The Wartburg Watch » Guest Posting

The Church’s Uneasy Relationship With Fiction

dee — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 16:47:10 +0000

“No object is so beautiful that, under certain conditions, it will not look ugly.” Oscar Wilde Fly Free in Space-NASA picture of the day Bruce McCandless-astronaut -Taking a walk As many of our readers know, I, Dee, became a Christian during an episode of Star Trek which is testimony to my rather strange journey within the faith. One of the first books that I read as a Christian was the science fiction trilogy written by CS Lewis called Out of the Silent Planet. I guess you could say that I am addicted to all things science fiction (followed closely by heavily buttered popcorn which pairs well with my primary addiction.) I love fiction. If one were to look at my Kindle, one would see some serious books, liberally interrupted by Christian sci fi, secular sci fi, medical thrillers, and legal mysteries. I have often learned more lessons from well constructed fiction then pedantic theology, although both have their place. (Critics are now convinced that they have absolute proof that I am a minion of Satan). Let me leave you with a lesson that I learned from a rather strange sci fi called The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell. Link Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Mon, Jan 02 2012.

Categories: Guest Posting

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Lessons From Prison:The Hand That Never Leaves You

dee — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 20:16:34 +0000

“Hope is faith holding out its hand in the dark.” George Iles Terkizi Oasis-Sahara Desert from space-NASA This is a post of encouragement that should move our readers profoundly. Please feel free to continue commenting on the SGM mess on the others posts. We would like to enlist the help of our readers. Please read the following short post and write a comment of encouragement to our friend, Tommy Shore. Tommy became a good friend of my pastor who would visit him in prison and would bring him to our Sunday school class when permitted. I enjoyed speaking with him and asked him if he would ever want to tell his story. He took us up on the offer. TWW published his first post a year ago called God's Grace Revealed Through a Pair of Three Year old Reeboks. Here is LINK For those of you who do not remember his last post, here is his biography told in his own words. "I am 57 years old. I was born in Durham, N. C. and the youngest of 3 boys. I graduated from Jordan High School in Durham and was a quarterback in football and a point guard in Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Thu, Aug 04 2011.

Categories: Guest Posting, Tommy Shore

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Pastoral Abuse: One Man’s Difficult Journey and Advice

dee — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:20:46 +0000

"We are born helpless. As soon as we are fully conscious we discover loneliness…" CS Lewis –Transposition and Other addresses Artist rendition of Kepler 11 if the Constellation Cygnus-NASA “It was very therapeutic to write about this “ So began this gentleman’s email to TWW. Coincidentally or rather, providentially, this communication arrived just as we were beginning our series on the book, Spiritual Abuse Recovery. We immediately saw a correlation to the post on the importance of blogging in recovery. We decided to post the story at this juncture and will continue the review of the book tomorrow. The word, “therapeutic,” jumped out at us. You see, this man went through a painful process at his church. The very act of writing it down helped him to process the events that occurred, analyze his reactions and thoughts and outline the steps he made towards removing himself from the situation. He is now sharing his journey with our blogging community with the hope that his insights might help others better understand how to react to, as well as avoid, struggles in church. Although he did not use the word "abuse," we believe in the old adage, "if Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Mon, Feb 07 2011.

Categories: Abusive church tactics, Answers in Creation, Calvinism/Calvinista, Church conflict, Creationism, Guest Posting, SBC pastors, Southern Baptist Convention

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GOD’S GRACE REVEALED THROUGH A PAIR OF THREE YEAR OLD REEBOKS IN PRISON

dee — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 22:02:55 +0000

I am blessed to be in an excellent nondenominational church that has a wonderfully diverse congregation from all walks of life. I met Tommy in our Sunday school class and have been impressed with his thoughtful insight into the faith. He brings a unique perspective to our discussions on this blog and we look forward to future posts. So grab a hanky as you start to read. You will need it. All this jaded blogger can say is, "Wow." Tommy Shore's biography in his own words. I am 57 years old. I was born in Durham, N. C. and the youngest of 3 boys. I graduated from Jordan High School in Durham and was a quarterback in football and a point guard in basketball. I went to East Carolina University and played basketball there. I received my B.S. degree from ECU and worked as an Occupational Therapist for 2 years. I married my high school sweetheart and have 2 children, Erin and Bradley. I graduated with honors from Duke University's Physician Assistant Program and was enjoying a successful career in Orthopaedic Surgery until the onset of my addiction. Today I am divorced and working as a salesman Continue reading →

Written by: dee on Tue, Aug 17 2010.

Categories: Guest Posting, Musings, Prison

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