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Gilead: This is an Important Thing

By Carolyn Weber on May 24, 2013 in Fiction, Reading with 22 Comments

Gilead is talking.Part 2 in the Series “Faith and Fiction”

Usually I favor pre-20th century selections from literature, given my own tastes and area of scholarship. However, I thought I’d begin this time with a “recent” favourite, Marilynne Robinson’s novel Gilead (Harper, 2004), which also happens to be a Pulitzer Prize winner, and deservedly so, in my humble opinion.

I wanted to share a particular excerpt from Robinson’s beautiful novel for several reasons. First, it spoke to me at a time in my life when exactly this situation had just enfolded right in front of me. Every word Robinson writes below out of the mouth of her main character, the Reverend John Ames, struck me with both immediate and eternal relevance. I love how the Word speaks to us through other words, particularly those of authors living or dead.

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Faith and Fiction: An Introduction

By Carolyn Weber on May 16, 2013 in Reading with 31 Comments

Over the next few weeks, I would like to offer for discussion what a powerful tool fiction can be for exploring the Christian faith in authentic ways. In this two-pronged series, I would like to consider a few literary works according to the following categories:

  1. Fiction that worries those who don’t believe in God,
    and
  2. Fiction that worries those who do

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PSALM 20 AND DELIVERANCE

By Carolyn Weber on September 20, 2012 in Living, Reading with 15 Comments

Thanks for Praying

Kent and I wish to thank all of you who have shared so wholeheartedly in our recent baby joy. We appreciate every comment, email, note, offer of help and congratulations. What a privilege to be in this God adventure together!

As a gesture of my gratitude, and an extension of how God’s Word does indeed speak to our daily needs in very relevant ways, I wanted to share Psalm 20 with you during this “babymoon” season. A friend of mine who had been raised Jewish and then later converted to Christianity brought it to my attention just before I had our son. She explained how this particular psalm has been traditionally repeated by the parents during delivery. Once I revisited Psalm 20, I could see why. I was particularly moved by its timeliness in calling out to our Lord in our distress, and in trusting that He desires to give us, in turn, the desires of our own hearts. I ended up meditating upon it during my delivery, in fact (as much as one can meditate upon something at such a time!) and found it to bring about great power, focus and comfort. I never cease to be surprised at how Scripture feeds our souls: that it really is like accessing a mysterious power that is difficult to put into words, and entirely unrivalled.

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The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: There is Nothing Outside of Finding One’s Way

By Carolyn Weber on July 18, 2012 in Reading with 17 Comments

Lion, Witch and the WardrobePost #7 in the Children’s Chapter Book Series

C. S. Lewis published his classic tale, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, which would serve as the first of the Narnia Chronicles, in 1950. The story takes place a decade earlier during the Second World War when, in order to escape the Blitz, the four Pevensie children (Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy) are sent to live with an elderly professor in the English countryside. While exploring the house shortly after their arrival, the youngest sibling, Lucy, discovers the magical world of Narnia after entering a wardrobe. While none of the other children believe her at first, each child is eventually drawn into this other kingdom and its unfolding drama. For Narnia has been laid asleep in a permanent “winter without Christmas” under the spell of the evil White Witch. This villain has literally petrified many of the residents, blanketing this other world in mistrust and fear. The four children’s arrival now heralds the fulfillment of a prophecy that “two sons of Adam” and “two daughters of Eve” will undo the curse, and hasten the return of the King, Aslan, who is signified by a mighty lion. The return of this beloved King, his restitution of the traitor child, Edmund, through the sacrifice of his very own life, and the ultimate slaying of the White Witch ensure Narnia’s restoration to verdant happiness.

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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory: Sugar Coating the Seven Deadly Sins and the Manna of Just Desserts

By Carolyn Weber on July 10, 2012 in Reading with 11 Comments

Sugar Coating the 7 Deadly Sins and the Manna of Just Desserts

Post #6  in the Children’s Chapter Book Read-Along Series

Charlie looked down at the candy bar. He ran his fingers slowly back and forth along the length of it, stroking it lovingly, and the shiny paper wrapper made little sharp crackly noises in the quiet room.

Then Mrs. Bucket said gently, “You mustn’t be too disappointed, my darling, if you don’t find what you’re looking for underneath that wrapper. You really can’t expect to be as lucky as all that.”

“She’s quite right,” Mr. Bucket said.

Charlie didn’t say anything.

 

Roald Dahl’s 1964 children’s book Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tells the story of young Charlie Bucket, who after discovering a winning golden ticket in a chocolate bar, becomes one of five children to win a tour of the largest and most mysterious chocolate factory in the world, owned and operated by the eccentric genius Willy Wonka. Charlie comes from an extremely poor background; we feel his hunger, and later, his complete elation, at having found one of the prized tickets and the opportunity it represents.

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