Join the Esther Study

Does your study of the Bible fall off in the summer? Have you never studied the Bible in the first place? Think about this...

Two artists and I blog regularly at SoulPerSuit. Our goal is to engage all of our senses and artist sensibilities in our meditation on God's word. Don't worry--I can't draw worth a flip. You don't have to be a painter to join! You just have to desire a more right-brained approach to learning at least once in a while.

As the main writer in the group and as an adjunct prof at Dallas Seminary, I authored the Coffee Cup Bible Study series (AMG), including "Espresso with Esther." And starting July 25, I'll lead an online group diving into the Esther study. Consider it a study group via cyberspace. Anybody who speaks English anywhere in the world with access to the Internet is welcome.

To sign up for the on-line group, follow this link and complete the contact info. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SPS_Espresso/join

Grab a friend and join us!

Road Trip!

Some of my friends, one a former student, are taking a road trip "Looking for God in America." Check out their blog to see how it's going.

Talk about Immigration...

A “nobody” kind of girl, Ruth is born in the wrong place—Moab. She marries an Israelite at the wrong time—when his nation is experiencing a famine. And she ends up in the wrong circumstances—her husband dies leaving her childless with no Social Security or unemployment insurance.

Yet miraculously, this humble widow ends up as the right person in the right place at the right time.

After accompanying her bitter, thankless mother-in-law to far-away Bethlehem, Ruth marries a much older man—a relative of her deceased husband. Why? So her mother-in-law can eat. And in the end this selfless act means Ruth’s progeny include Israel’s King David and ultimately Jesus. Why? Anything can happen to those who trust God and love others.

Premium Roast with Ruth, new in the Coffee Cup series, considers one of the two great women for whom a book of the Bible is named. Designed for group or individual study, this Bible study demonstrates how God is in control, always keeps promises, can reverse impossible circumstances, and blesses the faithful more richly and for longer than they could ever imagine. It also focuses on the heart of God toward those forced to migrate (a timely issue, indeed).

Read an excerpt.
Due out any day. To pre-order from Amazon, scroll down and click on picture.

What Was Ann Coulter Thinking?

Did you see the video footage of Ann Coulter taking Elizabeth Edwards's call? Coulter's response made me sick. So I was glad to see this response on beliefnet from my friend, Darrell Bock, Research Professor of New Testament Studies and Professor of Spiritual Development and Culture at DTS and author of more than 20 books, including a New York Times best seller:

As a theologian I have been watching with interest for some time the tone of some of our political discourse. In sum, it often resembles what one might expect to hear on an elementary school playground. So maybe some straight talk to five year olds is in order. The only problem is that it is not just the two families that are being invoked but the entire community of our body politic. There is a genuine need for a respectful engagement on the real issues of our time, not a polemicizing, self-promoting, mocking handling of opponents. Nothing has made that more apparent than the “work” and approach of Ann Coulter.

She needs to be called out for hiding behind an argument that “they do it, too.” This sounds exactly like something a five year old would say.

This is only an excerpt. You can read Darrell's complete response here.

Tour of Africa

It seems that between my Netflix account and the books on my nightstand for the past couple of years, many roads have led to Africa. It started with a trip to Belgian Congo with Barbara Kingsolver in The Poisonwood Bible.

Then when I was teaching a class on women in ministry, I had a student from Rwanda. Her husband lost six family members in the genocide. That sparked our interest, so we rented "Hotel Rwanda." It left its mark, so we selected the documentary "Frontline: Ghosts of Rwanda" to give ourselves a context for the horrendous events.

Then Leani, one of my then writing students from South Africa, loaned me a pre-release copy of "Yesterday," the first South African film nominated for an Oscar. In it the main character, (above) a Zulu woman named "Yesterday," faces the ravages of AIDS. It made us realize how AIDS has wreaked havoc on South Africa even more than apartheid has.

Then we added "Tsotsi" to our queue. I can't remember how I heard about it, but this Oscar-winning Best Foreign Language film shows that no soul is too far gone from being reformed. After shooting a woman and driving off in her car, Tsotsi (Presley Chweneyagae), a ruthless thug, is surprised to discover a crying baby in the backseat. He grudgingly takes the child home, and through his efforts to care for the tyke, Tsotsi slowly rediscovers his compassion, self-respect and capacity to love.

Not long after we watched that, some writerly friends spent a weekend together in West Texas, and one of my colleagues recommended "The Power of One." In it a young white South African orphan is terrorized because of his political beliefs. He turns to a streetwise black prisoner (Morgan Freeman) who teaches him how to box. After years of witnessing injustice all around him -- including seeing racist white jailers cruelly humiliate black inmates -- the young orphan unites with a former boxing adversary to fight the uphill struggle against apartheid. Great stuff.

We also rented "Red Dust." I think that was another of Leani's recommendations, because it's also focused on South Africa. A S.A. police officer (Jamie Bartlett) files an application for amnesty for acts of atrocity he committed under apartheid. And a human rights lawyer (played by Hilary Swank) returns to her homeland to investigate. In the process, she decides to represent anti-apartheid activist Alex Mpondo (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a member of parliament who staunchly opposes the amnesty because he was one of the police officer's victims.

None of these are for the faint of heart.

In doing some research for Informed Consent, I viewed "Frontline: The Age of AIDS," which I mentioned in a recent blog entry, as I think every thinking, caring person should make it a priority to watch. Frontline probes the social, political, economic and scientific factors that led to the rise -- and hindered the fall -- of the AIDS pandemic. The show includes interviews with key researchers, world leaders, activists and AIDS patients. And it presents a pretty accurate view of the faith community's response (good and bad), as well.

More recently we viewed "The Last King of Scotland," in which Forest Whitaker won himself an Oscar and a Golden Globe for playing the part of brutal Ugandan dictator Idi Amin. During an African medical trip in the 1970s, Scottish doctor Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy) impresses Amin by acting swiftly in a crisis. Installed as the dictator's personal physician soon thereafter, Garrigan enjoys the perks of his new position, until he becomes aware of Amin's inhumanity -- and his own complicity.

In My Country - Currently I'm in the middle of this drama (watching it in segments as I use the stationary bike). In it a Washington Post journalist (played by Samuel Jackson) heads to South Africa to cover the post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings and ends up finding love. The more he learns of South African history, the more he doubts that the country will ever heal. He meets a white Afrikaans poet (Juliette Binoche) and is initially against her views, but his feelings begin to change in more ways than one.

For me the mix of friendships, books, documentaries and dramas, has been a great way to become familiar with a part of the world that had previously been unfamiliar to me. But I have to say it has not always been enjoyable. Every one of these works has deeply disturbing elements. And some of the films have "R" ratings.

This is where I think it's important to look less at the rating and more at the point of view. That is, when we see the evil and injustice, is the point of view of the directors that we applaud or condemn what's wrong? I enjoyed watching "The Italian Job," but the point of view was to keep viewers rooting for the thieves. In the African films listed above without exception doing justice and loving mercy were at the core of what the viewer was supposed to want. To me, that is storytelling at its best.

You Need to Know This Woman

My friend Heather Jamison did a fab job on international television yesterday talking about helping teens live pure lives. You can watch the show here. (Her segment is about ten minutes into the hour-long broadcast.)

Heather and her family are humanitarian workers in Kenya. She is currently in the states on ministry-related business, but while here she's promoting her latest work, Keeping It Real (Kregel). The book is co-authored with our friend, Henry Rogers, who serves with my husband as an elder at our church.

You can also check out Heather's rather avant-garde blog at http://www.heatheronthenet.com/. Her work with Adopt-a-Legacy will encourage and inspire you.

Cardinal Virtues

For the first time this year, some cardinals built a nest in one of our trees. From time to time we have spotted them on the backyard fence. But yesterday we noticed extra activity. They kept flying between the fence and the swingset and into the trees and then to the crepe myrtle in front of the window.

This morning as we ate breakfast, we pulled up some chairs and perched at the back window to watch the drama.

Again the male and female kept leaving and returning to our crepe myrtle. Suddenly we spotted it hidden in the branches--their baby bird. It was about six inches above the daddy (above) hidden in the branches, a little ball of gray fluff.

Do You Know of Any Movies about Writing?

I posted this question over at the SoulPerSuit blog. Can you help? I'm compiling a list for my students of movies about writing or featuring writers or that have scenes in them about writing. If you know of any, fiction or non-fiction, please wander over there and leave a comment. Didn't Kate Hudson do one in which her character helped some guy finish a book to keep the mob from getting him?

Mondrimat

Had enough spattering with Pollock? Now take a shot at creating a Mondrian look-alike. What Yves St. Laurent did with clothing, you can do with e-painting.

More on Modern Art

For info on some cool internet art resources, check out the entry I left today over at the SoulPerSuit blog site. Click here to go there.

MYO Painting

I spent all day yesterday and today at the Dallas Museum of Art, and I have six more to go. I'm taking a UTD PhD class in "Modern Art," (not to be confused with abstract art, though the latter is a subset of the former) along with about fifteen other teachers. I wish I could show you some of the cool stuff I'm observing, but the whole copyright thing gets sticky.

Still, I can direct you to some of the resources. First is the Dallas Museum of Art site.

For DIG, an interactive computer game about the Maya culture of Mexico and Central America, go here. It's recommended for players ages 10 and up. You choose an archaeologist with whom to intern, dig for objects, record journal notes and sketches, and play games to explore Maya artworks and culture. Yeah, I know it's not modern art. But in the process of learning about available resources for teachers, I'm catching some overflow.

Next, you've heard of Jackson Pollock, right? You know the guy--famous for his "drip" and "splash" works. Well, rather than read about what I'm learning, why not make your own Pollockesque piece? Just click here and start splashing. Every time you click your mouse, you get a new color. Enjoy!

Selective Reduction

Imagine it. A couple longs to have a child, but they can't. They go through the rigors of treatment and find they're good candidates for in vitro fertilization. So they lay out the ten grand (or more) for IVF, and the doc transfers five embies to the uterus. Amazingly four of them implant.

Uh oh. That's too many. So they choose to abort or (euphemism:) reduce the ones they don't want.

You can read about the practice in this Washington Post article.

Interview with Tom Neven: On the Frontline

One of my journalism students, a retired military officer, wrote a glowing review of the book, On the Frontline by Tom Neven. A month later at a luncheon in Colorado Springs, I ended up sitting next to the author. So I asked if I could interview him about his work, which is, as its subtitle says, “a guidebook for the physical, emotional and spiritual challenges of military life.”

What drove you to write On the Frontline?

I served seven years in the Marine Corps at the end of the Vietnam era, and I’ve had a special place in my heart for the military ever since. I understand the pressures our soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen face. I wanted to be able to give a bit of perspective to people immersed in this culture from someone who was once there, too.

What is your main message?

If only one message emerges from this book, I want it to be Semper Fidelis. Yes, this is the Marine Corps’ motto, but its meaning—Always Faithful—describes God perfectly. He is true to His word and his promises as found in Scripture. Lean on this aspect of God; it helps a lot when the pressure’s on.

What are some of the problems those returning from war face? Why?

The great hidden problem, the one many don’t want to admit or talk about, is depression. I’m not talking about PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), which is a big problem in itself. I’m talking about the day-in, day-out, low-grade depression that feels like a bag of wet cement weighing down your very being. Its causes are many: stress, long hours, anger, grief and fear. Did I mention stress? The problem is compounded by a military culture in which some are not willing to admit to hurting from something that can’t be “seen” or “touched.” There’s no shame in admitting to suffering depression and seeking help from a chaplain or medical officer.

Second is the strain on marriages. The divorce rate has skyrocketed among the military, this from an already high rate before Iraq and Afghanistan. Long deployments are tough on marriages, and the strains of combat, fatigue, and depression add to the stress.

How can the average person help?

First and foremost, pray. Even if you don’t personally know someone serving in uniform, pray. Soldiers and Marines have told me they take great comfort from knowing that people they might never know or meet are still interceding for them.

Next: send care packages! Hard candy, toothpaste, reading material, Bibles, music CDs, DVDs, shaving cream, baby wipes (it’s sometimes a long time between showers!), razors—all these are greatly appreciated.

Thanks, Tom.

For info on care packages, click here. And consider including a copy of Tom's book.

Sexual Intimacy in Marriage III

The third edition of Sexual Intimacy in Marriage hit the market this week. We added more than sixty pages this time around. Most of them we devote to new research available on women's sexuality, and we also expanded the workbook section designed to help couples communicate.

Here's a sampling of new material: "By contrast, the Masters and Johnson model, which accurately depicts the male sexual response, falls short in describing the complex female response. . . Each woman is a unique creation. Many women have felt “pressure” to achieve a particular type of response, within a certain time framework... [Newer models] define satisfaction using words such as emotional closeness, commitment, bonding, affection and acceptance. This fits nicely with our working definition of intimacy, being fully known, fully loved, without fear of rejection."

You can tell the new version from previous ones by the raised gold lettering on the cover.

Big Stem Cell News

The top story in this morning's New York Times has this headline: Biologists Make Skin Cells Work Like Stem Cells. The new technique, when adapted to stem cells, sidesteps ethical concerns, as it has the advantages of using embryonic cells without destroying a human embryo to harvest them. The technique is said to be relatively easy, and repairing the body with its own cells is certainly superior to surgery or medication.

This is great news. Yet I seriously doubt anyone pursuing research that destroys human embryos will do an about-face. Does anyone even remember this 2005 announcement?

Speculative Fiction

Recently Publisher's Weekly ran an article titled, "Speculative fiction is a tough sell in the Christian market." It has not always been so.

Speculative fiction refers to a broad category that encompasses both science fiction and fantasy. It can also include horror and literary fiction that uses science-fictional or fantastic elements. In Modern Science Fiction (1953), Isaac Asimov defined sci-fi as “that branch of literature which is concerned with the impact of scientific advance upon human beings.”

Many argue that Plato's Republic was the first work of speculative fiction, since he created a non-existent place to illustrate social ideals. Or consider the Cyprian king, Pygmalion, who fell in love with the statue of an ideal woman and asked Aphrodite to bring the statue to life, then married the woman.

As a rule of thumb: “If it’s psychic power, it’s science fiction; if it’s magic, it’s fantasy.”

Both sci-fi and fantasy are narrative forms in which the writer can manipulate setting –or even make it up entirely—for narrative purposes, which allows him or her to comment on the real world.

A fictitious setting is not an absolute requirement in spec fiction. ET landing in Dallas is still sci-fi, and Harry Potter set in San Diego would still be fantasy. So speculative fiction doesn’t have to be set in a world that’s different from earth, but if the world is different, the category is definitely speculative.

Science fiction frequently has aliens and star empires, but far more often than not, the alternate worlds extrapolate trends or criticize contemporary society.

In realistic fiction you never get out of shades of gray, whereas in fantasy you have definite Good and Evil, and you generally know which is which. Of course, it’s never that clear-cut, but you usually know where you stand. Glenda is the good witch (we’re talking “Wizard of Oz,” here, not “Wicked”); the witch of the West is the bad witch.

I hope the tough-sell trend changes soon. Where would we be without Lewis's space trilogy, L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time, Chesterton's The Man Who Would Be Thursday or the still best-selling Chronicles of Narnia?

Kudos to my writing student, Jared Binder, whose first-ever published article "Piggy Goes to Town," appears in Wednesday's edition of the alternative weekly, The Dallas Observer.

Social Justice 101

I just finished watching the four-hour 2006 Frontline documentary, The Age of AIDS. I rented it on Netflix, but it's also available for viewing on the web by following the link here. I can't remember how I found out about it, but it was probably from my friend, Tim Morgan.

Chances are, if you're like most, you have at least a touch of Compassion Fatigue when it comes to this subject. But it's important that we resist the temptation to grow weary in doing good.

Back in the 1980s when I worked in downtown Dallas, I had lunch every day with a group of young professionals, and two guys in that group were gay. Both of them and another guy they hung out with all died of AIDS. One contracted HIV after surviving a knifing--as he walked to his car one night he got jumped by some guys who felt they were doing society a favor. They sliced a kidney and he didn't even realize it, he told me, until he got home and showered, and then he saw the blood gushing out of his side.

That same year, we buried a friend from church whose daughter was in our youth group. And a sister church buried their music pastor, who had contracted the virus from a dirty needle before Christ changed his life. He left behind a wife and kids. All that was just the beginning.

Watching "The Age of AIDS," as a Christian I was struck by the contrast in various responses from Christ-followers. I had pretty much concluded that the producers weren't going to show anything other than Jerry Falwell's response (not too compassionate) and Reagan's hesitation. But then I viewed the second two hours and was glad to learn I was wrong. Amazingly, I heard the gospel. I mean the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, how He loves, and the ramifications for those who name Him as Lord--care for the poor and vulnerable. Franklin Graham and Bono and several others talked about Jesus' words, "I was sick and you cared for me...inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me." Witnessing Jesse Helms's change of heart in response to hearing those very Scriptures was really moving.

If you watch it, I strongly recommend that you view it all so you have a context for appreciating the contrast. I don't usually have a moving spiritual experience when I watch PBS specials, but this time I certainly did. And it's like taking Social Justice 101 (e.g., when the poor die because they can't afford what the rich can, we have a social-justice problem). You owe it to yourself and the world to get the education.

The program follows the history of AIDS worldwide, traces how governments have responded, and explores who is touched by it, and "what now?" It's such a huge problem it can feel like there's nothing we can do. And yet...

Yesterday I had lunch with friends from Rwanda--a former student and her husband, who got his PhD two weeks ago after writing his dissertation on reconciliation. He told of how a poor woman in the U.S., now dead, collected bottles off the side of the road to earn enough money to send to Africa so he could go to high school. Today he teaches reconcilation principles all over the world, including for African government officials in the world's most volatile places. What a difference that one quiet, unknown woman made. And she died without seeing how much her investment paid off.

We don't have to be rock stars to make a difference for one person.

The E-Word?

Sixty years ago, George Orwell wrote in Politics and the English Language, "In our time, political speech and writing are largely the defense of the indefensible… Thus political language has to consist largely of euphemism, question-begging, and sheer cloudy vagueness."

History repeats itself. Case in point: As I updated my lecture on bioethics in preparation for a grad-level lecture I delivered yesterday, I found all these euphemisms for “human embryo.” Not surprisingly they are the words of choice chosen, for the most part, by those who condone the destruction of embryos:

• Pre-embryo
• Embryo-like entity
• Ovasome
• Nuclear transfer-derived blastocyst
• Activated eggs
• Cleaving eggs

And here’s a new term replacing “embryonic stem cells”: Early stem cells.

Clever, eh?

It appears that the straight-up e-word is way too dangerous.