"How Fiction can Powerfully Inform the Practical Application of Truth, Part Two" or "The Post I Do Not Want to Write"

(This post picks up where my last one left off. If you haven't read Part One yet, I encourage you to, because I'll be referring to it.)

I've written this post at least a dozen different ways in my mind, never feeling 100% comfortable with the results. Here's the deal. I'm an extrovert. I love people, and--as much as possible--I love being at peace with all men. As altruistic and even spiritual as that may sound, mostly it's selfish. I mean, it's hard to enjoy a party when the tension in the room is thicker than the guacamole dip, and I'm all about enjoying the party.

One on one in person I'm happy to tackle any topic, but the dynamics of online relationships tend to promote misunderstanding. People can't hear your tone of voice. They don't know if you're shrill or subdued, humble or proud, calm or hysterical. (I'm subdued, humble, and calm, by the way.) They can share their views in the comments, but it's not the same as the real-time give and take of face-to-face conversation.

Besides, lots of other bloggers are addressing controversial issues. One more voice hardly seems necessary, especially since (to quote Monty Python's Sir Launcelot), "It's not in my idiom."

But, like I said in Part One, reading Perelandra turned my life upside down. Among a number of other revelations, I realized my silence on certain topics amounts to complicity or worse. So, I say all that to say, don't expect to hear anything "new" here. The newness is that you're hearing it from me. (You may want to savor the last of that guacamole before you read on.)

As we all know, well-written fiction provides the unique opportunity for readers to explore universal truths from a fresh vantage point. When I finished the last page of Perelandra, the predominant thought in my mind wasn't new to me at all. What had changed was my perspective. I saw all at once how I'd failed to apply this truth. And I also saw how the church has muddied its simplicity and veered off course in a variety of (what I consider) destructive directions.

The truth is simply this: God is good in what He forbids.

Perhaps like many of you, I have dear friends who once followed Christ but have turned their backs on Him. One is currently considering atheism. Two are practicing homosexuals (not with each other). Others have abandoned the Christian faith for intellectualism or other religions. Without exception, in each case there was a "Dr. Weston"--someone (or a group of someones) who came alongside and questioned the authority of scripture and the claims of Christ. A co-worker. A college professor. A group of "open-minded" friends. Like the serpent in Eden, they pulled scripture out of context and twisted it. They questioned the goodness of One who would command the slaughter of women and children or pronounce eternal judgment on a person for his sexual orientation or exclude from salvation sincere believers from other faiths. How could a loving God do these things?

Day after day the Dr. Westons mocked the absurdity of Christianity, all the while offering nibbles of a forbidden fruit they called "freedom." Just come to this one party. Just read this one book. Sex is a purely physical act. Religion is myth and superstition. They chipped away at the foundation until it crumbled.  

And where was "Ransom" to counter the lies and help wrestle with the hard questions? Where was the church? Oh, right. She was down on the street corner doing her thing. In one hand she held a sign, "Same Sex Marriage is a threat to the Traditional Family!" In the other she waved a flag painted with a big red heart, wordless of course, lest someone somewhere be offended and consider her judgmental.

Either way, she responded with fear and totally missed the point. As far as I can tell, same-sex marriage is as much a threat to the traditional family as drinking bleach is a threat to water. God forbids practicing homosexuality for one reason only: because it destroys the homosexual. Our perspective is all askew. We ask how a loving God could condemn any, when we should be asking how a just God can save any. We live as though the world is our playground and God is supposed to bring the snacks, when in reality we were created by and for His glory and pleasure. We make life about us, when it's about Him.

God is good in what He forbids. That is what the church should be saying. That is what I should be saying. But apparently we don't believe it. Instead of agreeing with God, we side with Dr. Weston. We figure out ways to contort simple commandments and make them fit our cultural paradigm. We substitute hipness for holiness and tolerance for truth. Do we really think we love sinners more than God does? When we tell a person trapped in sin that he can have God and his forbidden lifestyle, we're saying one of the following:

1. God will not provide you a way of escape (when He says He will).

2. His grace is not sufficient for you (when He says it is).

3. The commandment is too burdensome for you (when He says it isn't).

4. Some scriptures no longer apply today (when He says they do).

When the woman caught in adultery was brought before Jesus, He did not condemn her. Lots of Christians today would love to leave it right there, but Jesus also said, "Go and sin no more." We have absolutely no reason to assume that this woman returned to a life devoid of the circumstances that had led her into adultery in the first place. No doubt the temptation was still there. Indeed, the fact that Jesus commanded her not to sin presupposed she would be tempted to. But I also think it's safe to assume that she chose to turn away from the temptation. She'd seen perfect Love face to face. She'd heard the voice of her Maker and rightful Master, and His will had been made clear. When her former lover's face rose into her imagination, she had a better face to adore in its place. But she would have to choose to turn to Him, and at first it would probably take all her strength to choose it.

The same Jesus who said the greatest commandments were to love God and our neighbor, also said, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." No one is exempt from temptation. Everyone has to deny himself to follow Jesus. When we offer people His love without His commandments, we offer them nothing.

In my last post I quoted a passage from Perelandra in which Dr. Weston tried to convince the woman to "make a story" about living on the Fixed Island. She didn't know how, nor did she want to. She couldn't imagine God changing His command, and the thought of imagining herself disobeying Him undid all that was beautiful in her world. And yet here we are, "enlightened" by all our knowledge and technological advancements, living in a swirling cesspool of stories about doing the forbidden thing. We indulge our imaginations, and our lusts grow stronger until they consume us. Eventually they're no longer lusts; they become our identity. And the church, our Ransom, who should be shining like a city on a hill and turning us toward her Redeemer, instead offers us tolerance and acceptance. She holds the only key to our deliverance, yet she reaches through the bars of our cage and hands us a free cup of Starbucks coffee.

"But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death."

I don't think there was anything innately remarkable about the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The fruit had no latent magical powers. It wasn't poisonous in a biological sense. The forbidden fruit, like the Fixed Island in Perelandra, served one purpose. To see if man, in the face of temptation, would believe that God is good in what He forbids. 

We failed then. Will we fail now?  Christ have mercy.

Jeanne Damoff has already finished the third book in the space trilogy and is processing equally sobering truths. Sovereignty and free will, spiritual warfare, the brevity of life in light of eternity, God's design for marriage, and the deceptive danger of pride, ambition, and conceit, to name a few. Toss in Arthurian legend, mythology, Latin, magic, enchanting metaphor, and humor, and you have the brilliance that was C.S. Lewis. You can ignore Jeanne if you want, but please do yourself a favor and read these books.

Comments

[Nicole]

Jeanne, well preached, Sister. Truth. Amen.

[casual.remark]

we should be saying God is good in what He forbids, true. however, if the audience isn't there in the pew listening, they won't know that's what we're saying...or will they?

[Mary DeMuth]

Well orchestrated and great thoughts, Jeanne.

[violet]

I couldn't agree more. You say it clearly and powerfully. Glad you took your courage in hand!

[Wendy Lawton]

You words speak volumes, Jeanne. And I read it applying it to my own too-numerous sin paths not the sins of others. It applies. Freedom for the captives. For those of us who have beloved gays/lesbians in our lives it makes me yearn for freedom for all the captives.

[Jeanne Damoff]

Thanks for the encouragement, Nicole, Mary, and Violet. It helps me more than you probably realize!

Casual.Remark, when I read your comment I was surprised to realize I hadn't been thinking of this as a pulpit-to-pew issue. I'm sure that's part of it, but I was referring to the church more in terms of all those in the body of Christ, not the assembling of ourselves together. I'm personally convicted about how I interact with the friends I mentioned who've turned their backs on Christ. I tell myself I avoid declaring God's goodness in what He forbids because I'm trying to keep communication lines open, but I really think my deeper, underlying motive is darker and more subtle. They think they're happy in their sin, and I doubt God's power or inclination to open their eyes to truth. I try to keep things pleasant, all the while sipping living water and ignoring the glass of bleach in their hands. As convicted as I feel about this, I still haven't approached any of them to initiate conversation. This is my weakness and selfishness, and as long as I continue in it, I can't truly claim to love them. Writing this post was my first step in obedience, and I hope and pray it won't be the last. Thanks for asking a good question!

[Jeanne Damoff]

Thanks, Wendy. Me, too.

[Bonnie Gray]

"The forbidden fruit, like the Fixed Island in Perelandra, served one purpose. To see if man, in the face of temptation, would believe that God is good in what He forbids."

Faith is a curious thing. *Belief* the operative word. As much as reason leads us to the door of Christ, our minds can only bring us to step onto the welcome mat. With faith, this mysterious, yet wonderful key in our hands, we place it into the lock of our hearts and push the door open.

Prayer was the one word that came to mind as faces of friends, like yours, drifted in my thoughts reading this post. For this realm of believing God is good can only come from perspective. Like the one you gained reading Perelandra.

Thank you, Jeanne.

[www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1418664475]

Jeanne,

Thanks so much! Your comment about the question of our reaction to God being good in what He forbids helped me solve a question I always had about the forbidden tree in the Garden.

[Melissa from the Blue House]

Wow...that was wonderfully written, and I'm glad you had the courage to write it. :)
You are so right when you say that 'homosexuality destroys the homosexual;' I once worked in a psychiatric hospital, and always wondered why a surprisingly high percentage of the patients at any given time were homosexual (not that the hospital would ever admit such). You explained it: because its impossible to try to reconcile a lifestyle with the innate need for a Savior. No therapy or psychotropic meds can fix that.

[Susan M]

Everything you said was helpful. But what should we do next? What should we say to our practicing homosexual friends, ones who do claim a current relationship with Jesus, but just shrug and say that every believer has to deal with SOMEthing? If they say "You're not free in [name the stumbling block], so don't lecture me," what can the response be? Help.

[Jeanne Damoff]

Ah, Bonnie. Such a good point. Prayer is key. Only God can open and change hearts. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against "Dr. Westons" in heavenly places, and Satan never lets his captives go without a fight.

Wow, Dan. Given my respect for you as a great thinker, I'm beyond honored that something I wrote helped you solve a theological question. That makes my day. Thanks!

Melissa, I so appreciate your sharing from your experience in a psychiatric hospital. Another common thread I've noticed in the lives of homosexuals I know is a tendency to escape through alcohol or drugs, all the while claiming to be (and I think sincerely believing they are) perfectly happy. No wonder Satan is portrayed as liar and thief.

Susan, that is such a great question, and no doubt your dilemma silences many of us. All I know to do is to speak the truth in an attitude of humility, pray fervently for our friends, and to ask God to reveal Himself in His Word. I pray they'll not be satisfied to bear the name Christian on their own terms, but will hunger to experience the holiness and deliverance (aka, the abundant life) He calls us to. Every believer does face temptation, and every believer stumbles from time to time, but Jesus didn't say, "Go and sin no more as soon as everyone else does." The focus can't be on you or me. It has to be on Jesus. What we can't see is the inner working of the Holy Spirit. If your friends are really seeking Him, I expect they already struggle with the tension between His standards and their lifestyle. What I'm realizing in my relationships is that my refusal to stand for truth is no better than openly siding with "Dr. Weston," who is no doubt the one whispering, "Every believer has to deal with SOMEthing" in their ear. Oh, how I understand both your longing and trepidation. I'll pray for you. Please pray for me, too.

[Lori Stanley Roeleveld]

Thank you for this. I am similarly afflicted with a desire to stand on God's truth (believing it is best and embracing it for my life) and yet, wanting to keep the peace at the party. Your transparency is encouraging and your presentation of truth is fortifying. Thank you for this! (haven't read these books since college - now have put them on top of my to read list! I recently blogged about the difficulty of calling someone a sinner in modern times at http://loristanleyroeleveld.blogspot.com/2009/07/stones-throw-from-help.html
I'd love your feedback. :)

[ldamoff]

"She holds the only key to our deliverance, yet she reaches through the bars of our cage and hands us a free cup of Starbucks coffee."

Christ have mercy indeed.

love,
luke

[Madison Richards]

I don't know what can be said that hasn't been addressed, so I will merely stand and clap with the rest of the room. Even those who may disagree with your point of view cannot fault you for speaking boldly from a place of your convictions.

Bravo.

Sincerely,
Madison

[Will Duquette]

This is excellent.

I have a slight disagreement: it's true that the sin destroys the sinner—but that's not the only reason the Church is opposed to the sin. The sinner does not exist in a vacuum, but in a web of relationships with other people...and when the sinner is not who they should be, it affects all of those other people. There is no such as private sin; all sin is public, even if no one but the sinner knows about it.

But this is a quibble. "God is good in what He forbids": that's a keeper.

[Jeanne Damoff]

Great point, Will. Thanks for your comment!