Buddhism – The Search for Nirvana

Let us be clear that I am not promoting one religion over another in this series of world religions and cults. However, I am presenting these from the point of view of a Christ follower who subscribes to His teachings and offer of salvation as the only way to true Life with God. So why present other religions? Simply to refute the idea that Christians are closed-minded. Plus, I believe strongly that each Christian, in order to be an effective witness, must study these other teachings in order to be ready to engage intelligent conversations with people we might come across in our living. Each Christian, before he became one, dabbled in many pieces of religions and belief systems before Christ found him. We were all deists and naturalists and evolutionists and atheists before we turned to Christ as our only mean of salvation. In an effort to continue our weekly discussion about world religions, we’re going to contribute to the conversation with information about Buddhism and the dangers that accompany its belief system.

A brief history. Siddhartha Gautama was born a Hindu in 560 B.C., near India in what is now Nepal. Determined to solve the riddle of life, he left his palace, his wife and child, shaved his head, wore a yellow robe and wandered the countryside as a beggar monk. He studied Hinduism but found no satisfaction. Then he starved himself until he was a walking skeleton, thinking he could find salvation through self-denial. Finally, he sat under a tree for 40 days and 40 nights and swore he would not move until he found what he was searching for. Accordingly, Mara – “The evil one” – tried to make Gautama give up his quest.

At the end of 40 days he experienced the highest degree of God-consciousness – nirvana – literally, the “blowing out” of the flame of desire and the negation of suffering. He felt he found salvation. From then on he was known as Buddha or “enlightened one.”

He preached and taught about the meaning of life and his way to nirvana. He founded the Sangha – an order of monks. By the time he died 45 years later, many thousands had adopted his teachings.

However, many of Buddha’s teachings were rejected as heresies by the dominant teachers of Hinduism. Buddha denied that the Vedas and the Upanishads were divine writings, that they were of no help in finding nirvana. He also denied that man has an atman (soul), which is part of the Brahman (world soul), and that the present world is maya (unreal). (For more information on Hinduism, click here.)

Buddha rejected other Hinduism concepts such as, he emphasized ethics over ritual. He rejected the caste system, and taught that enlightenment was open to anyone, not just Brahmin males. He challenged all the indifferent gods/goddesses, saying they were essentially unimportant in the quest for enlightenment. However, he did accept reincarnation and karma. You could be reborn as a human, animal, hungry ghost, demon, or even a Hindu god.

Buddha said that we are to suppress cravings of the flesh by following what is called, “The Middle Way.” This could also be called, The Noble Eightfold Path: This consists of eight ways of righteous living. Right viewpoint, right behavior, right occupation are amongst them. Buddha said whoever could follow this would reach nirvana. He said life in this world is quite real. Unlike Hindus, Buddhism offers a precise definition of man’s problem, along with an exact “plan of salvation” for everyone.

A popular form of one branch of Buddhism in the west is Zen – A discipline with the goal of experiencing enlightenment through meditation (reaching Satori). “Look within your, you are the Buddha.” After World War II Zen made significant inroads into the west: Tina Turner, Richard Gere, Harrison Ford.

Buddhists deny God’s existence or say that He is irrelevant. They say that Jesus was a good teacher, but less important than Buddha.

Many people of many different religions say that Jesus was a good man or a good teacher. This demotes Jesus to nothing but a mere human, and not God. To do this is to reject God fully. He is an extreme God who will only accept your full devotion; not a part of it. Many may whine and say this is asking too much. But if you flip this idea on its head and look back a couple thousand years in history, it’s clear that Jesus gave us His full devotion by dying on the cross for our sins for those who choose to accept His offered gift. As I’ve stated previously in another post, if you ask me, He isn’t asking for enough.

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A “Brave” New Movie *Spoiler free*

First off, I get to call bragging rights. Pixar fans: I saw the Pizza Planet truck for the first time in the theaters. Yes, it is in Brave, believe it or not.

So the wait is over, and the weekend was a good one. Sarabeth and I saw Brave and loved it. It was worth every penny. The critics are being hard on it because it’s not as somber as Toy Story 3 or as “inventive” as Wall-E. Well, I did get choked up a couple of times, and you know what? It was actually refreshing to spend an hour and a half in the familiar territory of a good old fashioned Disney fairytale. So the only reason one would be disappointed with Brave is if one is expecting the edginess of The Incredibles or the sophistication of Ratatouille. Brave is a brand new fairytale; nothing less, nothing more. Go into it expecting that, and you will be more than pleased.

So let’s address some issues about the themes in the movie. If I weren’t familiar with Pixar and I were a parent, I would be quite hesitant bringing my child to see Brave. The trailers make it look like Merida, the main character, defies her parents and gets away with it. True, she does defy her parents, but she suffers great consequences for it. Parents need not be concerned. This isn’t The Little Mermaid where the princess disobeys her naïve and racist father and lives happily ever after with prince charming. As far as themes and lessons go, I prefer my kids watching Brave any day.

Now let’s talk about the feminist issues in the movie. There are none. Who started the rumor that this was going to be all about feminism? And who planted the idea in people’s minds that all Disney movies are feministic? The only gender-switching I see comes from the Shrek franchise over at Dreamworks and I don’t see people complaining about that. In fact, Pixar has gotten sued multiple times by feminist groups because they don’t meet their agenda or taste preferences. Brave is not a retaliatory response in compliance with the feminist movement. It’s simply a story about a young woman who would rather see the world and explore it before settling down and getting married. She is all girl, and – I think – a great role model for the love-sick vampire-craving adolescents today. Brave shows that you don’t have to have prince charming in your life in order to be content.

If anything, Brave is more about the relationship between mother and daughter than anything else. And there’s enough action and suspense that young boys will embrace it, regardless. Even for a fairytale, it comes at the right time. Merida’s mother, though good intentioned, does not listen to her daughter, or even hear her out. I think she’s a perfect representation of today’s media-saturated mother, who ignores her kids by keeping her nose in her i-pad or talking more on Facebook than to her kids. If that’s you, then let this movie hit home for you. Let it open up your eyes to what your missing in your child’s life, and let it teach you how your child needs you to listen and be apart of their life.

I can go on and on about Brave. As soon as we walked out of the theater I told Sarabeth that I want to go back and see it again right then. It was just so satisfying as a movie. As soon as we got home I made sure that there was room in my Pixar collection for Brave. It will be a very fine addition, which I look forward to revisiting many times. And the soundtrack? As usual with Pixar scores, it’s breathtaking. And even the new songs by Julie Fowlis (and Mumford and Sons) are a perfect mix of Celtic lore and contemporary pop.

I only had two complaints about Brave. The first one is kind of petty. I just wished they would have shown more of the bear Mor’du. He was awesome and ferocious, like the cave troll in The Lord of the Rings. But, being an animated movie (primarily) geared toward kids, I can understand why his screen time was limited. The second complaint is best summed up from this review I read here:

Still, while Brave is admirable for dazzling visuals, excellent voice work, and honorable themes, some scenes work better than others. There’s a surprisingly implausible sequence in which Merida must create a diversion so somebody can sneak into her family’s castle — funny, but poorly executed. On matters of love and freedom, the movie turns downright preachy, failing the “show, don’t tell” test.

When die-hard Pixar fans come to this scene, they will realize a particular truth about Pixar: They preach, but never with words. This is the first time Pixar has broken that rule, and it is a bit disheartening. But really, it’s a three to four minute sequence, of little consequence to the film as a whole.

See Brave. Take your kids (not suggested for four or younger, as some scenes even had me on the edge of my seat, and Sarabeth jumped at least once). It’s a great movie for the family in which every member can walk away having been taught a valuable lesson unique to each family role. And the cool thing abut it is, when it’s over, you’ll feel like you really were running through a Scottish forest and were given an extensive and intimate tour of a real-life castle (don’t be surprised if you sniff your fingers to see if you can smell the granite from the stone walls). The animation is that dazzling and life-like.

Disclaimer: There is some rude humor, but I wouldn’t deem it as inappropriate or offensive. Let’s just say a lot of guys lose their kilts and are running away from the screen.

Like to review books? Follow my suspense/fantasy novel to be released late 2012, The Man in the Box. 

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What Moves You?

We are each moved by different things. Some people are moved by the mountaintop view, others are emotionally impacted by a rock concert. Maybe it’s a family gathering or witnessing wild animals run free through the glen, or maybe it’s art, or waterfalls. For me, it’s Story. I am deeply impacted by a well-told story. I actually get angry when a movie is bad or a book is incomplete or lacking the major qualities of a story. My theory is that there are hundreds and thousands of ideas still out there (though it may not seem like it, since most stories are just remakes of older ones now days). But the storyteller has to be willing to hunt and explore and discover those untouched ideas and then undergo the task of communicating those stories in a creative and memorable way.

But each good story really does borrow, if not mimic, the original Story of the Bible. The reason we are moved by the Narnia movies is because they echo eternal truths. We’re all impacted by The Lord of the Rings because we recognize the internal struggle that we must fight within. We sympathize with the plight of Maximus in Gladiator because we want to see his slain family avenged, just like we want to see justice restored to our own loved ones. Braveheart is a true battle cry to arouse our souls to stand up against evil and defend the innocent. And Star Wars is the classic tale of good vs. evil, and I have yet to meet anyone who roots for the Dark Side to take over the galaxy.

Most movies and many books borrow from the Bible. I know my cynics shudder at those words, but it’s hard to deny when the Bible, written thousands of years ago, when read in its most simplistic state, reads just like the stories that attract so many of us still today. Take a look at this video our church showed yesterday. We haven’t started this curriculum yet, and I’m not trying to advertise (though, pastors you might want to take a close look at it as it might be of interest to you). The video just reminded me why we ought to be moved by the Gospel Story, and why so many other things that impact us, in some way or another point to the redemptive power of Jesus Christ moving in our lives.

It’s about 3 minutes long. Enjoy. The Gospel Projet

Follow my upcoming thriller/suspense novel The Man in the Box on Facebook - Action. Drama. Family. Redemption. Everything a story should have.

Christians, Join Us in Praying for the Howells

Adam and Liz Howell, potential adopters, are in our Bible Fellowship class at our church, Ninth and O Baptist. Adam leads the class along with Ryan Hanley, and both are some of the greatest examples of godliness amongst my own generation of 20-somethings that I am sure I will ever come across. (Although, I’ll take a guess that they’re well out of their 20′s by now.) Please read Adam’s post taken from his blog, and pray for this wonderful, godly family.

In November, the Congo held its second “democratic” elections.  As a result, we’ve been told that the adoption process for most families in the Congo program was delayed about 3-4 months.  That brings us to now.  In the meantime, we’ve been waiting for a referral and have found out some good news at times and some bad news.

Some of the good news is that we are expecting another biological child in November of this year.  So I guess you could say we have two kids and two on the way.  Liz and I found out about our newest biological addition in March and so we began the process to update our home study to account for this “change of condition.”  In October 2011 (I’ll freely jump all over the calendar) we found out that our home study agency had to shut down, so for this second home study, we basically started over.  Childplace in Jeffersonville, IN helped us out tremendously and made the process quite simple the second time around.  We sent off our second home study to USCIS for updates yesterday and we will now wait on them to send us a new I-171h to add to our dossier.  This addition of a biological child was a hurdle we were worried about.  At the beginning of our process, our agency told us that Congo will allow adoptions to families with two children already.  This new child would make our third, so were a little concerned about what this might mean for our entire process.  Thankfully, our agency has placed children from the Congo with families that have as many as five children already, so our case worker didn’t think another biological child would be a problem.  So, we updated our home study and are still trucking.

In the Congo, our agency has now opened a second orphanage.  For those who don’t already know, one of the reasons we chose One World Adoption Services was that they have an orphanage in the Congo.  Now that they have two orphanages, there are more places from which our agency can care for children and supply referrals for adoptive families.  This was good news to us hoping that we would have a referral soon.  This news came about 3 weeks ago, and still no referral.  We’ve talked to our case worker several times and she tells us that it will probably be soon for a referral.  However, just in the last two weeks, we heard that the director of the orphanage in the Congo was let go from her position, so the agency has focused their attention on hiring and training another direct in country.  This again has slowed down our process.  We’ve yet to receive a referral.

Liz and I feel like we prepared ourselves to be patient, and somehow we’ve not jumped off the deep end with all these delays and changes.  However, we still deeply desire to see the face of our little Congolese orphan.  But for now, we wait.  I saw via Twitter this week that the agency congratulated two people for their new positions in the orphanage in the Congo, so I’m assuming that they have placed people in the proper positions in country and will be training them to gather the necessary paperwork from the Congo for referrals to be processed.  Pray with us that these people will work with integrity and precision for all those families who are still waiting on referrals from the Congo.

So, here we sit.  Summer schedule; time on our hands; still waiting.

We don’t regret any of this process so far and we know that the Lord has led us the entire way.  Here are a couple of stories that show Liz and I how the Lord has worked so far.  Financially, the Lord provided all but $300 of our expected costs for this adoption.  This amount included ONE home study.  However, we had to do two.  Our church graciously has set up an adoption grant for families who are adopting, and because the Lord was so good to provide what we needed, we have not yet needed to apply for that grant.  We found out during this second home study that the price of our second home study was exactly the amount of the grant we can receive from our church family.  What a blessing to see how God has provided even before we knew we needed it.

A second example of God’s providence and goodness is related to our wait.  Liz and I CANNOT complain about our wait.  God knew that he would give us a third biological child.  The Lord knew that we would have to redo our home study.  The Lord knew that this school year would be the busiest one of our lives and that we probably couldn’t handle adding an adoptive child to our family yet.  However, in the midst of our waiting on a referral, we’ve had time to unwind from a difficult school year.  We’ve had more than enough time to redo our home study without the pressure of deadlines.  Now, we have a second home study completed and in the mail, our dossier is translated, and we are back in the waiting game knowing that God has delayed our process until now.  We are thankful that his timing is perfect, and we continually pray that we will rest in his timing.

We would continue to covet your prayers.  Pray for our little guy in the Congo.  Pray for our agency as they train new staff in the Congo.  Pray for us that we would continue to be patient and trust the Lord.

Adam and Liz<><

Visit the Howell’s blog here and keep them in your prayers.

A Study of Religions – Hinduism: We Are All Divine

Western thought began in ancient Greece where men like Socrates, Plato and Aristotle saw that the universe had a plan and purpose. Eastern thinking says everything is temporary, changing, unreal, ephemeral and our perceptions of the world are misleading and illusory. The physical universe is a hindrance to experiencing The Ultimate Reality, which Eastern religion says is attainable within each individual by realizing intuitively that “self” is Divine and God is impersonal.

Learn what the word Pantheism means:

Pan = everything; Theos = God

Patheism = God is the world and everything in it.

According to the later Vedic literature, the highest goal of Hinduism is union with Brahma (a formless, abstract, eternal being without attributes, who was the beginning of all things, or the impersonal absolute).

A brief history: In 500 B.C, the Varna was established, adding more writings to the already existing Hindu Scriptures. Varna is a rigid castes system, or rather, a social hiercachy. In 1947 India became a nation. The government officially outlawed discrimination against the “untouchables,” the lowest on a social totem pole and considered to be sub-human (thanks to Christian missionaries).

Hinduism is not really one religion, but many religions that interact and blend with one another. There is no founder, no creedal statements of faith and no agreement upon authority. However, contradictory ideas are not a problem. You can believe in no go, many gods or none at all. All reality is seen as “one.” (Please see What’s the Big Deal About Truth for a brief explanation to the dangers of this belief system.) Despite the lack of foundation of agreement, there are two foundational assumptions found in Hinduism: Reincarnation and karma.

Reincarnation is the belief that the atman (a person’s uncreated and eternal soul) must repeatedly be recycled into the world in different bodies (animals, plants or inanimate objects). The process that takes the Hindu through the great wheel of samsra (the thousands or millions of lives, all full of suffering) that each atman must endure before reaching Moksha (the liberation from suffering and union with the infinite). Another, and clearer way to describe samsra would be this: It is a seemingly endless process of being reincarnated. The goal for a Hindu is to be liberated from this and reunite with Brahma.

Karma means “action.” It has to do with the law of cause and effect. This means merit or demerit. Karma from one’s past lives affect a person’s present life, and so on.

The three paths to Moksha are as follows:

1) The path of works (dharma): This is the most difficult path to reach liberation from suffering. It often includes Yoga (which literally means yoking or union). It is an attempt to control one’s consciousness and to make one’s atman (soul) identical to Brahma. A famous Hinduism saying is, “Aham asmi Brahma,” which means, “I am Brahma.

2) The path of knowledge (inna): This is a set of social and religious obligations that must be fulfilled. Those who choose this path must follow the caste occupation, marry within the caste and eat or not eat certain foods. Above all, one must produce or raise a son to perform the sacrificial rituals to your ancestors.

3) The path of passionate devotion: This is where one chooses to worship the gods by sexual acts. Yes, it is the most popular.

We must always be weary of subtle ways pop culture infuses pagan world beliefs into their media. Avatars are associated with Hinduism. An avatar is literally a savior, or an incamation of deity.

According to the Hindu religion, the world as we experience it is mere illusion and Brahma is the only thing that really exists and has meaning. Hinduism began influencing western culture in mid-19^th century.

RalphWaldoEmerson was a leading American exponent of transcendentalism, and steeped himself in Hinduism writings. Another name you might recognize is Henry David Thoreau, who was a contemporary of Emerson and fellow transcendentalist and was inspired where he wrote Waldon and other books.

In the 1930’s, the Vedanta Society of Southern California was established. Their rally cry: “Many faiths are but different paths leading to the one reality, God.” The Beatles went to India and were taught transcendental meditation. They brought this back to the United States and other nations and it became very popular.

Teachers of the Vedanta say, “A Hindu would find it easy to accept Christ as a divine incarnation and to worship him unreservedly, exactly as he worships Krishna or another avatar of his choice. But he cannot accept Christ as the only Son of God.”

Folks, this is the kicker. This is where the passage in the Bible that talks about people telling God on judgment day, “I did all these things in your name,” yet God still punishes them to eternity in Hell, comes into effect. We can believe in Jesus and still go to Hell, because Jesus demands our undivided praise and worship. He will not share the throne with another. This is why, when I share the Gospel with people, I make it clear that in order to become a Christian, you can believe only in Jesus Christ. He will not share His glory with another, and understandably so! I don’t want someone else’s name on the cover of my book - I wrote it. But the thing is, if your stance with God is not a comfort to you; if you feel like you’re living right, but there’s a subtle uneasiness in your soul concerning your eternal fate, then that could be the mercy of God tapping you on the chest, trying to get your attention.

Consider Gandhi. He could not believe there was any “mysterious or miraculous virtue” in Christ’s death on the cross – He could not accept the Christian answer to the problem of sin, yet he felt a deep hunger for real salvation from sin. But like other Hindus, he could not see Jesus as God, but rather just one of many incarnations, or avatars, of Vishnu.

In all actuality, Hinduism is more of a philosophy than a theology. Hindus search for Brahma within themselves. Each person is “god” (or part of “god”).

I am not going to climb up on a virtual soapbox and proclaim that the cries of Hinduism are all lies from the pit of Hell. Instead I am just going to extend a thought for those who deduce by logic.

Hinduism claims that you must repeat life over and over until you have been cleansed and you can be with Brahma. If we follow this, that means we are all suffering consequences from our previous life as we breathe. This could be the worst it gets. This could be our Hell, and let me say, as much as I hate paying bills and clocking in and out from work, this is not as bad as I thought Hell would be. In fact, with enough trips to the Disneyland and a hiking excursion here and there, Hell (or, my personal suffering) is turning out to be pretty nice.

But that’s the problem. Because while I’m living this reincarnated life, I keep getting hounded by this guy Jesus with words he spoke 2,000 years ago talking about a Hell that is eternal and firey and lonely, not to mention painful and absolutely horrifying… and did I mention eternal? When I put piece those slices of imagry together, do you know what I come up with? I come up with a Hell where I am chained inside an oven, unable to die, but able to feel the skin melting off my body, but it just won’t fall. And to top it off, there’s snakes (or as the Bible puts it, worms), crawling all over me, slithering. Tickling. Biting. Snakes are my greatest fear. And as if it can get worse, I’m screaming at the top of my lungs, but I know for a fact that no one is around who can or will deliver me. I have no hope, and I absolutely know it without a shadow of a doubt. I never sleep, though I’m tired. I never rest, though I’m exhausted and thirsty. I never eat, though I’m famished beyond repair. I’m always and forever burning, my flesh sizzling like metal soaking in acid. And I never lose my fear of the snakes that continually slither around my naked body. I’ve been scared of snakes all my life on earth, and I will never learn to get used to them in Hell.

I don’t know about you, but I would rather not take my chances believing that I can get to Heaven any other way than Jesus. Because He is the one figure in all of religious history who makes the biggest threat and demands the most. But lest we tremble before Him in vain, let us not forget that He also gave the most. He is the only religious figure in history who gave His life for anyone who would follow Him. Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna, Brahma, none of them gave a rip about you, and they’re either dead or non-existent.

I’m crying as I’m writing this, because I’m realizing that Jesus didn’t ask enough of us, as far as I’m concerned. He’s only asking for our devotion. He doesn’t want you to change your dietary habits or obtain a certain amount of knowledge, or fulfill some good-deed quota. He just wants your love, just as He has already given you His. And He promises an eternity of bliss and Life if only we will accept Him as the one and only, unrivaled God of the universe.

That’s it.

I’m sorry for toeing the soapbox, but hear the truth and receive it. Give up your sins; you know what they are. I have to repent from something new every day. But it’s because it’s the least Jesus can ask for. He could have asked for so much more. He could have had us die for our own sins, or be reincarnated for thousands or millions of years until we earned purity. But He paid the price that you owe for your sins. The least you can do is thank Him and accept Him.

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The High Art of Storytelling

So Brave comes out this week… finally! Sarabeth and I don’t go to the movies often, but it’s our annual tradition to go to each Pixar release. This is going to be a good weekend.

Now, as an avid Pixar fan, I do have a confession to make. For the most part, whenever I see a Pixar movie for the first time, I’m sort of… let down. But over time, with each viewing of a certain Pixar movie, I appreciate it more and more for what it is. I think it’s because their stories resonate and they age like fine wine. Ratatouille, for instance, didn’t keep me plastered to my seat with a big goofy grin the whole time. But it stuck with me days after viewing it. There were themes and deep issues that the movie provoked me to revisit. But I now consider it one of the finest films ever made. Wall-E bored me the first time I saw it. But after seeing it a few more times, and really digging into what the movie is trying to communicate (it’s not about going green), I now consider it one of the finest films as well.

It’s misleading when Disney markets Pixar films as being “the best comedy of the year,” because Pixar films aren’t just out to get a few laughs like competing animated movies. Heck, they’re not even trying to preach any sort of message. They’re just setting out to do what any good movie ought to do – tell an original and compelling story that is so effective that it will become a part of the viewer.

Story is to movies as location is to buildings. Story, story, story. Everything else is secondary. When the newborn Pixar Studios set out to make the world’s first computer-generated animated movie, the compliment they feared the most was, “The animation was astounding!” No. Hang the animation, as wonderful as it is. The guys at Pixar new they had truly succeeded with Toy Story because audiences around the globe absolutely loved the story.

This has been a good year for Sarabeth and me. I had been searching for an agent to represent my book, The Man in the Box, since 2009. I signed a contract with BlackWyrm Publishers a month ago: Three years and hundreds of rejections later. It was my passion to tell stories and my supportive wife that refused to let me give up. And every Pixar movie has played a role in teaching me how to tell a story.

Now, I know this isn’t anything like creating a cutting-edge feature film, nor will The Man in the Box make it to the New York Times bestseller list (though with your help, it could). But the point I’m trying to make here is this: We can do nothing great on our own. Did you know that Steve Jobs had the Pixar building built in such a way that if anyone wants to get from any point of the studio to another, you have to cross the lobby like everyone else? The reason for this seemingly obsessive idea was so that camaraderie would be encouraged and artists who wouldn’t normally talk to writers would bump into each other and exchange ideas. Unfortunately authors don’t have this advantage, and for the most part, we work alone. I have done everything I can to make my book, The Man in the Box as exciting, unpredictable and engaging as possible. But I know it’s still not perfect. So even as I write this there is an editor pouring over it somewhere. She has got her work cut out for her.

But we will be working together to make it the absolute best story we can possibly deliver to you. In the coming months I will be posting snippets of The Man in the Box for you to enjoy (or criticize). But I will need encouragement. I will need as many of my readers to join The Man in the Box Facebook page. There is little information about the story right now, but I will slowly and surely be revealing more and more. If you join, you will be alerted about contests to win free copies, favoritism for your blog, etc.

Oh, and any writers out there, I have included this list especially for you. I just came across it a few weeks ago, but I am convinced it is the purest piece of gold any writer could possibly attain in his possession. I don’t know if it’s official or not, but it is Pixar’s 22 Rules of Storytelling. Do your readers a favor and follow these rules religiously. And go out and see Brave! We’ll discuss it next week.

#1: You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.

#2: You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be v. different.

#3: Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.

#4: Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

#6: What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?

#7: Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.

#8: Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.

#9: When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.

#10: Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.

#11: Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.

#12: Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.

#13: Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.

#14: Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.

#15: If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.

#16: What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.

#17: No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.

#18: You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.

#19: Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.

#20: Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?

#21: You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?

#22: What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

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What’s the Big Deal About Truth?

In an age of apathy, a book with this title might go unnoticed for several reasons. First, it’s claiming to know the truth – “as if there is such a thing.” And second, very few people even acknowledge that there’s a war going on at all. Even the best of us would rather live naively, feigning ignorance to the spiritual war happening all around us, even here on our beloved American soil. I think we sometimes forget that the spirits of the cosmos pay no heed to national borders or earned independence. You see, it is those of us who are free that might be in the most danger of being overcome by the evil forces that are out to keep souls captive. We take pride in, and hoard our liberties, and we even claim liberation from the war erupting around us. John

MacArthur’s book does a fine job reminding us of what’s at stake in this war, and why we must daily take up our cross and fight. When I pass up an opportunity to say a good word about Christ to a lost person, I have just needlessly laid down my arms. If I refuse to invite someone to church in order to uphold some image, then I have just raised my white flag in surrender to the enemy and have given that person over to be held a prisoner. And all the while, God and His army of angels stand behind me and watch. I have disobeyed orders to set the captives free.

So why is “truth” such a big deal? It’s not.

It’s the deal. It’s the only thing in the entire history of the world that matters. It surpasses the invention of electricity and the liberation from tyranny. Truth is much more important than the Beatles and debate over Obamacare. Truth is deeper than the darkest ocean and more unattainable than the furthest star – yet it is closer than the atoms that make up the skin on your fingers. Truth is more tragic than slavery, and more triumphant than prevailing justice. Nothing in the history of the world is more important than truth. And truth is heavily under attack.

So what is truth? In a word, it’s life. In a name, it’s Jesus.

Jesus Christ created life. He actually formed oxygen out of nothing and infused it into our lungs. But even if He did create us, that still doesn’t explain why He is so important today. Let the Creator be, and the creations do as they please, right? Well, as nice as that would be, that’s not what the Creator intended. He created us for fellowship with Him. But because of sin, many people are going to reject that fellowship until the day they die and they will never have another chance at it. This is what’s at stake. This is why truth is so important to fight for.

The world is filled with people – and I might be describing you – who say that there is no truth, and we can all do and believe anything we want.  Folks, as much as I would love for that to be true, that is a lie from the pit of Hell, and those who utter such claims and hold to those falsities to their death will be at home with those lies for he rest of eternity. Maintaining the truth of the Gospel of Christ is of utmost importance because people’s souls – your created, eternal soul – is at stake, balancing between life and death, Heaven and Hell. It doesn’t matter what team you root for at your next sporting event. It doesn’t matter if you win the argument with your spouse or how much is sitting in your savings account. In the grand scheme of things, it’s of little consequence who shot Kennedy or who will be elected this year as the U.S. president. The only thing that matters is what you choose to believe about Jesus Christ, the truth, and whether you will accept Him as the only Lord and Savior of the universe or not.

Many people struggle with MacArthur because he tends to be too forceful and in your face. I don’t necessarily mind that, especially concerning the topic matter at hand. The Truth War is a great book for believers and nonbelievers alike, because MacArthur paints a very clear and concise picture of what really is at stake here, and why this whole war of religions exploding around the world is of such massive importance.

In it, MacArthur tackles issues such as living in a postmodern society, being on guard against apostasy and why heresy must be banished. These are all things I would imagine a nonbeliever to wonder why they’re such a big deal. I can imagine it would be like a salesperson at a pet store shoving boxes of cat food in my face, trying to get me to buy it. I have no need for cat food and even if the price was knocked down 99%, I still wouldn’t buy it. But to those of you who feel that way about religion or Christianity, think of it this way: As much as I don’t need that cat food, what if what the guy was trying to sell it to me because he knew that if I bought it, I would be the millionth customer and would win a big cash prize? That changes things, doesn’t it? Suddenly the cat food doesn’t seem so useless anymore.

The Truth War is like that. It may not be something you think is important, but it is. Because the outcome of the real truth war is going to make all the difference in the world to you, one way or another.

Also recommended: The Faith by Charles Colson

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