Depending on the version you read, the word “science” occurs twice in the Scriptures.

In Daniel 1:4, the Babylonians sorted through the Jewish boys they’d taken captive, hoping to find some they could train in their own ways. They looked for young men who were “cunning in knowledge and understanding science,” as the KJV put it. (The NIV words it “well informed, quick to understand.”)

In 1 Timothy 6:20, if the Apostle Paul spoke King James, he would have admonished Timothy to “avoid profane and vain babblings and oppositions of science falsely so called.” (The NIV Paul would have put it “godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge.”)

The world’s always been good at that “false knowledge” sort of thing. Lately there have been gushes of godless chatter and so-called science from a variety of hot springs. One blatant “profane and vain babbling” came in the form of the recent Animal Planet pseudo-documentary (aka “mockumentary”) about mermaids. (They’re real, did you know that? It’s true! I saw it on TV!)

I confess: This past May, I was among the 3.6 million people who failed to follow Paul’s admonition to avoid vain babbling and watched the two-hour special, “Mermaids: The Body Found.” As if that wasn’t enough for one evening, I followed it up with a chaser of “Mermaids: The New Evidence.”

Number me also among those who missed the fine-print disclaimer in the end credits stating that “certain events in this film are fictional.” No harm there, though, as I’d already formed that opinion. 

These sci-fi wolves in science-fact clothing prowled on a supposedly reputable cable channel (which may be an oxymoron, but that’s another topic). A significant number of viewers thought they were seeing the real thing—and they followed like sheep.

About six and a half million years ago, the story goes, the eastern coast of Africa flooded over. Some of the not-yet-human beasts from which we allegedly descended went inland to escape. Another group, however, went out to sea, adapting into a species called the Aquatic Ape.

This scenario is presented as probable fact. From what I’ve found, however, evidence for the theory is thin, and adherents to the Aquatic Ape theory represent a small fringe of the scientific community.

According to the TV story line, remains of these half-human/half-sea-creatures have been found in various places throughout the world; photos and videos have been taken of living specimens. Researchers sent in a DNA sample for analysis, but were told by the lab that it must have been contaminated, because tests showed it to be human DNA.

Bummer, though: all the evidence has disappeared or been confiscated by governmental authorities. It seems the U.S. Navy, in collusion with international powers, has conspired to cover up the existence of these mermaids. You see, if they’re forced to acknowledge our aquatic cousins, they’d have to stop their deep sea sonar testing.

The creative tale held my interest to the end, but the way this obvious fiction was presented in the guise of reality disturbed me. I didn’t stick with it long enough to read the credits at the end, but had I seen the disclaimer, that small blurb would have done little to placate me. The whole thing smelled of hoax, and the smirking little admission of, “Just kidding… kinda” doesn’t make it any better.

But wait a minute, you say: this is TV. What do you expect? And they admitted it was fiction. So what’s the big deal?

Let me count the ways…

Well, okay, I won’t count them. Instead, let’s hear from the show’s creator, Charlie Foley: “The science really informs the fiction. The theory of Aquatic Ape mentioned in the program is real and has been studied for decades. Many events in the show have occurred – i.e. the whale beachings, Navy experimental sonar testing, The Bloop … We use the transitive property to further explore the possibility of mermaids – i.e. if polar bears evolved from the brown bear, isn’t it possible that a mermaid, which was reported in disparate civilizations for ages, evolved from a human-like creature that retreated into the water? The scientists are actors who portray an authentic government organization (NOAA) who currently study phenomena like whale beachings and sonar testing. The imagined part of the show is our entry point into a new world of possibility rooted in science.”

Just what “science” informs this fiction, Mr. Foley? And how does any of that justify the portrayal of speculative fiction as documented fact?

I’m not the only one bothered by this. Some scientists—real ones, I mean, not actors who play scientists—are upset as well. Marine biologist David Schiffman states that he’s angry “because the ocean is extremely important. It provides jobs for tens of millions of people and food for billions. However, many marine resources are being overexploited and mismanaged, leaving us in serious danger of losing them forever. Policy solutions can help, but if you are so ignorant about what is really happening in the ocean that you believe that there are organisms that are half human and half fish, you’re almost certainly unaware of the important problems, much less how to solve them.”

As I see it, though, there’s a bigger issue at stake here than people’s ignorance about what’s happening in the ocean. How about what’s happening in society, in the world at large? How about the tinkering going on with people’s minds?

We’re fed line after line of twisted truth, half-truths, sorta-truths, and bald-faced lies by academia, politicians, big business, the news media and entertainment professionals, scientific experts, and even, all too often, from pulpits. After a while, we grow weary of it all, too weary to be discerning, too weary to care. We hear something that sounds right superficially, something that vindicates our personal preferences, something we want to believe, and we accept it. If we’re not careful, our minds can be changed and opinions shaped without our knowing it.

You’ve probably heard the illustration of how a bank teller learns to distinguish a counterfeit bill by handling a lot of real ones. In a similar manner, when you’re on intimate terms with the truth, it’s not so hard to detect falsehood. As writers and readers, our eyes and minds devour a lot of words on any given day. Our first priority should be to ground ourselves in God’s truth before we venture elsewhere.

It’s fun to speculate about what might be, to create worlds of our own imaginings. What’s not fun is mislabeling the line between fact and fantasy. If we’re Christ-followers, we’d better make sure our fiction points people to the truth, and that without ambiguity. Our gifts are not given us so we can add more noise to this world’s awful din; our job is to help the confused make sense of it all, to guide their feet to the Rock that doesn’t shift with the whims of modern culture.

A commenter to my most recent post pointed out that the unbelieving world doesn’t have a corner on deception. It’s a sad fact, but true; Christians are not always forthright and honest. But it’s also true that the devil is the father of lies (John 8:44). When we willingly deceive, we play his game. And when we see others taking up his favorite tool, we can know it’s a pretty good indication of whose side they’re on.

Voting begins today!

After weeks of reader nominations and more weeks reading those nominations and then the seven-day countdown, it is finally time to vote for the finalists in the 2013 Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative Fiction.

Please read these instructions carefully, then proceed to the ballot by clicking on the link below. Voting ends July 17.

CSA is not a popularity contest. The award has been established to recognize the work of fiction which readers designate as the previous year’s best. Consequently, voters must adhere to these basic rules.

• You MUST have read at least two of the nominations.
• You may vote ONLY ONCE for a first, a second, and a third choice.
• Your second choice and your third choice may not be the same as your first choice.
• Your vote for your second choice and your third choice may not be for the same book.
• You may mark the “none of these” option if you do not have a second or a third choice.
• Second and third choice options will only be considered in the case of a tie.
• The top five titles will be designated as finalists, and readers will vote from those to determine the 2013 CSA winner.

Voting will close midnight (Pacific time), July 17, 2013.

Perhaps the news has reached your corner of the cyber world that on August 2^nd and 3^rd, the newly established Faith and Fantasy Alliance will be hosting the first-ever Realm Makers conference, a writer’s symposium geared specifically toward people of faith who write fantasy and science fiction. In this inaugural year of the event, it’s generated an excellent level of interest of teens and adults alike, selling out the original capacity of the venue (until we made some arrangements to open up a few more spaces.)

Registration for the conference, therefore, remains open, but if you or someone you know wishes to join us in St. Louis for the event, register soon! As of July 5^th, only ten spaces remain. Visit RealmMakers.com for registration information.

Speculative Faith Registration Special: email info[at]faithandfantasyalliance[dot]com and mention you saw the conference information on Speculative Faith in your message, and Realm Makers will extend to you a discounted registration fee of $200 for the conference. That’s $35 off the regular registration price.

But what if you’re not a writer, but a reader, so many visitors to Speculative Faith?

Realm Makers has something for you as well. On Saturday, August 3^rd, the conference will be hosting a book signing, open to the public, and offering the works of a spectrum of Christian authors.

Central to the signing will be the prolific and popular Bryan Davis, who will be selling and signing any of the twenty-two books he’s written. Realm Makers is grateful to have him on faculty at the event and is looking forward to offering his fans a chance to connect with him in person.

Other authors and publishing professionals selling and signing books will include:

• Jeff Gerke (AKA Jefferson Scott) of Marcher Lord Press (http://www.marcherlordpress.com/)
• Grace Bridges of Splashdown Books (http://www.gracebridges.com/)
• Kathy Tyers (http://www.kathytyers.com/)
• Kat Heckenbach (http://www.katheckenbach.com/)
• N Paul Williams http://www.npaulwilliams.com/
• LB Graham (http://www.lbgraham.com/)
• Robert Treskillard (http://www.epictales.org/blog/robertblog.php)
• Suzanne Hartmann (http://www.amazon.com/Suzanne-Hartmann/e/B0069554WY/ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1?qid=1373027425&sr=8-1)
• Rebecca P Minor (http://www.rebeccapminor.com/)
• Andrew Winch (Splickety Magazine) (http://splicketymagazine.com/)
• Ben Erlichman (Splickety Magazine) (http://splicketymagazine.com/)
• Morgan Busse (2012 Christy and Carol award finalist) http://morganlbusse.com/
• Randy Streu of Diminished Media Group (http://diminishedmediagroup.com/)
• Matt Yocum (http://www.mattyocum.com/)

Please note that this list is tentative, and Realm Makers reserves the rights to add or subtract authors and books as needed.

If you, as a reader, want to support your favorite author on this list, make your way to the Saturday night signing, enjoy the forty-five minute Q & A session the authors will offer at the beginning of the event, and get a copy of their work. Events that prove to an author people truly enjoy what they’ve written are the extra octane in the fuel that keeps them writing.

If you’re coming, here are the particulars…

The Realm Makers Group Book signing:

Date: Saturday, August 3^rd

Time: 7:00-10:00 PM

Location: JC Penney Conference Center on the campus of the University of Missouri, St. Louis campus)

Event begins in room 402 for the author panel, and will then move to the lobby for the signing. Books will be available for sale at the event, but not every seller will take credit cards, so cash is recommended.

We at the Faith and Fantasy Alliance hope to see you there. We thank you in advance for your support of speculative fiction written from a Christian worldview, and we look forward to providing an exciting environment for you to interact with some of your favorite authors. But if you can’t make it to the signing, don’t forget, Speculative Faith is partnering with Realm Makers to give you, the readers, a voice in what fantasy and science fiction you loved from 2012. Keep your eyes on this site for your opportunity to vote in the Clive Staples Award.

Once upon a time there was a mighty empire. It began when many of its citizens fled from the oppressive rule of an evil king, or a slightly irksome king, depending on how you see it.

Embarkation of the Pilgrims by Robert Weir.

When first citizens landed on this future empire’s shores, they wanted to have a different sort of empire. Many of them wanted it to be built on the principles and even specific faith of their most holy book. One religious leader said the new empire is like a “city on a hill.”

Years passed. The empire grew, thanks in part to the holy book’s principles and even faith, yet with room for other holy books and principles — and with plenty of room for mistakes.

When at last the empire tore away from the king’s rule, it grew all the more. Enterprising citizens asked, What if?, and pushed into strange new worlds. With all their worldly goods they became pioneers, and crossed into controversial territory where dwelt many hostile natives who cried out that this columnist is glossing over a nastier part of American history.

Also among those natives dwelt tribal chiefs, claiming in quite un-stereotypical dialogue:

How! How is it that this topic hath anything to do with speculative fiction, forsooth?

It doth strongly relate, because of this truth:

How we see our world-story and our nation-story affects other stories.¹

Resuming then with the national story’s controversial pioneer phase — simultaneous with the equally controversial Civil War phase — we quickly skim toward the still-youthful nation’s involvement in two worldwide wars. It was a great period of history,  almost an Old-Testament level of righteous warfare: good Western heroes versus Nazis, literally.

Captain America punched Adolf Hitler smack on his greasy jaw, and set free the captives.

… Leading other captives to begin wondering: excuse me, what about my freedom too?

… Leading, in turn, other folks who also think themselves captives — to the old world-story and its founding mythologies — to seek what they believe to be similar freedoms.

… Leading, at last, defenders of the Biblical world-story and mythology to point back to those already-mythologized histories, in which brave men and women sailed in ships to a new world, where they stepped freely across the treacherous terrain of readers’ inevitable colonialism critiques, and sought to establish their City On A Hill. Now in their hour of need, Biblical defenders cry out to their God, using “city on a hill” quotes and often 2 Chronicles 7:14, to suggest that if only this empire repents from its backsliding, God will restore its greatness and put a stop to those whose claims of “freedom” will lead to spiritual dystopia.

That’s the nation-story, per evangelical-Christendom. Now we stand at a crossroads.

The back-cover copy to this evangelical thriller novel would say: Will the brave hero, our handsome, brooding Christian Nation, do the right thing, or surrender to his evil enemies?

Ah, but like any good hero, handsome/brooding or otherwise, Christian Nation has flaws.

Here is a partial list:

1. Poor theology. The “city on a hill” metaphor and other comparisons are not about a particular new nation, but about Christ’s Nation-of-nations, the Church, His Kingdom.
2. Also, it’s a real stretch to apply the promise of 2 Chronicles 7:14 to America or any other nation except the nation of Israel, at that time, in that place. Do evangelical Christians read Scripture literally, that is, as it was meant to be read, or read it like “liberals”? If we fall into the latter practice, even For a Good Cause, our world-story loses credibility.
3. Those aforementioned controversial territories, including racism and other bigotry.

To concede these internal flaws is not the same as denying the hero is a true hero.

And no, I don’t suggest our nation-story needs a gritty reboot. Instead we must roll back the old sentimental reboot, and especially the Biblical world-story revision.

Captain America doesn’t need a Gritty Reboot.

With reminders that Christ’s World-Story overrules our own Nation-Story, we may actually be set free to enjoy our nation and its exceptional tenets even more. We don’t have to suffer personal remorse over other Americans’ sins, or even give heed to the peddlers of other guilt-based world- and nation-stories who claim someone did this sin, but somehow you are also at fault, so repent and do this penance and the gods will forgive you.² It encourages us to recall that Christ will redeem nations for His Kingdom.³

These reminders also set free our own stories. Lifting eyes beyond our great nation to the far greatest Nation-of-nations that Christ is building will widen our vision. It discourages a world-story that focuses on America, using His Story as spare parts for our story.⁴ And this reminder endorses exploration of other times and fantastic places, asking those same questions asked by the American pioneers, imitating our Creator: Could we go here? Could we create this? What if … ?

As a novelist who is also an illustrator, one of the things I like to do to when writing a story is to find and create images that inspire me in my writing project. As I’ve been writing Last Son of Earth, I’ve been feeling a bit disconnected lately without imagery to guide me. I thought I’d take an hour or two this morning to work on a cover image to help represent the story series. What you are seeing is a photo-manipulated collage of images I’ve found online to make up a mock cover image for us to work from.

I’m not completely happy with it yet, but it’s a start.

I think I need another character in the space capsule (perhaps our gal Cilla from my last entry) alongside our hero with hair floating about. Also, I’m hoping to create a fantasy element so that this cover doesn’t feel completely “sci-fi”. Perhaps a few knobs or dials that are reminiscent of Jules Verne machines might do the trick. Maybe a gas powered lantern or something that would juxtapose the assumed technology of space travel with something less “tech”. Costuming is also something I need to spend some time on as well. Perhaps the mark of CON should be on his sleeve?

There is more to be done, but I thought it was worth sharing for this week’s entry.

Enjoy.

Lots of people count down to important events, some bigger than others. Back in the day, when space exploration was still new and men were about to hurl off toward the moon, countdowns were occasions for great anticipation.

As a kid, my happiest countdown was to Christmas. I loved the little calendars with the windows you opened each day in December. Each one that put us closer to the 25th stirred excitement.

Writers, I’m sure, count down to book releases. Some might count down to Facebook launch parties or book signing events. At summer time, I’d be surprised if some people–adults and children–weren’t counting down to a much anticipated vacation. But, of course, after that comes the countdown to that first day of the new school year.

As important as all those are, I’m not referring to any of those countdown events. Rather, I have two in mind. First is the countdown to the voting for the Clive Staples Award. Round one begins IN ONE WEEK. Second is the countdown to the announcement of the CSA winner which will take place at the Realm Makers Conference IN ONE MONTH. Well, technically, in one month and two day. The Conference will be held August 2-3 and the winner will be announced on Friday, August 2.

The big question when any countdown starts is, are you ready? In regard to voting for the Clive Staples Award, “being ready” simply means you have read two of the nominated titles and have you reviewed the standards which define a winning book (part 1 and part 2).

When it comes to the Realm Makers Conference, being ready starts with signing up to attend. The rest involves the usual conference preparation–transportation arrangements and the like.

So, how are you progressing as the countdowns move forward? Are you ready?

The following, in alphabetical order according to the author’s last name, are the 2013 nominees for the Clive Staples Award for Christian Speculative Fiction.

Words in the Wind by Yvonne Anderson (Risen Books)

Daughter of Light by Morgan L. Busse (Marcher Lord Press)

Devil’s Hit List: Book Three of the UNDERGROUND by Frank Creed (Splashdown Books)

Liberator (Dragons of Starlight series) by Bryan Davis (Zondervan)

A Throne of Bones by Vox Day (Hinterlands / Marcher Lord Press)

Mortal (The Books of Mortals) by Ted Dekker and Tosca Lee (FaithWords)

Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore (Thomas Nelson)

The Telling by Mike Duran (Realms Fiction)

Risk by Brock Eastman (P&R Publishing/Focus on the Family)

Live and Let Fly by Karina Fabian (Muse It Up Publishing)

I Am Ocilla by Diane Graham (Splashdown)

Seeking Unseen by Kat Heckenbach (Splashdown Books)

Remnant in the Stars by Cindy Koepp (Under The Moon)

The Unraveling of Wentwater (The Gates of Heaven Series) by C.S. Lakin (Living Ink Books)

Prophet by R. J. Larson (Bethany House)

Judge by R. J. Larson (Bethany House)

Spirit Fighter by Jerel Law (Thomas Nelson)

Fire Prophet by Jerel Law (Thomas Nelson)

The Spirit Well by Stephen Lawhead (Thomas Nelson)

The Wrong Enemy by Jane Lebak (MuseItUp Publishing)

Alienation (A C.H.A.O.S. novel) by Jon S. Lewis (Thomas Nelson)

Curse Bearer by Rebecca P Minor (Written World Communications)

Rift Jump by Greg Mitchell (Splashdown Darkwater)

Bid the Gods Arise by Robert Mullin (Crimson Moon Press)

Prophetess (Winter Book 2) Keven Newsome (Splashdown Darkwater)

Failstate by John W. Otte (Marcher Lord Press)

Soul’s Gate by James Rubart (Thomas Nelson)

Starflower by Anne Elizabeth Stengl (Bethany House)

Moonblood by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House)

Star Of Justice by Robynn Tolbert (Splashdown Books)

Daystar by Kathy Tyers (Marcher Lord Press)

The New Recruit by Jill Williamson (Marcher Lord Press)

Replication: The Jason Experiment by Jill Williamson (Zonderkidz)

Voting begins July 8, 2013

In a sense, Protestant iconoclasm gave sacred significance to “secular” subjects and experience. It made the whole of life religious, not merely church life. Conversely, it also “secularized” art, that is, it brought art out of the parameters of religious cult objects and transferred it into the domain of aesthetic beauty apart from ecclesiastical use. It was the theological foundation of the liberation of the arts.

Yet, in spite of this artistic liberation, there is nevertheless a lack of visual and dramatic tradition in Protestantism.¹ To be sure, not all the arts had been so effected, music being a prime example, and the Dutch Golden Age of painters including such giants as Rembrandt and Dürer are examples of Reformed influence on the arts.² But these examples are extremely limited because the suspicion of images soon broke out of its ecclesiastical focus and bled into the prevailing Protestant secular culture to include many forms of imagination and creativity. As Dyrness notes, “all attempts at using imagery, drama, even cultural festivities, in the service of the communication of Christian truth appeared to be given up by around 1580.”³ It was a pendulum swing, from one extreme to another, that would ultimately leave lasting negative impact on Protestant involvement in the arts for years to come.⁴

As already mentioned, the Reformers did not discourage artistic invention, but they also did not spend much time or effort in encouraging it either. Of the millions of pages written by such titans of the word as Calvin, Zwingli, Knox, Bucer and others, there was a significant amount written about the wrong use of images, but comparatively little on the right use of the arts. Such references are relegated to occasional and scattered sidebars or tangents as they relate to a particular Scripture. But almost nothing of significant theological development.⁵ The net effect of this virtual ignoring of the theological value of art is the implicit devaluing of it. To say, as Calvin did, that “All the arts come from God and are to be respected as divine inventions,”⁶ is laudable, but to do so without substantial explication of their importance, as he did with so many other doctrines, is to give with one hand and to take away with another.⁷ As the saying goes, actions speak louder than words, and a systematic theology without a developed aesthetic is an implicit sign of an underlying belief that beauty is not an essential part of theology.

Perhaps one of the reasons why Calvin accorded “respect” for the arts, but not exaltation was because he viewed much art as some uninformed Christians still do, either as didactic propaganda or as entertainment for pleasure, rather than a necessary part of our human existence. In one of the only places where he writes more than a passing comment about art, Calvin refers to musical instruments, and by extension the other arts as well, as being able to “minister to our pleasure, rather than to our necessity, still it is not to be thought altogether superfluous; much less does it deserve, in itself, to be condemned.” Though he does not condemn art, the essence of art is pleasure and this pleasure is not necessary to our existence. But hey, it’s not altogether superfluous – only partially superfluous by implication. Calvin’s prejudice was clearly didacticism, an elevation of utility and doctrinal teaching as the supreme form of communication. Thus, his tendency was to favor representational art of historical events used to “admonish” or “teach” over other imagery that was more decorative or abstract because they had “no value for teaching.”⁸

Another way in which Calvin and others like Karlstadt and Bucer unwittingly devalued art was in their appeal to divert the money for church decoration to the poor.⁹ While this is also a laudable attempt to take the commands of God to love the poor seriously, it ends up in another unbiblical either/or dichotomy between art and human need. Excess can be waste, but splendor and beauty are not intrinsically excess. God gave commands to love the poor (Deut. 15) and collected massive amounts of money to build the rather splendorous spectacular tabernacle, a model reflected in Cathedrals and their ornamentation (Ex. 36). Both beauty and charity are important to God and both are necessary.

There is an analogy between Matthew 26 and this view of beauty as wasteful compared to giving to the poor. When a woman pours expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet, the disciples complain with a similar refrain to that of Luther and Calvin. “Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor” (v. 8-9). Jesus puts them in their place by saying that she has done a good thing, not a wasteful thing, in symbolic preparation for his burial. Perfume was used to mask the smell of death with an attractive aroma, a symbol of eternal life (Luke 23:56). Beauty is not waste. Christians, in their zeal for theology, often neglect the necessity for aesthetic beauty in their worldview.¹⁰

It could be said that the various Reformed strains of art that did survive the iconoclasm controversy did so in spite of the dominant voices of iconoclasts. Calvinists like Rembrandt would paint pictures of Christ despite the accusation by many that this was a violation of the Second Commandment. Calvinist Print Publisher, Claes Jansz Visscher, published Bibles heavily illustrated with engravings in an attempt to help people understand the stories better, as well as political prints against the iconoclasts.¹¹ The famous engraver, Albrecht Dürer, a Lutheran, was praised by many Calvinists, yet, his view was in some ways unlike Calvin’s. Where Calvin considered the ear to be superior to the eye as a means of receiving God’s word,¹² Dürer was more balanced in his Lutheran view that both are necessary to our reality and relationship with God. Dürer wrote:

The art of painting is made for the eyes, for sight is the noblest sense… A thing you behold is easier of belief than [one] that you hear; but whatever is both heard and seen we grasp more firmly and lay hold on more securely. I will therefore continue the word with the work and thus I may be the better understood.¹³

Dürer had it right. Both word and image were necessary. Perhaps what Calvin missed in his reactionary logocentrism was that the ear was just as much a sense organ as the eye.¹⁴ Hearing the word was just as much a sensate experience as seeing it. The ear is no more transcendent than the eye. Both ear and eye are a God-ordained sensate part of how we interact with Him. After all, one must use their eyes to read the Bible just as surely as they use them to read a painting. A preacher preaching his sermon of God’s Word with all its visual communication through body language, expression, verbal tone and other homiletical rhetoric, is simply a one-man play or dramatic performance, in so many words, a work of art.¹⁵

Excerpted from Word Pictures: Knowing God Through Story and Imagination.

This false separation of the senses leads to a matter/spirit dualism in some Reformed theology that reflects the very secular/sacred dichotomy that Reformers debunked. In his application of the Second Commandment against veneration of images, Calvin, says, “‘God should be adored in spirit’ and not through material things.”¹⁶ For Calvin and others, spirituality was defined in internal invisible terms (transcendence) and worldliness or immaturity was defined in external visual terms (immanence). Thus transcendence and immanence were at odds with one another just as the eye and ear were. And most of the Reformers went with transcendence.

The Bible affirms both the transcendence and immanence of God as equally ultimate, many times in the very same passage. For instance, Paul, when preaching to the pagans on Mars Hill says, at the same time, “God does not dwell in temples made with hands” (transcendence) and “in Him we live and move and exist” (immanence) (Acts 17:24, 28). In the Old Testament Jeremiah 23:23 asks rhetorically, “Am I a God who is near” (immanence), declares the LORD, and not a God far off?” (transcendence). Col. 1:16-17 says that all things were created “by him, through him, for him” (transcendence) – “and in him all things hold together” (immanence). So a theology, including an aesthetic, should maintain an equal ultimacy between transcendence and immanence or it is not true to the Scriptures, even if it is true to the Institutes of the Christian Faith.

Mawwiage! Mawwiage is what teaws ahs ahsundaaahh today.

And yesterday’s dual Supreme Court rulings in the United States showcase two competing meta-stories, battling for nothing less than the future of our cultures.

Ah, but hark. Yesterday a national leader assured people that the followers of one story will still be free to enjoy their traditions at least within their own spheres. Let us call this a well-meant gesture. But it covers a secret assumption: that the new story is the default story.

Do any of you know cause, or just impediment, why these two stories should not be joined together in holy matrimony?

Yes. Such a union is broken before it begins, citing irreconcilable differences.

In the new-religious story, humans have evolved by random chance. Our old ancestors created religious mythologies to attempt understanding their world, unify their cultures and promote moral codes, and of course to help the powerful keep their control.

But now those myths are past their expiration date, and it’s time to replace them with new myths-held-as-fact, new stories. In this new story, a peculiar old-mythology tradition called marriage is due for a reboot. Previously this idea of marriage was a good thing, because it endorsed individual desires and liberty above all else. But because this is the chief end, why not extend it to everyone regardless of his/her personal desires? Now after yesterday’s rulings, it is time to move into that brave new speculative story’s future. Those who cling to the old ways can be tolerated at first, but because they are bigots, this cannot last long.

In the old-religious story, God is the Prime Director of the universe, its Creator and later, Savior, for His glory and mankind’s good. Early on He revealed Himself to His people. The first of these rebelled against Him. Yet He pursued in love, giving His Law and then Himself to fulfill that Law, die under His own punishment for our breaking it, and rise again.

In his death and resurrection, He now calls His people to die and rise, and live new life on this old earth as training for the New Earth. This age is dying, and the world groans for its redemption. Until then our planet’s would-be caretakers of their physical and spiritual environment are pillaging the planet. Old-way guardians must show them love but also truth: that the Creator gave marriage with the chief end to show Himself and His love.

Recently a rallying cry of the new-story insurrection has been against this idea of marriage. Some may ask: did the old guardians failed to carry out their duties? Did they too intensely battle the new order while failing to show the first love that brought them into their Story?¹

Whatever the cause, the old ones’ defeat is certain. And followers of the new story cheer.

Guardians of the Old Ways

Where do these irreconcilable story differences this leave us?

The new story makes the next generation into a New Moral Order. I daresay it will soon become a subtle spiritual wasteland. Large-city buildings may be fine, Terminators not necessary, and zombies or Districts or overt dictators may be nowhere in sight. Still the successful new-story revolution will silently, quietly bring forth its long-awaited dystopia.

The Old Story and its Guardians will live on. Biblical Christians are now the Old Ones. Society may shun us, yet we do not retreat, for we must lovingly yet with strength guard the Old Ways. In that wasteland, we must host the oasis — and refuse to let it be poisoned.

Thus, both now and decades hence we can be ready. Just as some descendants of the Old Ways forsook that story, descendants of the new-story religion will tire of its lovelessness and legalism. Literal children of redefined unions may discover their leaders tried to base an existence on mere speculation — a what-if question to which reality answered no.

Especially for that time, the Old Way Guardians must be prepared.

And we must be prepared not first with statistics, arguments and Enlightenment-era logic, but with our Story — the Story of reality, of beauty and truth, and most vitally, of a Person.