I’ve mentioned here before that I’ve been rewriting my novel Pilot Point. And now it is pretty much in final draft form.
As I prepare it for potential publishers, agents, and customers, I’m having to face an issue many Christian writers of fiction face sooner or later: the use of profanity.
This is not an easy issue for me as there are strong Christian themes in my novel I think many Christian book readers would appreciate. At the same time, key characters in my novel are rather salty cowboys. And I find deleting their natural mild profanity altogether probably does not work well.
One example of that. Bowie Smith solemnly proclaims an ex-wife of his as “a d--n good woman.” In context, “a dang good woman” or “a good woman” just does not work as well to this writer’s ear.
So I can take a diminished, maybe slightly diminished, but still what I would consider a somewhat neutered novel into both the Christian and secular markets. Or I can keep good writing first and stick to the secular market. (Profanity sharply reduces access to Christian bookstores, to say the least.) At least that is how I see this choice at this time.
I now think I should stick to the secular market because of this issue. I do not take that decision lightly as I have good (if mixed) memories of taking my past book into Christian bookstores. But I would rather sell fewer books for a work I can be proud of without reservation, rather than with a book I weakened to accommodate others.
Two caveats. I do think profanity is overused in our culture. And I am keeping it to a minimum in Pilot Point. I especially think the f-word is so overused, it has become passé. I still smile/cringe at pop artists who think they are so avant-garde when they let the f-words fly.
More importantly, this should not be taken as a knock on those Christian stores and customers who want no profanity at all in their books. I understand and respect them as well as good readers of this blog who may disagree with me on this. And I’ve gladly written for that market before and may do so again.
But I’m reluctantly coming to the conclusion that Pilot Point will not fit into that market. I am going to sleep and pray on this issue, though.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Quick History Lesson: FDR, the Depression and Tax Slavery
This week was the 65th anniversary of the death of Franklin Roosevelt. Trust me when I say I have not been marking the occasion. Really didn’t even notice it until this morning.
But I will take the occasion to remind people that the myth that Roosevelt ended the Great Depression is just that, a myth. Well, maybe he helped end the Depression . . . by dying and making it easier for the country to roll back his radical policies to some extent.
But before his demise, he surely made the Depression worse by, among other things, raising the top income tax rate to 94%. That is not a misprint: 94%. Did your FDR worshipping history textbook tell you that? I didn’t think so.
And yet, Democrats still worship the man. For they are still the party of slavery, tax slavery.
But I will take the occasion to remind people that the myth that Roosevelt ended the Great Depression is just that, a myth. Well, maybe he helped end the Depression . . . by dying and making it easier for the country to roll back his radical policies to some extent.
But before his demise, he surely made the Depression worse by, among other things, raising the top income tax rate to 94%. That is not a misprint: 94%. Did your FDR worshipping history textbook tell you that? I didn’t think so.
And yet, Democrats still worship the man. For they are still the party of slavery, tax slavery.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
++Ernest Excommunicates TEC and ACC
In a polite but strongly worded letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, Ian Ernest, Archbishop of the Indian Ocean makes clear he has had enough:
I believe that I have been patient and hopeful that our co-operation and listening, our reasoning and brotherly concern would have brought transformation. However it is now abundantly clear to me and to my people that the Episcopal Church has no intention of honouring any of the commitments it has made whether that be in terms of ‘moratoriums’ or ‘gracious restraint’. It is to my mind hell bent on a course that is in radical disobedience to the counsels of God in Holy Scripture.
He therefore excommunicates, even shuns(!), the apostates:
Consequently, I feel constrained by my conscience to uphold my duty as shepherd of the flock and to forthwith suspend all communication both verbal and sacramental with both the TEC and the ACC – their Primates, bishops and clergy until such time as they reverse their theological innovations, and show a commitment to abide by the decisions of the Lambeth Conference. This suspension of communion would not include those bishops and clergy who have distanced themselves from the direction of the TEC (such as the Communion Partners group).
It is gratifying to see there are still Anglicans who know how to excommunicate. He also makes clear he is no longer interested in business as usual from His Grace:
If over 80% of Anglicans live in the global south, why is this not reflected in communion structures? Further attention needs to be given to the adoption of the Anglican Covenant which would bring the communion back to its true calling. However the matter of credibility of the structures which are meant to oversee the process needs to be addressed.
In other words, stop rigging the Anglican Communion, Your Grace.
I also support Archbishop Henry’s call for a Primates meeting. I also will only attend this meeting on condition that we as Primates be consulted first before the agenda is finalised, and on condition that the Primates of TEC and the ACC are not present.
This letter, along with public letters from ++Anis and ++Orombi when TEC is about to ordain a lesbian “bishop” makes one wonder if the Global South is on the verge of laying down the law to Rowan Williams. The 4th Global South to South Encounter is about to meet in Singapore. Will an important statement come from there?
I believe that I have been patient and hopeful that our co-operation and listening, our reasoning and brotherly concern would have brought transformation. However it is now abundantly clear to me and to my people that the Episcopal Church has no intention of honouring any of the commitments it has made whether that be in terms of ‘moratoriums’ or ‘gracious restraint’. It is to my mind hell bent on a course that is in radical disobedience to the counsels of God in Holy Scripture.
He therefore excommunicates, even shuns(!), the apostates:
Consequently, I feel constrained by my conscience to uphold my duty as shepherd of the flock and to forthwith suspend all communication both verbal and sacramental with both the TEC and the ACC – their Primates, bishops and clergy until such time as they reverse their theological innovations, and show a commitment to abide by the decisions of the Lambeth Conference. This suspension of communion would not include those bishops and clergy who have distanced themselves from the direction of the TEC (such as the Communion Partners group).
It is gratifying to see there are still Anglicans who know how to excommunicate. He also makes clear he is no longer interested in business as usual from His Grace:
If over 80% of Anglicans live in the global south, why is this not reflected in communion structures? Further attention needs to be given to the adoption of the Anglican Covenant which would bring the communion back to its true calling. However the matter of credibility of the structures which are meant to oversee the process needs to be addressed.
In other words, stop rigging the Anglican Communion, Your Grace.
I also support Archbishop Henry’s call for a Primates meeting. I also will only attend this meeting on condition that we as Primates be consulted first before the agenda is finalised, and on condition that the Primates of TEC and the ACC are not present.
This letter, along with public letters from ++Anis and ++Orombi when TEC is about to ordain a lesbian “bishop” makes one wonder if the Global South is on the verge of laying down the law to Rowan Williams. The 4th Global South to South Encounter is about to meet in Singapore. Will an important statement come from there?
Monday, April 12, 2010
Strong Majority Wants Obamacare Repealed
I find the latest Rasmussen Poll very significant. It indicates that 58% of likely voters and rising want Obamacare repealed. Not only that, 50% strongly want it repealed. Yes, eye-opening numbers.
This should tell Republicans that not only is the repeal of Obamacare needful public policy, it is very good politics. Corker, Cornyn and other Republiwimps take note.
And if Republicans are smart enough to turn November’s congressional elections into a referendum on Obamacare (or to just let it become a referendum on the same), the repudiation of Democrats could get downright biblical.
This should tell Republicans that not only is the repeal of Obamacare needful public policy, it is very good politics. Corker, Cornyn and other Republiwimps take note.
And if Republicans are smart enough to turn November’s congressional elections into a referendum on Obamacare (or to just let it become a referendum on the same), the repudiation of Democrats could get downright biblical.
Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens: Arrest the Pope!
I have previously said the pope-bashing is getting silly. I think it has now jumped the shark.
Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have now officially reached clown status. That does not surprise me in Dawkins’ case. But I am disappointed in Hitchens. I actually admired him for being original, intelligent, and not at all kneejerk. But it seems he also is losing it to pope-bashing fever.
Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens have now officially reached clown status. That does not surprise me in Dawkins’ case. But I am disappointed in Hitchens. I actually admired him for being original, intelligent, and not at all kneejerk. But it seems he also is losing it to pope-bashing fever.
Friday, April 09, 2010
Orombi Resigns from Standing Committee UPDATE: Oops! Not exactly.
The Archbishop of Uganda, Henry Orombi, has now joined ++Mouneer Anis in resigning from the Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion. (Actually, he is supporting ++Anis, but is not resigning. See below.)
His letter of resignation to Rowan Williams notes how Dr. Williams and allies have used the standing committee to subvert the authority of the Primates:
The Windsor Report was not a “process.” It was a Report, commissioned by the Primates and received by the Primates. The Primates made specific and clear requests of TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada. When TEC, particularly, did not clearly answer our questions, we gave them more time in 2007 to clarify their position.
Suddenly, though, after the 2007 Primates Meeting in Dar es Salaam, the Primates no longer had a role to play in the very process they had begun. The process was mysteriously transferred to the Anglican Consultative Council and, more particularly, to the Joint Standing Committee. The Joint Standing Committee has now evolved into the “Standing Committee.” Some suggest that it is the Standing Committee “of the Anglican Communion.”
There is, however, no “Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion” The Standing Committee has never been approved in its present form by the Primates Meeting or the Lambeth Conference. Rather, it was adopted by itself, with your approval and the approval of the ACC. The fact that five Primates are included in no way represents our Anglican understanding of the role of Primates as metropolitan bishops of their provinces.
Anglicanism is a church of Bishops and, at its best, is conciliar in its governance. The grave crisis before us as a Communion is both a matter of faith as well as order. Matters of faith and order are the domain of Bishops. In a Communion the size of the Anglican Communion, it is unwieldy to think of gathering all the Bishops of the Communion together more frequently than the current pattern of every ten years. That is why the Lambeth Conference in 1998 resolved that the Primates Meeting should be able to “exercise an enhanced responsibility in offering guidance on doctrinal, moral and pastoral matters.” (Resolution III.6). What has emerged, however, is the Standing Committee being given “enhanced responsibility” and the Primates being given “diminished responsibility,” even in regard to a process begun by them. Indeed, this Standing Committee has granted itself supreme authority over Covenant discipline in the latest draft. Under these circumstances, it has not been possible for me to participate in meetings of the Joint Standing Committee that has taken upon itself authority it has not been given.
He concludes by calling on the Archbishop of Canterbury to do what he should have done too many years ago:
Accordingly, I stand with my brother Primate, Bishop Mouneer Anis, in his courageous decision to resign from the Standing Committee. Many of us are in a state of resignation as we see how the Communion is moving away further and further into darkness, especially since the Primates’ meeting in Dar es Salaam. Your Grace, I have urged you in the past, and I will urge you again. There is an urgent need for a meeting of the Primates to continue sorting out the crisis that is before us, especially given the upcoming consecration of a Lesbian as Bishop in America. The Primates Meeting is the only Instrument that has been given authority to act, and it can act if you will call us together.
The agenda for that meeting should be set by the Primates themselves at the meeting, and not by any other staff in advance of the meeting. I reiterate this point because you will recall our cordial December 2008 meeting with you, Chris Smith, and the other GAFCON Primates in Canterbury where we discussed the agenda for the Primates meeting to take place in Alexandria the following month. None of our submissions were included in the agenda. Likewise, at the beginning of the January 2009 Primates meeting I was asked to present a position paper on the effect of the crisis in the Communion from our perspective, but I was not informed in advance, so I did not come prepared. Yet, other presenters, including TEC and Canada, were given prior information and came very prepared. I have never received a formal written apology about that incident, and it has caused me to wonder if there are two standards at work in how a Primate is treated.
Finally, the meeting should not include the Primates of TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada who are proceeding with unbiblical practices that contradict the faith of Anglicanism. We cannot carry on with business as usual until order is brought out of this chaos.
Sadly, “business as usual” is the best we can expect from the current occupant of Canterbury.
UPDATE: ++Orombi did send the letter to ++Canterbury, but it is not a resignation letter. ++Orombi is not resigning from the committee.
I am far from the only one in the Anglican blogosphere to be confused on this. But, still, mea culpa.
His letter of resignation to Rowan Williams notes how Dr. Williams and allies have used the standing committee to subvert the authority of the Primates:
The Windsor Report was not a “process.” It was a Report, commissioned by the Primates and received by the Primates. The Primates made specific and clear requests of TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada. When TEC, particularly, did not clearly answer our questions, we gave them more time in 2007 to clarify their position.
Suddenly, though, after the 2007 Primates Meeting in Dar es Salaam, the Primates no longer had a role to play in the very process they had begun. The process was mysteriously transferred to the Anglican Consultative Council and, more particularly, to the Joint Standing Committee. The Joint Standing Committee has now evolved into the “Standing Committee.” Some suggest that it is the Standing Committee “of the Anglican Communion.”
There is, however, no “Standing Committee of the Anglican Communion” The Standing Committee has never been approved in its present form by the Primates Meeting or the Lambeth Conference. Rather, it was adopted by itself, with your approval and the approval of the ACC. The fact that five Primates are included in no way represents our Anglican understanding of the role of Primates as metropolitan bishops of their provinces.
Anglicanism is a church of Bishops and, at its best, is conciliar in its governance. The grave crisis before us as a Communion is both a matter of faith as well as order. Matters of faith and order are the domain of Bishops. In a Communion the size of the Anglican Communion, it is unwieldy to think of gathering all the Bishops of the Communion together more frequently than the current pattern of every ten years. That is why the Lambeth Conference in 1998 resolved that the Primates Meeting should be able to “exercise an enhanced responsibility in offering guidance on doctrinal, moral and pastoral matters.” (Resolution III.6). What has emerged, however, is the Standing Committee being given “enhanced responsibility” and the Primates being given “diminished responsibility,” even in regard to a process begun by them. Indeed, this Standing Committee has granted itself supreme authority over Covenant discipline in the latest draft. Under these circumstances, it has not been possible for me to participate in meetings of the Joint Standing Committee that has taken upon itself authority it has not been given.
He concludes by calling on the Archbishop of Canterbury to do what he should have done too many years ago:
Accordingly, I stand with my brother Primate, Bishop Mouneer Anis, in his courageous decision to resign from the Standing Committee. Many of us are in a state of resignation as we see how the Communion is moving away further and further into darkness, especially since the Primates’ meeting in Dar es Salaam. Your Grace, I have urged you in the past, and I will urge you again. There is an urgent need for a meeting of the Primates to continue sorting out the crisis that is before us, especially given the upcoming consecration of a Lesbian as Bishop in America. The Primates Meeting is the only Instrument that has been given authority to act, and it can act if you will call us together.
The agenda for that meeting should be set by the Primates themselves at the meeting, and not by any other staff in advance of the meeting. I reiterate this point because you will recall our cordial December 2008 meeting with you, Chris Smith, and the other GAFCON Primates in Canterbury where we discussed the agenda for the Primates meeting to take place in Alexandria the following month. None of our submissions were included in the agenda. Likewise, at the beginning of the January 2009 Primates meeting I was asked to present a position paper on the effect of the crisis in the Communion from our perspective, but I was not informed in advance, so I did not come prepared. Yet, other presenters, including TEC and Canada, were given prior information and came very prepared. I have never received a formal written apology about that incident, and it has caused me to wonder if there are two standards at work in how a Primate is treated.
Finally, the meeting should not include the Primates of TEC and the Anglican Church of Canada who are proceeding with unbiblical practices that contradict the faith of Anglicanism. We cannot carry on with business as usual until order is brought out of this chaos.
Sadly, “business as usual” is the best we can expect from the current occupant of Canterbury.
UPDATE: ++Orombi did send the letter to ++Canterbury, but it is not a resignation letter. ++Orombi is not resigning from the committee.
I am far from the only one in the Anglican blogosphere to be confused on this. But, still, mea culpa.
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