L. Jagi Lamplighter's Blog, page 25

The Christmas Story…late

This was to be my Superversive post last week, but I never got it posted. This what John Scalzi's imaginary intern Chad would have called Christ: Origins

 

The Birth of Jesus Christ
As told by Luke and Matthew and the good scribes of King James

 

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise:

 

The Birth of John the Baptist Foretold

There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinance of the Lord blameless. And they had no child, because that Elisabeth was barren, and they both were now well stricken in years. And it came to pass, that while he executed the priest's office before God in the order of his course,  According to the custom of the priest's office, his lot was to burn incense when he went into the temple of the Lord.  And the whole multitude of the people were praying without at the time of incense.  

And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.  And when Zacharias saw him, he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.  

But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.  And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth. For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother's womb.  And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.  And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. 

And Zacharias said unto the angel, Whereby shall I know this? for I am an old man, and my wife well stricken in years. 

 And the angel answering said unto him, I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God; and am sent to speak unto thee, and to shew thee these glad tidings.  And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak, until the day that these things shall be performed, because thou believest not my words, which shall be fulfilled in their season. 

And the people waited for Zacharias, and marvelled that he tarried so long in the temple. And when he came out, he could not speak unto them: and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple: for he beckoned unto them, and remained speechless.  And it came to pass, that, as soon as the days of his ministration were accomplished, he departed to his own house. And after those days his wife Elisabeth conceived, and hid herself five months, saying, Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the days wherein he looked on me, to take away my reproach among men.

 

Jesus' Birth Foretold

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,  To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.  

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. 

 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.  

And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.  

Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 

And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.  And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.  For with God nothing shall be impossible. 

And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

 

Mary Visits Elisabeth

And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;  And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth. And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:  And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.  And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.  And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.  

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.  For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.  And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation. He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.  He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.  He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.  He hath holpen his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;  As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever. 

And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.

 

Joseph and Gabriel

When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.  Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.  

But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived  in her is of the Holy Ghost.  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.  Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.  

Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:  And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

 

The Birth of John the Baptist

Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.  And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.  And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.  

And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John. 

And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.

And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.  And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John.

And they marvelled all. 

And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.  

And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea. And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.

 

Zechariah's Prophecy

And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,  Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,  And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David; 

As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:  That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;  To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;  The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,  That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,  In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life. And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;  To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,  Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.  And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.

 

The Birth of Jesus

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.  (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.)  And all went to be taxed,  every one into his own city.  And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:)  To be taxed  with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.  And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.  And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

 

The Shepherds and the Angels

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.  For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,  Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.  And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.  And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.  And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.  And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.  And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

 

The Visit of the Wise Men

Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,  Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him. 

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.  And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.  

And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel. 

Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.  When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. 

And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. 

And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.

 

 

Rachel Griffin on Instapundit

The Unexpected Enlightenment of Rachel Griffin appeared on Instapundit's IN THE MAIL today.

Rather cool!

 

Illustrations!

The illustrations for the books of Unexpected Enlightenment are now all available online

 

Signal Boost — Author Mary Catelli

Signal Boost for fellow author, Mary Catelli. A short stories, a novelette, and a collection:

Widowed, caught between two feuds, Katie was desperate enough that the Witch Prince witched her wits away, so that she let him steal her baby.




Then there was no reason for him to not let the bewitchment fail, then.  What, after all, could she do against him?  Even the witching woman would tell her that defying the Witch Prince was beyond her power.




And tell her again, when she will not listen.




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A novelette of curses and journeys.




Avice's dreams of settling at Clearwater are dashed. The lawsuit had ended, and the lands were made over to her, but a bone wizard lays a curse on the land, and blight brings to spread. All will die before the curse as it spreads.




Neither her family nor her king are willing to help. She is left alone with only the knowledge that the mysterious Book of Bone may have the lore that she needs — if only she can find it.




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Whoever hears the mermaids, singing, will die.




So Nicolas has heard — before, and after, he hears the song.




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A short story of a curse, a king, and a child.




A warlord of fire can lay curses of fever. A woman of snow can freeze a man to death.




Pierre, knight of the king, is burning with fever from the curse of the warlord when he learns a possibility that might save him — and the kingdom. It turns on a child.




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The dragon must die.  It haunts the land and strikes with fire and death without warning.

Prince Baudouin knows the perils, and how other knights have perish.  Still, he is confident that he can slay the dragon.  All he has to do is forge through the burnst wasteland about its mountain, and slay it.

All.

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A short story of magic and reunions.




At long, long last. . . .




For five long years, Sanchia has held the lands of her husband alone, while he fought in the desperate war against malign shades.  Much will change when he returns.




Especially because he brings the magical sword, found in the mountains, with him.  And, it turns out, other things follow.




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A short story of sorcery, war, and treachery.

Apollonia proudly casts a spell for the king, to aid him in his battles, a spell that creates enchanted viewing. But when things go awry, she finds it more useful than she had ever dreamed — if only she can persuade one and all to listen to her.

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Finally, a collection of all of the above, plus a bonus short-short that I'm not selling independently:

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Find out more: Mary's LiveJournal

Superversive Blog: Guest Blog– Why I Think Christian Comic Books Are So Necessary!

Today we have a treat: a guest blog by my cover artist extraordinaire, Dan Lawlis. When, he is not painting covers, Dan works as a commercial artist. Before that, however, he drew for Marvel and DC Comics. Dan is currently working on a Chrisitan Comic Book called Orange Peal 3.

From the comic Orange Peel 3 

 

Why I Think Christian Comic Books Are So Necessary

Consider your average kid is reading your average comic book, let's say its Batman. You know the story, the Joker is threatening the city, and in comes Batman, he throws his Batwing, it hits the switch that turns off the death ray, and saves the city in the nick of time. 

The problem is, it always works out. Batman never faces death, so he doesn't have to confront life. This is fine if you're a little kid. Kids shouldn't have to deal with the real world. But more and more comics are being read by older teens. That's a problem, because those fantasies aren't preparing them for the real world.

These teens get out in the real world, and things don't work out so well. In the real world Batman misses with his batarang and innocent people die. On top of that the jerk usually get's the girl.

Since Batman always wins he can avoid the need for God. The writers can neatly avoid God by filling any need with fantasy. When the kids try to mimic their heroes in the real world and lose, they aren't prepared for that, and they fall apart.

Over the years comic book story lines have grown up in subject matter, that is, the heroes face death more, but they haven't grown up spiritually. What's the result of this development? Well, you can see it all around you. The characters get angry at life. They become bitter, grim, mean, dark brooding types. Batman, Wolverine, even formally colorful upbeat characters like Spiderman and Superman have become more evil looking, grey and colorless. 

They weren't colorless during Dan's tenure at Marvel!

Its almost as if they are invoking some dark power to supply themselves with power. In fact, that's exactly what their doing. In the absence of hope in God and heaven, these characters need power to deal with the real world. If you can't get it from God, you go to the other guy.

He's the one that seemingly comes to the rescue, selling his lies that if you just get mean and angry enough, you can have the power to force your will on the world, with no God needed but yourself. The characters become their own God. This is the evil message that is being taught to the kids, to become your own God, and you can bring the world under your power.

Talk about a setup for failure. 

The price of failure!

There's only one realistic antidote to this situation. As writers and artists, we have to go into that fantasy world that these poor teens are caught in, and deliver a Christian message that will teach them the way out. It's sort of a rescue mission, descending into that shady comics underworld, looking for lost souls walking around like drug addicted zombies, and seeing if you can help them escape.

Its no accident zombies are poplar right now. Art is imitating life. These teens are literally becoming brain dead zombies in the wake of they're disastrous attempts at dealing with the real world using the hopeless secularist view of life. 

The Christian message is the positive one. It says go out and fight for what's right, but you can't lose, because there is always hope in this life, and the next. The bad guys may win the battle, but we have faith that we will win the war. I demonstrated this in the very first scene in my online comic book. My character, in Orange Peel 3, essentially took a beating. But if you notice, he wasn't bitter or angry. He knew he couldn't lose, ever.

This is why we need more Christian characters. A lot more!

Thanks for reading,

Dan

Also by Dan:

   

New Caina Amalas story by Jonathan Moeller — free for Christmas

Signal Boosting for a fellow author!

 

A different book by Jonathan Moeller

 

A new GHOSTS novella, GHOST KEEPER, is now available at Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon Canada, Amazon Australia, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iTunes, Google Play, and Smashwords. In GHOST KEEPER, Caina Amalas searches for answers among the relics of a malevolent sorcerer – but if she's not careful, her bones will join the sorcerer's collection. 
 
However, if you use this coupon code, you can get the story for free at Smashwords: 
 
TG82T
 
The coupon code is valid through January 31st, 2015. (If you have never gotten a book from Smashwords, here are directions on how to load Smashwords books onto Kindle devices, iPhones/iPads, and Nooks.)
 

Finally, we have one final bonus for Kindle users – the GHOSTS short story GHOST ARIA is free on Amazon US, Amazon UK, Amazon Germany, Amazon Canada, and Amazon Australia until December 14th, 2014.
 
Thank you for reading the GHOSTS series, and I hope you enjoy GHOST KEEPER.
 
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, click on the link below.


Thanks,

Jonathan Moeller
 
 

Superversive Blot: Why “Realism” Isn’t

Today's post is a polished reprint of a post I did several years ago. This subject came up in the comments of my last post, so it seemed topical.

Moments of Grace

or 

Why "Realism" Isn't

I have never liked dark, gritty, ‘realistic’ stories—the kind that are unrelentingly grim. The kind where there’s no hope, everything is covered in dirt, and terrible things are happening one on top of another like a stack of pancakes. (Sometimes, these stories have a lot of blood or sex, sometimes not.)

For a long time, I could not put my finger on why.

Friends would say, “Oh, I understand, they are too dark for you.” Or “They don’t bother me, I don’t find them scary.” But that did not seem to put into words the impression I suffered when reading/watching such stories.

I wasn’t scared. Something else was wrong.

Oddly, it was a funeral that finally solved the mystery for me.

It was a few years ago. A friend’s father-in-law had died. It was a very sad thing. She had never known her own parents, and her upbringing had been difficult. This man had stepped in and become the father she had never had. His passing devastated her and shook her family. It was as if they lost a mainstay that kept them going. On top of this, they had new responsibilities. They needed to take care of an ill mother-in-law, for whom the father-in-law had been caring.

I was not able to attend the funeral, as I was out of town. What I remember was the looks on the faces of the people who had attended. When they talked about this man, light would fill their eyes. Again and again, I heard how they had not realized, until the funeral, how wonderful this man had been, what an amazing person and father he had been.

This death was a terrible and sad thing, but it touched their lives and brought to them an awareness of something greater. It brought a moment of grace.

I have read stories of soldiers in the battlefield suffering terrible conditions, yet often these stories are accompanied by someone rising above their ordinary circumstance to do something generous, something caring, something brave. Sometimes these events are extraordinary, but not always. Sometimes these are small things…but they are small things that stick in the minds of those who experience them.

Small things that make a difference.

What is missing from dark, “realistic” stories, in my humble opinion, are moments of grace – those precious moments when we see the silver lining of Heaven shining against the clouds of despair.

In real life, when things get bad, that is when we are called upon to rise beyond our narrow view of ourselves and exhibit something more.  In real life, we can always find signs of hope, if one is willing to look. What I don’t like about dark, “realistic” works is that they are stories about people who are not willing to look for hope, and that strikes me as unrealistic.

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Another Snippet of Operation Renfield!

From Operation Renfield 

by Steven Johnson,

Chapter One: King In the Morning

A different book by Steven G. Johnson here.

“You are Sergeant First Class Murphy?” said a healthy specimen in spatter-camouflaged overalls. He carried a machine rifle and had a bunch of little boxes slung over his back – tin can, leather box, some long skinny cartridge cases, and something that looked like a giant stick grenade. He had a knife in his left hand, which he was using to sharpen a big stick.

“Martin Brenner,” he said. “I am to guide you into Hassberg.”

I pointed to the lightning bolts on his collar.

“You Weather Corps? What are you doing running around in the woods?”

“Nein. The letters are SS.”

I saw it now. Felt kinda stupid. But Martin was explaining:

“It means … protection squadron, you would say. We started as bodyguards for our leader.”

“But you ain’t any more?” David asked.

“Nein. He died.”

“So, uh, what do you do now?” I asked.

He grinned. “We make sure his escort to Hell is as crowded as possible.”

David exploded.

“Hey, watch with the language, buddy! You know what you’re doing, cursing the guy’s name like that?”

“Oh, he knows. We are all going there. But we will have many, many servants when we arrive.”

David couldn’t let it go.

“So when you kill a guy, he has to work for you in the afterlife?” he asked. “You better be right. What if it turns out you owe him, instead of him owing you?”

“Then Hell will be unpleasant,” he said after a moment of thought. “And so?”

“That’s what my uncle used to say.” Dave was off and rolling. “If you’re going to be punished anyway, why not give in to temptation? What can they do, hang you twice? You see where that leads, Marty? Once you slip, just once, you might as well be the worst son of a bulldog anybody ever saw, you follow me? Thinking like that leads to a whole world of psychos.”

“But if you are damned, Corporal, and you know it? What then?”

“Hey, there’s always hope,” David said.

“That is not your people’s view,” Martin said. “Perhaps you do not agree with them?”

“Jews?”

“Dwarves.”

“What, like your grave has to be on granite? Like slate is bad luck? Like you gotta braid copper into your beard with your left hand, but if you do it with your right hand, you gotta eat a peck of coal to wash away the taboo? Who can even keep track of what the dirt farmers believe, back in the Old Country? My opa came over to Brooklyn to get away from all that.”

“But you are ‘back in the Old Country’ now,” Martin pointed out. “You do not share your kinsmen’s views?”

“Hey, buddy, look at the patch,” David said, jabbing his shoulder at him. “I’m an American, got that? Everything else is just ancient history.”

“You do not like the old things, then?”

David smiled tightly.

“You could sum it up that way, yeah.”

Martin smiled back and resumed sharpening his stake.

“Good. For I do not like the old things either.”

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Caption This!

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Caption This Winner

Lot's of good entries, but the winner was:

"Dragons in mirror may be smaller than they appear."