Ignorant Historian

While this review is talking about this book specifically, the points I make aren’t directed at Al Lacy exclusively.  Most of these issues are common faults found with the bulk of “Christian” fiction.

I received a review copy of Faithful Heart from Multnomah.  I thought it sounded like an interesting book, set in the western US in the 1870s.  There’s basically two storylines following two sisters: one who is making a trek west via wagon train and the other who is struggling being married to a man dealing with violent mental issues related to his Civil War service.

Al Lacy’s not a bad writer necessarily, but this book is a great example of Christian fiction gone bad.   While Lacy does try to tackle a real-life issue (mental illness) and I commend him for that, he goes about it all wrong.

First, the answer given for the mental problem is seeking professional help (as pointed out by each and every character).  Laying aside how strange this seems in the 1870s setting and the horrors that were mental health asylums in that day, this is just poor theology.  Perhaps you, my reader, wouldn’t agree with that, but I believe that the Bible is all sufficient for our needs.  Though a psychiatrist may offer valuable help, that’s not the first place to go.

Secondly, this book is chock full with church-y language.  The conversations between characters come off as untrue to real life, like a play written by an amateur (me, for instance). Like most Christians who’ve been around the church a lot I’m guilty of this as well, but it does make me cringe.  There is a way to write a story from a biblical worldview without making it sound like it was written in a Sunday School.  The God of the Bible is so much more than that.

My last major issue with this book is that everything is tied up in a neat bow.  While that might be the way we would like things, real life doesn’t work that way and we fool ourselves when we place hope that it will.  Mental illness is messy.  Even more so, our sin nature is (which we rarely see in this book aside from the “bad” guys).

To be fair, this was originally published 25 years ago.  Perhaps Lacy wouldn’t have written the book this way if he wrote it today.  I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt on this matter.

“If I truly believed the rapture was “imminent,” as Liberty’s official doctrinal statement says, I think I’d do things a lot differently.  I might not buy green bananas, for starters.” - Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, p. 99

“I know I’m not trustworthy. How likely is it that the world is true if I’m not?” – Liar by Justine Larbalestier, p. 84-85

“I saw I was better at appreciating art than producing it.” - 31 Hours by Masha Hamilton, p. 155

“We’re not stupid, we’re just poor!  And we have a right to want to insist on this distinction.” – Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 275

“But it was crazy of me to expect that I could situate myself among these people twenty-four hours a day, befriend them, and adopt their mannerisms without also internalizing and grappling with their beliefs.” - Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, p. 96

“We thought we had such problems.  How were we to know we were happy?” - The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, p. 51

“I had this secular/liberal paranoia that when evangelical students were among themselves, they spent their time huddled in dark rooms, organizing anti-abortion protests and plotting theocratic takeover.” - Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, p. 38

“Making things seem a way they aren’t is making them better.” – Mr. Curtain (the bad guy) in The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma by Trenton Lee Stewart, p. 292

“I would like to be ignorant.  Then I would not know how ignorant I was.” – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, p. 263

“When they write poems or sing songs in the West, they speak for all humanity.  They’re human beings–but we’re just Muslims.  When we write something, it’s just called ethnic poetry.” – Snow by Orhan Pamuk, p. 279

“The moment of betrayal is the worst, the moment when you know beyond any doubt that you’ve been betrayed: that some other human being has wished you that much evil.  It was like being in an elevator cut loose at the top.  Falling, falling, falling, and not knowing when you will hit.” – The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, p. 193

“They’re supposed to stop me lying.  Yet they believe everything I tell them.” Liar by Justine Larbalestier, p. 11

“But one thing has become clear: these Liberty students had no ulterior motive.  They simply can’t contain their love for God.  They’re happy to be believers, and they’re telling the world.” – Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose, p. 64

“If what a person wants is his life, he tends to be quiet about wanting anything else.  Once the life begins to seem secure, one feels the freedom to complain.”  - Ann Patchett, Bel Canto, p. 56

“Good arguments will not convince anyone who is not open to being convinced.” – Frank Turek, Correct, Not Politically Correct, p. 8

“I suppose it’s terribly sexist of me assuming that all of the terrorists were male. It’s a modern world, after all. One should suppose a girl can grow up to be a terrorist just as easily as a boy.” – Messner, character in Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, p. 147

“Many have become immune to Christianity by contracting a mild and unbiblical form of it.” – Randy Alcorn, If God is Good, p. 35

“Americans have a bad habit of thinking like Americans.” – Roxanne Coss, character in Bel Canto by Ann Patchett, p. 222

“Anyone who observed us would conclude the purpose of all academic discussion was to provide the grounds for becoming further entrenched in our original positions.” – Richard Russo, Straight Man, p. 201

“You’re young, you’re Black, and you’re on trial. What else do [the jurors] need to know?” – Kathy O’Brien, character in Monster by Walter Dean Myers

“In our reckless pursuit of self-gratification we impose upon ourselves gnawing emptiness rather than the joy and contentment that comes in loving God and others.” Randy Alcorn, If God is Good, p. 64

“If the Bible tells us what life is and how to live it, then biblical literacy isn’t an option. I need it. We all do.” – Rachel Starr Thompson, “What We Don’t Know”

I do love to teach, but it can be very convicting at times.  Actually, as a teacher/leader I find myself more often convicted than I do as a student/learner.

Sunday at an AWANA leaders’ meeting we were discussing how we wanted the students to not merely memorize the verses, but to really take them in and apply them.  That’s when it hit me: how often do I do that?

I’m a student, always will be.  I do like to study and learn.  Yet I know I don’t spend as much time in the Bible as I should.  Probably spend more time in God’s Word than many, but what does that matter?

But even if I knew the Bible backwards and forward, it means nothing if I don’t apply it.  Once again, I’m not the worst at this, but I’m certainly not doing the best that I can and should, especially when you consider the resources I have available to me, the biggest two being the Holy Spirit and the Bible itself.

So, as we get ready to start a new year in Sunday school and AWANA, I’m committing myself to digging deeper into the word and seeking to apply it more and more.  I suppose what’s really made this hit home to me is I’ve been reminded in a few different ways that this life is not about me.  I’m a part of something bigger, yet why do I spend so much time playing around?

“No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier.” – 2 Timothy 2:4 (NAS)

Photo by Army.mil

I can’t imagine how this could shock any of my regular readers, but I’d never get a tattoo.  Though I might come off as strict and traditional, it really has nothing (or at least little) to do with my spiritual beliefs.  Tattoos simply don’t interest me.

That said, it’s always interested me why people get tattoos.  Why do so many feel the need to brand themselves?

I can’t help but imagine that identity has something to do with it…we’re trying to define who we are.  As traditional Christian teachings are less and less prevalent, we’ve lost a sense of who we are as people–humans created in the image of God–and individuals–hand-crafted and uniquely loved by a Savior God.  Getting a tattoo is one way to identify with a greater purpose or to mark ourselves as an indiviual so we can stand out from the crowd.

What do you think?  If you have a tattoo, why did you get it?

Photo by geishaboy500

I hinted at this post in the comments section a couple of weeks ago, but now I’m diving in.

I don’t like the adjective “Christian.”

[Take a deep breath.]

No, I’m not one of those who wants to throw out the term “Christian” altogether.  It’s in the Bible, and I think it’s a great term.  Sure it’s been misused, and that’s why I often identify myself as a “follower of Christ,” but I don’t think we should give it up.  After all who wouldn’t want to be called after the name of their Lord and Savior?

I just wish that we wouldn’t use it as an adjective, or at least not use it so indiscriminately.  For those who hate grammar, I’m saying that I’m fine with sentences like “He is a Christian” but don’t like phrases that begin with “Christian”: Christian music, Christian fiction, Christian bookstores, etc.

There’s two major problems I’ve seen with using “Christian” this way.  First of all–and most seriously–we risk labeling something Christian that is not godly, or at least that we haven’t taken the time to determine if it is godly.  Here are a couple quotes that I think bring this point home:

“The danger of labeling things ‘Christian’ is that it can lead to our blindly consuming things we have been told are safe and acceptable.  When we turn off this discernment radar, dangerous things can happen.” – Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, p. 86

“In short, we are easily deceived by cultural values painted in Christian veneers (or clothed in Isaiah 40:31 T-shirts).” – “The Gospel and the Gosselins” by Julie Vermeer Elliott in Christianity Today

Just because something is labeled “Christian,” does not mean it is in line with the teachings of that term’s namesake.  I’ve read many a Christian book, heard many a Christian song, watched many a Christian video (okay, only a few, because I haven’t seen that many) that has made me cringe because of the poor teaching it was presenting, everything from the misguided to the blasphemous.

As a Christian, I’m called to be discerning in every choice I make, from the type of entertainment I imbibe to the type of thoughts I intake and make my own.  In a way, God’s asking that we never turn off our brains.  Every moment requires active attention.  We should be asking questions like,

What is this author really saying?

How do these lyrics affect my view of myself, others, and God?

What view of the Word of God does this video present?

While many Christians are quick to point out that which clearly is not biblical (e.g. Playboy or Phillip Pullman’s novels), we forget that the most dangerous untruths often present themselves as half-truths.  Things that present themselves in Christian clothing often demand the most scrutiny.

So that’s the first danger, passively taking in as good that which we haven’t determined that is good.  Secondly, we risk labeling something Christian that  is simply of poor quality. 

This is clearly the less substantial danger of the two, but it’s something to consider.  Let’s face it, your average piece of “Christian fiction” is of lower quality than your average piece of fiction.  There’s a big market for things with the word “Christian” on them, and publishers and companies are more than willing to cater to the demand if it’ll gain them an extra buck or two.  Sure, there’s some good stuff out there with the “Christian” label, but it’s not all good.  By allowing this stuff to masquerade around as “Christian” we’re allowing the world to continue to view us stereotypically as uneducated simpletons.

I’m not seeking to throw out the baby with the bath water, but I am urging my fellow Christians to be discerning.  If you’d like a great resource on where to get started, I couldn’t recommend something better than Tim Challies’s The Discipline of Spiritual Discernment.  It’s not a book of rules, but rather a look at what the Bible has to say about discernment.

“Set a guard, O LORD, over my mouth;
         Keep watch over the door of my lips.” – Psalm 141:3, NASU

“And is not the reason perhaps for our countless relapses and the feebleness of our Christian obedience to be found precisely in the fact that we are living on self-forgiveness and not a real forgiveness?  Self-forgiveness can never lead to a breach with sin; this can be accomplished only by the judging and pardoning Word of God itself.” – Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, p. 116

“Why blame the dark for being dark?  It is far more helpful to ask why the light isn’t as bright as it could be.” – Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, p. 166

“…if you are paying attention, each successive year will make you more intimately acquainted with all your flaws–the blind spots, the recurring habits of thought that may be genetic or may be environmental, but that will almost certainly worsen with time, as surely as the hitch in your walk truns to pain in your hip.” – The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama, p. 5

“Every book worth reading beckons with the words, ‘Think over what I say.’ ” – Future Grace by John Piper, p. 16

“I want to live my life so that I’ll be able to read an in-depth biography about myself in later years and not puke.” – Paris Geller, Gilmore Girls, “To Live and Let Diorama”

A few randoms on this Monday morning:

1.  The more I hang out with preteen girls, the more I realize that they’re not all that much different than me and my friends.  We all love to sit around, laugh, talk about boys, watch movies, and eat junk food.

2.  It’s amazing how much one little conversation can throw you off emotionally.  And just when the pendulum about hit equilibrium…I guess I learned nothing from physics.

3.  Stretching and working out definitely has taken away my back pain.  If only I had known that earlier.

4.  As far as I have come in my walk with God (and only that by His grace), I have so much farther to go.

5.  I crave ice cream when it’s cold, but it’s more enjoyable when it’s warmer.

6.  There’s so much suffering in this world, and I’ve seen almost none of it.

Here’s what I’ve found interesting this week:

“I thought: if I could just make a good family, if I could just learn to be to other children their whole lives, what Andrew was coming so late into ours, then that would mean more in the long run, it would be a finer accomplishment than anything I could ever do with my mind or my hands.” – Xenocide by Orson Scott Card, p. 298

“If it is really true that it is hard for us, as adult Christians, to comprehend even a chapter of the Old Testament in sequence, then this can only fill us with profound shame; what kind of testimony is that to our knowledge of the Scriptures and all our previous reading of them? ” – Life Together by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, p. 51

“You’re doing it for no better reason than because you think you’re right….That’s the conceit I’m talking about–the idea that it matters who’s right or wrong.  It’s the most insufferable form of vanity, this insistence on always doing right.  How do you know what’s right?  How can anyone ever know it?  It’s nothing but a delusion to flatter your own ego and to hurt other people by flaunting your superiority over them.” – Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, p. 429

“I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait,
         And in His word do I hope. 
    My soul waits for the Lord
         More than the watchmen for the morning;
         Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning. 
    O Israel, hope in the LORD;
         For with the LORD there is lovingkindness,
         And with Him is abundant redemption. 
    And He will redeem Israel
         From all his iniquities. ”
- Psalm 130:5-8, NASU
 

“The danger of labeling things ‘Christian’ is that it can lead to our blindly consuming things we have been told are safe and acceptable.  When we turn off this discernment radar, dangerous things can happen.” – Velvet Elvis by Rob Bell, p. 86

“People compare Saddam’s megalomania and terror to that of Hitler and Stalin, which I think he would like, since I know he kept their books on a rollaway trolley he sometimes had a servant bring out so he could read after dinner.” – Between Two Worlds by Zainab Salbi

 I know this isn’t technically from something I’m reading, but I had to quote it anyway, as I was watching my boys the other day (Ocean’s…11 this time). This my all-time favorite scene from the trilogy (and possibly any movie…it’s hard to top verbal banter between two of my favorite actors in my favorite roles):

Tess (Julia Roberts): “You’re 30 seconds late. I was about to send out a search…”
Danny (George Clooney): “Hello, Tess.”
T: “What are you doing here?”
D: “I’m out.”
T: “You’re out?”
D: “Of prison. You remember the day I went out for cigarettes and didn’t come back?”
T: “I don’t smoke. Don’t sit.”
D: “Now they tell me that I paid my debt to society.”
T: “Funny, I never got a check.”
D: “You’re not wearing your ring.”
T: “I sold it. I don’t have a husband, or didn’t you get the papers?”
D: “My last day inside.”
T: “I told you I’d write. Danny, go now before…”
D: “What? Benedict?” (to waiter) “How you doing? Whiskey and a whiskey.”
T: “Danny.”
D: “Tess, you’re doing a great job curating the museum. The Vermeer is quite good. Simple. Vibrant, but his work definitely fell off as he got older.”
T: “Remind you of anyone?”
D: “And I always confuse Money and Manet. Now which one married his mistress?”
T: “Monet.”
D: “Right. And then Manet had syphilis.”
T: “They also painted occassionally.”
D: “All right. I’ll make this quick. I want to move on with my life, and I want to take you with me.”
T: “You’re a thief and a liar.”
D: “I only lied about being a thief. I don’t do that any more.”
T: “Steal?”
D: “Lie.”
T: “I’m with someone now who doesn’t have to make that kind of distinction.”
D: “No, he’s very clear on both.”
T: “You know what your problem is?”
D: “I only have one?”
T: “You’ve met too many people like you. I’m with Terry now.”
D: “Does he make you laugh?”
T: “He doesn’t make me cry.”

Valentine’s Day is coming up next week, and I must tell you, it’s one of my favorite holidays.  That might sound strange coming from a single woman, as the stereotypical single woman loathes this day and fights with bitterness or jealousy, but I really do enjoy this holiday.

The reason why I enjoy Valentine’s Day has nothing to do with romance.  It has little to do with flowers, pink, red, hearts, or cards (though let’s face it, I love those things).  The reason I love Valentine’s Day is that it’s a reminder of love: the Father’s love for us, and our love for one another.

While Christmas and Easter are also great holidays for contemplating God’s love for us as demonstrated through His Son taking on human flesh and dying on the cross for our sins, Valentine’s Day has become another holiday for me to comtemplate these huge truths as well.

At this time of year I try to take it a step further, seeking to live out the second greatest commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Because I know that Valentine’s Day can be a temptation to mope, moan, and mourn for single ladies, I try to brighten this day for the single women I know by letting them know that I love and care for them with a simple card, and more importantly, that God does too.  It’s really the least I can do for others, considering the great cost of the love God has shown towards me:

“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in  that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8, NASU

This post is submitted as a part of What I Learned from Love at Middle Zone Musings.