A Book With Many a Parable: Check it Out

I. A Book With Many a Parable

Speed of Sight, a Superhero Adventure is a book that contains many parables related to the Christian faith: such as forgiveness. It’s about how God gives super powers to a boy from a broken home.

Super powers are like spiritual gifts. Packed into a fantasy, it tells the story of one boy’s faith journey and the lessons he learns by reading a special brand of comic book.

I. First Parable

To start with, the comic books stand for scripture taken in its purest form. As most well-read scholars know, the original languages tended to get lost in translation. To get the full picture, we must look deeper. This may involve digging into root words to discover the meaning behind the original Hebrew or Greek.

As all well-read Bible scholars know, the Holy Spirit guides us in to all truth regarding scripture (see John 14:26). This brings me to my second parable.

II. Second Parable

The dove in this book is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. I don’t believe any Christian who knows his/her Bible can miss this. Who hasn’t read the account of John baptizing Jesus in the Jordan? The Holy Spirit descended on Him like a dove. That’s why the dove is everywhere in this book, guiding the hero into all truth.  And though I don’t mention the word “Trinity,” I do describe it. One scene shows Father, Son and Holy Spirit working together to purify the sinners, though I use the term “dirt” instead of “sin.”

III. Third Parable

The comic book author endows His readers with superpowers. I ask you, what else could that mean but “Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me. . . unto the uttermost part of the earth.”? (Acts 1:8) Powers in this case refers to the miracles or “greater works” Jesus said His followers would do (John 14:12). This includes casting out demons (see Mark 16:17), which the hero does using the Jesus figure’s name (see John 14:13).

Pardon my King James, but I don’t believe God ever meant for those miracles to stop. Yes, I am a practicing continuationist, not a cessationist.  So is the main character in my book, who struggles to embrace the comics his hometown government has banned.

Which brings me to. . .

IV. Fourth Set of Parables

Parable four is all about what Jesus does for us, based on Isaiah 61:1-3. He, the author and finisher of our faith (see Hebrews 12:2) came to give his mourners three things:

beauty in place of ashes;

the oil of joy instead of mourning;

and

the garment of praise instead of the spirit of heaviness.

You don’t always see the Jesus figure in this book doing all these things, but He’s the one who fills the sad boy with joy he can’t explain. It comes out as laughter, which is Biblical by the way. Psalm 2:4 speaks of God laughing at the wicked. Why does He laugh at them? Because they think that somehow they can outwit Him. As Pete joins in the laughter – to him it is pure joy – the spirit of heaviness lifts off him. It’s like the garment of praise.

What’s the result? Super powers that help him overcome the “power of gravity”  (the law)  as represented by his restrictive orthopedic shoes. But he has much to learn when it comes to throwing off dead weights (evil spirits) that hinder (see Hebrews 12:1-2). The trials he endures while learning to walk (and run) in grace help him to mature. His adventure has begun, but it isn’t over yet. That’s why I’ve planned a sequel.

V. Meanwhile

So, now that I’ve explained the basic elements in this book (hope it’s not too much of a spoiler alert), I hope you have a better understanding of this book and what it means. If it interests you, feel free to check it out and let me know what you think. If you like it, feel free to post a review online.

In my opinion, it’s better for older children, as some elements may be too scary for younger ones. I have yet to receive needed feedback from the age group for which this book is intended, which leaves me at a bit of a disadvantage here. But I trust the Lord to work it out for good.

 

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Making a Few Necessary Changes

Okay, so I’m sure at least a few people have noticed that I’ve made some changes to my website. I’m not doing it to confuse anyone, but after all, it is an author website. After doing some needed research, I realized that some things were missing with this website – essential items that help people to contact me and buy my book. (No pressure to purchase, but it’s nice to have the information at your fingertips for immediate and/or future reference).

Yes, I’ll admit, I feel the pressure to make sales. (Too few reviews sound like bad news. I wouldn’t want to blow a fuse). But that’s not the reason I write. I write because I have a message to share and I can’t type it fast enough, and then I have to think about “Is anybody reading it?”

I know. What does that bird have to do with anything? I wish it would stop peering over my shoulder already.

ARRRGH! I’m a writer. I just want to write. I have another book to finish but marketing is a distraction. It’s like the carrots in the pot roast that refuse to cook all the way through, but the meat has been done for three hours. Even the potatoes are tired of waiting for them to cook. Anyhow, I think you get my drift. I’ve made some major renovations to this site over the last few months – renovations that in some ways correspond with renovations in my life. As some children prepare to move overseas (I will miss my grandson!) others come back home.

They’re here and then they’re there. They like to travel everywhere. My rhymes almost sound like a Doctor Seuss book. I used to wonder about his last name; sounds like the Hebrew word for horse.

Doctor Horse. Good name for him. I can see the toothy grin. Reminds me of Mr. Ed the talking horse. Remember him? If so, you’ve probably been around a while – long enough to go through numerous changes.

Like my website. I’ve been writing more articles for authors and for readers too. But my main message hasn’t changed a bit. To me it’s all about the miracles and healing Jesus still performs. He’s just the same today as He was two thousand years ago.  That’s what the Christian fiction stories I write are really about – children walking in the power of the Spirit, taking His inspired comic books at face value and using them to take incredible adventures.

These heroes are like people who read the Bible and do what it says without wavering.

They’ve had it with the Snore Bore. They won’t listen to his dead weights, and – well, I think you get the picture. They trust God to help them make those needed changes in their lives, even though some things can be so frustrating – like figuring out where all those widgets go and how and why and – Anyhow, change can be good. Now if I could only figure out where my villain ran off to…

 

 

Where Can These School Shooting Victims Find Healing?

The school shooting described in Speed of Sight, a Superhero Adventure has many victims. First there’s Jack Tamer, the genius boy with the super high IQ. The slime that hits his head is clearly toxic, but he refuses to see a doctor. After all, he’s convinced he’s going to die, so why bother?

Jack’s own pride turns him into quite a victim. It does him more damage than the shooting itself.

Secondly, we have the bullies who shot the slime. They’re running scared, victims of the very fear that caused them to attack the innocent. The school shooting that they perpetrated has traumatized them as well. Yet the unseen forces driving them to crime show no signs of giving up.

As for the driver of Jack’s bus, he shows no real signs of alarm. In his mind, Jack’s head needs nothing more than a quick wipe with a used handkerchief. Then there’s a nearby policeman who gets a glimpse of the shooting but does nothing to stop it. He’s too busy doing paperwork, a victim of excessive rules. Like most good citizens of Jericho, he has no time to see the bullies brought to justice. Like the rest of the town, he’s too busy being tolerant to protect his own citizens from harm.

“But what about the other adults in charge of keeping order?” you may ask. Sadly, the teachers are too busy packing up for summer break to pay any attention to the parking lot. The few security guards on staff are taking a class on how to be polite to everyone. However, the thought police are out in full force. Nobody is safe.

Meanwhile, guilt hounds mild-mannered Pete Plain because he wasn’t fast enough to shop the shooting. How he wishes he had the strength and speed to protect his best friend from the gooey blob – not to mention super powers with which to heal him!

And what about the illegal comic book Jack gave him to hide – the comic book with the ability to transport its readers to a different realm? Can it empower him to be the hero he always wanted to be?

Speed of Sight, a Superhero Adventure holds the answer to these questions. It is available for purchase on Dove Christian Publisher’s website. You can also find it on Amazon – currently available in print form, soon to be available as an e-book.

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