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We Need More Christian Fiction

Half the battle is believing that Christian fiction should do more than “create art for art’s sake.” I don’t see that position in Scripture. Rather, I think a more accurate statement for the Christian is that we are to create art for God’s sake.
on Mar 12, 2018 · 3 comments

I know we at Spec Faith have made a plea for Christian fiction (as opposed to simply fiction by Christians) before, but I want to voice my concerns again.

One school of thought is that Christians simply need to write well and God will be glorified and the job of the author is done. Another school of thought is that the gospel needs to be declared in every story, and an example of someone repenting and changing is most desirable.

The problem is that the world seems to be winning the story-telling battle. How many books and movies and manga and drama contain the prevailing concepts of a godless worldview? Well, perhaps not godless. Many replace God with a man-centric view. We simply need to look within. The power is in us. We can do all things.

There is an increase of books about transgender issues and challenging authority, about terrorism and domestic violence. We see stories that suggest intentional fraud in religion and others that promote a pantheistic worldview. The one thing we don’t see is a story with a positive Christian role model or someone who believes the Bible. More often than not a religious person is depicted as phony or greedy or not that serious about his beliefs.

Speculative fiction might lead the way in showing this march toward life lived without thought of God. Stories largely reflect the values of society, and the violence, the sexual perversion, the preoccupation with pleasure, the absence of an emphasis on integrity are symptoms of what fuels real life.

So, I wonder, how can a Christian write well in this environment?

I don’t think writing a “beautiful” story is enough. The most obvious reason is that a story isn’t actually beautiful unless it deals with a large truth, a universal need. So we may think some stories are wonderful because they have a great plot and such engaging characters, but if they don’t also address something vital to the human condition, they fall short.

At the same time, stories that offer the gospel message, while truthful and absolutely accurate, may fall on deaf ears simply because readers can’t relate.

Over and over critics of Christian fiction remind us that stories are different from sermons, and they are. That doesn’t mean that stories should be silent about the most important things in life. Rather, stories are vital because they involve a reader’s emotions. In addition, stories can say in fresh ways what readers may have missed in more didactic formats.

Why is Christian story-telling fighting to find a place in the market?

I love many books by Christians, and a short glimpse at the Spec Faith library will show you that there’s no lack of titles available. I’ve edited some of these authors, I’ve reviewed a number of the books, I’ve read far more for pure enjoyment. But none of the recent sci-fi or fantasy titles are reaching “across the aisle” to the general market. Oh, sure, some might in small numbers, but I don’t see anything like the Left Behind phenomenon or the way The Shake captured readers.

I don’t know why Christian fiction can’t regularly be read widely, not because it’s theology is controversial, but because it’s just that compelling that readers talk about it and recommend it and get excited about it.

Some of the best books I’ve read come up short in some significant way: I’ve read some with characters that are forgettable; I’ve read others with convoluted plots; I’ve also read some that seem little more than frivolous; and yes, I’ve read some that are preachy.

What this boils down to, I think, is writers focusing on some aspects of fiction, but not on all parts. So you have some stories that have wonderful characters, but the action is episodic and doesn’t lead to a climactic conclusion. You can read a chapter, put the book down, even stop reading all together, because nothing is driving you to know what happens next.

Other books are action packed, and I find myself staying up late at night because I just can’t put the book down. But when I’m finished, I feel a little like “so what?” I don’t see how the protagonist made a distinct change or made his world better.

Above all, in some stories, I have to wonder in what ways they differ from what a non-Christian might have written.

I may not have said this before, but I think writing Christian fiction is one of the hardest things there is to do. How do we write well and remain faithful to the gospel message? How do entertain, and communicate the life-changing truth?

Half the battle is believing that Christian fiction should do more than “create art for art’s sake.” I don’t see that position in Scripture. Rather, I think a more accurate statement for the Christian is that we are to create art for God’s sake.

What that looks like in the end won’t be the same for any two books, not if done well. There simply is no formula. But if we Christians don’t use fiction to further the kingdom of God, we are cutting off one important communication tool.

I know that’s controversial. Just recently I heard another pastor on the radio disparaging “the arts” as a means of communicating the gospel. Certainly stories don’t replace sermons, but they can accomplish something sermons cannot, including reaching people who will not visit a church.

Of course, they won’t accomplish anything unless writers try.

Why Rick Created Froopyland: Exploring ‘Rick and Morty’

In ‘Rick and Morty’, Rick’s and Beth’s dysfunctional relationship ultimately leads to a twisted kind of love.
on Mar 9, 2018 · 2 comments

Last week I discussed the nihilistic view of the animated series, Rick and Morty. Through the use of a multiverse, the creators of the show attempt to tell us that humans are insignificant in the scheme of things. However, the creators state that instead of answering unanswerable questions, focus on the family.1

This article will discuss the dynamics of each member of the family and how they represent all of humanity. The way to show this is to understand one aspect of Rick’s self-importance: Rick believes he is god. As in, god of his own universe or any universe he comes across. Which, in the context of the show, may be true. All the Ricks of each universe did come together to form the Council of Ricks. As far as we know, no one else had done anything like this. There isn’t a Council of Beths, Jerrys (although there is a multiverse Jerry daycare) or Summer. As the god, everything is supposed to work according to the way he wants them to. This becomes important when we delve into his family and his relationships with each of them. In essence we’re asking, “How does Rick (the god) solve the problems of those living in his universe?

To really give context, we have to skip ahead to the third season. The third season of the show takes a weird turn, which, given the content of the show itself, says a lot.

In the episode entitled, “The ABC’s of Beth” we discover the world of Froopyland. Froopyland is an artificially generated world created by Rick Sanchez from a collapsed quantum tesseract sometime in the 1980s for his daughter, Beth. The weather is always perfectly sunny, the river is a literal rainbow of breathable water to prevent drowning, and all the ground surfaces are bouncy to protect against injury. There’s not a parent in the world who wouldn’t love a Froopyland for their own.

It goes downhill from there. Rick tells Beth he created it because Beth displayed psychotic tendencies as a child. Froopyland was not built out of love for his daughter but to protect the neighborhood from her. She asked Rick to create some devilish devices, including pink sentient pocket knife that talked and rainbow-colored duct tape.  More on that later.

A return visit to Froopyland is enacted when Beth hears about one of her childhood friend’s father is up for the death penalty because it was thought he ate his son Tommy. What had actually happened was that Beth had taken Tommy to Froopyland with her. Jealous of his loving relationship with his parents and that he had a Nintendo, she threw Tommy into a honey pit and left him there and he’s been all this time. Beth wants to right her wrong. When she and Rick arrive, they discover that Tommy has survived all these years by bestiality, incest, and cannibalism. (Trust me, that’s all you want to know.) Way to go, Froopyland.2

Tommy refuses to leave. Beth ends up killing Tommy, cloning him, and then using the clone as evidence to free his father from the death penalty at the last hour. She’d rather kill Tommy than say I’m sorry. Much like Rick refuses to admit his own failings.

In keeping with the analogy that Rick is god of his universe or any universe, then his relationship with each of his family members is affected by this thought. A deep look at these family members however, show they all embody the innate flaws of humanity.

Beth: Rick’s daughter, Morty’s and Summer’s mom, and Jerry’s wife

Rick abandoned her as a child. The abandonment a child feels from a parent, whether it’s a physical separation or mental distance, leaves deep scars on them. Beth wanted to be a doctor but when she got pregnant by Jerry with her daughter Summer, she felt as if she had to settle for less. She sees her occupation as a veterinarian who specializes in horse surgery as beneath her. For his part, Rick can’t stand Jerry. He sees him as a weak individual that people make excuses for. Yet, Beth ultimately still loves her husband. One has to wonder if Rick had been there in her life, would she had fallen for Jerry?

Summer: Beth and Jerry’s daughter, Morty’s sister, and Rick’s granddaughter

When she discovers she’s an unwanted pregnancy, it devastates her. Until that moment, she was like any other teenager (minus Rick Sanchez) who was concerned about her status with her peers, and seeking approval, liking boys and whatnot. She, just like her mom, adores her grandfather although he’s a sociopathic, alcoholic, brilliant scientist. Finding out an awful truth about yourself can be heart wrenching. In her case, she found her presence was never planned. Yet, due to Morty’s horrible advice, she just pushes it out the way.

Jerry: Beth’s husband, Morty and Summer’s dad, and Rick’s son-in-law

His insecurities abound in the series. He’s unemployed, his children don’t rely on them, his wife seems more obsessed with keeping her father in her life than him. Insecurity about one’s place in the world or where you fit in can cause its own chaotic, downward spin. Jerry is always trying to prove something to himself. Rick deliberately sabotages their marriage. When Jerry tells Beth to choose between her father or him, she ultimately chooses Rick and plans to divorce Jerry. Instead of standing up to the dominant force that is Rick, he bows out.

Morty: Jerry and Beth’s son, Summer’s brother and Rick’s grandson

He is influenced a lot by the people in his family but the one who affects him the most is his grandfather, Rick. In the presence of his grandfather, a larger than life figure, he is forced to go along with him on their adventures in the multiverse. According to Rick, the reason why they travel on their adventures together is because Morty is a ‘cloaking device’ in which ‘Morty waves’ cancel our Rick’s ‘genius waves’. So in other words, Rick is using Morty for his own purposes. Unlike the other members of the family, Morty accepts Rick’s flaws and understand how his grandfather’s mind works.

The god of this world

Now, we come to the heart of Rick, the god of this universe and any other he chooses to inhabit.

In the episode I mentioned earlier, Rick states:

A dad makes a toilet look like R2-D2, and it breaks the front page of Reddit, but I’m Charles Manson because I gave you your own world instead of an iPad.

This, of everything he has said and done, shows us the true heart of Rick Sanchez. He wants to fix everything. That’s why science appeals to him. The way he fixes things however, often leaves the family members more screwed up than before. (You should watch the episode of Morty’s Mind Blowers. When Morty does something completely devastating such as causing an innocent man to commit suicide, Rick simply removes the memory from Morty’s head. However, Morty never learns from his mistakes.)

For Beth, Rick doesn’t want to admit he screwed up her life by not being there. Instead, he wants to take over the family as the dominant member of the house. But when things get too emotional, he runs away.

For Morty, to get over his insecurity, Rick takes him along on his adventures. The kids at the school who seem cool can’t even begin to touch Morty’s experiences as he travels to different universes. However, Morty doesn’t get the chance to interact with his classmates. He can’t get a handle on his crush for pretty girl Jessica or learn how to just survive in his own world.

For Summer, Rick acknowledges her free will to be whoever she wants despite the fact she was an unwanted pregnancy. Yet, he tends to favor Morty over Summer.

For Jerry, he just wants to get rid of him. Despite Rick’s protestations and ridicule of marriage and commitment, he’s still ticked off Jerry got his daughter pregnant. To me, he’s never gotten over that. But he does admit Jerry loves Beth, even if it’s as a leech.

Fans of the show really believe that Rick created Froopyland to stave off Beth’s sociopathetic tendencies. I disagree. Rick created Froopyland because…he loves his daughter. He made it safe so that nothing could harm her. As a matter of fact, despite what the creators will tell you, Rick loves his family. Loves them insanely. Else, why would Rick and Morty go on adventures together? In every universe, Rick and Morty are together. Yet, when you adapt a nihilistic worldview, that love becomes a chain. Self-gratification cannot reign supreme when love is involved, even a twisted love like Rick Sanchez’s.

There’s one episode where Rick is being held captive by “Evil Rick” from the “evil dimension.” “Evil Rick” shows him glimpses of his Morty. As he taunts Rick with the images of Morty as an adolescent to a baby, Rick smiles. His eyes cease to have that blank stare or cynical expression. For a split second, Rick’s vulnerability is seen and the “Evil Rick” sees it, too.  In yet another episode, Rick and Morty go to a universe where they get “psychologically detoxed’ “In other words, the worst things about themselves – Rick’s coarse attitude and Morty’s low self-esteem – are stripped from them. These toxic entities become sentient. Morty’s low-esteem embodies his kindness. Rick’s arrogance embodies his attachments. When the detoxed Rick shoots the toxic Morty, toxic Rick jumps in the way to protect him. You don’t jump in the way of a person you hate. In anything, you throw them into the path of the bullet.

Unlike Rick’s godhood, the God of the Bible is not flawed. He does not run away from his responsibilities as Rick did with Beth. Instead of taking your mistakes from you, He gives you one life in order to learn along the way. Instead of trying to make you feel better that you’re not important, He gives you purpose. Your insecurities, He invites you to cast them onto His shoulders. Despite the fact I believe Rick created Froopyland out of love for Beth, at the end of the day, he only exacerbated the problem by simply putting a Band-aid on the lack of his presence.  The God of the Bible says that He will be with us always.

There’s a lot more to say about this show which appeals and repels me in equal parts. It’s a great way to study nihilism and what happens when you can’t escape your own shortcomings no matter how hard you try.

  1. Did anyone catch what I just did there? ? . ↩
  2. As a side note, when the show gets into how the bestiality happened in Froopyland, you gotta give it up for Darwinism in this respect—it doesn’t need a rational explanation. You accept it by faith. How it could happen makes no sense at all by any stretch of the imagination. ↩

What’s a Body to Do?

Just how important is an intact body?
on Mar 7, 2018 · 2 comments

In today’s social media-saturated world, people often bemoan our society’s obsession with the perfect body, especially on picture-heavy apps like Instagram and Pinterest. The truth is, the human race has always been obsessed with our bodies, and understandably so. Our bodies are the vessels of life on Earth and a good body usually means good genes which usually means better chances for survival and continuation of those genes. Infatuation with external appearances is just as prevalent in the animal kingdom among creatures in a particular state of mind. A good body is a highly desirable biological characteristic.

Mankind’s penchant for art, and more recently, photography has increased our corporeal awareness to nauseating proportions and has led to many destructive behaviors. Yet even if technology were suddenly done away with and we couldn’t scroll through Instagram to find inspiration for our next soon-to-fail yoga routine, we would still be consumed with how to look and feel good in our bodies.

Image copyright Netflix

Yet the body is not a trivial thing. God fashioned Adam and Eve with His own hands and in His own image, which strongly suggests that we look at least something like God. The Gospels, especially Matthew, gave keen attention to Jesus’ miracles of healing, not only as proof of His divinity, but also as a key component in the Kingdom of Heaven, which has no disease (Matthew 8:16-17). Our soul is what matters most but we are also meant to have healthy, beautiful bodies. This is just not possible in our fallen world but for those of us who have been saved, one day, this glorious hope will be realized.

I’ve been watching a grim yet intriguing show on Netflix called The Frankenstein Chronicles. I won’t go into the plot or character details but one thing that caught my attention is a group of supposed Christians who oppose the “anatomists,” doctors who use corpses for medical research. Their reasoning is that if the body is dismembered or destroyed, the dead won’t be able to join in the promise of the resurrection in the Last Days (1 Cor. 15:51-55). This is a very common sentiment throughout the ages of Christianity and is the grounds for which many people even today refuse cremation.

So just how important is an intact body? Obviously, the answer is “none at all.” How many Christians have died violent deaths and had their bodies utterly pulverized? Not only that, but think about the bodies of Christians that were neatly buried centuries ago. They are literally dust now. There is no symbolic significance of going into the grave whole so that one may come out of it in the same way. In 1 Cor. 15:50, Paul states that these frail mortal shells cannot inhabit the Kingdom of God. There is no need to worry about what state they are in because they are going to be totally done away with in the end.

Biblical promises about our bodies also give me comfort when I hear stories about people trying to upload their minds into computers in order to “live forever.” Heb. 9:27 says that “it is appointed for man to die once, and after to face judgment.” No one will live forever, even if a computer program mimics one’s personality. When the body dies, the soul will be judged, and if they are a believer, they will one day inherit a new and perfect body. That is the way God intended it from the beginning.

Our bodies do matter and we should take care of them, but we should also recognize that they will one day die and be replaced by something completely new. Personally, I’m okay with that. I mean, look at this place. Who would want to live forever?

Lorehaven Launch: Enter the Editor in Chief

Lorehaven launches its first magazine this spring. Get to know our ministry crew.
on Mar 6, 2018 · 2 comments
· Series:

Please pray for Lorehaven, the new magazine from several creatives at Speculative Faith.

This spring, we release our first issue. You can sign up and read it early.

Our mission: to find truth in fantastic stories, and find more readers who love them.

Our destination: any fan of these stories by Christian authors.

Our craft:

  1. More than a dozen reviews of new, amazing Christian fantasy novels.
  2. Help to join (or even start!) your own virtual or real-world book club.
  3. A cover story focusing on a top creator of Christian fantastical fiction.
  4. Articles to help Christian geeks and parents grow as fanservants.
  5. A scintillating Roundtable discussion on a controversial topic.
  6. Soar wide over the fascinating world of a particular story genre.
  7. Time-travel to the histories of God’s gift of amazing stories.

Our crew: to be announced, each week, in alphabetical order.

We’ll start with yours truly.

Name, role, and crew

E. Stephen Burnett is editor in chief of Lorehaven magazine.

He met his wife, Lacy, during his early work as moderator with the NarniaWeb online forum. They have been married since 2009 and now live near Austin, Texas.

Personal log

Stephen has written and edited in the field of community journalism for more than ten years. For other venues, he’s explored themes of biblical truth, fantastical stories, and popular culture. He does this at Speculative Faith (since 2007), Christ and Pop Culture (since 2013), and Christianity Today (2017).

Mission

Stephen began life in a Christian family—homeschooled, even—and is grateful for that grounding. He’s since found a spiritual home in Baptist churches, especially whose teachers preach expositionally (verse-by-verse) through God’s word. He and Lacy serve as members of Round Rock, Texas-based Southern Hills Baptist Church.

New worlds

Stephen enjoys stories foremost as a fan. He explores nonfiction books and podcasts about biblical doctrine and apologetics, classic fantasy novels and films (naturally, C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien), DC and Marvel superhero tales (he’ll heartily defend Batman v Superman), several anime series (such as One Piece and My Hero Academia), and a few video games.

Meanwhile, he applies these pursuits to creating new stories in many genres. One explores the near-future of Christians who recover the purpose of missions in a secular age. Another follows an elderly deacon whose life and family are upset by his journeys to the afterlife.

Home base

Stephen writes weekly articles at Speculative Faith (currently on Tuesdays). Expect to see more from him at Christ and Pop Culture and other sites, as soon as Lorehaven is launched.

Next week: enter the editor, Elijah David.

Click here to sign up. You’ll be the first to know when Lorehaven issue 1 hits the cyber-stands.

We Have A Winner—2018 Spec Faith Winter Writing Challenge

Again, thank you all for participating, and watch for Spec Faith’s Summer Writing Challenge later this year.
on Mar 5, 2018 · 5 comments

Congratulations to our 2018 Spec Faith Winter Writing Challenge winner:

Melinda K. Busch.

I’ll be contacting her privately about her prize. I honestly thought any of our four finalist might win, they were that good. And the close voting bears that out. So congratulations to the other three finalists for their excellent entries: Esther Brooksmith, J. L. Rowan, and M. A. Zeller.

Special thanks to all of you who participated. We had a great group of entries, more than last time, as I recall. It’s not easy putting your writing out there for others to read, especially when you have a limiting prompt and word count and you’re writing with a deadline. Thanks to each of the entrants for sharing their stories with us.

Also we wouldn’t have a contest without the visitors who commented and gave + votes during the first round. The comments in particular help us accomplish what this contest was created for—it gives writers feedback so they have an idea what readers think when they are engaged with your story or story fragment.

Finally, a hearty thank-you to those who voted in the poll to select the winner. Yes, we Spec Faith administrators and writers could serve as a judging panel, but I think the general reading public should be the ones to judge. We had a great turnout—the most voters we’ve had for our writing challenges throughout the years.

Contests like this are fun. The thing that continues to amaze me is how varied the stories are even though they all begin with the same first sentence. We had such a wide range of fantasy, science fiction, allegory, supernatural. That shows a lot of creativity.

For those who may have missed Melinda’s winning entry, here it is again:

By Melinda K. Buschr

Jenni fidgeted with her ring—the one only she could see—while she waited to hear the verdict.

The doctor sat behind his desk. His delicate fingers skimmed through pages of notes. “Ms. Lucien.” His words came in a sing-song as if he spoke to a small child. “You have one last chance to recant your claim to have sight. If you do this, I could discharge you immediately.”

She remained silent, staring at the ground. His empty eyes frightened her, almost made her wish she were still blind. But she could see. She had found the ring while feeling through her late grandmother’s possessions. When she slipped it on, the dark haze that had surrounded her since she could remember began to lift. Soon light flooded her consciousness, revealing a beautiful world. She shivered with delight at the memory of her first sight of a sunset, tendrils of colored clouds stretching across the sky.

When she did not respond, the doctor continued in his condescending tone. “Sight is a fairy tale, Ms. Lucien. If you will not recant, I can only conclude that you must be admitted for reprogramming.”

She twisted the ring and considered how to answer. To deny she could see would be a lie and Mother had taught her to value honesty; to speak the truth would doom her to remain a prisoner until she embraced darkness again.

Her decision made, she raised her head. Whatever may happen, she would rest on the truth. “I can see, Dr. Teneborn.” She slid the ring off her finger and let it clatter onto the desk. He felt for it and pulled it into his hand. “Put that on; see for yourself.”

He held it a moment, then set it back on the desk. “Foolishness,” he crooned, “to think a ring could grant sight. Do not fear, Child… we will cure you of your madness soon enough.”

– – – – –

Again, thank you all for participating, and watch for Spec Faith’s Summer Writing Challenge later this year.

Why Rick Killed King Jellybean: Exploring ‘Rick and Morty’

Parker J. Cole explores how “Rick and Morty,” a show about nothing, talks about everything.
on Mar 2, 2018 · 8 comments

I did not set out to watch the animated show, Rick and Morty. In fact, it was the furthest thing from my mind. However, when I happened to walk by the TV in the living room at home, I glanced at the screen to see what the hubby was watching. On the screen showed a young boy, about thirteen or fourteen years ago, about to get sexually assaulted by a blue jellybean in a men’s room.

“What in the world are you watching?” I asked hubby.

“It’s called, ‘Rick and Morty’. It’s a pretty good show.”

“But there’s an anthropomorphic jellybean about to rape—,oh wait. No, the boy is about to kick his tail.” And Morty, one of the main protagonists of series, did kick the jellybean’s tail.

So begins my entrance into this world of Rick and Morty. This post only touches on elements of the show that appealed to me. If you’d like to watch it, it’s on Adult Swim on Cartoon Network. There are currently three seasons with a fourth planned for 2019.

Multiverses and lovers

Rick and Morty follows the wanderings of a grandfather and his grandson. Throughout this series, Rick Sanchez, the brilliant, alcoholic, mad scientist who’s extremely selfish, egotistical, condescending, and obnoxious, travels on adventures through an infinitesimal number of universes with his grand-on, Morty Smith. He scorns anything about the divine. “There is no God, Morty. Let me rip off that Band-aid right now.” Marriage, compassion, and all things positive are all merely illusions of absolutely nothing. He’s all about himself.

Morty is the submissive part of this dynamic duo who succumbs to his grandfather’s demands. Sometimes he wants to do go along on the adventures but most times, he doesn’t. Interdimensional travel really affects his time at school. He has a crush on a girl at school name Jessica but he’s rarely there to ever make anything of it. However, over the course of three seasons, Morty tends to just go along with his grandfather. And who wouldn’t? Seeing and meeting yourself in different universes really isn’t something to be missed.

The show plays around a lot with the multiverse within a nihilistic, atheistic worldview. You’re never sure if the Rick and Morty you started off with in Season 1 is the same in Season 3. As a matter of fact, as I discuss later, you know at least Rick and Morty aren’t the same. And one has to admit the interesting stories that come into play as they travel. Each episode is self-contained pretty much although there are Easter eggs throughout the series.

The absurdity of the show is extreme at times. There’s one episode where Rick reunites with an ex-lover: a hive mind entity named Unity which takes control of the entire population of an alien planet. Rick has wild, sexual escapes with his ex-lover but his influence causes the entity to lose control of the enslaved population which results into a race war. As all the people on the planet are blue, the race war has to do with whether or not your chest is coned shaped or if you have rings. Summer, Morty’s sister who happened to come along with them on this adventure, states: “Why don’t you all know you’re both the same?” Morty replies, “First race war, huh?”

Yet, this sort of purposeless zaniness is, dare I say it, a charm of the show even though I disagree with its themes and philosophical bents. The characters, even the supporting characters, are all strange with their own oddities.

Nothing matters

According to the creators of the show, Rick and Morty: The series addresses the insignificance of human existence as compared to the size of the universe, with no recognizable divine presence, as described by Lovecraft’s philosophy of cosmicism.

“Co-creator Dan Harmon, talking about the philosophy guiding the show and Rick’s nihilistic apathy, stated that “the knowledge that nothing matters, while accurate, gets you nowhere.” To find a sense of purpose and live a better life, one needs to focus on human relationships and experiences, and not preoccupy our minds with unanswerable questions.”

This idea cannot be any clearer seen than in the episode entitled, “Rixty Minutes”.  In this particular episode, the entire gang, compliments of Rick’s brilliance, are able to watch Interdimensional TV – basically, viewing television programming across different realities. To illustrate, in one reality, corn evolved into sentience. So, for instance, they’re watching a police procedural with corn people.

Corn? Why not? It gets crazier than that but time won’t allow for all the various scenarios explored in this thirty-minute show.

Within this episode, Morty’s parents, Beth and Jerry, are able to view their alternative lives with interdimensional goggles. These are, of course, provided for by Rick. Beth, Morty’s mother, has a hang-up about being a horse doctor and not a “real” doctor. Jerry, is an insecure and unemployed husband. In their alternate lives, they see themselves as having achieved their goals. Beth, working on people. Jerry, a famous actor.

Summer, Morty’s sixteen-year-old sister, also attempts to view her alternate life through the goggles but can’t really see anything about herself. Come to find out, Summer is an unwanted pregnancy. Due to this, Beth and Jerry were unable to achieve their goals in life, or this dimension. As devastating as this is, as it would be to anyone, Summer threatens to leave the family. In fact, she’s packing in bags when Morty goes to her and tells her that he’s not really her Morty in this dimension. He’s a Morty from a different dimension that turned all the people into monsters. He and Rick packed up and moved to the dimension they’re currently in. While they were there, Summer’s Rick and Morty adverted the crisis that turned all the people in monsters in their reality only to be killed in an unexpected explosion in Rick’s lab. So, he and Rick buried their bodies on the lot next door.

After which Morty responds with this: “Nobody exists on purpose, nobody belongs anywhere, everybody’s gonna die. Come watch TV.” I’m not sure how but Beth finds this reassuring and she goes and watches TV with the family. More on this in a just a moment.

In the episode I referenced at the beginning of this post, where Morty almost gets sexually assaulted by the jellybean, called King Jellybean who is the ruler a village in the reality they are visiting, and loves children, Morty wanted to be a hero for a change instead of Rick. But then, when that whole assault thing happens, Morty, obviously shaken, comes out the bathroom and begs Rick to take him back home. Rick looks behind to see the battered form of King Jellybean but he doesn’t say anything.  At the end of the episode, as they are about to leave, King Jellybean, on his exalted chair is paraded on the shoulders of the villagers. Morty hurriedly tells Rick to get going. They open the portal to go back home. As they exit, Rick’s gun peeks out the portal and with a healthy laser blast, shoots and kills King Jellybean, spurting his insides all over the village.

As you can see, this show is not a feel-good show in any sense of the word. “The characters of the show find ways to deal with cosmic horror and existential dread, either by asserting the utility of science over magic or by choosing a life in ignorant bliss.”

Why care?

Many Christians, and theists for that matter, would postulate the idea that a multiple universe, realities, and etc., would point to signs of a Creator. Although I do not believe a multiverse exists, I’m not completely against the idea because it would still have to come from the mind of our Creator, the God of the Bible. What the creators of the show want to show is that nothing matters. We’re not important. Dealing with tragedy and difficult situations have to be dealt with by either acknowledging our lives have little meaning or that in a different reality, your choices would be different and it wouldn’t matter in that world either. Instead of showing the awesomeness of a God who can create the complexities of a multiverse, instead, through nihilistic existentialism, they say, “See, there are a million of you in different realities. Who cares?”

In fact, as a viewer, you discover that all the Ricks in all the various realities got together and created the Citadel of Ricks. It is an entire planet (I think) of Ricks and Morties. I’ll explore this interesting part of the series in a later post but suffice to say, no matter which universe you enter, Rick and Morty are together. Rick has made much of how insignificance each of his family members are, including himself.

But, the oxymoron of the show is this: if nothing we care about matters, if we’re not to answer the unanswerable questions of life, if we’re only mere accidents, why did Rick kill King Jellybean? So what if his fourteen year old grandson was about to be raped? Who cares? Oftentimes throughout the show, Rick dismisses Morty’s concerns but in this regard, Rick responded by killing King Jellybean. Later on, in the post credit scene (which happens every episode) a couple of villagers discover pictures in King Jellybean’s house implying he molested other children. They decide to burn the pictures and leave his image, a stone statute of a smiling King Jellybean with a child by his side, and not let the other villagers know of his true nature.

Further, in the episode where with the hive mind loses her influence over the planet, she decides that Rick is a bad influence and leaves him. Rick, in despair, attempts to commit suicide but fails. Again, the question is this: why does this relationship matter if nothing matters? Why didn’t Rick simply say, “I’ll go to another universe and find you again.” The reason why is because the nihilistic worldview of the show fall under scrutiny. If human existence is peanuts, then what does it matter about family? Why care that your grandson was almost raped by a jellybean? Why be bothered by the loss of a lover? Because at the end of the day, no matter what the creators of the show wish to propagate, everyone matters and we’re all unique.

In the second article about the show, I’ll explore the dysfunctional family unit of Rick and Morty. Believe me, there’s a lot more to this family than what meets the eye.

What Aliens Teach Us About God, part 8: Why Should I Care?

Christians are ambassadors to a world that longs to find feelings of transcendence in the concept of aliens.
on Mar 1, 2018 · 3 comments
· Series:

“So what?” a practical-minded Christian might say about the series of What Aliens Teach Us About God. “Talking about how aliens are like God and at the same time a substitute for God, what good is that information? What can I do with it?”

Nerds like me and presumably other readers of Speculative Faith love knowledge for its own sake, so we might find the “so what?” question upsetting. “Because knowing is cool. And fun. And awesome!” we might instinctively reply.

But the practical-minded person isn’t entirely wrong. Knowledge should not be limited to “awesome.” It should also be useful.

So how do we use the information this series discussed?

Before we answer that question, let’s review a bit:

  • Part 1 introduced the topic of this series and talked about fictional aliens who are essentially human beings in space (with relatively minor changes).
  • Part 2 talked about the times science fiction manages to make aliens who are truly very different from humans, who at least a little bit mirror the transcendent nature of God.
  • Part 3 was about being in the image of God–that it does not mean God is just like us. (The transcendent God mostly isn’t like us.)
  • Part 4 looked at “ancient aliens” and found that such aliens were often seen as being “essentially humans beings in space” in the past, though at the same time have been offered as a means to explain events in humanity’s legends and origins.
  • Part 5 looked at people abducted by UFOs and noticed how different these reports are from fictional aliens–such meetings are in fact more like hauntings and seem to be the work of dark spiritual powers, at least at times.
  • Part 6 talked about how the search for intelligent life and the deep longing some people feel to meet aliens, coupled with their belief that meeting aliens would very much help the human race, is really a misapplied longing for the transcendence of God.
  • Part 7 was on how people who long to meet aliens actual do hope to find something greater than “essentially human beings in space”–they long for transcendence–but reject the transcendence of God as too intrusive.

Can you see from the above summary that our culture is dropping aliens into the human natural desire for transcendence?

Some people feel that aliens are responsible for the awe-inspiring legends of our past. Some seek to meet aliens in the future as a means of transforming our race into a version of us they believe would be better. Some consider the idea of an “empty” universe, one without aliens, with horror–they deeply long to meet something “out there” (but the universe is not empty, since God permeates all space). Some say they are meeting these aliens now, but what they report are mostly horrific accounts that fall in line with being psychologically disturbed and/or under demonic oppression.

The practical-minded Christian perhaps might recoil in shock at this point. He or she might think that the entire topic of aliens ought to be avoided by Christians, because it’s evident that many concepts people have about aliens–and especially those who say they’re meeting aliens now–are falling for a ploy of our spiritual enemy (if you need me to spell out who that is, it’s S A T A N).

Well–such a thought isn’t entirely wrong. We can see that aliens can be a tool of our enemy, so we should be alert to that idea when we see aliens portrayed in films and other media. Being forewarned is a good thing–it helps us not to fall into foolish or ungodly thinking.

But this series isn’t just about providing a warning. Not even close.

I would say that the current obsession with aliens is an opportunity for Christians. A big opportunity.

It’s a chance to talk about our big, awesome, transcendent God. While some people may long for the “human touch” Jesus provided, others are showing through their interest in aliens that they are hungry for the transcendent God, the God different from us, the God we call call with total justification, the alien God (provided you understand what we mean by “alien”).

For those of us who are ambassadors for Christ, who should “be all things to all people” (I Cor. 9:22)–we ought to preach to those longing to hear more about Jesus what they long to hear–but those substituting aliens in the places that belong to God ought to be told that our God is not an old man sitting on a throne in the sky. He is beyond our understanding; his presence fills the universe; he is in everything, yet separate from all else other than himself; he is without the need of an origin and has no natural end. God is the master of time and space, the creator of quantum mechanics and all the other mind-boggling aspects of nature–he is the Transcendent One.

From Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam

God is who you are longing for, oh star gazer looking into the depths of space with a sense of anguish at the thought we humans might be alone in this vast universe. We are not alone. God is both there and here.

While we humans in fact have applied our imaginations in trying to understand and even to portray God, God is not a product of our imaginations. Michelangelo used his imagination to portray God as an man in the heavens–in this he was wrong. Human physical form is not actually part of the nature of God.

But Michelangelo’s masterpiece got one thing exactly right: The hand reaching out from God to Adam. God does reach out to human beings as we are. We cannot help but misunderstand him to a degree, but he nonetheless cares for us–and further, oddly enough, he sends human beings as witnesses of who he is.

Yes, practical-minded Christian, be alert to dangers involved with false ideas about aliens. But also be aware of the opportunity. People long for that which is alien because they’re seeking a transcendence that can be found in our God, a being truly alien to us. Without attacking their interest in aliens, we need to let them know who is the alien they actually are looking for, the being who they are in fact ignorantly seeking.

We ambassadors for Christ need to tell this to the world that in a way they will hear and understand. That’s why we should care.

Readers of this series, please share any thoughts or questions you may have on this post and this entire series. Please comment especially if you feel this series could have added something else or should have perhaps taken a different approach at some point. I’m keenly interested in your thoughts on how to improve upon what I’ve said here (I believe I’ll write a book on this topic in the future, God willing).

In Praise of Short Stories

While stories grow longer and longer, I want to speak a word in praise of short stories.
on Feb 28, 2018 · 10 comments

There was a time when the world abounded with short stories. Great authors wrote brief masterpieces, securing their places in literary history and in English courses throughout North America; great books were introduced to the world as serialized novels. The mediocre and the obscure – overlapping but not homogeneous groups – found their footing in pulp magazines, making their appeal to niche markets.

But the short story faded. The magazines were mostly shut down, the new great authors wrote long masterpieces, and novels were published all at once. Established authors might get their short stories published in anthologies or – especially if the story was about Christmas – in little hardbacks with trite Hallmark illustrations meant to justify charging readers fifteen bucks for a crummy twenty thousand words. (They didn’t.) But the days when writers could make their fame or living by short stories were over.

Now novels are, more and more frequently, simply one part of a book series, as movies are one part of a franchise. So while stories grow longer and longer, I want to speak a word in praise of short stories. For years I’ve been making my way through the sci-fi short story collections on Librivox. I didn’t begin with any real appreciation of short stories, but I learned it. I learned to see what advantages short stories uniquely possess.

Ideas and styles that aren’t suited to long works find expression in short stories. Such ideas and styles aren’t inherently worse, but they are different. “Ask a Foolish Question” tells a sci-fi story in a fairy-tale form and it is entrancing, but it would grow awfully thin stretched out to three hundred pages. This story is devoted to a single thought, profound though melancholy, that our trouble isn’t that we don’t know the answer; it’s that we don’t know the question. No novel can be built on a single thought, because one thought just doesn’t go far enough. But short stories can be, and that is one of their noblest functions: to catch those stray ideas or images that would otherwise just drift away.

Short stories are also the playground of an old game in science fiction: trick the readers with their own assumptions. Here is how it is played: First, center the story around a classic conflict but hide one basic, vital fact; trust that the audience will automatically complete the picture with some natural assumption, and it will be wrong; write the story in a way that supports the readers’ misperception without truly affirming it; at the end, reveal the truth.

This game, difficult to sustain for very long, is really only suited to the format of short stories, and even there writers commonly lose. Readers learn to play, too. “Rough Beast” and “Runaway” attempt the game, if you want to see it done. (“Runaway” sort of devastated me; I mean this as a warning, but I know it just makes you want to read it more.)

Finally, short stories require only a minor investment of time. They don’t take the commitment that novels do, or incur an equal cost when they’re not worth it. That frees you to be less selective and more adventurous in your reading. You may even discover stories of poor quality that have, among all the chaff, a valuable kernel of wheat. I have read short stories that, for all their deficiencies, had an image or an idea that stayed with me.

Short stories have to know their end and pursue it with devotion; where they don’t have time for depth they must compensate with color. The difference between short stories and novels is not only length; short stories are not simply less. They are their own art form, and I say – bring them back.

Billy Graham is Home, but Not Home Yet

Billy Graham wasn’t just passing through this world. He will return to stay, just like Jesus will.
on Feb 27, 2018 · 5 comments

Billy Graham has died.

We all heard the Feb. 21 news and most of us posted the many articles, like this one.

Graham died old and full of years. Most of those years he spent overtly preaching the gospel. This is not social or political causes, not religious morality, but the pure and simple gospel.

This is the core of Christianity.

This is the message Jesus Christ himself came to teach directly and tell stories about, and then to live, die, and resurrect to secure: the fact that God is good, humans are evil, and we’re made to be loved by God, so we must repent of our evil and receive saving grace through Jesus Christ, God’s son.1

They don’t make book covers like they made ’em in the ’70s. Rejoice.

Graham also wrote plenty of books on Christian topics. I recall reading only one, the blessedly thriller-movie-esque-titled Angels: God’s Secret Agents (1975). I don’t remember much about it, just as I don’t remember much, if any, of Graham’s overt influence in my life.

Rather, Graham’s influence has been subtle. It’s the kind of sway you sense is behind a lot of your life and society. If not for Graham, we probably wouldn’t have a lot of the Christian gifts we take for granted: evangelical subculture, for all its faults; multiple denominations of churches, aided by Graham’s popularity; and Christian media, including the Graham-founded Christianity Today magazine.

Without Graham helping to build Christian culture in the U.S., we would likely not have most of modern Christian-made fantasy, such as Frank Peretti’s novels about “God’s secret agents.”

Since last week, we’ve seen many more written and video testimonies from people who received salvation in Jesus thanks to the Holy Spirit’s work through Graham’s ministry.

We’ve also seen many memes with Graham’s quote(s) about how he anticipates Heaven.2 And indeed, Heaven is where Billy Graham is today. For every Christian, Heaven is our eternal home. Or our eternal Home, capitalized, as many Christians do when they’re trying to get poetical about eternity. As in: she’s gone Home. Or: today all the suffering makes me long for Home.

And yet: is that the end of Billy Graham’s story? Does he go up/over/across to Heaven, just as all Christian do after death, and then that’s it? No further action? No developments?

Was Graham right to say: “My home is in heaven. I’m just passing through this world”?

Or when he said, “This world is not our home; our citizenship is in heaven”?

Or when he said, “Someday you will read or hear that Billy Graham is dead. Don’t you believe a word of it. I shall be more alive than I am now. I will just have changed my address. I will have gone into the presence of God”?3

I must contend the Bible actually presents two equal and glorious truths:

  1. Right now, a home in Heaven is so perfect, in Jesus’s presence, that nothing is better.
  2. In the future, Heaven will get better anyway (and will even unite with this world).

Scriptural evidence for each statement is bountiful, but I’ll overview just a few verses.

First, near the Bible’s end, it’s clear that in some sense, even people who have died and gone to Heaven have been awaiting something—the fulfillment of God’s promise to avenge evil on Earth. In some way, they’re aware of events. In some way, they “lack” this resolution:

When he [the Lamb, a symbol of Jesus] opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne. They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.

(Revelation. 6:9–11)

This cry of “O Sovereign Lord … how long … ?” echoes from the Psalmists and prophets of the Old Testament. Somehow, even in the paradise of Heaven, near God’s very throne, these souls are on the edge of their seats. They can’t wait for the end to this plot thread. In fact, for them this unresolved story is personal, because they themselves were martyred on Earth.4

But isn’t Revelation only symbolic? Yes/no/kind of/depends?

Working backward, we find the apostle Paul being even clearer in a genre form that isn’t mixed with apocalyptic images: didactic, apostolic teaching. Paul says:

For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.

(2 Corinthians 5:1–5)

Comparing Paul here with his own words of 1 Corinthians 15, we see that he’s talking about physical resurrection. That’s the biblical Christian belief that people don’t just die, leave their bodies, and go to Heaven as souls. Each one is destined to reunite with that same physical body, only Spirit-upgraded, which the apostle Paul calls a “spiritual body” (1 Cor. 15:44). Here, Paul says if your earthly “tent” or home (that is, your body) is destroyed, we don’t look forward to being “naked” in Heaven (that is, without a body). Instead, we want to be further clothed—a reference to the super-embodiment of resurrection.

Here we see this again: Yes, Heaven now is incredible. Even if we don’t have a body, we’re present with the Lord, and that is “far better” (Phil. 1:23). But that’s not the fixed nature of Heaven. We’re not fully home yet, unless we are “further clothed” in resurrected bodies.

Jesus himself exists in Heaven, still the God-Man, still with his same, eternal resurrection body. So we know these can exist in Heaven. But God’s word also promises that Heaven itself is due for a supernatural upgrade, a kind of “resurrection” (though clearly without death that precedes resurrection). In fact, the Earth itself will “die” and yet not be forever obliterated any more than a human being would be obliterated. Again, Paul explains:

… For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (ESV)

(Romans 8:19–23; emphases added)

Here the apostle is clear: “the creation … the creation … the creation itself” awaits its freedom, in the exact way God’s people await “the redemption of our bodies,” that is, physical resurrection. If we die, so does creation. If we live again, so does creation.

Compare that with Isaiah 65’s promises of a “New Heaven and New Earth,” coupled with Revelation 21’s echo of this same phrase and glorious fulfillment under King Jesus, then the fact becomes clear: though Heaven is amazing, Heaven isn’t even in its final form. Heaven will morph—be supernaturally changed—blended, united, with this very renewed universe, “the creation itself.” This will make the true, eternal Home of New Heavens and New Earth.

That means we can say “our citizenship is not in the world,” if by this world we mean this present, sinful, groaning age. But we can also say “our citizenship is in this world,” if by this world we mean a physical, beautiful and good universe, wholly renewed by King Jesus.

And then, by the way, we can explore possible answers to questions like “could animals, including dead pets, go to Heaven?” or, “will we eat in Heaven?” or one of my favorites, “can we have amazing stories in Heaven?” If by “Heaven” we mean today’s Heaven, the jury’s still out. But things are slightly more definitive for New Heavens and New Earth.

That’s why I say that yes, Billy Graham is already home. He’s home in Heaven today, worshiping Jesus and meeting the many people he’s helped bring there. That is amazing.

Divine plot twist: Billy Graham will return.

But Billy Graham is still not yet home. Billy Graham wasn’t just passing through this world and his citizenship isn’t just in an out-there Heaven that will never get better. In fact, he will return, just like Jesus will return. He’ll land back on this world—a new Billy Graham for a New Earth. He’ll change his address again! He’ll be re-embodied, looking like those photos we’ve seen, but surely full of more energy and youth and age-wisdom than ever before.

And if you believe in the Jesus whom Billy Graham loved, and the gospel Billy Graham lived to preach, then someday you can also land on New Earth with that same crowd of saints. You can live forever in this heavenly paradise, where we can live, love, sing, create, work, and go on adventures beyond our wildest dreams, all for the glory and honor of King Jesus.

  1. This biblical gospel leads to plenty more fruits, including certain social pursuits, a Christ-centered view of all things, and plenty about Jesus’s continuing work through his ambassadors in the church. ↩
  2. Contrary to several style guides, I’ll capitalize the term Heaven, the same as New Earth, just as I would capitalize any other proper-noun-place name. Credit to Randy Alcorn, author of Heaven, for this seemingly self-evident style choice. ↩
  3. It turns out Graham actually modernized this quote from his predecessor evangelist, D. L. Moody. ↩
  4. This text also hints at several myths we believe about the present-day Heaven: First, that people there have their memories erased, or erased about evil deeds. Second, that knowing about evil would somehow “taint” their positive eternal experience. Third, that Heaven is essentially timeless, whereas here events happen in sequence: a seal unopened and then opened, then souls cry out, then they’re asked to wait longer—a clear time reference—until God’s plan to “complete” this number of martyrs is finished. ↩

Finalists – 2018 Spec Faith Winter Writing Challenge

Those who vote in the poll, please be sure you read all the finalist entries and give a fair assessment.
on Feb 26, 2018 · Off
· Series:

Time to announce our finalists! Just a reminder. This is NOT a popularity contest. We really do want to acknowledge writers who have honed their skills and demonstrated their ability in this little exercise. So, those who vote in the poll, please be sure you read all the finalist entries and give a fair assessment.

Also, I want to give special thanks to all who entered this year’s winter writing challenge and all who gave their feedback in the preliminary round. Your feedback is invaluable.

Because we had two ties, we have four entries that made the finals this year, based on visitor responses over these past two weeks. I hope the writing challenge has encouraged and inspired all the writers.

So here, in alphabetical order by last name, are your 2018 Spec Faith Winter Writing Challenge finalists:

  • Esther Brooksmith
  • Melinda K. Busch
  • J. L. Rowan.
  • M. A. Zeller

All that’s left is to select the winner, and that’s in your hands. Choose from these finalists and vote in the poll at the end of this post for the one entry you think is best.

The entry receiving the most votes will be the winner, and the author will receive a $25 e-gift card from either Amazon or B&N. (In case of a tie, I’ll draw for the winner).

Voting will last until midnight (Pacific time), Sunday, March 4.

And now the finalists’ entries:

By Esther Brooksmith

Jenni fidgeted with her ring – the one only she could see – while she waited to hear the verdict.

“You are quite certain there is a garnet ring on your finger?” Ian’s feet were planted firmly on the ground in a no -nonsense manner.

Jenni nodded. “With inscriptions that I can’t read.”

Galin shifted his weight, unable to hold still when invisible rings were at stake. “Epic!”

“And you want us to follow you into another world to return it?” A serious expression masked Ian’s thoughts from Jenni.

“I didn’t mean to take it. The girl handed it to me…and then these crazy warriors were chasing me…and I sort of tumbled back through the portal.” Jenni shuddered. “I’d take it back myself, but I…”

Ian sighed and looked at Galin. “She wants bodyguards.”

“Yes! So we’re going, right?” Galin pulled a battle axe from his belt, the one that he used in re-enactments and role-playing games.

“This isn’t a game, Galin. We don’t know what could happen in there.” Ian took a deep breath. “You have to think about what you are leaving behind.”

Galin shrugged. “College finals?” He waved his axe in the air. “I’ve got my axe. You’ve got your sword. What’s the worst that could happen?”

Jenni and Ian looked at each other.

“Don’t answer that,” Jenni ordered.

Ian shook his head, looking from Jenni to Galin to the sky and back to Jenni again. “Okay. Let’s do it.”

“Rrrrahhhhh!” Galin shouted. “We’re going to rock their world!!!”

“But…” Ian held up a finger. “We’re just returning the ring and then leaving, right?”

“Right.” Jenni and Galin agreed.

Jenni fingered the ring again. How hard could it be?

– – – – –

By Melinda K. Busch

Jenni fidgeted with her ring—the one only she could see—while she waited to hear the verdict.

The doctor sat behind his desk. His delicate fingers skimmed through pages of notes. “Ms. Lucien.” His words came in a sing-song as if he spoke to a small child. “You have one last chance to recant your claim to have sight. If you do this, I could discharge you immediately.”

She remained silent, staring at the ground. His empty eyes frightened her, almost made her wish she were still blind. But she could see. She had found the ring while feeling through her late grandmother’s possessions. When she slipped it on, the dark haze that had surrounded her since she could remember began to lift. Soon light flooded her consciousness, revealing a beautiful world. She shivered with delight at the memory of her first sight of a sunset, tendrils of colored clouds stretching across the sky.

When she did not respond, the doctor continued in his condescending tone. “Sight is a fairy tale, Ms. Lucien. If you will not recant, I can only conclude that you must be admitted for reprogramming.”

She twisted the ring and considered how to answer. To deny she could see would be a lie and Mother had taught her to value honesty; to speak the truth would doom her to remain a prisoner until she embraced darkness again.

Her decision made, she raised her head. Whatever may happen, she would rest on the truth. “I can see, Dr. Teneborn.” She slid the ring off her finger and let it clatter onto the desk. He felt for it and pulled it into his hand. “Put that on; see for yourself.”

He held it a moment, then set it back on the desk. “Foolishness,” he crooned, “to think a ring could grant sight. Do not fear, Child… we will cure you of your madness soon enough.”

– – – – –

By J. L. Rowan

Jenni fidgeted with her ring—the one only she could see—while she waited to hear the verdict. The foreign silver burned cold against her skin. She couldn’t read the strange, scarlet etchings that decorated the band, but she knew by heart the poesy inscribed within. Long ago, a mysterious jongleur from a far-off land had given her the ring, admonishing her to use it well.

And so she had. She feared this time would prove no exception.

For twenty years, she had dispensed the Lady’s justice as Temple representative to the various shire courts. She adjudicated most cases brought before her, but where guilt required death, the shire councils determined the verdict.

She glanced at the defendant, Collan, a forger by trade, accused of a series of murders he could not have committed. Slow of mind and tongue, he had not the sophistication to slay by furtive poison. Nor did he have motive, but frightened and angry, the village had turned upon its newest member, the one unlike them, the one most readily blamed. Human justice was not always wise or fair.

She rose as the council returned. “What say you?”

“Guilty.”

Of course. She beckoned for Collan to approach. She took his hands and pronounced the necessary sentence, slipping the unseen ring onto his finger. As the guards led him away, she whispered the poesy. In a flash of light, he vanished, and the ring returned to her finger.

Cries of alarm filled the courtroom as council and villagers alike scattered—some in fear, some to search for Collan. They would not find him, securely kept as he was within the ring’s etchings, but she played her part and commanded pursuit. In the days to come, she would find a new home for Collan, one that would offer welcome.

She brushed her thumb over the ring. Rest, dear one. You’re safe now.

– – – – –

By M. A. Zeller

Jenni fidgeted with her ring – the one only she could see – while she waited to hear the verdict. Surely her ward, Meeka, would not be chosen. But as the clan leader’s voice rumbled like thunder throughout the room, the slight hope Jenni had clung to was destroyed.

Her breathing stalled as Meeka, along with four other gifted, were selected. A bitter taste flooded Jenni’s mouth at the thought of their lives being sacrificed in the Eastern War. “No!” she cried, her words pushed from her mouth by the panic rising within her. Her plea shattered the silence that had fallen after the clan leader’s grim announcement.

“Who are you to object?” the clan leader thundered. His voice carried an ominous tone laden with currents of anger.

Jenni drew herself up in defiance of the oppressive tension that filled the room. “I will go in Meeka’s place. Her gift has not matured enough for her to be sent to war. It would be suicide.” Her voice, although heavy with desperation, seemed suspended in air.

“You?” the clan leader did nothing to hide his derisive snort as the other villagers muttered amongst themselves. “You are blind and ungifted, and would only be a hindrance. What could you possible add to this mission?”

The ring’s surface was smooth under Jenni’s fingers as tendrils of worry squeezed her throat. If unveiling her long-kept secret ensured Meeka’s safety, then so be it. “I am blind,” she heard herself say, “But I can see what no one else can.”

“That is like saying that the easterners are not threatening our lives,” the clan leader scoffed. “What sort of fool are you, woman?”

Jenni grimaced. It was only because of the ring that she could see the darkness that consumed hearts. Drawing in a breath that tasted like dirt and stale sweat, she whispered, “I can see the very presence of evil.”

– – – – –

Be sure to share this post and poll with your friends and family, your Google+ circles and your Pinterest people, your Facebook friends and Twitter followers. The more voters, the better. And now, your vote:

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