Like An Anchor

Love in the Enderverse

22 July, 2013

Cover of the only version of Ender’s Game I could find in the library

Since the beginning of this year, I’ve been reading Orson Scott Card’s Ender books. Well, perhaps it would be more accurate to say I’ve been absorbed by them. So far, I’ve finished Ender’s Game, the three sequels, and four of the Shadow books (Shadows in Flight is waiting for me on the bookshelf). After finishing these books, I feel like I know the characters better than many people I’ve been friends with for years.

I’d been meaning to read more Orson Scott Card for some time, since I stumbled upon one of his short stories in a sci-fi collection. Ender’s Game moved to the top of my reading list after I found out it’s going to be a film. I wanted to read the book before Hollywood ruins it (don’t get me wrong — I’m going to see the movie and it might be good, but there’s no way it can be as good as the book).

The Ideas

It’s not just the amazing characters that make these books so compelling. The ideas that Card presents in his stories are some of the most fascinating I’ve ever encountered in fiction. Ender’s key to defeating an enemy is just a sample of these compelling ideas (quote is from Ender’s Game, the idea shows up in all the books).

In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him. I think it’s impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves. And then, in that very moment when I love them…. I destroy them.

Don’t you just want to give him a hug? Anyway, this is the idea I’ve pondered the most since starting this series: when you fully understand someone and see through their eyes, you can’t help but love them. This is underscored (for me at least) by my reaction to the characters. By the end of Ender’s Game, I knew him and felt for him. I had similar connections with Bean in Ender’s Shadow and Peter in the other Shadow books, especially Shadow of the Giant. Orson Scott Card wrote the characters so well that readers can understand them well enough to love them (to the point that I finished three of these eight books in tears not necessary because I was sad, but because I was overwhelmed by how much I sympathized with the characters).

A Spiritual Question

One of the thoughts this idea — the connection between understanding someone and loving them — has sparked in my mind is a possible answer to a spiritual question. Just reading though the Bible, I can accept “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). But when I start to think about this a little more deeply it’s mind-blowing. Christ didn’t come to die only for the good “lovable” people in the world. He died for and loved everyone, even the people we would classify as the most unlovable. How is such love possible?

Since reading books from the Enderverse, I’ve been wondering if God’s love for everyone might have something to do with the fact that He is all-knowing. He understands everything and sees into our hearts, and even when He does not approve of our actions or is angry with us, He loves perfectly. It’s an interesting “something to think about.”

If you’d like to try reading these novels, here’s a list of books in the series. It shows both publication order and a (rough) chronological order in the Enderverse.
Our Elder Brother

20 July, 2013

Since writing about adoption last week, I’ve been pondering related aspects of becoming children of God. I described what is called “adoption” in Romans 8 and 9, Galatians 4, and Ephesians 1 as “the process by which we become God’s children.” There is much more to it, however, and I’m hoping this post will begin to explore our relationship to God and Christ as people who They want to become members of Their family. To do this, I think it is important to spend time studying our Elder Brother, Jesus Christ (see Hebrews 2:9).

Only Begotten

It should be obvious that our relation to God as His children is different than the relationship Jesus has as His Son. After all, “the Word was with God, and the Word was God” before He became “flesh, and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14). As such, John uses a different Greek word to distinguish Jesus Christ from believers who are called children of God. The word is monogenes (G3439), meaning an only child. Zodhiates says the word appears to “serve to distinguish the Sonship of Christ to God from that spoken of other beings, i.g. Adam (Luke 3:38), angels (Job 1:6), or believers (John 1:12).”

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not His Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved. He that believeth on Him is not condemned: but He that believeth not is condemned already, because He hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. (John 3:16-18)

Firstborn

Though He is described as the only begotten Son of God, Christ is not intended to be an only child. Rather, God has predestinated us “to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom 8:29). The word for “firstborn” is prototokos (G4416), and it is used as a title of Jesus Christ in five NT passages. In all these cases, Zodhiates points out that the word can mean firstborn child, but also and identifies “Christ as the preeminent or ranking member of the group” in Romans 8, and indicates an “an inherent right [to rule] by virtue of His nature” when the word is used in Colossians 1.

In Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: for by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist. And He is the head of the body, the church: Who is the Beginning, the Firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:14-18)

One meaning Zodhiates does not discuss is the first one that popped into my head. I would be curious to know why it isn’t in his dictionary, simply because it seems to obvious to me and I wanted to at least read a reason for it’s exclusion.

“Firstborn” implies there are other children. If I did not have siblings, I would be an only child. Since I have a younger brother and sister, I am a firstborn. Similarly, Christ being called the “firstborn of the dead” reassures me that He is not the only one who will be resurrected, simply the first. Calling Him the “firstborn among many breathren” gives me hope that I might be counted worthy to be one of His younger siblings.
No-Bake Blueberry Cheesecake

17 July, 2013

This is one of my favorite summer dessert recipes. As soon as the blueberries start getting ripe, I start stocking up on cream cheese so I can make this wonderful little cheesecake. It will not work with frozen blueberries, so this is the only time of year we get to eat it. Aside from tasting great, it is ridiculously easy to make. Just make or buy a crust, beat cream cheese with sugar, toss the blueberries in sugar, put it all together and pop it in the refrigerator.

Usually, I just make a graham cracker crust for this cheesecake. This time, however, I didn’t have enough graham crackers and found a substitute crust. It stuck the the pan, but I’m hoping that can be overcome because the taste was better and it didn’t fall apart. I’ve included it in this version of the recipe.

Fresh Blueberry Cheesecake

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this new crust worked up much better than just graham crackers and butter

Crust

½ cup flour

½ cup graham cracker crumbs

5 Tablespoons butter, melted

3 Tablespoon brown sugar

Mix all crust ingredients in bowl and press into a greased, 9-inch pie pan. Set aside.

cream-cheese filling

Filling

2 (8-oz) packages cream cheese, softened

¼ cup brown sugar, packed

In small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and brown sugar with an electric mixer until smooth. Spread the filling over the crust in the pie pan.

The finished cheesecake

Topping

2 cups fresh blueberries

2-3 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

In a bowl, toss the blueberries in sugar and lemon juice. Spoon blueberries over cheesecake. Place finished cheesecake in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours before serving.

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So Much Cooler Inside

15 July, 2013

Like many introverts (and a goodly number of extroverts, if some of my friends are any indication), I have an active imagination and “a rich inner life.” I’m daydreaming most of the time, even when it’s not readily apparent. I do let my musings out sometimes, here on this blog and over on my Pinterest boards, for example. The fact that I’m more comfortable expressing myself this way than in person reminds me of Brad Paisley’s song “Online,” except I’m telling the truth online and often masking my real self when I meet people in person. (Watch the music video if you haven’t yet — William Shatner is in it.)

This image by Gene Mollica makes me wonder how many fantastic things people hide behind their masks.

But even my online persona isn’t as “cool” as the me that stays inside my head. She joins the fellowship of the ring, travels with The Doctor, serves as an exopsychologist on the starship Enterprise, rules the world with Peter the Hegemon (if you don’t get this reference, you’re not reading enough Orson Scott Card), moves to a lake-side yurt to write books, marries Prince Charming, and adopts a couple of kids (just not all at the same time).

I spend a large (unreasonable?) amount of time thinking, daydreaming, and imagining. Sometimes I wonder if there’s something wrong with me — why don’t I spend more time making my real life interesting instead of constructing fantasies? As a fiction writer, I can call some of it research and story plotting, but I wouldn’t have to be in the stories myself if that were entirely the case. And I can only think of two such daydreams which have become full-fledged stories that can stand on their own.

Things You Should Know About INFJs

Partly because I spend so much time in my head, I often wonder what people think of me in real life. For someone who picks up on other people’s emotions intuitively, you’d think this would be easy. But I get so nervous when I think I’m under scrutiny that it’s hard to get past my own emotions enough to pick up on what other people think (unless their emotions are negative, in which case it’s time to flee the room). And then it’s easier to hide out in my head than spend time with “real” people, and the whole cycle begins all over again.

Well, I’m off to write a post for a different blog while talking over the direction of a novel with a couple of my characters (in my head of course — I’m sure my family would start worrying if such conversations were carried on out-loud).
Adoption

13 July, 2013

About two years ago I read a booklet that claimed it is a “misunderstanding” to describe Christians as “adopted” children of God “rather than His actual begotten sons.” The bulk of the booklet was excellent and had nothing to do with this topic, but I wanted to bring this up by way of introduction. If I had not felt uncomfortable with the way this part of the booklet was phrased, I probably never would have looked into the concept of “adoption” in the New Testament.

Once I began studying it, I started to think that adoption as presented in the NT is a way of describing the process by which we become God’s children. We were once separated from God by our sins, but because of Christ’s sacrifice we have been brought into God’s family (Col. 1:21-22; 1 Jn. 3:1-2). They are calling people who were once outside Their family and making them children. Sounds like adoption to me.

Romans 8

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together (Rom 8:14-17)

The word “adoption” used here comes from the Greek word huiothesia (G5206). When looking at the history of this word, there is no question that its intended meaning is adoption. Spiros Zodhiates says it is used “of the state of those whom God through Christ adopts as His sons and thus makes heirs of His covenanted salvation.” He goes on to explain that,

Paul in these passages is alluding to a Greek and Roman custom rather than a Hebrew one. Since huiothesia was a technical term in Roman law for an act that had specific legal and social effects, there is much probability that Paul had some reference to that in his use of the word. Adoption, when thus legally performed, put a man in every respect in the position of a son by birth to him who had adopted him, so that he possessed the same rights and owed the same obligations. Being a huios, a son, involves the conformity of the child that has the life of God in him to the image, purposes, and interests of God and that spiritual family into which he is born.

Several verses later in Romans 8, the same word is used again.

For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body (Rom.8:22-23)

Adoption as Redemption

In Romans 8:23, “adoption” is so important to this process of becoming God’s sons that it is equated with “redemption.” This is not an isolated comparison.

Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world: but when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ (Gal. 4:3-7)

These verses tell us that Jesus Christ came with the purpose of redeeming us in order that “we might receive the adoption.” In such a context, adoption sounds like a description of the process by which God takes people who were not part of His family and makes us His children.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love: having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted in the beloved (Eph. 1:3-6)

Adoption — being redeemed from sin and placed in God’s family — is something we were predestined to “according to the good pleasure of His will.” Another usage of huiothesia underscores the importance of this concept. In Romans 9:4, adoption is listed alongside “the glory,” “the covenants, “the giving of the law,” “the service,” and “the promises” as something which God gave to Israel (Rom. 9:1-5).

No Longer Orphans

Though Paul is the only New Testament writer to use the Greek word huiothesia in his writings, the concept of adoption is not isolated to his letters. When Jesus Christ promises in John 14:18 “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you,” the word “comfortless” is translated from orphanos (G3737). In the Septuagint, this same word is used in Psalm 68:5 to describe God as “A father of the fatherless.”

Zodhiates says this word is derived from “an adjective not found in the NT meaning obscure, dark, because the orphan is often little esteemed and neglected and thus forced, as it were, to wander in obscurity and darkness. Orphaned, bereved, spoken particularly of children bereaved of parents (James 1:27).” This darkness and obscurity perfectly describes the state we were in before Jesus Christ rescued us to be His adopted brothers and sisters.

From examining these verses, it seems clear that use of the word “adoption” in no way indicates we are anything less than God’s own children. Like the Roman custom Paul was likely referencing, this adoption takes someone previously not in the position of son and makes them a child in every sense of the word.
Bowtie Pasta Bake

10 July, 2013

Bow-ties are cool

This is the first pasta recipe I made that my dad (a confirmed anti-pasta man) actually liked. It had a long, tumultuous history. My first attempt at making it was a disaster of soggy noodles, but there was something in the flavor that made me think it could be perfect. As a Doctor Who fan, I know that bow-tie pasta was the solution, and I was right (actually, any pasta that stays pretty firm when cooked, like penne, would have fixed [most] of the problems with this dish). Even after the pasta switch, though, I had to tweak the sauce several times before it got to it’s current state of yumminess. So, without further ado or sci-fi digressions, here’s the recipe.

Bowtie Pasta Bake

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6 ounces dried bowtie pasta

3/4 pound boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces

1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms

1 head of broccoli, chopped

1-2 carrots, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

½ cup chicken broth

Ready to sprinkle with bread crumbs and bake

1, 10 ¾-ounce can condensed cream of chicken soup

12 ounces dairy sour cream

1 teaspoon onion powder

¼ teaspoon pepper

1 slice of bread, lightly toasted and crumbled

1 tablespoon butter, melted

Coat a large skillet with olive and cook chicken until it is no longer pink. While cooking, sprinkle chicken with powdered garlic and black pepper to taste.

Cook pasta until al dente according to package directions. Drain. Rinse with cold water and drain.

Cook mushrooms, broccoli, carrots, garlic, and chicken broth in small sauce pan. Bring to boiling and immediately remove from heat. Do not drain.

Add soup, sour cream, onion powder, and pepper to large bowl. Stir in chicken, pasta, and vegetables. Spoon into a 13x9x2-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

fresh from the oven delicious

Mix bread crumbs and melted butter. Sprinkle over noodles. Cover with foil. Bake in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes. Remove foil. Bake 5 minutes more or until heated through.

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