Book Review – Eden: A Novel With a Lot of Truth to It by D. Kevin May, PhD

Eden: A Novel with a Lot of Truth to It

by D. Kevin May Ph.D. 

Looking at Kevin May’s website, www.kev.net, I find myself asking this question, “Did Kev May set out to write a book, or did he set out to start a revolution?” This is a story about a carefully planned, seemingly exotic, journey. Kevin recounts his trip throughout Southern Asia and Europe in a language that emphasizes a “us and them” mentality. The contrast of lavish lifestyles against the backdrop of poverty grabs your attention and causes you to feel a bit of self-consciousness, with a shot of righteous indignation.

This story about Daniel, a.k.a. Kevin, is a true-story-blend of fact and unverifiable, admittedly embellished, detail that keeps you guessing. (Imagine if James Fray had been honest with Oprah from the start.) You’ll be so inclined to assess the meaning of every conversation and ruminate every exchange, you’ll put the book down, for a little while, in order to reconcile the words with your own worldview.

There is one rule to reading this book; opening its pages commits you reading every single page. (Well, except the explicit love scene, you can skip those two pages. I did.) Kevin’s writing style isn’t exactly the refined prose you may be used to reading, in fact, he admitted to me that it was dashed off in a matter of only four months. But don’t let that slow you down, the value of the story isn’t diminished by the author’s lack of linguistic precision.

The story calls into question the idea of “coincidence”. It’s filled with stark moments of clarity that slowly and unnoticeably slip into to Daniel’s confusion. Declarations are made with an immediate resolve and then as soon as they are made, they begin to fade so slowly, you barely notice. When you do realize what’s happening, you find yourself wanting to grab Daniel by the shoulders and shake some sense into him. You want to yell “What are you thinking?” Watching helplessly from the sidelines, the suspense keeps you turning the pages.

In the end, the resolutions are made, the sides are chosen and you’re faced with the Truth. The battle between good and evil is very much alive in this day and age and there are those who are out to get you. Let the revolution begin.

You can purchase Kev’s book here.

That’s SO Gay!!

This is a big blog for me. It’s not been brought on by anything done recently, and I’m not sure why it’s time to write it, but when you got it coming out, might as well write it down. Please note, I’m well aware that this stuff is tricky, so please read with eyes and mind full of grace.

In my circles in my life, I generally come across four different categories of people when it comes to the issue of homosexuality. Group 1 says that all “homos” are going to hell and that’s the end of it. Group 2 says that gays can be reformed. Group 3 is Gay Okay! and Group 4 says, let’s just love people and let God do His thing.

I live about 20 miles away from the biggest instigators of the philosophy of Group 1. They hold the domain name godhatesfags . com and are the “funeral protestors” you keep hearing about on national news outlets. They claim to be a Baptist church, but are actually Calvinistic and believe that your fate has been decided for you and that only a small portion of people have been preselected by God to be Christians and get to Heaven. I don’t know what they do with the idea of Freewill, but pretty much everything they espouse blows my mind, so I quit trying to figure them out.

Group 2 is gets a bit of national attention all of their own, but they are often misunderstood and lumped into the same category as Group 1 (unfairly, in my opinion). They beleive that, yes, homosexuality is in fact a sin, but God loves us all anyway, and we all have to get our act together, so they support reformation programs such as Exodus or other support groups. This category includes men and women who are no longer practicing homosexuals. Some have married (heterosexually) and have had children of their own. They consider themselves to have been set free from the grasp of homosexuality and watch themselves, lest they be tempted. I read a book once called “Heaven’s Back Row”. It’s supposed to be about a married pastor and father who is struggling with his homosexuality, but the recurring theme that made me queasy was first and foremost, his infidelity to his wife and secondly his promiscuity. He wasn’t just gay, he got around to boot!

Some in Group 2 also promote the idea of “a gay agenda” like there is some organized group of gays somewhere smoking cigars and taking notes trying to turn us all into “their kind”. Now, I’m speaking from my own experience here, but I’ve never, ever been asked to or been recruited to be gay. (Okay, so a girl asked me to make out with her once, but I was like, “um, no.” and she totally wasn’t offended and as weird as it was, it just wasn’t awkward…) I’ve seen movies and TV shows with gay characters, and while I suppose these could be interpreted as “gay promos”, I thought they were actually more like “understand me, love me, accept me” kind of shows. But then again, I haven’t seen Brokeback Mountain. The gay people I know don’t want me either, so I’m just really not sure where this scary”organized agenda” idea comes from. I think it’s this impersonal “they” mentality that keeps a lot of gay people’s hearts closed to considering the Gospel for themselves.

Group 3 is the God loves Gays group. God made them gay. There’s nothing wrong with being gay. All the New Testament Bible verses have been mistranslated (that should say “child molester” not “homosexual”) and the Old Testament doesn’t apply anymore anyway (I mean really, who doesn’t love pork chops?), so that doesn’t matter either. So, they live gay, they love gay and they worship God, love Jesus and love themselves. I personally know a couple that falls into this category and I can undeniably say, I think they have truly accepted Jesus as both Lord and Savior and love Him. I would also be willing to say, I can’t see any reason that they would not, in fact, be saved.

Group 4 is the group I consider myself to be a part of. This group either A) has no definitive opinion or B) is keeping their cards close to their chest and nobody knows their opinion. (Although, you may be able to have me figured out by the end of this one) They either believe the same as Group 2 and don’t want to offend gays or those in Group 3, or they believe as Group 3 and don’t want to offend or upset the people in Group 2. (and Group 1 can go sodomize themselves… oh my lame attempts at humor, don’t take me too seriously) Group 4 knows that God loves us all. “Just As I Am” is truly their anthem. Most people in this group know exactly what it is they, themselves, have been saved from. They don’t want to judge other people or get involved where God doesn’t intend for them to be. Group 4 people are generally experienced in ministry and understand that love comes first. They get it that God wants people to love Him. Once God gets a hold of someone, then God convicts people about the sins He wants them to deal with, not the ones I want them to deal with. They relate to the reformed homos in Group 2. They understand what it means to be freed of something burdensome. But on the other hand, they don’t think that Group 3 is going to Hell necessarily either. This group is, in deed, a bunch of saved sinners, still working out their own salvation.

Personally, it’s been my experience that when people change, it’s because God has laid it on their hearts to change*. He not only identifies the area He wants to work on, but He also gives them the tools and conviction to bring about change. If God wants to convict someone from their behavior, whatever that may be, then He has to lead. And I do believe that sometimes, there are other areas of someone’s life that are more pressing and need to be dealt with first and foremost. You never know what God’s going to have someone work on first and more importantly, you never know when someone’s never going to get to the item you would have put on the top of their “to do” list.

*Now, I’m not saying that God will never use you to convict someone of sin. Intervention is occasionally necessary. But Jesus was very clear on this one, He said that when you go to someone, you a) go to them out of love and concern without an attitude of judgement or superiority (that whole plank in your eye thing) and b) you are sure that God has asked you to speak to that person about this issue. There cannot be offense taken when you’ve humbly gone to someone that you love and respect out of concern for their well being. The same cannot be said when you approach someone you barely know or hold up a picket sign or petition.

 

Today’s Forwards – 11/28/07

I received two forwards in my “inbox” today. Both were from people I love dearly. Both were completely different and both got a response from me.

FWD: 1

Twas the month before Christmas
When all through our land,
Not a Christian was praying
Nor taking a stand.
Why the Politically Correct Police had taken away,
The reason for Christmas – no one could say.
The children were told by their schools not to sing,
About Shepherds and Wise Men and Angels and things.
It might hurt people’s feelings, the teachers would say
December 25th is just a “Holiday”.
Yet the shoppers were ready with cash, checks and credit
Pushing folks down to the floor just to get it!
CDs from Madonna, an X BOX, an I-pod
Something was changing, something quite odd!
Retailers promoted Ramadan and Kwanzaa
In hopes to sell books by Franken & Fonda.
As Targets were hanging their trees upside down
At Lowe’s the word Christmas – was no where to be found.
At K-Mart and Staples and Penny’s and Sears
You won’t hear the word Christmas; it won’t touch your ears.
Inclusive, sensitive, Di-ver-si-ty
Are words that were used to intimidate me.
Now Daschle, Now Darden, Now Sharpton, Wolf Blitzen
On Boxer, on Rather, on Kerry, on Clinton!
At the top of the Senate, there arose such a clatter
To eliminate Jesus, in all public matter.
And we spoke not a word, as they took away our faith
Forbidden to speak of salvation and grace.
The true Gift of Christmas was exchanged and discarded
The reason for the season, stopped before it started.
So as you celebrate “Winter Break” under your “Dream Tree”
Sipping your Starbucks, listen to me.
Choose your words carefully, choose what you say
Shout MERRY CHRISTMAS, not Happy Holiday!

Response to FWD: 1 (please note, this is not my entire response, I first started out by telling this person how much they meant to me and that I was ranting about the poem and not the person who sent it to me)

There are a lot of presumptions (incorrect ones at that) in this poem and most of it is just silly. Especially this part “as they took away our faith” Are you kidding me? Does the author of this have any idea what early Christians went through? We’re not even being persecuted, let alone executed like they were.

We live in a secular society. Many people aren’t believers and its ridiculous to ask them to act as though they are. I especially can’t stand the political aspects of this poem. Jesus wasn’t a Republican and lots of Christians are Democrats. And don’t get my started on “Christmas” trees which were originally worshiped by some pagan outfit somewhere.

I’m so tired of middle class, white, self righteous people who think their brand of Christianity is what is right for everyone and its okay to be rude and obnoxious to anyone who doesn’t agree with them. Where is the love in that? The only way to win people is to be a light and to be hope and to share your faith out of your relationship with people and your relationship with Jesus. I’ve never met anyone that was won over to the Way with a ballot, or a picket, or an internet forward about offended Christians. Jesus said we aren’t to be offended. Isn’t part of dying to yourself giving up your right to be offended? The only people Jesus railed on were “believers” and religious leaders and mostly because they had wrapped themselves up in their wrong ideas and had no compassion for the lost.

Didn’t mean for this to be so long, I just think this poem embodies everything that is wrong with the right wing Christian movement of today. I know I’m especially sensitive to this because I live in a liberal college town and talk to people who hold up these things as examples of why they would never consider coming to church.

Whew!! Are you still with me? Cause if you are, here’s your reward:

FWD:2

I am passing this on to you because it definitely works and we could all use a little more calmness in our lives. By following simple advice I heard on the Dr. Phil show, you too can find inner peace. Dr. Phil proclaimed ‘The way to achieve inner peace is to finish all the things you have started and never finished.’ So, I looked around my house to see all the things I started and hadn’t finished, and before leaving the house this morning, I finished off 23 Bud Lights, a bottle of Absolute, a package of Oreos, the remainder of my old Prozac prescription, the rest of the cheesecake, some Doritos and a box of chocolates. You have no idea how freaking good I feel

Response to FWD: 2

Funniest forward EVER!!

Idolotry of Patriotism – 1/09/07

So, today, I got the following email and usually, I blow this stuff off, but not today. Today, I’ve had enough.

A lady wrote the best letter in the Editorials in ages!! It explains things better than all the baloney you hear on TV.Recently, large demonstrations have taken place across the country protesting the fact that Congress is finally addressing the issue of illegal immigration. Certain people are angry that the U.S. might protect its own borders, might make it harder to sneak into this country and, once here, to stay indefinitely. Let me see if I correctly understand the thinking behind these protests. Let’s say I break into your house. Let’s say that when you discover me in your house, you insist that I leave. But I say, “I’ve made all the beds and washed the dishes and did the laundry and swept the floors; I’ve done all the things you don’t like to do. I’m hard-working and honest (except for when I broke into your house).

According to the protesters, not only must you let me stay, you must add me to your family’s insurance plan, educate my kids, and provide other benefits to me and to my family (my husband will do your yard work) because he too is hard-working and honest, except for that breaking in part). If you try to call the police or force me out, I will call my friends who will picket your house carrying signs that proclaim my right to be
there.

It’s only fair, after all, because you havea nicer house than I do, and I’m just trying to better myself. I’m hard-working and honest, um, except for well, you know.

And what a deal it is for me!! I live in your house, contributing only a fraction of the cost of my keep, and there is nothing you can do about it without being accused of selfishness, prejudice and being an anti-housebreaker. Oh yeah, and I want you to learn my language so you can communicate with me!

Why can’t people see how ridiculous this is? Only in America….

If you agree, pass it on (in English). Share
it if you see the value of it as a good simile. If not, blow it off,along with your future Social Security funds.

So, this was my response:

I usually don’t reply to these emails, but honestly, where is your compassion for humanity? This story shouts “Me! Me! Me!” Why do we feel like we can disregard the teaching of Jesus under the guise of patriotism?

Jesus said give to all who ask of you and if a man forces you to go one mile, walk with him two. Not only that, but if he sues you for your shirt, hand over your coat as well. (Matt 5:40ff)

Jesus wasn’t into protecting a lifestyle (or speaking only one language; He spoke at least two). He broke the cultural barriers that kept the Samaritans poor and struggling. He came to give life to people, not just Heaven in the future, but a full abundant beautiful life here and now.

Jesus ate with “sinners” (people who by the way, weren’t “perfectly honest”) and associated more with them than with the finger pointing Pharisees.

If you want people to stay in Mexico, get involved with a project or mission to improve their country. Have compassion on the poor.

Lay down your flag and take up your cross.

In Response 10/30/06

This blog is inspired, in part by the discussion on this blog, particularly the following comments:

“I’ve actually never been there, because I *don’t* get it. Is Christian coffee different than, say Muslim coffee? Must I be a Christian to enter? If I’m not a Christian, would I want to enter? I’m not much of a hanger-outer in coffee shops, so I probably won’t ever go anyway. Well, I might check out the art gallery, I didn’t know that was there. I just always wondered about the place. I don’t think “Christian coffee shop” as I have heard it termed is very self explanatory…. I guess that’s why I don’t get it. Maybe I’ll check it out sometime.”

And my favorite….

“I think that Christian coffee comes with a double shot of guilt, and a good frothy head of self-righteousness if you ask for it right…”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
One thing that really bugs me is the response I get from Christians when they notice I don’t wear Christian clothing, or display Christian art in my home, or listen to only Christian music or vote for only Christian candidates, or listen to Christian radio or have a goofy Christian bumper sticker on my car.

I mean, really what is Christian coffee?

For example, my mother-in-law, whom I love dearly, takes fantastic pictures of things like flowers and trees and birds and the like. But she insists that her art is Christian and names each one of them after a Bible verse. She can’t simply let nature speak for itself. She wants to make her faith a central part of sycamore trees.

She was terribly disappointed when we told her the music festival we were going to last summer wasn’t a Christian music festival. (Now, I must state for the record that we do have a history of attending the most awesome Christian music festival on the planet in Bushnell, IL. And it is Christian because they only invite bands who profess a faith in Jesus and have songs based on their faith, life experiences and the Bible. This is a particularly cool thing because most of the bands there don’t get air time on your average Hallelujah radio stations (WDLM etc) We’ve seen some really great bands there including Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Sixpence None the Richer and P.O.D….(Longest. Parenthetical. Statement. Ever.)) But we don’t want to limit ourselves to only Christian music. Other bands make good music too.

I don’t want to live in a Christian bubble, because Jesus lived His life with people outside of His beliefs. Jesus brought them good news. How can we bring other people that good news if we only wear, listen to, look at and vote for Christian things? We would have no grid for anything “worldly” and would be ineffective at communicating God’s love to those who need it.

I’m not afraid that I’m going to get dirty or unsaved because I hear an expletive (or even if I say one myself). I am afraid, however, that putting a little fish on my car may give Jesus some bad P.R., especially if I cut someone off on 6th street. Wearing cheesy Tshirts doesn’t help our culture “get it”; it makes them not want to have anything to do with it.

I’ve heard a lot of Christians claim to be persecuted for their faith. Then they tell their story and I want to say “Um, you weren’t being persecuted for your faith, you were being persecuted for being a dumb ass.” But I don’t say that, exactly.

I’m shocked by the numbers of people my age who think they know what Christianity is, but the comments they make about it are entirely to the contrary. That’s what produced a previous blog (which, by the way, netted no feedback at all??). However, maybe I shouldn’t be shocked since people think if they learn more they may have to wear T-shirts like this: