Steven Losee - Christian Scribe

 When I was on staff in the Roaring Branch Youth With A Mission (YWAM) base, one of our regular speakers was Dr. Fount Shultz.  He gave us an exercise once, to put ourselves into something recorded in the Bible and write it up.  Even though I wasn't a student, I enjoyed doing most of the assignments.  I decided to be Joseph of Arimathea on the way to asking Pilate for the body of Jesus.  The following was my write-up:     Anger!  Anger at the persecutors.  They betrayed His virtue, they betrayed my friendship, they betrayed the public trust, and they broke the law!    They tried Him by night, they accepted contradictory testimony, and they even made Him testify against Himself!  My brothers, do you know what you've done?         Anger!  Anger at the crowds, the fickle crowds.  They joined ranks against Him earlier.  He gave them so much!  Bartimaeus was there, angry because the mirac...

  I always liked the "hardboiled" mysteries: Hammet, Chandler, MacDonald, Estleman, etc.  I don't often read them, though, because of the language and immorality rampant in them.  Many years ago I worked with a good friend who shared that interest, but he wouldn't keep the books he bought.  When he learned I liked them, he passed them on to me when he finished.   After a while I noticed a disturbing pattern: If anyone showed up early in the story carrying a Bible in one hand, he/she would probably show up later carrying a smoking gun or a bloody knife in the other.  Even if not, they were always portrayed as nasty bigots.   So I decided to try my own hand at it.  I set myself some goals: it would be a first-person narrative, the detective/protagonist would not be a Christian and wouldn't become one, it would be a real mystery with a (hopefully) surprise ending, and Christians, though minor characters, would be portrayed and sane, rationa...

  I read, and loved, the Frank Herbert Novel DUNE about 40 years ago.  I also watched the two different movies (the second a miniseries) with mixed feelings.  But when I watched this latest version, alarm bells went off.        The main character's title in the book and the earlier versions was "Maud 'Dib".  I forget what it meant.  But while watching this latest version, I couldn't help but notice that it was changed to "Mahdi".        "Mahdi" has a meaning outside the "Dune" franchise.  It's the tile of the Muslim Messiah; the one who will exterminate those who refuse to convert to Islam.         Muslims have a right to promote their faith in this country, however much I oppose it.  But when an established story is CHANGED to accommodate them, it's time to take notice.   As for Islam itself, my usual response to their challenges is this:  Islam came along over 6...