Fiction reading

[HisFirst]

On 7/31/2018 at 12:46 PM, John_Leung said:

Hi, Which specific genre of fiction, if any, are you referring to?

I read and write Christian fiction. Most of the Christian novels I've read are about lack of faith in God to overcome life's biggest hurdles or past guilts. The stories I've written are mostly based on my personal experience with God or church life.  

Hi JohnL,

I'm not a fan of fantasy, sci fi, anything alien related ...

I used to read a lot of Wilbur Smith.

I have never read any Christian fiction at all, so can't comment on that.

 

Edited August 1, 2018 by HisFirst

[Willie T]

29 minutes ago, HisFirst said:

*Regarding parables - "The Good Samaritan", I believe actually occurred. 

The Samaritans were a despised group, Jesus is responding to an intellectual, I'd say there were hard nuts to crack in the " audience", so a mere feel good story would not suffice, but an actual event that was out of the ordinary( a Samaritan helping an Israelite). Thus scenario of an actual event would hold more weight with thinking people.  That is my honest opinion.

Jesus then directs to "Go and do likewise." 

Did you read Luke 10, all the way from verse 25, and see the transition into a parable being told by Jesus (verse 29) in reply to being asked, "Who is my neighbor?"

And then did you read in verse 36, what Jesus asked the man trying to trick Him up, about which passer-by he would consider the wounnded man's neighbor?

I feel it was purely a hypothetical parable to do as you said, make them all think about the "what if" situation He painted in their minds.

Edited August 1, 2018 by Willie T

[warrior12]

In His Steps is a best-selling religious fiction novel written by Charles Monroe Sheldon. First published in 1896, the book has sold more than 30,000,000 copies, and ranks as one of the best-selling books of all time. The full title of the book is In His Steps: What Would Jesus Do?.

I have not read fiction since my teen years when my father use to read western novels to past his time at work.  I would browse through them when we went through his bag for the goodies that he would leave there for us.  I really enjoyed those westerns by Louis L'Amour.  When I got saved, then all fiction went out the door because the spiritual world opened up before me like nothing I ever imagined before and still continues till this day.   In my search for christian  literature, I cam across the book titled above and I liked it much.

But now it is mostly with the reality of things around me and since my employment is around electronics, it has always fascinated my very limited mind as to how men could put together discreet things into complex products.  I find that I use my mind instead to be inventive in solving everyday problems around the home and things that annoys, that can be made simpler.  

And as I get older too, the materialistic side of things just seem to wane and is mindful of  the teachings of the word about where our treasures should lie.  

Anyone knows how to sharpen a knife and keep it sharp in the kitchen ???.   I mean really sharp that makes doing the chores a breeze.

Edited August 1, 2018 by warrior12

[HisFirst]

12 hours ago, Willie T said:

Did you read Luke 10, all the way from verse 25, and see the transition into a parable being told by Jesus (verse 29) in reply to being asked, "Who is my neighbor?"

And then did you read in verse 36, what Jesus asked the man trying to trick Him up, about which passer-by he would consider the wounnded man's neighbor?

I feel it was purely a hypothetical parable to do as you said, make them all think about the "what if" situation He painted in their minds.

Hi WT,

Yes I have read it all and I feel with the wording surrounding it suggests it was an actual situation that took place. I could be 100% incorrect - I'm no theologian just a woman who does private Bible study on my bed during my quiet time!!

I'm thinking along the lines that if a sentence starts or has in it , " there was a  certain man, woman, child etc", the word certain suggests a real happening.

As I said, I could be entirely wrong.

....but for lawyers and more learned people back then, (and the Samaritans having been  looked down upon then), to me, a real event would be more likely to be taken notice of rather than a "fable" type of situation.

[Willie T]

2 hours ago, HisFirst said:

Hi WT,

Yes I have read it all and I feel with the wording surrounding it suggests it was an actual situation that took place. I could be 100% incorrect - I'm no theologian just a woman who does private Bible study on my bed during my quiet time!!

I'm thinking along the lines that if a sentence starts or has in it , " there was a  certain man, woman, child etc", the word certain suggests a real happening.

As I said, I could be entirely wrong.

....but for lawyers and more learned people back then, (and the Samaritans having been  looked down upon then), to me, a real event would be more likely to be taken notice of rather than a "fable" type of situation.

Possibly, but we do have to always take into consideration that the Bible tells us that there was no time that Jesus ever spoke to "the crowds" of people that He did not speak in parables.

[Guest]

On ‎8‎/‎1‎/‎2018 at 11:51 AM, Saved.One.by.Grace said:

Lone Survivor is especially good, as was 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi.  Not especially related to personal faith, but I can't recommend highly enough Enhanced Interrogation: Inside the Minds and Motives of the Islamic Terrorists Trying To Destroy America.  These books should be required reading for every voter.

Regarding non-fiction books, I should not have forgotten No Easy Day by Mark Owen and Fast and Furious by Katie Pavlich.  Both were excellent.

[HisFirst]

On 8/2/2018 at 8:03 AM, warrior12 said:

 

Anyone knows how to sharpen a knife and keep it sharp in the kitchen ???.   

No I don't sorry.

[HisFirst]

I have no problem with anyone reading fiction, (hope no one was put out by my thoughts!).

Even though I'm not interested in fantasy/alien stories/movies (and I have watched a heap of SciFi stuff in my time), I did find Mars Attacks hallarious!!

[Fidei Defensor]

On 8/2/2018 at 5:40 AM, Willie T said:

Possibly, but we do have to always take into consideration that the Bible tells us that there was no time that Jesus ever spoke to "the crowds" of people that He did not speak in parables.

Respectfully I disagree, that is not true. Jesus tells crowds plainly who He is: 

“It was now winter, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication. 23 He was in the Temple, walking through the section known as Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The people surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

25 Jesus replied, “I have already told you, and you don’t believe me. The proof is the work I do in my Father’s name. 26 But you don’t believe me because you are not my sheep.27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else.[d]No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”

31 Once again the people picked up stones to kill him. 32 Jesus said, “At my Father’s direction I have done many good works. For which one are you going to stone me?”

33 They replied, “We’re stoning you not for any good work, but for blasphemy! You, a mere man, claim to be God.”

34 Jesus replied, “It is written in your own Scriptures that God said to certain leaders of the people, ‘I say, you are gods!’[f] 35 And you know that the Scriptures cannot be altered. So if those people who received God’s message were called ‘gods,’ 36 why do you call it blasphemy when I say, ‘I am the Son of God’? After all, the Father set me apart and sent me into the world. 37 Don’t believe me unless I carry out my Father’s work. 38 But if I do his work, believe in the evidence of the miraculous works I have done, even if you don’t believe me. Then you will know and understand that the Father is in me, and I am in the Father.”

39 Once again they tried to arrest him, but he got away and left them.40 He went beyond the Jordan River near the place where John was first baptizing and stayed there awhile.41 And many followed him. “John didn’t perform miraculous signs,” they remarked to one another, “but everything he said about this man has come true.” 42 And many who were there believed in Jesus.” (John 10:22-42)

Sure Jesus talks about His sheep, but He does get real plain and says “I and the Father are One.” (Something he tells a disciple named Phillip John 14:6-11 and the other disciples John 17:1-23).

 

Sure Jesus did most of the time speak to the crowds in parables (Matthew 13:13) but He did get real into details here in John. 

[daughterofGrace]

I'm a writer by trade and, all of my life, I have craved stories.  When I was a kid, if I didn't have a book to read, I'd read the encyclopedia. 

A writer friend of mine was talking about how you could actually speak the truth more effectively in fiction than in non-fiction because it engages not just the mind, but the emotions as well.  Readers step inside stories and get involved in them on a deep level.  A good story stays with a person, keeps him/her thinking about it long after they have closed the book or turned off the DVD player.

Right now I am reading Holly Ordway's Apologetics and The Christian Imagination.  Ordway was an atheist who came to Christ through literature, specifically,  through The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.  They're stories that embody Christianity.  She talks about how metaphors can build a bridge between the known and unknown.  It takes a talented writer such as Tolkien or Lewis to be able to do that.

It's interesting that, in places where censorship might prevent someone from sharing the truth, it can be done in stories that go under the radar.  There's a reason that, historically, totalitarian governments have shut down theatres, smashed printing presses and thrown writers in jail.  They know how dangerous stories can be!

Edited August 4, 2018 by daughterofGrace
corrected error