Vanish by Tom Pawlik: a Hellfire Comparison

Tom Pawlik's book Vanish, the subject of this month's blog tour, features, shockingly, the notion that some people who die end up in hell. Scary, no? But the hell concept is also to be found in other fiction even from the non-christian point of view.

A case in point is the BBC TV series Torchwood. The series, a spin-off from the long-running Doctor Who series, often deals with the topic of death. They intend to do so from a 100% secularist viewpoint. But something gets lost in translation.

Two characters, Suzie and Owen, are brought back from the dead using an alien glove, and describe what it's like after death. They ought to say something along the line of 'when you are dead, you're gone, and so there is no darkness, no light, because there is no you to experience it.' Instead, what is said is more along the line that when you are dead, you are in darkness. In nothingness. With strong hints that there are some mighty scary things in that darkness.

In other words, after you die, there is hell. They don't call it hell, they would get very mad if you mention that it is, essentially, hell, but that is what they have come up with. I suppose it is more atheistically correct to believe in hell so long as you believe we ALL go there. Nothing ruins an atheist's day more than a Blessed Hope, I guess.

The Torchwood notion of hell-for-all is actually somewhat similar to Pagan beliefs about Hades or Helheim--- places of the dead which were full of nothingness and rather unpleasant. That's why a sick Viking used to cut himself with a spear when he lay dying, so that he would have a shot at Valhalla rather than Helheim.

But the one type of ancient and traditional afterlife belief that is utterly offensive to many is the Christian one. In a novel in the Blood Ties series by Tanya Huff, (the second one, I can't remember the name or find the darn book), the heroine is investigating the shooting deaths of two werewolves from a werewolf sheep-farming family. She goes to a neighbor of the werewolves. The old man mentions *gasp* God. The heroine, a tough ex-cop, nearly swoons from shock. When the old man asks her if she is saved, she really freaks out. Evidently she lacks the minimal social skills to respond to this not-uncommon query.

Later she discovers that the werewolf family hate this neighbor because he came over and talked religion with the werewolf kids, and scared them by mentioning hell. Of course, this virtually proves that the old neighbor is the killer.

The one thing that isn't mentioned by the secular world, as they condemn Christian (but not non-Christian) mention of hellfire: is this--- is hell possible? Is there some possibility that Christianity might be right about this, in which case warning folk about hellfire (and suggesting the appropriate Biblical prevention) is the only kind and decent thing to do.

Now, the best evidence I can find that hell, and the rest of the Christian worldview, might in fact exist is the fact that historically there have been a number of intelligent, educated atheists who have changed their viewpoint and become Christians. Examples include C. S. Lewis and Alphonse Ratisbonne. If some intelligent and educated people happen to believe in a worldview--- whether that be Christian or Buddhist or agnostic--- it's hard to dismiss it as illogical and primitive and definitively wrong.

So--- hellfire is a possibility. Author Tom Pawlik uses this possibility very powerfully in 'Vanish'. It makes for strong fiction--- but is the horror of a possibly real hell too much to use in fiction, just as the Holocaust cannot be casually fictionally used? It's up to you, the reader, to decide.


The Blog Tour Links:
Featured book, Vanish - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414318936
New release, Valley of the Shadow - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414326793
Tom Pawlik’s Web site - http://www.tompawlik.com/
Tom Pawlik’s blog - http://www.tompawlik.com/blog.htm

Participants’ Links:
Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Alex Field
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Margaret
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Donita K. Paul
Epic Rat
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler

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Vanish by Tom Pawlik: Over the Top?

Before I became a Christian and joined a local Bible believing church, Precious Blood Catholic Church of Stephenson, MI, I was a Norse Pagan (Odinist). When I first became a Pagan I avoided all Christian reading material like the plague, but later became less rigid and read, for example, the Left Behind series.

Looking at the current Blog Tour book from a Pagan point of view, the beginning is very promising. No long sermons, no salvation messages--- the three main characters aren't even Christians. In fact, the main character, Conner Hayden, is very intolerant of the Christian beliefs of his ex-wife and his daughter.

The first 3/4ths of the book are a great read even for the Pagan reader. And then, the Truth is Revealed. Hellfire! Damnation! and getting saved as a way of avoiding the above.

During my Pagan days, I would have felt very cheated. Here I am, reading along minding my own business, and that darn author tries to Save My Soul. How rude!

Now, while this was my point of view as a Pagan, I don't claim that it's a particularly fair POV. I've read a great many novels where the author springs similar atheist/agnostic/secularist surprises. But we're rather used to that sort of thing. When a Christian does it, however, we feel as if we've been dragged against our will to a Baptist Sunday school meeting.

Is the 'Christian Surprise' in Vanish over the top? Well, it is in a Christian book, sold primarily in Christian bookstores, or in the Christian fiction ghetto of regular bookstores. Nearly everyone who reads the book is already saved, and saved in an appropriately Evangelical Protestant manner for the most part.

But we must recall that there will be some out there who will give this book into the hands of their 'unsaved' kin or friends. Will it just alienate them and chase them even further away from Christ? Or will it give them something to think about? I'm not quite sure, myself. (Opinions from my reader(s), in the form of a comment, are most welcome.)

One thing I am sure of, however: if you give this book to an unsaved friend, Do Not Forget to warn them that there is a Christian Message near the end and that it's pretty strong. This might stop some from reading the book at all, but those that do will have been warned and they have only themselves to blame.

The blog tour links:
Featured book, Vanish - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414318936
New release, Valley of the Shadow - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414326793
Tom Pawlik’s Web site - http://www.tompawlik.com/
Tom Pawlik’s blog - http://www.tompawlik.com/blog.htm

*Participants’ Links:

Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Alex Field
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Margaret
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Donita K. Paul
Epic Rat
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler

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lostgenre: Christian Science Fiction and Fantasy on reddit.com

If you enjoy Christian science fiction and fantasy, if you blog about it from time to time, you might try lostgenre on reddit.com.

lostgenre is dedicated to Christian science fiction and fantasy, but it needs members. Please consider joining, and then you can add any favorite blog posts and web sites to the lostgenre reddit.
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Vanish by Tom Pawlik: a Stephen King adventure

This is Christian fiction? Vanish, a novel by Tom Pawlik, seems more like a Stephen King novel--- The Stand, perhaps--- than good old fashioned, bringing-in-the-sheaves, preaching-to-the-choir Christian fiction.

The story starts with Conner Hayden, a busy lawyer, getting creepy weird feelings. But his life is normal--- he has to pick up his daughter from his ex-wife's house, and he's worried that his ex is forcing the girl to participate in church activities. But his daughter Rachel insists that she's glad her mother found comfort in her faith after the death of Matthew, the Hayden's younger child, that she joined the church choir of her own free will, and after a bit of discussion the two are officially Not Speaking, and Conner takes comfort in a bottle of Scotch. He sees some weird, unnatural storm clouds and strange lights in the sky, and then....

Next two chapters deal with other major characters, Helen Krause, an older model who's having difficulty finding work, and who lives for her son, Kyle, and Mitch Kent, a mechanic who's about to propose to his girl when his estranged father calls to announce he's dying. Both Helen and Mitch also experience the strange storm....

All three of our main characters wake up the next day to find that they are alone in a nearly empty city. They encounter a few people, including each other. Conner, after having a hallucination of his dead son, finds a young boy at the cemetary who doesn't speak. He also encounters Them--- strange, scary beings who are not human and who are Up To No Good.

The small group of survivors tries to avoid Them, who they assume are some sort of alien invaders. They are experiencing hallucinations--- for example Helen sees her son Kyle who is being tortured, his skin being burned by some strange force. Conner also is experiencing painful seizures.

They try to find out what's going on, they travel looking for a place of safety. They find a few more people. But the hallucinations continue, and the reality of what they have been experiencing falls under question.

Towards the end of the book, we find out what has really been going on, and I'm not going to tell and spoil it for anyone who hasn't read the book yet. All I'll say is that if any readers have enjoyed (or been disappointed by) the relative lack of a Christian Message in the first part of the book, don't worry, it's coming, and it's pretty strong.

My conclusion: this book is a grand adventure, and writer Tom Pawlik is a great talent I hope to hear more from in the future. He has a new book out, Valley of the Shadow, and I can't wait to read it. Listed below are links to both books, as well as Pawlik's web site and blog.

*Featured book, Vanish - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414318936*
New release, Valley of the Shadow - http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1414326793
Tom Pawlik’s Web site - http://www.tompawlik.com/
Tom Pawlik’s blog - http://www.tompawlik.com/blog.htm

The other Blog Tour participants--- do visit them. I particularly recommend Epic Rat (love the name):
Brandon Barr
Justin Boyer
Keanan Brand
Grace Bridges
Karri Compton
Amy Cruson
CSFF Blog Tour
Stacey Dale
D. G. D. Davidson
Jeff Draper
April Erwin
Karina Fabian
Alex Field
Beth Goddard
Todd Michael Greene
Ryan Heart
Christopher Hopper
Joleen Howell
Becky Jesse
Cris Jesse
Julie
Carol Keen
Krystine Kercher
Margaret
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Eve Nielsen
Nissa
John W. Otte
John Ottinger
Donita K. Paul
Epic Rat
Steve Rice
Crista Richey
Hanna Sandvig
Chawna Schroeder
James Somers
Speculative Faith
Rachel Starr Thomson
Robert Treskillard
Steve Trower
Fred Warren
Phyllis Wheeler



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K-Drama 'Landscape in My Heart' week 3

안 녕! (Annyong!) That is the Korean word for 'hi'. Another week has begun, and more action in our Korean Drama, Landscape in My Heart. (It's on KBS America channel, which is available on Dish Network, and is on at 8 o'clock Central Time.)

Episode 11
Jonggu has volunteered to go as a soldier to the Vietnam war; his father, Mr. Wu, gives his formal parental permission. Yunju, the soul-sucking she-demon that Donghyeok went on a blind date with, continues to suck up to Donghyeok's parents.
Jonggu's angry at his real mother, Jang Moran, not because she gave him up, but because she came back. Mrs. Hwang, Jonggu's other mother, makes Jonggu invite Moran to his going away party.
Jonggu gives his most precious possession, a boxing championship medal, to Suryeon, who didn't really want to accept it. Suryeon is beginning to accept that Donghyeok isn't coming back for her. She decides she wants to study, and her mother offers to help her to go to college.
Suryeon has a Calendar Moment--- she looks at the calendar and realizes that an Expected Monthly Event has not occurred. She's pregnant. (So that's why she's been puking the last three episodes.)

This has been an Annyong (안 녕) Monday feature; tune in next Monday for more about Korean dramas
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Landscape in My Heart, week 1
Landscape in My Heart, week 2
Landscape in My Heart at Korea Wiz


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Blood Price by Tanya Huff

There are vampire books and vampire books, but the different thing about Tanya Huff's Blood Price is that the vampire in question is someone I've heard of: Henry Fitzroy, the bastard son of King Henry VIII, who died (or, in the book, was made a vampire) at age 17. (There is evidently a TV Series based on this book and others in the series.)

The main character of the novel is a Canadian ex-cop named Vicki Nelson, who had to leave the force because her eyesight was deteriorating and she had no night vision.

She witnesses a killing in which the victim's blood is all drained out. The newspapers call it a vampire killing. In the course of investigating, she meets Henry Fitzroy, who writes romance novels and keeps odd hours. She discovers he is an honest-to-God vampire.

The murders, they discover, are the work of a demon. The demon is being summoned by *gasp* a nerd. This nerd is hated by all (and evidently there is nothing wrong with this in Tanya Huff's world), and nearly unleashes unspeakable horrors on the world before he is defeated.

This book is a reasonably good read, and lacks the raunchy aspects of too many vampire books today. Author Tanya Huff is a Gay person (cool)and evidently has had a Gay marriage (not cool) since her bio refers to her having a wife. She has lots of cats (cool) and an unintentional chihuahua (not cool).



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Autism and the Rules of Mockery

Most people with an autism spectrum disorder have a history of being mocked by the other kids in school. It doesn't seem to matter whether one has one of the more severe forms, or a high-functioning form such as Asperger's Syndrome with which some can 'pass' as neurotypical ('normal'). Other kids just seem to know there's something odd about us, and some of them, lacking good home training, think it's okay to make fun of us, torment us, and otherwise make school into a foretaste of hell.

I was picked on in school, and I hated it. I was not usually made particularly aware of other kids who were outcasts like me and the subject of mockery, but when I was aware of other kids being mocked, it hurt just as much as if I were the target. I don't claim this as a virtue, it's just an oddity of the way my mind works.

There is one sad exception. Very late in my career as a student, I became aware of another student, a girl, who was gossiped about as being 'dumb'. Now, I was at a Christian school and we were not little children any more, so she was not mocked to her face, just behind her back. I suppose I was flattered at being included in this and so I am ashamed to say I took part in the negative gossip.

But over time as I participated in the dumb jokes I became uncomfortable. I began to realize that some of the kids were amused in an odd way at my remarks. In one case a friend (to the extent I had a friend) wondered at the vendetta I had against this girl even though I wasn't saying any more than the others were.

Now, looking back, I begin to understand that when I was not present, I was also a subject of mocking gossip. Perhaps to a much greater extent than this other girl. The amusement I finally noticed was because one outcast was mocking the other.

The rule of social behavior --- and Christian behavior--- that I learned is to never participate in negative or mocking gossip, and to stand up against it if others do this in your presence. You just never know what others are saying about YOU behind your back; take the high road! I imagine that if I had done so in the incident above, I might have been more respected by the other kids for sticking to high-minded Christian principles, rather than amusing them by daring to mock another person when I was so mockable myself.
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K-Drama 'Landscape in My Heart' week 2

Wu Jonggu (pictured) has a major crush on Su-ryeon, but she has eyes only for law student Donghyeok.

'Landscape in My Heart' is on the KBS America channel, available on DishNetwork (in the regular package), and airs at 8 am, Central time.
Episode 6
Drunken jealous Jonggu has called Donghyeok's dad, telling him Donghyeok is chasing his fiancee (Jonggu and Suryeon are NOT engaged or together in any way, except in Jonggu's imagination), and mentions that Donghyeok and Suryeon are living together. (Well, they are staying in the same boarding-house.)

Donghyeok's dad comes to get him. While they are waitiing for the train, Donghyeok runs off to see Suryeon at her job but she's out of the office. He leaves a note, but Jonggu's sister, the spoiled brat Jongsuk, who has a crush on Donghyeok, intercepts the note.

Ankerberg: Tony Blair could be Antichrist--- because he's Catholic

I was watching one of my favorite TV shows, the John Ankerberg show, when he was talking about what the Antichrist will be like. He suggested that a prototype of the Antichrist can be found in a modern-day politician, Tony Blair.

Now, NOTE WELL: Ankerberg made it crystal clear that he was NOT claiming Tony Blair is, or even could be, the Antichrist. Just that there were certain factors in Blair's career that he would have in common with the Antichrist. (Please do not make negative comments about Ankerberg based on this blog post unless you have actually read this paragraph. Twice.)

The problem I have with what Ankerberg said is that when he enumerated what qualities Blair had that were qualities the Antichrist would have to have, right after mentioning his current work on Middle East peace, he mentioned Tony Blair's recent reconciliation with the Catholic church. (Other Christians can't convert to the Catholic church, they only reconcile with the Catholic church--- since they are Christians already.) Ankerberg said this gave Blair the connection with Rome that the Antichrist would need.

Now, I find this a bit outrageous that Ankerberg could even suggest that when Tony Blair joined the largest Bible-believing Christian church on Earth that somehow made him more Antichrist-like. And isn't the 'Roman connection' which the Antichrist is said to have more correctly a connection with Pagan Rome, or its modern equivalent? (And in the Catholic perspective, ALL CHRISTIANS regardless of denomination are part of the visible church which Jesus Christ extablished, the Catholic church, so therefore all Christians could be said to have this same Roman connection.)

Now, I do enjoy programs like Ankerberg's, I'm interested in Bible prophecy, and even ideas about Bible prophecy which are not Biblical and correct (according to the Church), like the Rapture theory, are interesting to hear about. But I do wish that Bible teachers of all denominational backgrounds would think twice and do loads of research before they make a statement like Ankerberg did.

Christians have enough folk out to get us. We don't need to be going after each other unneccesarily. If someone wants to do apologetics for his own denomination and defend its teachings and show where others are (supposedly) in error, fine. Devote a program to it. But don't just toss things out that will be perceived as uncharitable.


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Daleks Again?

Bad Wolf One reports that the new 11th Doctor Who, played by young actor Matt Smith, is going to be set to work battling the Daleks right off.

Daleks! You know, those tin pots that run around yelling 'Exterminate! Exterminate!'. Really, that's not a very subtle approach at all. Perhaps they should take a page from the human Daleks who run around saying 'It's for your own good! Your quality of life is lacking!' and then kill you all the same. That way, for some people at least, it's a bit of a surprise.

When I was a child, Daleks scared me to death. They scare me a bit now, but I don't hate them the way I hate the Borg from Star Trek. (The Borg are kind of a cross between the Daleks and the Cybermen, don't you think? And wouldn't it be cool to see the Daleks fight the Borg? And EXTERMINATE their little Borgy asses?) I hate the Borg so much that when Star Trek Voyager, 'til then my favorite Trek, added a Borg crewgirl I quit watching the show.

But my non-hatred of the Daleks aside, is there really any reason why the 11th Doctor has to run into the darn things right away? Many of the very best Doctor Who episodes don't have any Daleks at all! In fact, when I was watching Doctor Who with my mom, who had seen most of the season of Doctor Who with me, when the Daleks finally came round she didn't know who they were!

And another, totally irrelevant point: doesn't anyone realize that the Doctor does not have to be the last Time Lord in the last TARDIS if he doesn't want to be? He has the entire life history of the Time Lords to choose from. He just has to go back, grab a few historically unimportant Time Lords and Ladies and their TARDISes, bring them into our time (or any other time), and then he and the Time Lady of his choice can get busy making new little Time Lords, and his TARDIS can find a TARDIS of the opposite sex and do the same, only with little TARDISes. Hey, they could have a spin-off crossover series, 'Timelord Kids go to Hogwarts'. Say, do you think Lord Voldemort could lick the Daleks? The Cybermen? The Slitheen? Certainly not all at once!

NOTE for Torchwood fans: Torchwood.tv has a post about the future of Torchwood. It may have one.
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Suddenly, I have a Prayer Life....

Did I ever mention the fact that I'm not the world's best Christian? My prayer life in particular has been known to suck. But recently I bought a new prayer book and now it seems I actually have a prayer life. I'm on speaking terms with God now.

The prayer book in question is based on the traditional Liturgy of the Hours. These are traditional times to pray with names like 'Matins', 'Compline' 'Vespers' and the like. These prayers are based on the Psalms, which were the prayer book of the Early Church, and other Psalm-like passages elsewhere in the Bible.

The Liturgy of the Hours is also called the Divine Office, and it is a form of prayer commonly used by priests, nuns and monks of the Catholic Church. The full Divine Office is in about 4 volumes and quite expensive.

But there is another, similar Office which is in one, cheap (but very nice) volume, 'The Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary'. It contains different Morning and Evening prayer sessions for the seven days of the week, as well as prayer sessions for midmorning, midday, midafternoon, night, and another one that can be prayed at any desired hour (originally it was for Matins, which was in the middle of the night).

Each prayer session has Psalms, Bible readings, an excerpt from a homily, Bible passages and prayers. The theme of it all is Mary and the Incarnation, but I do believe that there is enough Bible stuff in each prayer session that even a Protestant/Evangelical could use this prayer book and just leave out any Mary bits they are uncomfortable with.

When I got this book, I only meant to pray the Morning and Evening prayers. But before the first day was through I did the night prayer, and in no time I was doing them all. And not only that, I was inspired to go to church for the first time in a long time, and I've even been to confession which scared me since there is a new priest in my parish.

This prayer book has done good things for my walk with the Lord, and so I have decided to share about it. I hope that someone else out there may find out about this book and be blessed by it!

The reason I found out about it is that I was doing an internet search on Catholic third orders--- these are groups of lay people who are allied with an order of religious (monks or nuns). I was particularly interested in the Third Order of the Carmelites. That's the order Saint Therese of Lisieux was in. And on a web site I found out that the Carmelite Third Order people have to pray the Little Office daily. And so I bought the book and am so glad I did.



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'The Seeker' at Digital Dragon

Digital Dragon is a new magazine dedicated to Christian sci-fi and fantasy, and its first issue features a story by Brandon Barr called 'The Seeker', which you can read here.

The story begins promisingly with an alien creature landing late at night in a small Wyoming town. Why Oming? Why not?

Anyway, the creature slithers on down to the local elementary school and, right in front of the first grade classroom, transforms itself into a tiny thing like a toy.

The monster then, I am sad to say, does not turn into a blob and swallow the town whole. It doesn't eat all the teachers and it doesn't even infect everyone on Earth with an alien plague. But what does happen is kind of cool too.

Brandon Barr has a blog, Christian Science Fiction, which is well worth a look and I believe it's on one of my blogrolls somewhere. He's also co-written a novel called When the Sky Fell.



From the description this book is about Bad Aliens Out to Get Us, and so has every chance of being majorly cool. I'd buy the book at once but since I'm short of cash I'd have to rob the bank first which I don't want to do as then I'd have to go to confession and my pastor would just make me put the money back anyway. :( But maybe I can score a copy if this book gets on the blog tour.
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Prolife or Anti-Abortion? Getting the words right

The hardest part of writing is getting the words right.... Someone famous said that. In order to facilitate others in this all important task, today we will look at two terms that are often misused--- anti-abortion and prolife.

These two words do NOT mean the same thing! Please note the differences.

Prolife means 'protecting/defending life from conception until natural death'. This means that a group or individual who is prolife will be against not only abortion--- both surgical abortion and that induced by abortion pills, IUDs and the like--- but will also oppose euthanasia, assisted suicide, futile care theory (refusing to provide medical care to disabled, elderly or gravely ill patients), pro-suicide movement, eugenics-related killings (such as the Holocaust) and other forms of destroying innocent human life. (There is no official/required prolife position on such things as the death penalty, whether all war is wrong, or on the rightness/wrongness of killing animals for meat, since there are prolife people on both sides of all of these issues. Outsiders sometimes demand that prolife people take certain stands on these things, but it's a bit like prolife people demanding that a pro-choice group come out in favor of school choice/school vouchers--- unfair and just clouds the issue at hand.)

Anti-abortion means only that the person or group in question is against abortion for some reason. Some people who are anti-abortion may be strongly in favor of euthanasia or assisted suicide. An extreme and atypical example of this is the neo-Nazi who commonly deplores the effect of abortion on 'the White Race' but may actively advocate euthanasia for all the 'useless eaters' (disabled people--- like the author of this blog who has a form of autism.) Most anti-abortion people, of course, would be appalled by this, but given the plain literal meaning of 'anti-abortion' one can not deny that such a neo-Nazi is anti-abortion. He is, however, not 'prolife' since he doesn't advocate for the complete prolife agenda.

There are other terms in use. Right-to-life has about the same meaning as prolife, though for some reason it is commonly used as a pejorative (insult word) by opponents of prolife. News media including Fox News often refer to people as being for or against 'abortion rights'. This is slanted language favoring the side of the debate that believes abortion is a right, while not being aborted isn't one.

This post is part of this blog's new 'Prolife Saturday' feature. I am dating this post to Saturday, the 13th of June, and if Blogger is working correctly it will not be visible until then.
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Keeping the Riff-Raff Out of Heaven

Warning: this is one of those blog posts that make everyone hate this blog.

When we get to heaven, there are some things we can be rewarded for. If we have fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the imprisoned, and shared the Gospel even when it got us persecuted or laughed at, it will please God.

But what about keeping people OUT of the kingdom of heaven? Do you think THAT makes God happy? Even if the people in question have Same Sex Attraction (Gay sexual/affectional identity)?

It's right to stand up for what the Bible teaches about the sacrament of marriage and oppose government-run Gay marriage. It's right to teach the rules God has set up for the correct circumstances in which sex activity is allowed (in marriage). But is God really pleased when a Christian calls Gay people perverts, deviants and the like, thus convincing many with Same Sex Attraction that no matter how good they get at chastity, they STILL are not welcome in any Christian church.

Yes, I'm picking on the poor Sci-Fi Catholic again. (View his post here, and if you comment, do be nice.) But note that I am still a faithful reader of his blog.

But I have a personal reason to do so. I was a devout Christian for many years of my life, until, about the time I was graduating from college, I began to realize that I had Same Sex Attraction. Now, I still loved the Lord and wanted to do his will, and I never went out and had any Gay sex. Or ran out and had lots of regular sex, either. (I don't really claim this as a virtue as I've never been real attractive to either sex and thus never had anyone tempting me.) But over time I was convinced there was no place for a person with Same Sex Attraction in the church, I lost my faith, and in time became an ultra-liberal, a Marxist, and a member of the Neopagan faith.

If I had passed away during that period of my life, since I had turned away from God I would not have been eligible for heaven. But God still must have wanted me, and in 2005 I converted back to Christianity, and determined to join the Catholic church. I told the instructors who taught me about the Church and the priest about my Same Sex Attraction. They wanted me in the Church anyway! My priest gave me a copy of the Catechism he had lying around in his office. Coincidentally, he had a bookmark at the very place in the Catechism where it teaches about homosexuality. It says that people with 'deep-seated homosexual tendencies' must be 'accepted with respect, compassion and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided.'

Question: how does the use of words like 'perversion' and the like show compassion and sensitivity? In my opinion, the main reason why government-sponsored Gay marriage now exists in some states is because Christians are not teaching the Biblical truths with respect, compassion and sensitivity towards Gay people, but are being just plain mean. And so left-wingers find plenty of material with which to brand traditional Christianity as 'hateful'.

Following the lead of the Sci Fi Catholic who is complaining about June being GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgendered) Pride Month and declaring pride months for his own 'perversions', I am (seriously) declaring June to be International Hug a Chaste Gay Christian Month. It's tough being a Chaste Gay Christian and being rejected by Christians for being Gay and by the Gay community for being Chaste (and not chased). Give us a (virtual) hug, we need it!

There, that did it! This post will guarantee that no one will want to read a blog by a weirdo like me. And I didn't even bring up the autism thing!

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Bob the Cat and his Kittens in the Southern Vampire Series

One of the most delightful characters in Charlaine Harris's Southern Vampire series is Bob the Cat, originally Bob the witch. (The Southern Vampire series is the source for the HBO television series True Blood.)

Bob is introduced in Definitely Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 6) as a witch aiding Amelia in helping Sookie solve a murder in New Orleans; later Amelia and Bob become lovers. Somehow while they are making love, Amelia transforms Bob into a black-and-white cat. She then must leave town to avoid her witch-superiors finding out what she did. She decides to visit with Sookie for a while.

By the time of All Together Dead (Southern Vampire Mysteries, Book 7) Hurricane Katrina has hit and Amelia and Bob the Cat are staying with Sookie long-term. Amelia feels a little guilty for what she has done to Bob but not enough to avoid sleeping with other men; Bob expresses his displeasure by puking on Amelia's bed. She then promises to be faithful--- or at least not to 'do it' with any other guys (she swings both ways.)

In From Dead to Worse (Southern Vampire Mysteries, No. 8), Bob gets his revenge. While Amelia is out in the woods looking for Bob, she finds a female cat with kittens. Black and white kittens. Amelia concludes that men, even men transformed into cats, are pigs, and starts to date the vampire Pam.

Bob is later transformed back to human by Amelia's mentor Octavia and leaves town. But what about the kittens?

The kittens are the product of a mating between a human transformed to a cat and a regular cat. What does that mean for the kittens? Will they be shapeshifters able to transform between their kitten form and a human form? This might well be the origin of werewolves and other shapeshifters--- one of their ancestors angered a witch who transformed them into an animal, and a mating of their animal-form with a true animal of the species produced a shifter.

Actually, I believe any other fate for Bob's kittens would be too dark for the Southern Vampire series. Imagine the horror of a human being whose children are stuck in animal form--- possessing souls of course since this quality is passed down through the generations. Imagine these ensouled kittens, doomed to be unable to communicate with other humans, and to live out only the short life span of a domestic cat.

Let us hope that series author Charlaine Harris will not forget about Bob's poor abandoned kitten-children, but will give them a hopeful future.


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Fear of Star Trek, the Movie

Are you one of those who has been too scared to see the new Star Trek movie? I am! My brother had been planning to take me to the movie, but since he got laid off from his job my guess is that he couldn't afford to follow through. I was relieved.

Why be afraid of a movie? In my case because Stak Trek (the original series) has been more than just a TV show to me. It was my childhood dream and my refuge from a cruel world at a time when I needed one the most. The characters were not just characters, they were my friends--- sometimes my only friends.

And now I find out they have recast all my friends. What have those awful movie people done to my friends otherwise? I'm afraid to find out.

I'm afraid I am going to have to desensitize myself by reading the movie novelization first, then perhaps watch a few movie trailers on Youtube. I probably will have to wait until the movie is out on DVD so I can watch it by myself.

The Star Trek situation is I believe the natural result when we entrust our deepest dreams to Hollywood. They are not like us, and the disconnect can be painful. Back in the Good Old Days when Star Trek was in first run on television, people like Gene Roddenberry felt the need to somewhat conform to the expectations of the majority. For example, Gene Roddenberry, who was somewhat anti-religious, did not want to give the Enterprise a chaplain, as audience members who had served in the military rather expected. (The Enterprise did have a chapel however.) But he never did a storyline which explicitly denied that people in the Star Trek future practiced common religions such as Christianity or Judaism.

The disconnect today is greater. Hollywood praises movies about euthanasia and gay cowboys which made very little money and despises the movies that actually brought them their bread and butter. So there's this nagging fear that what they really want out of Star Trek is for Dr. McCoy to start euthanizing his patients for getting too old, or for Kirk to give Spock a really passionate kiss--- things that may (or may not) conflict with the visions of individual Trek fans.

I'm going to watch the movie. I'll probably even like it. But it can never compare to the 'Star Trek movies' that play out in my head.
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Autistic Hacker fights Extradition

Hacker Gary McKinnon, who hacked into US defense computer system, shuttting them down for days, is using his recent diagnosis with Asperger's Sydrome, a form of autism/autism spectrum disorder, to fight extradition to the US. He seems to be helped out by bias in the UK against the US.

Aspieweb, a web site for people with Asperger's Syndrome, does not sympathize. In 'UK Coddles Hacker with Aspergers', they suggest that McKinnon believes his diagnosis grants him a get-out-of-jail-free card.

If McKinnon is 'normal' enough not to have been diagnosed until now, he is 'normal' enough to face the consequences for his crimes in court, unless it is proven that he has a mental illness severe enough to prevent him from standing trial. (Autism is a neurological disorder, not a mental illness, though an autistic person may also suffer from mental illnesses such as depression.)

Asperger's Syndrome in and of itself is doesn't mean a person is not responsible for his/her actions. In particular, people who, like myself and Mr. McKinnon, are only diagnosed with Asperger's in adult life, who have been able to 'pass' as neurotypical ('normal', non-autistic), should not use the diagnosis as an excuse for crimes.

Because most people don't know much about autism spectrum disorders, it hurts all autistics very much when the public hears of autism/Aspergers used as an excuse for criminal actions. It gives them the impression that autistics typically are too disabled to be responsible for their own actions, should therefore not be trusted in 'normal' jobs. Is it any wonder so many accomplished autistic people can't find jobs?

McKinnon has been claiming that he was only looking for information on UFOs. If that was so, why was the defense system down for three days? It seems likely this was an intentional attack on US security, for whatever reason.

I believe that Mr. McKinnon should be tried in the US. He will be treated with leniency if that is merited. Given the number of soft-hearted ultra-liberal judges, he will perhaps get loads more leniency than is merited, more than he would receive in the UK. And perhaps this case will educate the UK public about the real state of justice in the US.

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Korean Drama: Landscape In My Heart, week 1

From left: Jong-gu, Su-ryeon,
Dong-hyeok & Yun-ju

Recently the 'TV Novel' drama on KBS (the Korean channel), 'Splendor of Youth', ended, and I was eager to see what would replace it. As it turns out, it was the first episode of the drama 'Landscape in My Heart', which had been shown before on KBS some time ago.

Pompeii Soothsayer is New Doctor Who Companion

Remember the Doctor Who episode where the Doctor and Donna go back in time to ancient Pompeii--- on volcano day, of course? They met a young soothsayer, and now the actress who played that part has landed the role of the 11th Doctor's companion. But since she didn't see THAT coming, she can't have been much of a soothsayer, eh?

The actress is Karen Gillan, and the Bad Wolf One blog has more information on her. The new series of Doctor Who begins spring, 2010.

Based on nothing but the picture which should be above, I am somewhat optimistic about the new Companion. I loved Rose, and rather disliked Martha and Donna for the crime of not being Rose, but this new one, she just has the right sort of look for a Companion. Now if only I can learn to like the new Doctor--- perhaps he'll have gotten a decent haircut before the series begins.



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About the Red Envelopes....

Have you heard about the Red Envelope project, now called the LIFE Envelope Project? It's something you can do right now to help protect unborn children from death by abortion.

I heard about the project listening to Relevant Radio, a Catholic talk radio network. They said that someone working at the White House had mentioned that the red envelopes are beginning to be noticed.

Here is what you do: get a red envelope. If you can't do that, you might try using a regular envelope with red writing.

Address your envelope to:
President Barack Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W.
Washington , D.C. 20500

Write this (or similar) on the back of the envelope:
This envelope represents one child who died by abortion and one woman's life devastated. It is empty because that child was unable to offer anything to the world. Please respect human life from conception until natural death.

Include your return address on the envelope, this is important. Mail the sealed, empty envelope. USE A POSTAGE STAMP!!!

Spread the word about the LIFE envelope project. Mention it on your blog, email about it to your friends. Tell the people at your church, synagogue, mosque or coven. You might even get your local prolife group together to do their red envelope mailing.

Other people you might mail red envelopes to include your senators and your congresscritter, governors, judges and the like. And how about your unfriendly neighborhood abortion center? A flood of red envelopes would do them a world of good.

There is a lot of horrible evil going on in the world, from serial killings to world hunger to the Culture of Death. This is one little thing you can do to make the world better!

I also mailed red envelopes to:
Governor Jennifer M. Granholm
P.O. Box 30013
Lansing, Michigan 48909

Women's Health Center
3141 Cabaret Trail S # 100,
Saginaw, MI,48603
Find an abortion mill near you to mail to/pray for.



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Join the Prolife reddit!

An Exercise against Writer's Block

If you ever feel like you just can't write, don't know what to write, or don't feel like you write well enough to actually put any words on paper right about now, here is a simple exercise that may help. I think I got it from one of the books about writing by Lawrence Block.

Just take any novel off your shelves, open it somewhere, and begin typing the copy into your computer until you have the urge to alter, change and improve the text at hand.

I have done this at some length and it does seem to help, especially the part where I am moved to add my own take on the work I'm copying. I've changed characters from the ones in the text to ones from my own writing, and changed the setting.

A variation is to copy out first paragraphs from several different novels, and perhaps copying them and then creating altered versions of them. This is a great exercise if you have a hard time coming up with story-beginnings. Or do the same thing with dialog segments, descriptions, narrative-in-general, first person or third person, and so on.

One point--- most of the time you will want to be giving yourself examples that are good, but useable. So avoid Shakespeare or Chaucer for your model, avoid equally first novels and novels of less-than-average quality. You don't want to teach yourself writing mistakes, if you are like me you can do THAT quite well on your own.
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Understanding Ministries and Apostolates

Have you ever thought about the word 'ministry'? As in 'I help in the music ministry at my church' or 'I have a ministry giving away scripture portions to people who come to the community food bank'.

There are two things to note about this word ministry. First, it can encompass many different types of evangelistic, faith-building, or charitable activities. Second, both lay people and clergymen/ministers can have ministries. So, many lay people have their own personal ministries, often rather humble ones, not like the stereotype of a ministry being preaching loudly, often on television, from the pulpit of a pricey church building. And one must note that for the more secular person, the word 'ministry' can have a negative 'fundamentalist' feel to it.

Since I've become a Catholic I've discovered that in Catholicism, the word 'apostolate' is used much the way Protestants and Evangelicals use the word 'ministry'. There are lay apostolates and apostolates run by priests. An individual may have his or her own apostolate. 'I have an apostolate giving away spiritual reading matter to people who come to the come to community food bank' is a translation, into the Catholic, of the phrase in the first paragraph. Because the word 'apostolate' is rather uncommon in America-at-large, explanations of it are often in order.

People who come from non-Christian faiths may have their own apostolates/ministries but they will find other words to use to describe them, from 'charities' to 'community outreach' or even 'community activism'. Very liberal Christians are likely to prefer these religion-neutral terms to describe their own 'ministries', while these terms may be a turn-off to the traditional Christian.

In writing for a broad audience, you might want to keep these distinctions in mind. If one of your characters has/participates in an apostolate, ministry or community outreach that matters in your fiction, you should think about how you will describe it so as best to suit your intended audience. You might describe it in different terms at different points in the story, starting perhaps with a more neutral/common word/description in the narration, and then perhaps moving on to terms less common and more emotionally loaded.

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Torchwood premiers July 20th on BBC America

Bad Wolf One reports that the BBC television series 'Torchwood', a spin-off from the Doctor Who series, will premier its season on BBC America on July 20th. The new series (season) consists of only five episodes, which will be shown over the course of a week. The DVD version will go on sale a week later.

I've heard that this season may be the end of the line for Torchwood, so enjoy it while you still can.
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Money and the Writer with Autism or A.S.

There is a stereotype out there that REAL writers are Artistes, who couldn't possibly care less about something as mundane as money, and that any writer who does think about money is a no-talent hack.

But in the real world of people who have to live on ramen noodles and dollar-store microwave popcorn at the end of the month, there are good writers who have relied on their writing to put food on the table.

This is particularly true in the case of the writer who has one of the Autism Spectrum Disorders such as Asperger's Syndrome (A.S.). I read once that about 80% of people with Asperger's Syndrome are unemployed--- this even though people with Asperger's Syndrome tend to be quite intelligent, and very many are led by their 'special interests' to obsessively learn about some subject, such as computers, and thus have skills an employer might want.

When reading a book about writing where the author speaks about how to know when it's time to quit your day job, the topic seems quite different when the reader rarely has had a day job, and has had to leave--- or been fired from--- even quite menial jobs because the employer just could not understand the need to accommodate an Autism Spectrum worker who after all isn't blind, mentally retarded, or missing any limbs.

A previous post on this blog has covered Holly Lisle's excellent book "Mugging the Muse" which is available for free in PDF format. Holly's book has an excellent approach to the issue of writers and money, and many useful tips for writers at all levels.

When you sit down at your writing station for the day's work, the factor of whether or not you have a hope of getting monetary rewards for your work will be a factor--- in how much time you can afford to put in on a writing project, for example. And how probable it is you will get published and earn money on your novel depends in part on what kind of novel you are writing, and what publishers you are aiming for.

There is a fine balanced to observe here. Romance novels, for example, are a very popular genre, a large number of romance books come out each month, and many romance publishers are open to first time unagented novelists. If you are an eager romance novel reader, this may end up being what you want to write. But Holly Lisle tells the cautionary tale of her romance-writing effort, which ended in a very bad and unsalable novel because her interest was not in the romance genre, but fantasy.

On the other hand, writer Tanya Huff, in the intro to 'The Blood Books, Volume One', which contains her two novels 'Blood Trail' and 'Blood Price', tells that she chose her subject--- vampires--- because she had noticed, working in a bookstore, that fans of vampire books were very loyal to their chosen sub-genre, and she thought that the book would be salable.

In the case of the writer with an Autism Spectrum Disorder, I would suggest this: find a genre and subgenre that not only interests you, but that tends to sell well and for which there are publishers that are open to new writers. Then, when choosing the precise topics for your proposed novel, try to include ideas that connect to one or more of your Special Interests.

A Special Interest is a feature of the Autism Spectrum Disorders. A Special Interest is a topic, often a narrow (precise) one, that is a mild obsession for the autistic person. Special Interests can be computers, railway timetables, Star Trek, and any number of other things. These interests may change over time. My own current special interests include Doctor Who and Torchwood television series, languages, especially Polish, Korean and Esperanto, and the Catholic faith.

You may get the idea I am promoting some sweetness and light idea of 'write what you love and the money will come'. Not so. There are a lot of things we can write about that would not bring about money at all. For example, back when I was a neopagan I had the idea of writing a novel based on the evangelical Rapture doctrine (like the Left Behind series) only from a neopagan point of view. Obviously there are very few people out there who want to read a story based on the Rapture doctrine, but who are OK with it being from a neopagan point of view!

You have to use your common sense to find topics that other people might want to read. You also have to get good at your craft, on every topic from worldbuilding to dialog to spelling and grammar.


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Abortionist Murdered at Church

The notorious abortionist George Tiller was shot to death at his Lutheran church today. He was criticized by prolife people for performing many late-term abortions on women who were alleged to be suffering from depression. A news story on this event is here.

This evil deed is an example of the Culture of Death. Besides taking the life of a human being in a particularly wicked manner, it will result in making it far more difficult to protect women in this country from unwanted abortion and abortion in general. It will cause more deaths of unborn children. And it will give the news media one more excuse to ignore the prolife point of view. I believe this will be the case even if the killer proves to have no connections to the prolife movement.






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