Parts of Speaking Publishing

 This may be a three-parter. I am fascinated by speculative fiction of a certain type. I would call it Twilight Zone-based. I love the Twilight Zone when I was a child and it imprinted on me. I have not watched many of the episodes now on YouTube, but I remember many of them. The basic aesthetic of a normal person all of the sudden caught in a nightmare world has a lot of possibilities. I have written some short fiction of that ilk myself. One day I need to collect them and self-publish them. I do not want to send stories to contests (costs) or to magazines. People can read them if they want. Perhaps I will start to post them here.  Anyway, "speculative fiction," according to the all-knowing Wikipedia, citing the Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Literature, is an  umbrella   genre  of  fiction  that encompasses all the  subgenres  that depart from  realism , or strictly imitating everyday  reality , instead presenting  fantastic...

 Yesterday we celebrated the second birthday of my grandchild. I do not post anything, especially photos, of my grandchild on social media or the Internet. Her mother does, but I will not do that.  Things I'm thinking about today.  Will there be another revolution in Iran? I hope so, except that is easy for me to say. Revolution means people die and there is a risk factor--very large--about who will take over. I definitely would not want Donald Trump to! The Iranian people are suffering from oppression and from economic default.  My prayer is that they regain their human rights, first, then their resource-rich land can be used properly for their benefit, and third, the gospel can flourish there. I want the same for Turkey, which is nowhere in the position of Iran but could use new leadership. The Turkish people did not strike me as happy, but somewhat scared, definitely unfulfilled.  From sources I read, the Ayatollah has a ticket to ride, probably to Moscow, wh...

He posted this on Facebook, so I figure it's fair game to post here. This writer is Billy Graham's ex-son-in-law, and as he mentions here, also committed adultery, which he owns. I appreciate his words, but I still find the hypocrisy of Yancey speaking and writing while being in the affair to be . . . I can't say unforgivable, but disqualifying. Why didn't he believe what he wrote? Did he write to convince himself, or just to make money? I'm a cynic, I suppose. I've seen too much of this in my life. Addendum: I am glad to see Tchividjian being called out for this post. Others perceive it to be "too soft on sin," especially the comment we are all three days away from an affair. Ed Stetzer's editorial is better--it gives godly advice on preventing sinful patterns. TT's comments seem to say we don't know ourselves well enough and that's why we judge PY. This is very close to an "everyone is doing it" argument or "everyone is...

1. Still mad; maybe a tad more merciful and understanding, but still mad at him and the system that does not hold celebrity voices in the church accountable. However, Yancey would probably say he was a journalist and not a theologian or preacher/pastor. No matter; he purported to interpret the Bible and the faith for readers.  2. I recall that his last book was about his mother, brother, father's death, and hard upbringing in the fundamentalist subculture. It was heartfelt. Many of us can relate to such stories, such truths. I have struggled to shake off those fundamentalist teachings and really, those burdens. They hang like scales on our eyes, affecting our sight; they stay like a parasitic voice that says "judge first; look for sin; blame yourself because you must be wrong; don't stop working; all that matters is ministry, gospel, the Bible, service, church." They tell us to love but only parts of people, not their wholeness. It cuts us off from humanity.  3. But w...

About the news of Philip Yancey's affair of eight years with a married woman, during which time he wrote and spoke as if credible and walking with God. I have several of his books and benefited from his work. He has made a lot of money by hypocrisy.  This is about the same as the Ravi Zacharias debacle. Well, not quite as bad. Celebrity is a sin in the church. Being unknown is better. I want to write and be read. I just watched a video on how to be more famous for writing, so I am part of the problem.  God has a different plan.  

1. That the millions of exiled/refugee Venezuelans can go back to their homeland. For their sakes, not ours.  2. That the government that is ELECTED (not installed) there can protect human rights, including private property, election laws, freedom of expression, and rule of law.  3. That no lives are lost in a war against . . . well, whom? It's not clear who the potential "enemy" or opponents to the U.S. would be, but that doesn't mean there is none.  4. That no lives are lost in a Civil War between Venezuelans. 5. That this was not something Trump just thought of Friday but something that has been in the works a while. It appears that Maduro accepted it although I am sure he will fight jail. Everyone would.   6. One might also hope for a non-nationalized oil industry, but that is another matter. The people should be able to benefit from their resources; we do here, indirectly (lower oil prices). In Alaska the citizens get money from the oil industry. A few peop...