From June 14, 2015
The other day my fellow blogger, Ajoobacats–she has a whale of a blog, totally dwarfing mine: just tons and tons of readers; I recommend her book reviews to all–honored me with a review of my Bell Mountain, which I am happy to say she liked very much ( http://leeduigon.com/2015/06/12/book-review-bell-mountain-by-lee-duigon/). I don’t think I’ve ever seen her review a fantasy before: but she admits that my book was about as far off her beaten track as she’s ever gone.
I must draw attention to one remark she made: “The underlying spiritual theme may not be in fashion…”
Well, that’s putting it mildly!
In fact, I know I’m out of fashion: it’s what I intended. The whole point of the Bell Mountain series is to “renormalize religion” by showing it to be a basic and indispensable component of the characters’ daily life, culture, and psychology: and more, to proclaim that God is a Person, the Supreme Being, who interacts with individuals, families, and whole nations.
My books have struck a few readers as odd because they have come to expect no trace of religion in any work of fiction, be it a novel, a movie or TV script, or anything else. But the total absence of God or gods in our fiction depicts an extremely weird kind of civilization that has never actually existed except in faculty lounges and some of the least wholesome, darkest corners of politics and business.
But how, asks the ninny, do you manage to fit God or religion into Zombie Apocalypse or Superheroes vs. Climate Change Deniers?
That’s the wrong question. If God is in your life, you may not have a yen to spend much time in Zombie Apocalypse. Not that you can never just veg out and relax by watching some nonsense or other. I love silly old monster movies. It’s only a problem when the nonsense takes over your life.
I believe it has done us harm, as a nation, to spend such vast amounts of time consuming “entertainment” from which the very concept of God has been excluded.
Go ahead, tell me I’m wrong.
Hollywood has created its own mythology about the resurrection of the dead; they are very bad (zombies, vampires, ghosts).
But as is the case with almost of of Hollywood’s creations, God has nothing to do with it. Hollywood presents, overall, a civilization (if I may use the word loosely) which includes no religious element–something which has never existed outside of faculty lounges.
Quite an insight. Like or or not, spiritual beliefs are integral to human society. Even people who claim to believe in nothing beyond the physical realm, there is an element to their belief systems that carries the same weight as spiritual conviction.
There are people I know whom openly express disdain for anyone that doesn’t agree with their evolutionary viewpoint. I don’t see much difference between that and someone who disdains everyone who doesn’t belong to their denomination of choice. I don’t approve of the latter, and I respect the right of any individual to choose a denomination, whether I agree with their choice and the teachings of that denomination. In order for my choices to be valid, they must be voluntary, and I must afford that to everyone else, even if I don’t agree with all of the teachings.
I apply this, also, to persons whom profess no spiritual beliefs. I have to respect their right to choose, even if I don’t see things that way. I would hope that such persons would grant me the same courtesy.
Some people have a very narrow outlook, and many believers seem to feel only my way of worship is “right”.
I’ve certainly encountered plenty of that, in my time. In some cases, it was people who were well intended, and at times, persons with whom I agreed on matters of doctrine. It always puzzled me when people like that disdained others, just because they believed differently.
I have met people in various denominations who have displayed incredible levels of devotion and faith. It is not my place to judge their fitness as Christians, but I admire their faith and have to respect that. Even for persons who do not profess Christianity, while I can’t agree with their choices, I can respect that many of these people are sincere. In such cases, I can only pray that they learn of the One True God.
Yes, it is not our place to judge.
At the end of the day, it is our faith in Christ as savior which is most important. In the first century, conversions happened very quickly, and were based upon that one thing. This is not to extend approval to all behaviors; the Bible sets standards, but none of us has the right to judge another’s fitness before God.
Yes, and that distinction is important.
I’ve met people from many different backgrounds and denominations. I’ve been surprised at the devoutness I’ve seen displayed by people, even in denominations which are not particularly well reputed.
Salvation isn’t a trivia contest. There are people in every denomination who are there because they truly believe that is the path to a good relationship with God. In some cases, people follow their parent’s choice of denominations, but there are also regional and community factors in play. In some situations, a person has a lot of pressure to conform to a specific denomination. The Pilgrims moved to a different continent, because they wanted the right to worship as they saw fit.
But within denominations there are variations with regard to how individual people are affected by their beliefs. What is important is one’s individual devotion. I believe that God will recognize the sincerity of anyone truly seeking Him.