A Decade of Blogging

I have been blogging for ten years! The unsettling events of 2015 and the beginning of 2016 had so distracted me that that I almost let such an important anniversary slipped my mind! I started this blog on 21 January 2006. I posted my 1000th post on 20 July 2008, 2001st post on 1 Jan 2010, and 3000th post on 11 Feb 2015. One of the features I like about blog is that I can easily retrieve previous posts, unlike Facebook or twitters. Blogging is part of my digital Great Commission activities.

My very first post Why I begin blogging in 2006 states the reasons why I started the blog.

• With the numerous viewpoints available, I want to add a distinctive Christian one
• I support the open access of knowledge that the Internet offers
• Use Web 2.0 as a platform to sharing our learning experiences
• Be part of an online community

In time, my blogging activities expanded and so did my number of blogs. Aside from this blog, I also administer the following blogs, reflecting my diverse interests.

• Random Writing from a Doctor’s Chair
• Random Sermon from a Doctor’s Chair
• Random Spirituality from a Doctor’s Chair
• Random Photos from a Doctor’s Chair

My postings in the blogs have lessen in the last few years because of my increased involvement in Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest, Google Plus and Youtube. This does not mean that I think that the importance of blogs has decreased. In fact, I believe that blogging has settled into the distinctive niche it was meant to be. Where Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, Pinterest and Google Plus deal with the daily, social online interactions, blogs offers a place for longer, more reflective and reasoned articles to be posted.

I will continue to blog 

•  Spiritual discipline. Blogging is a spiritual discipline as I try to write at least 1,000 words daily. Not all of what I have written will be posted. Some will be published elsewhere. I find writing helps me to think and understand myself. It also helps me to experience God and engage with his creation.

• Teaching. The Internet has grown tremendously in the last two decades. It has become the largest depository of knowledge mankind has ever created. It is also the largest collection of hubris. I will continue to present a Christian viewpoint from as far as I understand it. I do not pretend to know it all but I see the need for Christian counterpoint especially from an Asian perspective.

• Recommending. I will continue to recommend good books, blog postings and websites. I find open sharing is very useful as others may also come across articles or post I am not aware of.

• Interaction. I value interactions on my blogs and other social media. I value open minds and fellow seekers. However, I will not waste my time with biased, opinionated, rude bigots. We learn more in our interactions. 

• Community. My readers and friends are my online tribe and community. I value every one of them. Their comments and likes are much appreciated. I love the friendships we have formed online and in some cases in the physical world. It is always a pleasure to meet someone in the flesh whom we have met online. I am slowly going down the list and praying for each of my Facebook friends.

Dear friends, thank you for reading this far and being part of my life. God bless you all. 

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Second Printing of Spiritual Formation on the Run

My book, Spiritual Formation on the Run has been selling steadily since it's launch in January this year. Many persons have been blessed by reading it and I am so happy. I pray that the Lord will continue to use the book to touch lives.

2nd print of the books arrived today.


I hope you will support the ministry by buying copies for friends to give as Christmas presents.
I do not receive a single cent from my writing and publishing. The proceeds for this book goes to support the 1st Johor Bahru Boys Brigade's activities.

You can order copies from your local bookstores (it will help me if you ask them to order if they do not have stock), Amazon.com or from me via draltang@yahoo.com




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Creative Spaces

Photographer Kyle Cassidy undertakes a project to photograph the creative space where some science fiction writes writes.

Take a peek here

Books Unbound

Books Gone Wild: The Digital Age Reshapes Literature

By Lev Grossman Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009

Chris Jackson / Getty

Here's a literary parable for the 21st century. Lisa Genova, 38, was a health-care-industry consultant in Belmont, Mass., who wanted to be a novelist, but she couldn't get her book published for love or money. She had a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard, but she couldn't get an agent. "I did what you're supposed to do," she says. "I queried literary agents. I went to writers' conferences and tried to network. I e-mailed editors. Nobody wanted it." So Genova paid $450 to a company called iUniverse and published her book, Still Alice, herself.

read more

Books Unbound

Books Gone Wild: The Digital Age Reshapes Literature

By Lev Grossman Wednesday, Jan. 21, 2009

Chris Jackson / Getty

Here's a literary parable for the 21st century. Lisa Genova, 38, was a health-care-industry consultant in Belmont, Mass., who wanted to be a novelist, but she couldn't get her book published for love or money. She had a Ph.D. in neuroscience from Harvard, but she couldn't get an agent. "I did what you're supposed to do," she says. "I queried literary agents. I went to writers' conferences and tried to network. I e-mailed editors. Nobody wanted it." So Genova paid $450 to a company called iUniverse and published her book, Still Alice, herself.

read more

Frederick Buechner in a Strange Land

Books & Culture, July/August 2008

STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND

The Yellow Leaves

by John Wilson

In January of this year, King College in Bristol, Tennessee hosted the inauguration of the Buechner Institute, a faith-and-culture center directed by Dale Brown. Frederick Buechner himself was present, and when he addressed the audience, there was an expectant hush.
The guest of honor, without much preamble, told his listeners that for about ten years he had been unable to complete any substantial writing project. A very quiet auditorium became quieter still. Buechner went on to say that each day he goes out to his "Magic Kingdom," the separate place—set apart from the house—where for decades he has done his writing. There he is surrounded by his magnificent collection of first editions and assorted objects of significance to him. He writes, yet nothing comes to fruition.

read more

Any of Federik Buechner's books are worth reading. He is a man of great insight. He is a Presbyterian and a graduate of Union Theological Seminary. For a time he was chairman of the department of religion at the Phillip Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire

In 1967 Buechner moved to Vermont to pursue his writing full time. It was a difficult time of adjustment for Buechner. "A number of people assumed that when I left Exeter, I was also leaving the ministry, and what unsettled me about that was, on the one hand, that it was not true- I had every hope being as much a minister in the books I wrote as in the classes I taught- and, on the other hand, that I would have to work very hard and carefully to make sure that it did not become true." (Now and Then, p. 80) Buechner would continue his public ministry by speaking at universities, including Harvard and Yale, but his writing would be more prolific than ever before (read more)

I like that - a minister in the books. Worth thinking about.
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Frederick Buechner in a Strange Land

Books & Culture, July/August 2008

STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND

The Yellow Leaves

by John Wilson

In January of this year, King College in Bristol, Tennessee hosted the inauguration of the Buechner Institute, a faith-and-culture center directed by Dale Brown. Frederick Buechner himself was present, and when he addressed the audience, there was an expectant hush.
The guest of honor, without much preamble, told his listeners that for about ten years he had been unable to complete any substantial writing project. A very quiet auditorium became quieter still. Buechner went on to say that each day he goes out to his "Magic Kingdom," the separate place—set apart from the house—where for decades he has done his writing. There he is surrounded by his magnificent collection of first editions and assorted objects of significance to him. He writes, yet nothing comes to fruition.

read more

Any of Federik Buechner's books are worth reading. He is a man of great insight. He is a Presbyterian and a graduate of Union Theological Seminary. For a time he was chairman of the department of religion at the Phillip Exeter Academy in Exeter, New Hampshire

In 1967 Buechner moved to Vermont to pursue his writing full time. It was a difficult time of adjustment for Buechner. "A number of people assumed that when I left Exeter, I was also leaving the ministry, and what unsettled me about that was, on the one hand, that it was not true- I had every hope being as much a minister in the books I wrote as in the classes I taught- and, on the other hand, that I would have to work very hard and carefully to make sure that it did not become true." (Now and Then, p. 80) Buechner would continue his public ministry by speaking at universities, including Harvard and Yale, but his writing would be more prolific than ever before (read more)

I like that - a minister in the books. Worth thinking about.
.

Excelsior, true believer!

An interview with Stan Lee

Stan Lee is an ageless wonder. At 85, he's busier than most guys half his age, and his mind is as sharp as ever, too, still cranking out ideas for comic books and films, and still capable of recounting stories about his remarkable career. SCI FI Weekly recently caught up with Lee in advance of the May 2 release of Iron Man, the latest would-be blockbuster based on one of his comic-book creations. In this wide-ranging conversation, Lee talks about being an action figure, contemplates the differences between a good comic book and a good film, discusses his cameo appearances in Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk and reveals that he doesn't plan to retire anytime soon.

Do you see much difference between a good comic book and a good movie or television show based on a comic book?

Lee: Wow. Well, a good comic book, like any form of literature, should have characters you care about and a story that holds your interest. One thing that helps a story hold your interest is it should be replete with surprises and the characterization should always be interesting and realistic. Even if you're doing superheroes, the characterizations should be believable and realistic. And I don't think there's any difference between a good comic book and a good movie or TV show, because they're both for the purpose of entertaining. If a good movie or TV show can hold your interest and entertain you and, when you leave the theater, make you say, "Wow, I enjoyed that," that's what you hope a reader will say who's read a good comic book or a good novel or hears a good opera or sees a good stage show or a ballet. They're different media, but it's all the same. We're in the business of entertaining, and we have to entertain the reader, the viewer or the audience.

read the rest of the interview

Excelsior, true believer!

An interview with Stan Lee

Stan Lee is an ageless wonder. At 85, he's busier than most guys half his age, and his mind is as sharp as ever, too, still cranking out ideas for comic books and films, and still capable of recounting stories about his remarkable career. SCI FI Weekly recently caught up with Lee in advance of the May 2 release of Iron Man, the latest would-be blockbuster based on one of his comic-book creations. In this wide-ranging conversation, Lee talks about being an action figure, contemplates the differences between a good comic book and a good film, discusses his cameo appearances in Iron Man and The Incredible Hulk and reveals that he doesn't plan to retire anytime soon.

Do you see much difference between a good comic book and a good movie or television show based on a comic book?

Lee: Wow. Well, a good comic book, like any form of literature, should have characters you care about and a story that holds your interest. One thing that helps a story hold your interest is it should be replete with surprises and the characterization should always be interesting and realistic. Even if you're doing superheroes, the characterizations should be believable and realistic. And I don't think there's any difference between a good comic book and a good movie or TV show, because they're both for the purpose of entertaining. If a good movie or TV show can hold your interest and entertain you and, when you leave the theater, make you say, "Wow, I enjoyed that," that's what you hope a reader will say who's read a good comic book or a good novel or hears a good opera or sees a good stage show or a ballet. They're different media, but it's all the same. We're in the business of entertaining, and we have to entertain the reader, the viewer or the audience.

read the rest of the interview

The Whys and Wherefores of Writing

"They enrich us with their knowledge concerning knowledge of the past, counsel, educate, honour and dignify us; if you say they are dead you are not wrong, and if you say they are alive you do not lie"

Ibn Tiqtiqa in 'Al-Fakhri'

The whys and wherefores of writing
IKIM Views
By DR MOHD ZAIDI ISMAIL
Senior Fellow, Centre for Science and Technology, IKIM
Insofar as Islamic intellectual tradition is concerned, the zest for books has often been described as all permeating.

APRIL 4 began with what by now is an annual affair, the 10-day long Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair at the Putra Trade World Centre. Although one of the very few events worth attending for book lovers, it remains essentially an event for players with stakes in the book industry. The occasion therefore, is more about writings being products to be marketed rather than as food for thought.

Writings – be they in such traditional forms as treatises, monographs, books, or in non-conventional modes – are media for the mind to express itself. As such, they play a significant role in the intellectual culture of any peoples.

Insofar as Islamic intellectual tradition is concerned, the zest for books has often been described as all permeating. Numerous anecdotes testifying to such enthusiasm have been narrated.

The 13th Century scholar ibn Tiqtiqa, for example, reported in his al-Fakhri that a certain Caliph had sent for a certain scholar merely to share his company. The servant who was instructed to meet the scholar later found him sitting surrounded by books which he was studying. Having been informed that the Caliph had summoned him, the scholar answered: “Tell him some learned men are with me, and I am conversing with them. Once I have finished with them, I will come.” The Caliph, upset as he was upon being informed of the scholar’s reply, asked his servant who those learned men the scholar referred to were. The servant gave a straightforward answer: “In truth, O Caliph, there was no one with him.” “Fetch him at once, regardless of what state he is in!” instantly came the Caliph’s command. When that scholar arrived, the Caliph angrily queried: “Who were those learned men with you?” “O, Caliph,” the scholar replied, “we have companions, trusty and trusted, whether absent or here to see, of whose talk we do not tire; they enrich us with their knowledge concerning knowledge of the past, counsel, educate, honour and dignify us; if you say they are dead you are not wrong, and if you say they are alive you do not lie.” With such a witty reply, the Caliph knew that the scholar was referring to books, and did not therefore mind his tardiness.

Books are indeed the product of the human mind; as such, like any other mental act or operation, they are intentional. There are always reasons for one to write a book.

Ibn Hazm of Andalusia (Muslim Spain) (d. 1064) in his al-Taqrib, a treatise on logic, enumerated seven reasons for one to compose in a meaningful manner. First, an author may have something original to write. Second, he may want to complete something that had been left uncompleted. Third, he may want to put right something that was erroneous. Fourth, he may want to clarify and explain matters that are mysterious, abstruse or complicated. Fifth, he may shorten, without omitting anything vital, a work by another person that is too long. Sixth, he may want to gather information from numerous independent sources. Seventh, he may want to assemble things that hitherto had been scattered like beads, and thread them together again.

In fact, ibn Hazm was alleged to have considered the above as the only categories for which scholars and perceptive people write.

That, however, is the opinion of a scholar of the 11th century in a place now part of Europe.

Eight hundred years later, in another part of the globe, the Indian Sub-Continent, we find the prolific Siddiq b. Hassan Khan al-Qinnawji (d. 1889) echoing the same sentiments in his three-volume Abjad al-’Ulum. Al-Qinnawji argued that composition is of seven types from which no intelligent scholar can escape. First, something having no precedence, which he therefore invents. Second, something deficient, which he therefore completes. Third, something abstruse, which he therefore explains. Fourth, something lengthy, which he therefore abridges without affecting any of its original meanings. Fifth, something scattered, which he therefore combines. Sixth, something mixed or confused, which he therefore puts into order. Seventh, something regarding which its author was in error, which he therefore corrects.

If ever we are writers with conviction, which of these groups do we consider ourselves?

read here

The Whys and Wherefores of Writing

"They enrich us with their knowledge concerning knowledge of the past, counsel, educate, honour and dignify us; if you say they are dead you are not wrong, and if you say they are alive you do not lie"

Ibn Tiqtiqa in 'Al-Fakhri'

The whys and wherefores of writing
IKIM Views
By DR MOHD ZAIDI ISMAIL
Senior Fellow, Centre for Science and Technology, IKIM
Insofar as Islamic intellectual tradition is concerned, the zest for books has often been described as all permeating.

APRIL 4 began with what by now is an annual affair, the 10-day long Kuala Lumpur International Book Fair at the Putra Trade World Centre. Although one of the very few events worth attending for book lovers, it remains essentially an event for players with stakes in the book industry. The occasion therefore, is more about writings being products to be marketed rather than as food for thought.

Writings – be they in such traditional forms as treatises, monographs, books, or in non-conventional modes – are media for the mind to express itself. As such, they play a significant role in the intellectual culture of any peoples.

Insofar as Islamic intellectual tradition is concerned, the zest for books has often been described as all permeating. Numerous anecdotes testifying to such enthusiasm have been narrated.

The 13th Century scholar ibn Tiqtiqa, for example, reported in his al-Fakhri that a certain Caliph had sent for a certain scholar merely to share his company. The servant who was instructed to meet the scholar later found him sitting surrounded by books which he was studying. Having been informed that the Caliph had summoned him, the scholar answered: “Tell him some learned men are with me, and I am conversing with them. Once I have finished with them, I will come.” The Caliph, upset as he was upon being informed of the scholar’s reply, asked his servant who those learned men the scholar referred to were. The servant gave a straightforward answer: “In truth, O Caliph, there was no one with him.” “Fetch him at once, regardless of what state he is in!” instantly came the Caliph’s command. When that scholar arrived, the Caliph angrily queried: “Who were those learned men with you?” “O, Caliph,” the scholar replied, “we have companions, trusty and trusted, whether absent or here to see, of whose talk we do not tire; they enrich us with their knowledge concerning knowledge of the past, counsel, educate, honour and dignify us; if you say they are dead you are not wrong, and if you say they are alive you do not lie.” With such a witty reply, the Caliph knew that the scholar was referring to books, and did not therefore mind his tardiness.

Books are indeed the product of the human mind; as such, like any other mental act or operation, they are intentional. There are always reasons for one to write a book.

Ibn Hazm of Andalusia (Muslim Spain) (d. 1064) in his al-Taqrib, a treatise on logic, enumerated seven reasons for one to compose in a meaningful manner. First, an author may have something original to write. Second, he may want to complete something that had been left uncompleted. Third, he may want to put right something that was erroneous. Fourth, he may want to clarify and explain matters that are mysterious, abstruse or complicated. Fifth, he may shorten, without omitting anything vital, a work by another person that is too long. Sixth, he may want to gather information from numerous independent sources. Seventh, he may want to assemble things that hitherto had been scattered like beads, and thread them together again.

In fact, ibn Hazm was alleged to have considered the above as the only categories for which scholars and perceptive people write.

That, however, is the opinion of a scholar of the 11th century in a place now part of Europe.

Eight hundred years later, in another part of the globe, the Indian Sub-Continent, we find the prolific Siddiq b. Hassan Khan al-Qinnawji (d. 1889) echoing the same sentiments in his three-volume Abjad al-’Ulum. Al-Qinnawji argued that composition is of seven types from which no intelligent scholar can escape. First, something having no precedence, which he therefore invents. Second, something deficient, which he therefore completes. Third, something abstruse, which he therefore explains. Fourth, something lengthy, which he therefore abridges without affecting any of its original meanings. Fifth, something scattered, which he therefore combines. Sixth, something mixed or confused, which he therefore puts into order. Seventh, something regarding which its author was in error, which he therefore corrects.

If ever we are writers with conviction, which of these groups do we consider ourselves?

read here

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader

Anne Fadiman (1998), Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Ex Libris recounts a lifelong love affair with books and language. Anne Fadiman, like many passionate readers, regards books that she loves as chapters in her life story. I can remember certain books that I read at certain periods of my life. Star Trek novels saved my sanity as I was training in Edinburgh for my postgraduate degree, far away from home and family.

Writing with remarkable grace, she (Fadiman) revives the tradition of well crafted personal essay, moving easily from anecdotes about Coleridge and Orwell to tales of her own pathological literary family. As someone who plays at blocks with her father’s twenty-two volume set of Trollope (“My Ancestral Castle”) and who considers herself truly married only when she and her husband had merged collections (“Marrying Libraries”), she is exquisitely well equipped to expand upon the art of flyleaf inscriptions, the perverse pleasure of compulsive proof-reading, the allure of long words, and the satisfaction of reading aloud.

A jolly good read for bibliophiles and bibliomaniacs and those in between.

.

Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader

Anne Fadiman (1998), Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader, New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Ex Libris recounts a lifelong love affair with books and language. Anne Fadiman, like many passionate readers, regards books that she loves as chapters in her life story. I can remember certain books that I read at certain periods of my life. Star Trek novels saved my sanity as I was training in Edinburgh for my postgraduate degree, far away from home and family.

Writing with remarkable grace, she (Fadiman) revives the tradition of well crafted personal essay, moving easily from anecdotes about Coleridge and Orwell to tales of her own pathological literary family. As someone who plays at blocks with her father’s twenty-two volume set of Trollope (“My Ancestral Castle”) and who considers herself truly married only when she and her husband had merged collections (“Marrying Libraries”), she is exquisitely well equipped to expand upon the art of flyleaf inscriptions, the perverse pleasure of compulsive proof-reading, the allure of long words, and the satisfaction of reading aloud.

A jolly good read for bibliophiles and bibliomaniacs and those in between.

.

Do You Like Sentences?

Books & Culture, September/October 2007

RUMORS OF GLORY

Sentences

By Alan Jacobs posted 10/08/07

In her wonderful book The Writing Life, Annie Dillard tells this anecdote:

A well-known writer got collared by a university student who asked, 'Do you think I could be a writer?'

"Well," the writer said, "I don't know … . Do you like sentences?"

Since I first read this story many years ago, I have thought that the unnamed author—was it Dillard herself?—gave one of the best possible answers to that eternal question. For writing, the writing of prose anyway, is largely a matter of making sentences: hammering one together, connecting it to another, eventually framing a whole edifice. But one sentence at a time is the only way you can do it.

read complete article here

I love sentences. The problem is I love long complicated convoluted sentences with plenty of adjectives, verbs, nouns, and an ocassional pronouns. To allow my reader to draw a breath while reading my sentences, I sometimes insert a comma.

I know, I know. It drives my editors crazy. Sentences must be short and simple. Like Earnest Hemmingway's. Last time I looked, I am not Earnest Hemingway and I will not be able to contain all the thoughts I want to convey in a short sentence like his.

.

Do You Like Sentences?

Books & Culture, September/October 2007

RUMORS OF GLORY

Sentences

By Alan Jacobs posted 10/08/07

In her wonderful book The Writing Life, Annie Dillard tells this anecdote:

A well-known writer got collared by a university student who asked, 'Do you think I could be a writer?'

"Well," the writer said, "I don't know … . Do you like sentences?"

Since I first read this story many years ago, I have thought that the unnamed author—was it Dillard herself?—gave one of the best possible answers to that eternal question. For writing, the writing of prose anyway, is largely a matter of making sentences: hammering one together, connecting it to another, eventually framing a whole edifice. But one sentence at a time is the only way you can do it.

read complete article here

I love sentences. The problem is I love long complicated convoluted sentences with plenty of adjectives, verbs, nouns, and an ocassional pronouns. To allow my reader to draw a breath while reading my sentences, I sometimes insert a comma.

I know, I know. It drives my editors crazy. Sentences must be short and simple. Like Earnest Hemmingway's. Last time I looked, I am not Earnest Hemingway and I will not be able to contain all the thoughts I want to convey in a short sentence like his.

.

Three Sentence Novels

I was book shopping in Kino in Singapore yesterday when I came across a reprint of a book by Fenelon. Apparently, Fenelon was writing three-sentences novels to the French newspaper for many years.

One day the publisher of the paper decided to compile and publish all his novels. The book was such a hit that it was translated into English (I believe by Penguin).


How about that. I shall do it slightly differently. I shall write a couple of three lines novels (thanks, pearlie for pointing this out). Here's one

It was a dark night. There was a loud cry and the sound of a body falling down the stairs. What's that, the wife cried out. That's my trousers falling down the stairs, the husband replied. "Why so noisy?" inquired the wife. "I was in them," replied the husband.

Or this

The farmer worked hard ploughing the dry soil. The seasons for planting and growing crops are short. Life is hard. Near the fields are the graves of his wife and children. Nevertheless the farmer gamely soldiered on. Terraforming Mars is difficult.

another one

The spaceship Enterprise shuttered as a pair of Klingon birds of prey fired on her. Their rescue mission had led the Enterprise into a trap. Commander Riker said, "I wanna go home." "Make it so," replied Captain Picard.


Anyone wants to contribute their three lines novels?

.

Three Sentence Novels

I was book shopping in Kino in Singapore yesterday when I came across a reprint of a book by Fenelon. Apparently, Fenelon was writing three-sentences novels to the French newspaper for many years.

One day the publisher of the paper decided to compile and publish all his novels. The book was such a hit that it was translated into English (I believe by Penguin).


How about that. I shall do it slightly differently. I shall write a couple of three lines novels (thanks, pearlie for pointing this out). Here's one

It was a dark night. There was a loud cry and the sound of a body falling down the stairs. What's that, the wife cried out. That's my trousers falling down the stairs, the husband replied. "Why so noisy?" inquired the wife. "I was in them," replied the husband.

Or this

The farmer worked hard ploughing the dry soil. The seasons for planting and growing crops are short. Life is hard. Near the fields are the graves of his wife and children. Nevertheless the farmer gamely soldiered on. Terraforming Mars is difficult.

another one

The spaceship Enterprise shuttered as a pair of Klingon birds of prey fired on her. Their rescue mission had led the Enterprise into a trap. Commander Riker said, "I wanna go home." "Make it so," replied Captain Picard.


Anyone wants to contribute their three lines novels?

.

The Writing Life

Here is an interesting article on God's Writing Life in Christianity Today
Our Creator has chosen a medium that is the most challenging of all.

Philip Yancey posted 9/13/2007 08:29AM . I hope Philip has recovered from his neck injury sustained in a road accident a few months ago.

"Does writing get easier the more you do it?" someone asked me recently. After three decades of making a living by putting words on paper, I have to answer no. The more I write, the more aware I am of problems—clichés, dull spots, weak images, repetitions. Whenever I attempt some other difficult activity, like climbing a steep and scary mountain, I remind myself, "Yes, but it's easier than writing!"

One day as I was wallowing in a writer's funk, I found myself wondering whether God knew something of the process I was going through. God spoke, of course, but did he write? I searched the Bible for examples.

The Ten Commandments came immediately to mind. Exodus reports that God gave Moses two "tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God," emphasizing that "the tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets" (Ex. 31:18; 32:16). Scholars note that the tablets established a treaty, or covenant, between God and the Israelites, similar to treaties between other rulers and their subjects that spelled out what each party could rightfully expect. Unlike their neighbors, the Israelites didn't need to fear the arbitrary whims of the gods; their God had signed a straightforward agreement.

By the time Moses descended from Mt. Sinai, however, the Israelites had already broken the first two commandments. Enraged, Moses dashed the tablets to pieces—which led to the first divine re-write.

The next scene of supernatural writing occurred in the nation of Babylon (modern-day Iraq), when King Belshazzar profaned golden goblets from the temple in Jerusalem by serving wine in them to lubricate his great banquet. Suddenly, the fingers of a hand appeared and wrote four words on the plaster wall. "The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way" (Dan. 5:5-6). Belshazzar had reason to tremble: That night the mighty Babylonian empire fell to the Persians (modern-day Iran).

Both scenes underscore God's role as sovereign ruler of history and judge of nations. Whether refugees in the Sinai wilderness or potentates in a palace, all human beings report to a higher authority. We cannot simply make up our own rules.

The Gospels record a single occurrence of Jesus writing, and even that is missing from the earliest manuscripts (John 8:1-11). Religious authorities had caught a woman in the act of adultery and dragged her before Jesus as a double-bind trap. Having broken one of the Ten Commandments, she deserved a death sentence according to Mosaic Law. On the other hand, the Romans forbade Jews to exercise capital punishment. What would Jesus say?
He said nothing, but instead bent down and wrote on the ground. As a writer, I find it humbling that the only time we see Jesus writing, he is using the medium of sand so that the words would soon be blown away by wind or washed away by rain. Moreover, the author doesn't bother to tell us what Jesus wrote.

When Jesus finally spoke, he said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." The trap sprang, but back on the accusers. Then the one person present who was without sin, who clearly had the right to exercise judgment, declined. The reign of grace was underway.

Elsewhere, Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments as "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and "Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matt. 22:37-40). Borrowing an image from the prophets, the apostle Paul later spoke of laws being written on the heart. He said of the Corinthians (yes, the randy Corinthians), "You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Cor. 3:3).

I found a mere handful of scenes portraying God as a writer. Taken together, they provide a progression toward grace, and, significantly, they involve each member of the Trinity. Three of the media—stone tablets, a plaster wall, and sand in the temple courts—did not survive the ravages of history. Instead, God's literature gets passed down generation by generation in transformed lives. "For we are God's [work of art]," Paul told the Ephesians (2:10), using the Greek word poiema, from which we get "poem."

After surveying scenes of God writing, I no longer felt so burdened. Composing words on paper is one thing; creating sacred works of art out of human beings is quite another.

Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today.

This gels with something I have been reading about writing by Thomas Merton in Robert Inchausti (Ed.) (2007), Echoing Silence: Thomas Merton and the Vocation of Writing (London & Boston: New Seeds)

If you write for God you will reach many men and bring them joy.

If you write for men - you may make some money and you may give someone a little joy and you may make a noise in the world, for a little while.

If you write for yourself, you can read what you have written and after ten minutes you will be so disgusted you will wish you were dead (p.198)

I must remember this.

The Writing Life

Here is an interesting article on God's Writing Life in Christianity Today
Our Creator has chosen a medium that is the most challenging of all.

Philip Yancey posted 9/13/2007 08:29AM . I hope Philip has recovered from his neck injury sustained in a road accident a few months ago.

"Does writing get easier the more you do it?" someone asked me recently. After three decades of making a living by putting words on paper, I have to answer no. The more I write, the more aware I am of problems—clichés, dull spots, weak images, repetitions. Whenever I attempt some other difficult activity, like climbing a steep and scary mountain, I remind myself, "Yes, but it's easier than writing!"

One day as I was wallowing in a writer's funk, I found myself wondering whether God knew something of the process I was going through. God spoke, of course, but did he write? I searched the Bible for examples.

The Ten Commandments came immediately to mind. Exodus reports that God gave Moses two "tablets of stone inscribed by the finger of God," emphasizing that "the tablets were the work of God; the writing was the writing of God, engraved on the tablets" (Ex. 31:18; 32:16). Scholars note that the tablets established a treaty, or covenant, between God and the Israelites, similar to treaties between other rulers and their subjects that spelled out what each party could rightfully expect. Unlike their neighbors, the Israelites didn't need to fear the arbitrary whims of the gods; their God had signed a straightforward agreement.

By the time Moses descended from Mt. Sinai, however, the Israelites had already broken the first two commandments. Enraged, Moses dashed the tablets to pieces—which led to the first divine re-write.

The next scene of supernatural writing occurred in the nation of Babylon (modern-day Iraq), when King Belshazzar profaned golden goblets from the temple in Jerusalem by serving wine in them to lubricate his great banquet. Suddenly, the fingers of a hand appeared and wrote four words on the plaster wall. "The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way" (Dan. 5:5-6). Belshazzar had reason to tremble: That night the mighty Babylonian empire fell to the Persians (modern-day Iran).

Both scenes underscore God's role as sovereign ruler of history and judge of nations. Whether refugees in the Sinai wilderness or potentates in a palace, all human beings report to a higher authority. We cannot simply make up our own rules.

The Gospels record a single occurrence of Jesus writing, and even that is missing from the earliest manuscripts (John 8:1-11). Religious authorities had caught a woman in the act of adultery and dragged her before Jesus as a double-bind trap. Having broken one of the Ten Commandments, she deserved a death sentence according to Mosaic Law. On the other hand, the Romans forbade Jews to exercise capital punishment. What would Jesus say?
He said nothing, but instead bent down and wrote on the ground. As a writer, I find it humbling that the only time we see Jesus writing, he is using the medium of sand so that the words would soon be blown away by wind or washed away by rain. Moreover, the author doesn't bother to tell us what Jesus wrote.

When Jesus finally spoke, he said, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." The trap sprang, but back on the accusers. Then the one person present who was without sin, who clearly had the right to exercise judgment, declined. The reign of grace was underway.

Elsewhere, Jesus summarized the Ten Commandments as "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and "Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments" (Matt. 22:37-40). Borrowing an image from the prophets, the apostle Paul later spoke of laws being written on the heart. He said of the Corinthians (yes, the randy Corinthians), "You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts" (2 Cor. 3:3).

I found a mere handful of scenes portraying God as a writer. Taken together, they provide a progression toward grace, and, significantly, they involve each member of the Trinity. Three of the media—stone tablets, a plaster wall, and sand in the temple courts—did not survive the ravages of history. Instead, God's literature gets passed down generation by generation in transformed lives. "For we are God's [work of art]," Paul told the Ephesians (2:10), using the Greek word poiema, from which we get "poem."

After surveying scenes of God writing, I no longer felt so burdened. Composing words on paper is one thing; creating sacred works of art out of human beings is quite another.

Copyright © 2007 Christianity Today.

This gels with something I have been reading about writing by Thomas Merton in Robert Inchausti (Ed.) (2007), Echoing Silence: Thomas Merton and the Vocation of Writing (London & Boston: New Seeds)

If you write for God you will reach many men and bring them joy.

If you write for men - you may make some money and you may give someone a little joy and you may make a noise in the world, for a little while.

If you write for yourself, you can read what you have written and after ten minutes you will be so disgusted you will wish you were dead (p.198)

I must remember this.