Britt:  WHOA!  That is a huge book!

Me:  Yep, I like big books.  This is a children’s novel.

Britt:  What is it?

Me:  His Dark Materials, you know, the Golden Compass. 

Britt:  Wait, I think I read something in a church bulletin that said you shouldn’t read that book or let your kids go see the movie.  Something about it being satanic.  Is it satanic?

Me:  That’s what I’m trying to figure out.  As far as I can tell, it is a children’s novel set in a fictional world, where an entity similarly structured as the church is evil.  Personally, I would compare it to 1984, where the government is evil.  I mean, it was written by an atheist.  But there seem to be some good moral themes.  It obviously is going to come down to good vs. evil.  We’ll see. 

____

Dan over at the Pasty Quail has been covering the Golden Compass debate, and I think it is really interesting.  I really like what he has to say here.  I strongly disagree with any organization that wants to tell me what I can and can’t read, or what I should and shouldn’t watch.  Why don’t churches worry about movies full of violence and hate and the kind of evilness that really and truly does exist in this world, instead of waging war against a STORY about an IMAGINARY place?

I haven’t read the whole thing.  So maybe I’ll feel differently about it when I get finished.  But I somehow doubt that a lot of people who are against this book and movie have read it.  I personally have more faith in my own faith than to be threatened by a novel.  Especially not a novel who heroes and heroines refuse to break their sworn promises, and who fight for the innocent, and whose actions are compassionate and heartfelt.  Because that is what I have gotten out of the book so far. 

But, you know, maybe it becomes satanic later on.  I would like to be a part of a church that encouraged children to read the book, or see the movie, and then initiate a discussion about how the "church" or the "god" in the book is different from the Church and the God that we believe in.  My mom said that some people don’t like the idea that people can be moralistic even if they aren’t religious.  But that is just a fact of life, right? 

I’m not sure why this whole thing bothers me so much, but I really don’t like the whole controversy.  I think part of it stems from the fact that it irritates me when people talk about Harry Potter being evil, and even some people think Lord of the Rings is negative, which is really amazing to me. 

There are over 500 facebook groups about the Golden Compass as of today.  Most of them are titled – DO NOT GO SEE THE GOLDEN COMPASS, or BOYCOTT THE GOLDEN COMPASS or THE GOLDEN COMPASS AND IT’S ATTACK ON CHRISTIANITY (wtf?) 

I particularly like – BOYCOTT THE GOLDEN COMPASS AND IT’S ATHEIST MESSAGE.  Really, I would say there appears to be more hate in these groups than in the book that I’ve been reading. 

I want to join the group – YOU KNOW WHAT YOU RELIGIOUS BIGOTS?  I JUST MIGHT GO SEE THE GOLDEN COMPASS.   or maybe – READING THE GOLDEN COMPASS DID NOT MAKE ME AN ATHEIST.

Really, I could spend hours going through these facebook groups.  But I don’t have time.  I need to go finish my novel.  I’m intrigued, and entertained, and challenged by it. 

But I don’t know what to say about the one on my way to work.   It said –

Can’t Nobody Do Me Like Jesus.  (corrected from earlier)

Wow.  That’s all I think I can say.  Wow. 

If you don’t drink – the rest of this is going to sound ridiculous and I apologize.  I’ve given up alcohol before, a few years back.  And let me just say that there is never a good time to give up alcohol in these parts, mostly because there aren’t a lot of acceptable alternatives.  People want to share a glass of wine, invite you over to drink a beer and wax philosophically while watching basketball.  And if Easter doesn’t happen before the Masters, it is tough to turn down a lemonade and vodka.  But even with the lack of alternatives to alcohol, you realize that there are few situations that are that difficult to adjust to not drinking.  The only situation that I couldn’t handle  was being at a bar past midnight.  Everyone started getting on my nerves.  REAL BAD.  But the best part is that you are completely sober and can get into your car and go home. 

Pretty soon you start to notice that the events you might be missing out of – like staying at the bar late – are events that will happen again and again and again.  Another observation I have on the whole situation is that when you I am in a social event like a bar full of friends or a cocktail party – somewhere that a lot is going on and a glass of wine would be customary – even when I’m not drinking I get peppy and talkative and feel a little tipsy just from the music and the people, once I get past the first half hour of figuring out what to do with my hands.   And it is so fun to wake up in the morning refreshed.  But you do miss out of waxing philosophically over basketball games and wine.

Plus you have to be VERY CAREFUL when you start drinking again after Easter.  Because, well, you just can’t drink like you used to.  Remember how in the movies the drug addicts end up ODing when they get their first hit after rehab?  Right.  That is you.  Start slow.   

But I can say with all honestly that I miss my coffee.  I’ve been drinking chai tea – with soy milk and brown sugar and it is definitely yummy.  But I wandered down the coffee aisle in the grocery store the other day and almost blacked out from the smell.  I wanted to lay on the grocery store floor and inhale deeply.  I also wanted to eat a handful of coffee beans whole.  I’m like the alcoholic who drinks rubbing alcohol.  I still want to eat a coffee bean whole, truthfully. 

This was in the Teton National Park at the Chapel of the Transfiguration – a precious Episcopal Chapel that made me want to act right and be a better person. 

Ecclesiastes 2
translation – the message

1I said to myself, "Let’s go for it–experiment with pleasure, have a good time!" But there was nothing to it, nothing but smoke.

2What do I think of the fun-filled life? Insane! Inane!    My verdict on the pursuit of happiness? Who needs it?

      3With the help of a bottle of wine  and all the wisdom I could muster,    I tried my level best

    to penetrate the absurdity of life.   I wanted to get a handle on anything useful we mortals might do  during the years we spend on this earth.

I Never Said No to Myself

4Oh, I did great things:

    built houses,   planted vineyards,    5designed gardens and parks and planted a variety of fruit trees in them,   6made pools of water  to irrigate the groves of trees.

      7I bought slaves, male and female, who had children, giving me even more slaves; then I acquired large herds and flocks,  larger than any before me in Jerusalem.

      8I piled up silver and gold,  loot from kings and kingdoms.   I gathered a chorus of singers to entertain me with song,  and–most exquisite of all pleasures– voluptuous maidens for my bed.

         9Oh,
how I prospered! I left all my predecessors in Jerusalem far behind,
left them behind in the dust. What’s more, I kept a clear head through
it all. 10Everything I
wanted I took–I never said no to myself. I gave in to every impulse,
held back nothing. I sucked the marrow of pleasure out of every
task–my reward to myself for a hard day’s work!

I Hate Life

11Then
I took a good look at everything I’d done, looked at all the sweat and
hard work. But when I looked, I saw nothing but smoke. Smoke and
spitting into the wind. There was nothing to any of it. Nothing.

      12And
then I took a hard look at what’s smart and what’s stupid. What’s left
to do after you’ve been king? That’s a hard act to follow. You just do
what you can, and that’s it. 13But I did see that it’s better to be smart than stupid, just as light is better than darkness.    14Even
so, though the smart ones see where they’re going and the stupid ones
grope in the dark, they’re all the same in the end. One fate for
all–and that’s it.

      15When I realized that my fate’s the same as the fool’s, I had to ask myself, "So why bother being wise?"

   It’s all smoke, nothing but smoke.    16The
smart and the stupid both disappear out of sight. In a day or two
they’re both forgotten. Yes, both the smart and the stupid die, and
that’s it.

      17I hate life. As far as I can see, what happens on earth is a bad business. It’s smoke–and spitting into the wind.

      18And
I hated everything I’d accomplished and accumulated on this earth. I
can’t take it with me–no, I have to leave it to whoever comes after
me. 19Whether they’re
worthy or worthless–and who’s to tell?-they’ll take over the earthly
results of my intense thinking and hard work. Smoke.

      20That’s when I called it quits, gave up on anything that could be hoped for on this earth.    21What’s
the point of working your fingers to the bone if you hand over what you
worked for to someone who never lifted a finger for it? Smoke, that’s
what it is. A bad business from start to finish. 22So what do you get from a life of hard labor?    23Pain and grief from dawn to dusk. Never a decent night’s rest. Nothing but smoke.

      24The
best you can do with your life is have a good time and get by the best
you can. The way I see it, that’s it–divine fate. 25Whether we feast or fast, it’s up to God.    26God
may give wisdom and knowledge and joy to his favorites, but sinners are
assigned a life of hard labor, and end up turning their wages over to
God’s favorites. Nothing but smoke–and spitting into the wind.

I really enjoyed the church service. It gave me the opportunity to think about things. I have decided to give up fast food for lent, which means, anything with a drive thru. I have also decided that I am only going to drink one night a weekend. I have given up drinking completely for lent before, but I think I need to learn how to do things in moderation, and not be an all or nothing kind of person. So it is either going to be Friday or Saturday night. I am still going to go out, but just not drink. I know I am capable of doing this, and I know that I can still have fun. Sometimes I just need to prove it to myself again.

I loved the scripture from last night, I am going to use The Message translation, which wasn’t used in the service, but it is my favorite:

"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers – most of which are never even seen – don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
                                                                                                                                                          
Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Matthew 6:30-34

I need to relax and not worry about missing out.

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Luke 2 (NIV)

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Madeline L’Engle wrote A Wrinkle in Time, which is one of my favorite books of all time. But it took Madeline years to find a publisher for A Wrinkle in Time. A publisher who had rejected the book made her realize that timing was everything with the book, if it had been published immediately, it might not have been as well received. When reflecting on how long it took for someone to believe in her book – this is what Madeline has to say -

"Thank you, God, for not giving in to my importunate demands."

This is my new motto. I need to remember that things happen on God’s time, and not my time, so I just need to chill out.

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