Readin', Writin', and Hold the 'Rithmetic, Thanks!

Why do I read? Why do I write?

I was thinking yesterday, as my peers were critiquing my story, that it's probably easier to answer the second question first. I write because I have questions. About everything. I question, therefore my characters question, but sitting in the classroom of an extremely liberal university really is not the best place to let those characters out. I realize this, yet I still do it, because perhaps I will cause someone else to question.

So that brings me to why I read. I read because I have questions. I want answers. I read to find those answers. I find the guidance in the Bible and hopefully, somewhere in all of the piles of fiction and non-fiction in my room I will find someone who has learned how to really apply that guidance effectively. Or maybe I'll be like Dr. House, and one oddly phrased sentence completely unrelated to anything else will trigger something in me and the answers will come pouring out. Hasn't happened yet, but I'll keep trying.

My problem is that my questions are a bit too real for most people. Somehow, Ted Dekker has managed to craft his Q&A into fantastic stories that people want to read. I doubt, though, that he is someone who a lot of people want to talk to in person. He's too real. That's why Slumber of Christianity wasn't as much of a success as it rightly should be...too real. People can't take it unless it is all veiled in a story- take The Shack. It is only received because it's placed in the fiction section.

Why is everyone afraid of stripping down and nakedly asking those questions? Not hiding behind stories and hypothetical what-ifs. Honestly saying, "I don't know why I feel this way, but I do and it can't be hidden any longer. This is just not right. I need an answer." Can you imagine the opportunities Christians would have? That's why charismatic churches are booming so much. People want the Holy Spirit and want to be free to express what they feel. But it's not that old time religion at all. That satisfied older generations, but my generation wants, no, needs more. That's a different blog entirely, and will definitely come soon.

I've seen too many churches and too many programs that spout the wonderful message of Christ without any warning of negativity. Christ will return and make it plainly and undeniably clear who was right. It's true that God's love and power outshines anything that Satan could ever throw at us. However, Jesus promised that people would see hardships just for following Him. The disciples were absolute proof of the persecution that Christians would go through for centuries upon centuries. So why do churches hide that? It's really not fair to the new believers, because they can't recognize the attacks that Satan is trying to bring upon them. Can't we at least send them out the door with a copy of The Screwtape Letters, or something?!

I think it comes down to the fact that many, and I would say most outside of the charismatic world, are afraid of evil themselves. Christianity would have grown by leaps and bounds, or at least not seen so much uprising if we did some good old fashioned rebuking and anointing and pleading the blood. That's where the older generations were dead-on. But somehow we've fallen away from that, and I'd like to see us get back into it. If people who have been Christians for years and years and YEARS shy away from any mention of evil, how are new believers supposed to stand up against it?

More questions, more writing.