompted me to begin discussing politics and other important issues with friends, which led me to wonder, “Am I really just an old stick in the mud for believing in absolute truth?” To answer my own question, I turned to my pal Google and researched moral relativism, New Age, and some book called “A Course in Miracles”, which led me to ask, “How do I know the Jesus I worship is not some dusty out-dated version that’s just plain wrong. What if the ‘Jesus’ in ‘A Course in Miracles’ in the right one?” Then, I smelled a rat and I named him Satan.

But then I had another thought: “How do I even know true Jesus exists?”

What if there is no true Jesus, no false Jesus? No Jesus at all? What if the “Jesus” and the spirits that are talking to all these mediums are not spirits at all? What if the spirits are no more than figments of their imaginations who happen to be named Jesus now and again because…well…it’s sort of a well known name? So I googled some more.

As I was researching “A Course in Miracles” I ran across the testimony of a man named Warren Smith who had immersed himself in its teaching. In his book, “The Light That Was Dark”, Warren explains how his wife, Joy, was being harassed by a man who was highly proficient in astral projection. To combat this harassment, they applied the teachings they’d learned from “A Course in Miracles”, including visualization, surrounding the entire situation in light, sending the harasser blessings. Nothing worked.

With his wife under continued spiritual attack, Warren began to seek alternative solutions. He picked up a book called “The Beautiful Side of Evil” by Johanna Michaelsen. He read it and decided to apply some of its teaching. One day when his wife was under siege by the unwelcome spirit, he quoted directly from Michaelsen’s book: “Satan, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, I command you to be gone! I forbid your presence here. I claim the protection of the blood of Jesus upon us. Go where Jesus sends you!” Immediately, the oppressive spirit left Joy. Warren says the uninvited spirit left Joy whenever they called on the name of Jesus Christ.

Admittedly, the above paragraph creeps me out a bit. The only time I have messed with the spirit world on purpose was via a Ouija board, and I’ve grown to regret even that. I’ve never “seen a ghost”, never talked to a spirit, and I don’t want to experience either of those things. So, I really don’t even enjoy writing about this, but I am because I think it is important.

Warren and Joy Smith are not the only people to be delivered from spiritual harassment by calling on the name of Jesus. Others have tried this method with good results. Google led me to an article by woman named Sharon Beekman. It originally appeared in “Today’s Christian” magazine in 1997, and is now archived online. I will summarize her article and quote a portion of it; however, the entire article is well worth the read.

Interested in the spirit realm, Sharon learned how to contact and channel her “spirit guides”. After awhile, however, she no longer wanted to engage in this activity and she let her spirit guides know. All but one of the guides respected her wishes and left her alone. The remaining guide was not ready to leave. In fact, he informed her he was going to start controlling her instead. Sharon endured this spirit’s uninvited presence for quite some time, trying repeatedly, but failing to rid herself of it. Finally, she went to talk to a Christian pastor.

A week later I met with a Presbyterian minister, David Stark, and one of his prayer ministers, Carrie. After praying for God to bless our time together, David began explaining a tiny pamphlet, "Steps to Peace with God," by Billy Graham.

"This recounts what God did for us," David explained. "He intended for us to know peace, but the Bible tells us …"

Suddenly, the demons unleashed their scorn of the Bible inside me: "Naive, simple-minded, unthinking people read that book! The final word from God?" I strained to hear the pastor through their vulgar expletives and finally asked, "Would you repeat what you just said again, please?"

"Yes, I'd be happy to. Are they bothering you?"

"Yes, but please go on."

(. . .)

"Confess your sins and ask Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior."

I prayed, "Lord Jesus Christ, I confess that I have sinned against you. Please forgive me. I want you to be Lord and Savior of my life. Amen."

I knew I was free. Although the demons still had the ability to harass my mind and body, they no longer controlled me. Jesus Christ lived within me and promised to protect and restore me. When or how he would do this no longer concerned me; I just knew he would as I followed him.

I cried my relief—I had found the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. Now I could fight back using the weaponry supplied by God: prayer and Scripture. I belonged to Jesus Christ now, and in time the demons' harassment would cease.

Now, that makes me stop and think. Pretty heavy reading and sobering stuff.

So. Does Jesus exist? Is He real? Is He truly divine? I know what I think, but what do you think?

“You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.” James 2:19 NIV

“When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.” Matthew 8:16 NIV

Part 4 won’t be this creepy. Or this long. And I might even talk about sheep.

I Want to Be a Sheep (Part 2 of 5)

So, I googled about New Age, flipped through pages and stumbled upon a book called “A Course in Miracles.” This book was penned by a woman who says she was channeling “Jesus” as she wrote it. “Jesus” told her what to say, and she wrote it down. From what I can tell based on my research, the “Jesus” in this book explains truth in relative terms, and he describes God as oneness, energy, vibration, etc.

Stop. If you do not believe in God or the spirit realm, my line of reasoning is going to get fuzzy for you. I believe in God and the spirit realm. I have reasons for my belief, and “the Bible says so” is not one of them. However, the Bible does confirm my belief that there is a spirit realm and it also tells me specifically not to mess around with it.

So, after researching “A Course in Miracles”, I began thinking, hmmm, what if the Jesus I know is not the real Jesus? What if the “Jesus” in “A Course in Miracles” is the true Jesus and he is correct in saying Christians have got it all wrong? I continued googling.

I learned that “Jesus” has actually talked to a lot of people lately via channeling. I’m not talking about feelings and impressions here. He has literally strung sentences together, spoken clear words into people’s heads as though his voice were audible to them. “Jesus” isn’t the only one talking. There is much chatter lately because it seems we as humans are on the brink of a spiritual awakening of sorts, and these spirits want to help us over the final hump. To that end, there are many different spirits with many different names borrowing human voices and hands to teach us about the nature of God. These spirits, including “Jesus”, seem to agree on a few things. 1) Truth is subjective, 2) God is energy, and 3) we are one with God and therefore share in His divinity.

I smell a rat.

What good is a Bible? It’s just a dusty old book written by a bunch of old guys, talking about a culture that is dead and gone and therefore has no relevance to the present. Furthermore, it has been translated so many times, we cannot trust its accuracy.

At this point in my research, I stopped googling and I dusted off my Bible. I wondered what the Jesus of the Bible had to say about all this. Here’s what I read: “Watch out that no one deceives you. Many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am he,’ and will deceive many.” Mark 13:5-6 (Remember, this was written roughly 2000 years ago.)

I smell a rat. His name is Satan. He is the father of lies. He is condemned by God. He knows he is condemned, and he’s bitter. He wants to drag as many souls down with him as he can, just to spite God.

You’ve probably felt it yourself. Anger, I mean. When I’m in an argument with my husband and am so angry I can hardly contain it, I want to lash out at him and say hurtful things. And bitterness. I remember when I was younger my parents would tell me to do the dishes and I’d feel so bitter about it, I’d drag my feet, complain, whine, procrastinate.

Ever heard the phrase “Misery loves company?”

What good is a Bible? It tells me Satan exists, and it shows me how to spot him. And I spot him in “A Course in Miracles.”

“Yes, Jessica. But what does this have to do with you wanting to be a sheep?” Stay tuned for Part 3.

I Want to Be a Sheep (Part 1 of 5)

That title sounds odd. I admit it. But I think it is the end point of an internal discussion I have been having with myself for a few months. It started with the election. People were gung ho for the democratic candidate. (I can’t say his name. It is one of the rules of this blog. No politics.) It was like they viewed him as a savior who had the power and intellect to fix everything broken in this country and in their lives. I watched from a distance thinking, “What’s going on? Why are people singing the praises of a man? Sure he might do some good, but he’s going to mess up too, just like the rest of us.” While trying to understand the fervor of his supporters, I happened across one of his quotes from the campaign trail. He was speaking to a church congregation when he said, “I’m confident we can create a Kingdom right here.”

Hmmmm?

Wait a minute. We can create a Kingdom right here? We? Here?

Okay, this isn’t about the president-elect. Not entirely. I wish him all the best and hope he is a great leader, for the sake of our nation. But the political debate did allow me to enter into fruitful discussions with others on topics such as politics, abortion, gay marriage, and faith. A common theme emerged from those conversations. Here are a few paraphrases:

“I’m not saying you’re wrong, but that’s not what I believe.”
“What’s right for you isn’t necessarily right for someone else.”
“If it works for you that’s great, but—”

Here’s the thing. I’m not a moral relativist. I believe in absolute truth. But, I think I am pretty open-minded. After the discussions, I thought, “Maybe I’m wrong. What if absolute truth does not exist?” This was not a crisis of faith or philosophy, more of a pondering and a realization that perhaps I needed to take a closer look at this relative truth versus absolute truth debate.

To that end, I went to Google and typed in “moral relativism”. I read some articles, flipped thru some cyber pages, and eventually happened upon an article about the New Age religion. New Agers are moral relativists, i.e. they believe truth is individual and subjective. They also believe in monism and pantheism, i.e., everything is one, and all things are God. The New Age God is a “force” or “energy”. Everything is made of this energy, therefore everything is divine. In contrast, the Christian God is an entity of His own, separate from His creation. In other words, God is divine, and while his creation is divinely inspired, it is not divine.

What does this have to do with me wanting to be a sheep? Hold on for Part 2, I’m getting there.

Plugging Away . . . Slowly

Well, this blog has been a bit silent. That was not my intent, however, I have been busy working on other aspects of my writing, i.e., writing a synopsis and creating a promotional flyer for The Exception. Ya gotta do what ya gotta do.

I redeployed my website last night. The text on the main page is new. I also added a link to my new promo flyer, and I made some minor modifications to the first three chapters of The Exception. After writing the synopsis, I realized I needed to make some small adjustments to my plot, so I whipped up yet another draft. The result, I think, is a stronger and more cohesive story, thanks to just a tiny bit of tinkering.

The next thing on my to-do list is to see what "burnfeeder" is all about. I suppose if I want people to find my blog, I better "publish" it, right? I think that is what burnfeeder does, though not 100% sure. Something new to learn!

So, I'm off. Merry Christmas cyberspace!!!

REVISION: Make that feedburner. lol. But, there is a burnfeeder.com if you're interested!