This is you doing the interview right? Do you not consider yourself a Christian? Sorry if it's a stupid question as I know a lot of your stuff is fiction but the lead up to this made me think this was an actual interview that you did.
That aside, I just want to say I appreciate what you do here. I've spent a lot of time really frustrated by religion and this site is always encouraging. It may be the only thing on the subject I look at that doesn't make me feel sick inside. Thanks.
No, this is not me doing this interview. I leave it to the reader to decide who is asking these questions. I don't know myself. In imagining the story, I heard a voice comforting Foy, talking to Foy, and challenging him. I wrote it without worrying about who is talking to him. It's not an interview. It's someone listening and giving feedback.
And for the record, this is complete fiction. If I made it real, meaning the dialogue sounds real, then that makes me really happy. Yes!
This story departs from all the other Foy stories. When you write in the 3rd person, you act as God, revealing the thoughts and motives of your character. That's how I wanted to do the Foy stories and have so far. But it's a lot of work because not only do you have to do the dialogue, you have to supply the body language and thoughts and motives.
This piece is purely the Foy character speaking. And since he is speaking to a trusted listener, we hear him in a different way from the other stories, where most of it is dialogue with others. And we all are careful when we speak to others, particularly if you are, say, new in an office.
So this is a more vulnerable Foy we hear.
Anyway, this was a lot of fun to write. Different kind of challenge.
Well, it's a phrase I made up while writing this. Archetypal stories and myths are a formative part of any culture. In other words, you might not believe the Genesis account of creation, but the story has formed much of Western culture.
The voice speaking to Foy is a wise person indeed. While not a Christian, he recognizes the value and historic importance of the Christian story.
-
I was really hit by that simple query: "Are you a Christian?"
And the first thing I thought of was your recent poll about potential attendees for summer retreats at Covenant. The poll questions didn't leave much room for options. Christian, not a Christian, Other. Something like that. I mean, it made me stop and think about how I define myself, and whether or not I really need or want to. I certainly don't think of myself as a Christian in any sort of practising sense, having been baptized Roman Catholic and walking away from that at 18.
But I really respect and acknowledge the grace, tradition and teaching that is part of Christianity. I believe there was a Jesus guy way back when, and that he was killed for what he said and did. But divine? No more than you or I. Not in any literal sense, from my perspective. Just a lot more "with it" on the spiritual plateau.
I love how these (and most of your) posts get me thinking this way. I'm not the only one who doesn't have the answers! YES!!
"J, are you a Christian?" I am a pastor sitting at my desk, in my church office, asking myself the same thing. It's 9.49a on a Wednesday. Tonight we have service. Am I a Christian? My wife asked me that the other day. (We often talk of G-d and religions and my thoughts on the two.) I told her I was because I didn't have the energy to explain a delayed, confused or even a negative response. I do believe Jesus came and walked, lived, died - and even raised. But I struggle with the "factuality" of him being divine. But maybe the poetry of it all is more powerful than any "factuality" the story may possess. Thanks rlp for this site. It helps to know that I'm not the only one out there. And to all those who comment, thank you as well.
Submitted by Lisa P (not verified) on Wed, 04/02/2008 - 09:37.
This story speaks about something I've been struggling with for a while now. I have always identified as Christian, but over the last couple of years I've started to feel like I'm growing beyond any one set of religious ideas. I believe Jesus lived, taught and was killed for what he taught, and I believe in his divinity, but I've also come to understand that he was divine in the same way that we are all divine. I feel completely comfortable with my relationship with God or the Source or the Universe or whatever one chooses to call it. That is not an issue at all for me. I'm quite happy where I am. I just don't know how to describe myself spiritually.
"I don’t know why I started running. I don’t even remember starting; it was as if I was suddenly just doing it. Being trapped in a cell meant I had to run in place, so that’s what I did. I ran so hard that I lost all track of time. Eventually, I passed out. The world just went black, and sounds seemed to be coming from the far end of a very long hallway. I did it again the next day, only this time, I put on two pairs of socks, because of the blisters on my feet. I ran until I found myself crawling towards the toilet on my hands and knees, retching and dry heaving as I slipped in my own sweat. What should have been horrible was somehow beautiful. It was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. I felt closer to all things divine than I ever did in any church. I had run for over two hours without stopping for so much as a drink of water, and I had discovered a new world."
Submitted by Mark Goodyear on Thu, 04/03/2008 - 07:20.
"It occurred to me that I had gotten off the subject and was grinding my own axe."
It seems to me that this is the biggest problem we face in the church and out. I grind my own axe. My pastor grinds his. My boss has a different one. The church has one too, and somehow we all grind it together in this weird act of group think.
That's where the big question comes from: Am I a Christian. I don't like the group think. And the next step is to wonder if maybe I don't like the group either.
So I always have to remember that being Christian isn't about the group.
Submitted by Kate (not verified) on Thu, 04/03/2008 - 15:07.
Thank you, from one who has been hurt by the church and is trying to reconcile.
It's so hard to realize that the church and its members do ugly things sometimes, to really realize it on a personal level. It makes going to church hard. I'm on my umpteenth try. But still I go back. So.
Submitted by Ellen (not verified) on Sun, 04/06/2008 - 00:40.
This part of your Foy series is really hitting a nerve with me. Maybe it's due to your honest and powerful writing style that these last two posts really annoy me. I am one of those women who seeks counseling from the pastor because my husband won't go to church. Foy's need to identify with Peter and his feeling that the church stole his wife really irritates me. Do you know what it feels like to go to church without your spouse? To see other couples there who seem to share a common language about grace and forgiveness, and to come home to a person who views the church habit as a sort of pitiable weakness of people who can't think for themselves?
Maybe it was high time Tia left the cozy little nest of Sunday in bed with coffee and hubby and the NY Times. Why does Peter see her call to church as a disloyalty to him? I once tried to ask this question, putting it anonymously in a question box, in a marriage class at church: "Would you talk about loyalty as an issue in marriage--that is, not sexual fidelity, but loyalty to a spouse's belief system?" The pastor did not choose to answer this one.
Submitted by rm (not verified) on Fri, 04/11/2008 - 17:02.
"But with the Church, where is the grace?"
Wow. I ask that question every single day, especially as I deal with the higher ups in the denomination. As a pastor, I feel in the cross hairs more often than not.
And your "voice" sounds like my spiritual director -- who specializes in clergy. Someone who has "been there" and pushed through to the other side.
...
I have no stake in this podcast whatsoever, but with all the discussion about church etc, I recommend thegodjourney.com
well done
well done
Question
This is you doing the interview right? Do you not consider yourself a Christian? Sorry if it's a stupid question as I know a lot of your stuff is fiction but the lead up to this made me think this was an actual interview that you did.
That aside, I just want to say I appreciate what you do here. I've spent a lot of time really frustrated by religion and this site is always encouraging. It may be the only thing on the subject I look at that doesn't make me feel sick inside. Thanks.
No, this is not me doing
No, this is not me doing this interview. I leave it to the reader to decide who is asking these questions. I don't know myself. In imagining the story, I heard a voice comforting Foy, talking to Foy, and challenging him. I wrote it without worrying about who is talking to him. It's not an interview. It's someone listening and giving feedback.
And for the record, this is complete fiction. If I made it real, meaning the dialogue sounds real, then that makes me really happy. Yes!
This story departs from all the other Foy stories. When you write in the 3rd person, you act as God, revealing the thoughts and motives of your character. That's how I wanted to do the Foy stories and have so far. But it's a lot of work because not only do you have to do the dialogue, you have to supply the body language and thoughts and motives.
This piece is purely the Foy character speaking. And since he is speaking to a trusted listener, we hear him in a different way from the other stories, where most of it is dialogue with others. And we all are careful when we speak to others, particularly if you are, say, new in an office.
So this is a more vulnerable Foy we hear.
Anyway, this was a lot of fun to write. Different kind of challenge.
Hey, I nearly cried at
Hey, I nearly cried at "It’s okay. It’s okay." Ha ha! Sitting at my desk at work :D
You need an MP3 at the top,
You need an MP3 at the top, somebody with a deep voice saying "Previously on Real Live Preacher..."
What's meant by "formative expression?" I did some googling, but didn't find anything satisfactory.
Well, it's a phrase I made
Well, it's a phrase I made up while writing this. Archetypal stories and myths are a formative part of any culture. In other words, you might not believe the Genesis account of creation, but the story has formed much of Western culture.
The voice speaking to Foy is a wise person indeed. While not a Christian, he recognizes the value and historic importance of the Christian story.
That's what I meant.
Your writing helps me
Your writing helps me believe when I don't feel like believing any more. Thank you.
Are you a Christian?
-
I was really hit by that simple query: "Are you a Christian?"
And the first thing I thought of was your recent poll about potential attendees for summer retreats at Covenant. The poll questions didn't leave much room for options. Christian, not a Christian, Other. Something like that. I mean, it made me stop and think about how I define myself, and whether or not I really need or want to. I certainly don't think of myself as a Christian in any sort of practising sense, having been baptized Roman Catholic and walking away from that at 18.
But I really respect and acknowledge the grace, tradition and teaching that is part of Christianity. I believe there was a Jesus guy way back when, and that he was killed for what he said and did. But divine? No more than you or I. Not in any literal sense, from my perspective. Just a lot more "with it" on the spiritual plateau.
I love how these (and most of your) posts get me thinking this way. I'm not the only one who doesn't have the answers! YES!!
am i a christian?
"J, are you a Christian?" I am a pastor sitting at my desk, in my church office, asking myself the same thing. It's 9.49a on a Wednesday. Tonight we have service. Am I a Christian? My wife asked me that the other day. (We often talk of G-d and religions and my thoughts on the two.) I told her I was because I didn't have the energy to explain a delayed, confused or even a negative response. I do believe Jesus came and walked, lived, died - and even raised. But I struggle with the "factuality" of him being divine. But maybe the poetry of it all is more powerful than any "factuality" the story may possess. Thanks rlp for this site. It helps to know that I'm not the only one out there. And to all those who comment, thank you as well.
j
What do I call myself?
This story speaks about something I've been struggling with for a while now. I have always identified as Christian, but over the last couple of years I've started to feel like I'm growing beyond any one set of religious ideas. I believe Jesus lived, taught and was killed for what he taught, and I believe in his divinity, but I've also come to understand that he was divine in the same way that we are all divine. I feel completely comfortable with my relationship with God or the Source or the Universe or whatever one chooses to call it. That is not an issue at all for me. I'm quite happy where I am. I just don't know how to describe myself spiritually.
What made you decide to
What made you decide to write the Foy stories in the 1st place?
And on that note, since they are fiction, what are some of your favorite novels? Do you like novels?
http://www.wm3.org/live/thewm
http://www.wm3.org/live/thewm3/damien_details.php?id=30
"I don’t know why I started running. I don’t even remember starting; it was as if I was suddenly just doing it. Being trapped in a cell meant I had to run in place, so that’s what I did. I ran so hard that I lost all track of time. Eventually, I passed out. The world just went black, and sounds seemed to be coming from the far end of a very long hallway. I did it again the next day, only this time, I put on two pairs of socks, because of the blisters on my feet. I ran until I found myself crawling towards the toilet on my hands and knees, retching and dry heaving as I slipped in my own sweat. What should have been horrible was somehow beautiful. It was one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. I felt closer to all things divine than I ever did in any church. I had run for over two hours without stopping for so much as a drink of water, and I had discovered a new world."
"It occurred to me that I
"It occurred to me that I had gotten off the subject and was grinding my own axe."
It seems to me that this is the biggest problem we face in the church and out. I grind my own axe. My pastor grinds his. My boss has a different one. The church has one too, and somehow we all grind it together in this weird act of group think.
That's where the big question comes from: Am I a Christian. I don't like the group think. And the next step is to wonder if maybe I don't like the group either.
So I always have to remember that being Christian isn't about the group.
Thank you, from one who has
Thank you, from one who has been hurt by the church and is trying to reconcile.
It's so hard to realize that the church and its members do ugly things sometimes, to really realize it on a personal level. It makes going to church hard. I'm on my umpteenth try. But still I go back. So.
Please define "Good people"
This part of your Foy series is really hitting a nerve with me. Maybe it's due to your honest and powerful writing style that these last two posts really annoy me. I am one of those women who seeks counseling from the pastor because my husband won't go to church. Foy's need to identify with Peter and his feeling that the church stole his wife really irritates me. Do you know what it feels like to go to church without your spouse? To see other couples there who seem to share a common language about grace and forgiveness, and to come home to a person who views the church habit as a sort of pitiable weakness of people who can't think for themselves?
Maybe it was high time Tia left the cozy little nest of Sunday in bed with coffee and hubby and the NY Times. Why does Peter see her call to church as a disloyalty to him? I once tried to ask this question, putting it anonymously in a question box, in a marriage class at church: "Would you talk about loyalty as an issue in marriage--that is, not sexual fidelity, but loyalty to a spouse's belief system?" The pastor did not choose to answer this one.
"But with the Church, where
"But with the Church, where is the grace?"
Wow. I ask that question every single day, especially as I deal with the higher ups in the denomination. As a pastor, I feel in the cross hairs more often than not.
And your "voice" sounds like my spiritual director -- who specializes in clergy. Someone who has "been there" and pushed through to the other side.
Where indeed is the grace?
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