2/21/2007

Embrace the Light

As the April 3rd release for Light at the Edge of Darkness approaches I might as well throw in a shameless plug for my story. Protected serves a multiple layer of purposes. If you ask me why I wrote it, I could very easily pull a reason out of a hat.

While the primary purpose was to bring the ongoing battle of spiritual warfare to the light, I chose not to talk about that today. I hope that all readers will come away thinking that perhaps there is a reason for everything, and for every event, every instance there is a greater power at work, dictating the end result of all things.

Before I get off in left field of exactly what I said I wasn’t going to talk about, let me get to the purpose of this blog entry.

Though all stories in this anthology can be as different to each other as night is to day, there is a common theme…when forced to the edge of darkness one must embrace the light.

As part of Light at the Edge of Darkness Protected embraces the Light through its main character. Mason could very well represent the majority the youthful population from any generation.

Prior to the story Mason finds himself as part of the rejected generation of society, so he turns to the one that he felt he could find acceptance. Unfortunately, many times the rejected find themselves blaming God for their situation so they turn to open arms that lead to a path of darkness and sin. It was no different for Mason.

Mason had turned to Zeke, finding approval and soon he was part of something larger then life. Thrust into the age-old battle of good verses evil, Mason must decide which love is true, Zeke and his extremists or the Christians.

The beauty of it all is that no matter how much evil Mason may have done, it wasn’t too much for God to overcome. That is the message of hope in this story. No matter how much darkness you are swirling in, just the slightest bit of light can consume that overwhelming darkness.

You don’t believe me? Find yourself in the darkest of places, the kind of darkness that you can’t see your hands in front of your face, and then light a single match. What happens? The smallest flame of that match consumes even the darkest of places.

This is no different for our spirituality. Just the smallest bit of Light (God) in your heart will consume even the darkest places of your past. This is not just an anthology for good entertainment, it’s an anthology inspired by God to teach a valuable lesson to embrace His light. Even the smallest little bit of light can rescue you from the deepest depths of a cold, black sin-tainted past.

Come on now. Don’t just sit there. Embrace the Light.

2/20/2007

You say You Want an Evolution...

"So you won't go out with me 'cause I'm a caveman? Well, the joke's on you: this 'Insta-volve' pill will shoot me right up to Homer Simpson!"

"I hope you mean 'Homo sapiens.' Anyway, evolution is supposed to require numerous generations of micromutations."

"You only say that because it rhymes. But this has the special ingredient, 'Hopeful Monster.' Watch! Nyah! Ygyde-ygyde-ygyde... D'oh!"

"Definitely a hopeless monster."


What limits does Genesis impose on our stories? Surprisingly few. In fact, it allows a potential storyline that's seldom used. I don't believe there's a gap between the first two verses of Genesis, but someone could write a story about a pre-Adamic civilization. Unlike regular lost civilization stories, there would be no real connection with our world, but it could still be an interesting idea.

But when you mention Genesis and spec-fic, the two questions that come up most often are timelines and evolution.

The timeline: Are we restricted to about 6000 years of human existence, beginning with Creation about 4000 B.C.? Well, why should we be? Does the Bible state such a limit? No, but it has genealogies that tell how long the people listed lived. If you can correlate the genealogies with known dates, you can work out roughly the date of Creation.

Or can you? The idea contains some hidden assumptions--for example, that an ancient genealogy functioned in ways immediately obvious to moderns who know nothing about the language or culture involved. Knowledge of the culture tells us that ten-person genealogies were a popular literary device in the ancient Near East, and that's what we find in Genesis. That doesn't make the genealogies fictitious, but it does mean they could be incomplete. If you compare the genealogy of Matthew 1 with the kings list in 1 Chronicles 3:10-16, you find that in Matt 1:8 Jehoram (other versions "Joram") was the father of Uzziah/Azariah; according to 1 Chron 3:11-12, it was Jehoram, Ahaziah, Joash, Amaziah, Azariah: three generations are omitted, and that in a numbered list. It's not an error; Matthew just tweaked the list to make the numbers come out right. (He was a tax collector, after all.)

So if genealogies could omit several generations (and Matthew is not exceptional that way), there could be more time in early Genesis than some people think. There should be enough (speculatively speaking) for a lost civilization. But that will make some people uncomfortable, because it might open the door for some degree of evolution.

So what about evolution? Well, Adam didn't evolve: he was an inorganic sculpture one moment and a living, breathing man the next. (No, he wasn't a hominid suddenly "ensouled," to use an unbiblical, Western nonsense term. The wording doesn't allow it.) And it's effectively impossible to harmonize evolution with Genesis 1, which I consider historical for reasons too involved to pursue here.

Yet a lot of Christians say that evolution is impossible, and that's going too far. The Bible never implies that evolution is impossible; it merely tells us that Adam (and Eve) did not evolve. (Sometimes people claim that animals reproduced after their kinds, but this is untrue: God created the various creatures "according to their kind," but that just means that he was producing species and sub-species.) In any case, evolution may well have happened since Adam or elsewhere in the universe, so if you want an evolved creature in a story--the next step in human evolution, for example, or an alien race that evolved--go for it. Just think through the implications.


Join us next time at the other end of scripture for "It's the End of the World!":

NOTICE: In the event of Christ's Return to Earth to set up his Kingdom today,

Pre-tribs will demand to be raptured out retroactively;

Post-tribs will say, "I told you so" but wonder where the Antichrist got off to;

Amills will smirk and say they've *been* the kingdom for nearly two millennia already;

Postmills will sulk and say the Millennium was over too fast for them to enjoy it; and

Idealists probably won't even notice.

2/19/2007

Two Lost Genre Writers Enter "The American Idol of Writing Contests"

Reuters reported in January that a website was going to host "The American Idol of Books." I might not quite have the belly that Ruben Stannard does (it'd be close though), but by golly a chance to compete for $5,000 and a book contract was too much to pass up.

So, both Andrea and I have spent part of the last month polishing our respective manuscripts and bothe are entered for the grand prize.

I offered Tales of the Dim Knight a story of a man who, after finding an alien symbiot becomes a Super Hero. It's definitely on the lighter side. Those who have enjoyed, "Your Average Ordinary Alien" will also get a kick out of "Tales of the Dim Knight."

Andrea has Country at Heart, a young adult romance that deals with some serious issues. Much of the story centers around a campground that's based on one she and her family spent most Summers at when she was growing up. This story is definitely not Spec. Fic, though Andrea did try to make it. I talked her out of using a frame featuring the main characters telling the story to their cloned grandchildren. I told her this story shouldn't have any cloning around in it. (Please don't let that last pun stop you from reading my story or Andrea's for that matter.)

Your reading and your honest votes are much appreciated. Your reading and your honest votes are much appreciated. Your reading and your honest votes are much appreciated. If you want to vote, click here to join Gather.com.