Islam's Jihad Against the Great Satan

Islamic hatred of the United States began long before the 9-11 bombings. Friends of mine visited a family in Lebanon's Baka'a Valley nearly a decade previous to 9-11. Once a week they watched the street below as Islamic Fundamentalists paraded down the street and stopped to ceremoniously burn the U.S. flag.
U.S. citizens, for the most part, do not have a clear understanding of the complex nature of the Islamic Jihad against the U.S.: the Great Satan. All too often we hear simplistic answers -- what is really behind all this hatred?

This article can now be found at Associated Content.
Please check it out!

—Frank Creed, author of Flashpoint: Book One of the Underground, and founder of the Lost Genre Guild

Losing Liberty

Losing Liberty: Long-term Effects of 9-11: Learning From History


Government’s first responsibility is protecting its citizens. When social chaos, violence, or hopelessness strike a people, they will always give up individual rights and freedoms to restore order. It’s an historical absolute. The Patriot Act is the United States’ most recent example of such behavior. Authoritarian states often rise from such power—a government’s future depends on its cultural foundation for truth and law. The greatest danger is when human law is seen as the highest authority. It’s then that in the hands of mortal leaders, social ends can justify individual means. It’s said that the Roman Empire was the great experiment of law, and that the United States is the experiment that balances liberty and law. History paints vivid warning signs for the United States’ future.

In How Shall We Then Live, Francis Schaeffer points out that a society always embraces authoritarianism rather than live in chaos. Schaeffer cites the French Revolution in 1789, subsequent Reign of Terror, and Napoleon’s rise to power in 1799.

During exile from France, French philosopher Voltaire was very impressed by the social effects of England’s “Bloodless Revolution” of 1688. He recognized that the king was empowered to do good, but restrained from doing evil. Voltaire tried to duplicate this form of government after the French monarchy was overthrown, but his own Humanistic Renaissance worldview proved too shallow a base. Rex Lex (King is Law), had always been the basis for government.

Voltaire failed to comprehend the impact of northern Europe’s Reformation on English thought. Samuel Rutherford’s Lex Rex (law is king), turned the concept of government on its head. Everyone, including the king, believed they were under a higher law: a lawgiver who could grant inalienable rights. There was now a source for real rights, wrongs, and values: a source for law. Voltaire’s Rex Lex foundation for law was the reason for the Reign of Terror and a decade of failed government as factions battled to fill France’s power vacuum. The French finally welcomed Napoleon’s tyranny for the purpose of restoring order to their society.

The twentieth century offered three more horrible examples of democide (1):

After World War I, the Treaty of Versailles gutted German patriotism—many historians assert that the harsh measures of the treaty played a role in the rise of Third Reich and Adolf Hitler. After an economic depression and a decade of the Weimar Republic’s ineffective government, Hitler offered nationalistic hope to a proud culture in despair. In his rise to power, Hitler’s vision turned the country around, and won the people’s hearts. In the end, National Socialism’s humanistic base came to its logical conclusion: if humans can grant rights, humans can take rights away. An estimated ten million died during this time.

Joseph Stalin bullied control out of Russia’s post-revolution’s chaos. Stalin’s policies of gulags, purges, and forced starvation of overtaxed peasants totaled over 60 million people.

In 1911, China’s last Dynasty (Quing), was overthrown by the Kuomintang (GMT), government, which operated a capitalist military state. The GMT maintained the economic status-quo wherein nearly all citizens were broke and without hope. Chairman Mao Tse Tung wrested power from the GMT, and controlled China by 1949. Mao’s Marxist People’s Republic of China came at the price of over 76 million human lives(2).

The concept of a higher Lawgiver established the British Empire’s breadth and the United States’ superpower status. Now that these countries have been secularized, are in decline, and coasting on tremendous economic and military momentum, the concept of humans as the highest lawgivers will be felt in the post-Christian west. The strength of these social foundations will be tested by future acts of domestic or international terrorism. With modern technology, police-states could get Orwellian fast.


(1) Democide: The murder of any person or people by a government, including genocide, politicide, and mass murder. R.J. Rummel, Death By Government, 1994

(2) PRC deaths: this figure includes some 38 million dead in the Great Famine (1958 - 1961). This number is not always included in the total figures because Mao was mislead by advisors and once he realized the government's policies were leading to famine, he reversed these. Jung Chang and Jon Halliday, Mao: the Unknown Story, 2005.

—Frank Creed, freelance writer, author of Flashpoint: Book One of the Underground, and founder of the Lost Genre Guild.

BoC's Watershed Moment

If a drop of rain lands on the west side of the Continental Divide, it runs back to the Pacific. Raindrops on the east side of the range will wind up in the Atlantic or Gulf of Mexico. This is a classic watershed moment—one point in space and time that will determine fates and carry consequences.

9-11 was a watershed moment that changed the futures of whole countries and globally touched over a billion living souls.

In post 9-11 United States, the Christian subculture is facing its own watershed moment. In the current cultural climate, Christians who believe the Bible is the Word of God and fundamentally true, could be labeled Al-Qaeda’s equal by intellectuals and the U.S. cultural elite. University intellectuals are discouraged from speaking of, or rationally considering God, and moral absolutes are not all-the-rage in the average entertainment industry star’s lifestyle. Belief in any Word of God could be branded as dangerous in this country, by people who see all of history’s bloodshed in the name of religion. Sociologically speaking, is the freedom to believe in a Word of God, worth the price of Homeland Security?

This is not a political scare tactic; this is a warning for all people of faith.

Specifically, the Body of Christ, believers who try to live more Biblically every day, are scattered through the nation’s churches—and are very outnumbered. They face intellectuals who may force a godless definition of Fundamentalism into the legislature and courts. One that could immediately impact churches and any devout individual’s daily relationship with God.

After 9-11, the Patriot Act was immediately voted through by both sides of the aisle in the House and Senate. The legislation grants US intelligence agencies police-state powers. Its ripples are only just being felt in the court systems, and it will affect issues of privacy for decades to come. In the wrong hands, The Patriot Act legally grants KGB-esque Big Brother powers over any citizen.

Realize most of our country’s political leaders and politicians live with the same cultural values as society around them, and on a pragmatic level, live their lives as though human law were the highest authority. In a Dec. 2007 blog article titled Guilty of Hate, Ted Dekker discusses the social virtue of tolerance and the legal concept of hate-crimes. Toss these trends in the cultural-mix, and things get dark. If believers are blamed for future acts of domestic terrorism by rightwing radicals like Timothy McVeigh, the government could easily devolve into an anti-god police state, one where it is illegal to believe in a word of God or to gather and to worship such Fundamentalist-terrorist insanity.

The Biblical Body of Christ will continue to do what they’ve been doing all along: living at the intersection of their God-Given passions and talents, and giving their best in everything they do for His glory. It is the mark of a Christian Fundamentalist that God’s Plan will come to pass—they pray that His will be done. The word amen means: so be it. Those in the Body of Christ will live their faith, as long as they’re able. Perhaps this will be a source of cultural activism, and social reformation.

—Frank Creed, freelance writher, author of Flashpoint: Book One of the Underground, and founder of the Lost Genre Guild.

Check out the fine posts in this week's Christian Carnival: Renaissance Edition hosted at Diary of 1.

The moment you've been awaiting: Time Masters

More about Time Masters, Geralyn Beauchamp's fantasy novel.


Dallan MacDonald, Time Masters hero

Readers first meet Dallan in the prologue. In the highlands of Scotland February 1692, a harsh winter storm rages outside as the Glencoe MacDonalds host the Campbells, upon decree of the king. Fearing trouble, the chief warns his people and orders all arms hidden. Dallan senses worse than mere trouble and flees with his family in to the hills. When his little brother is not found among the group, Dallan turns back. And the prologue ends with:

He again struggled against the arms holding him; he had to get to Alasdair! But it was no use. Helplessly he watched his brother, now cut and bleeding from Robert Campbell's unmoved dirk; slowly disappear behind a blanket of darkness.

Dallan MacDonald contemplated if he was dying but honestly didn't know; all he did know was he had not saved Alasdair and the deep booming laugh behind him was getting louder. These were the only two realizations to accompany him into the blackness that took him from his brother, his home, and his very life.

You can read the entire prologue as well as Chapter One at the author's blog.

The illustration of Time Masters hero was created by Lisa Miska, a freelance illustrator and graphic designer from Oregon.

Editorial Summary and Review:

Fairies are real; they're a race dwelling alongside us, with powers to assume human form, heal, and even travel through time. They can mate with humans, forming a synergy of great power.

A time-bending baby girl has been kidnapped to the late twentieth century, and fortieth-century agents must unite her with her chosen mate, a seventeenth-century Scotsman, before the couple's bond kills them both—and before her kidnapper can do further harm. But she has been trained to distrust men, and he doesn't believe any of it.

The editorial review can be found at The Guild Review. com

Check the Christian Fiction Review Blog for more information about Time Masters.

The novel is available at Amazon.com BarnesandNoble.com and at the publisher's site.

I am Legend, starring Will Smith

This is by far the most serious role I’ve ever seen Will Smith play—and a fine job it was considering he had to carry nearly all of it alone. Will Smith fans like a touch of humor and I fear they may give Smith’s excellent portrayal of a very serious character some negative word-of-mouth.

I am Legend is pure hardcore sci-fi. A vaccination issued to thousands of cancer victims cures the disease but mutates into a plague, killing over ninety percent of the earth’s population. Survivors mutate into sunlight-intolerant flesh-eating “dark seekers,” who pretty much resembled vampires or zombies, but the movie carefully avoids these terms. Will Smith portrays the last guy left on earth, alone in New York City with only his German shepherd Sam for company. Good thing Dr. Robert Neville’s immune to the mutant virus. Good thing he’s also a brilliant military geneticist with a working lab in his basement, eh?

Set in 2012, three years after the onset of the plague, Dr. Neville has been attempting to find a cure and restore the human race. Breathing Will Smith’s acting abilities into a dark disturbed and lonely scientist carries this apocalyptic movie.

We watch Neville’s daily routine as he slowly and surely deteriorates into a state of madness: working in the lab, hunting for food, capturing a zombie to be his guinea-pig, visiting the movie rental store where he’s set up mannequins to talk to—yeah, Neville is fragile. We witness the poor doctor’s nervous breakdown. Gangs of mutant survivors organize to hunt him down just as he produces a serum that may work, and the pressure breaks Neville. The pressure to save the human race is more than he can bear.

Spoiler alert.
The ending is important to this character’s development.

Enter Annie and her son Ethan. Neville illogically states there’s nobody left but them. Annie feels God led her to him so she could take him to a group of survivors living in the northeast. Neville rants, there is no God. But the concept of God is what Neville’s sanity clings-to. The film ends on a final dramatic act of faith.

Varaiety Magazine’s Todd McCarthy says: Remarkably eerie yet annoyingly larded with cheap horror-film shock effects, “I Am Legend” stands as an effective but also irksome adaptation of Richard Matheson’s classic 1954 sci-fi novel. I’ve not read the book, but screenplays that are based on a novel rarely live up to an original.

On the down-side, I Am Legend had some pretty cheesy moments. During a flashback of the attempted evacuation of millions in New York, Neville and family steal precious time from the remaining folks to hold hands and say a prayer. Ever think of praying on the run? maybe giving another family time to escape? The geneticist records that the mutant survivors have reverted to a primal state, however, these de-evolved beings set an elaborate trap for him that mimics the one used to capture his test case. You’d think it would be worth a mention. And, I never did comprehend the destruction of the main span of the Brooklyn Bridge nor what the whirling purple emanations that seemed to fly into the bridges were to represent. The first two-thirds of the movie were haunting. One man, his dog and the busiest city in the country desolate. Creepy. Haunting. Enter the gangs of CGI and in one fell swoop, the atmosphere, broken. At least the screenwriters didn’t go any farther—for a moment or two, I feared they would have Neville and Annie jumpstart the resuscitation of the human race.

While this film may not entertain the masses, fans of character-driven fiction, and hardcore sci-fi fans will be pleased.

Frank Creed—freelance writer, reviewer, novelist, and founder of the Lost Genre Guild.

Day 2: Time Masters Tour

Today, I am introducing the author of Time Masters, Geralyn Beauchamp.

Geralyn is a former book reviewer and current Wellness and Relationship coach who wrote Time Masters more than twelve years ago. “I wrote Time Masters just for me, to see if I could. It was more for fun than anything else.” Geralyn hadn’t planned on ever publishing her novel until friends pushed her to share it.

Her writing turned into a fantasy novel filled with romance, longing, sadness, fulfillment, danger and vengeance that readers love. With her experience in screenwriting and her deep understanding of relationships, Geralyn has been able to create believable, multi-faceted characters that come alive and with whom readers can empathize. Time Masters, Book One: The Call, is the first in the Time Master Book series.

A native Oregonian, Geralyn and her family live outside of Portland, Oregon.

The above was the official version. I figured there was more to the story of Ms Beauchamp and Time Masters, so I went on an little expedition and found these tidbits:

• writing coach for the last two and a half years. "So many of my clients begin to get healthy and fit, and suddenly in the journey, discover they have a book inside of them!"
  
• editor for fellow authors


• written for the screen


• coaches other authors in marketing


• is writing (or perhaps has written) a marketing book for small press authors


• Time Masters has a fan club on MySpace and some very exuberant fans!


• the novel is available in both hardcover and paperback


• there is a Time Masters newsletter just sign up at the website.

What I am curious about is how a native Oregonian came to chose Scotland (2000 years in the future) as the setting for a novel? Perhaps I will find out . . .

Until tomorrow when I'll talk about the book itself. Will there be a review by then? Wait and see!

Visit the Christian Fiction Review Blog for more information and some other links to sites on the Time Masters tour.

The Guild Review and Time Masters: CFRB Tour Day One

Before we get to January's Christian Fiction Review Blog tour, a note from Frank Creed:
A Frank Review is doing something different this time around. Because of my own time restraints, I am, unfortunately, unable to review all the books that come my way. Not to fret, I have an ace up my sleeve! Well, to be more exact, someone slipped the ace up said sleeve and I'll happily display it at the correct moment . . .

OK, seems like as good a time as any . . .

While I will be posting background information for the books on tour, the book review will be found elsewhere—linked from A Frank Review of course.

As some of you may know, I am the founder of the Lost Genre Guild®, an organization of authors, artists and fans whose mission is to promote Biblical speculative fiction.

Today, I have the pleasure of announcing the formation of a new arm to the LGG: the Guild Review.

Background: As independent publishers of Christian and Biblical speculative fiction know, it is next to impossible to solicit an editorial review for novels. The Guild Review ONLY reviews Christian and Biblical speculative fiction.

What exactly is an editorial review? one that is written by the editor or editorial board of a periodical publication. It is the first review people see when going to Amazon. It is not a review written by a friend, family member or fan . . . but one from an independent source that is qualified to speak about the subject matter. While you can read the names of the editorial board of the Guild Review, a name will never appear under the review—the review comes from the organization itself.

How will this help authors of Christian speculative fiction? Generally, the first review book buyers, at least skim on line, is the editorial review. It is important to have something other than book description and about the author in this section. Publishers (or most often, the distributor) submit the information to booksellers, including amazon, barnes and noble, etc. and this is placed under "Editorial Review."

Of course, none of this matters if the book reviewed isn't up to par! Authors are responsible for writing a good book! The baseline for the Guild Review is simple: the book is measured against all fiction, not just genre, not just Christian fiction; the book has to be able to stand amongst all fiction.

If you are in the process of writing a new novel, you might want to check out the Guild Review, or let your publisher/ publicist know. Read the submission guidelines before sending anything; like any 1stline reviewer, novels need to be sent well in advance of the publication date.

At the publication date, a press release will be distributed. Twice a year, a catalogue will be sent out to our subscribing list of churches as well as to a limited number of book stores. And, naturally, your review and book information will be found on the Guild Review site.

And now . . . to the important part of the day's post!

Time Masters, Book One: The Call by Geralyn Beauchamp

January's blog tour on the Christian Fiction Review Blog tour features Time Masters, Geralyn Beauchamp's debut novel.

Summary from the Time Masters' website:

The year is 3698 and the threat of civil war is not only brewing, but near boiling. Kwaku Awahnee, Time Master of Muirara, must pass on his Time Mastership to his prechosen successor Dallan MacDonald to prevent the inevitable. Councilor John Eaton must tell the unsuspecting Scot of his new office and all it entails. There were, however, a few slight problems. To become a Time Master the High-lander would have to willingly join with a Muiraran Maiden, who stolen as an infant, hidden in another time, and now grown, must mate or die. Dallan’s job of convincing her she was Muiraran, not human, and have her fall in love with him was small com-pared to the impossible race against time they had to see it done. John’s job was to make sure the Scot was ready to listen. And then of course, talk him into it along the way ....

The Cover:

First, the cover image here does not do a bit of justice to the real thing. When I received this book the first thing I noticed (ok, actually the second thing . . . the first was the weight of the book!) was the exquisite artwork on the cover. In itself, the cover is a masterpiece! The author should consider submission for book cover awards. It is unfortunate that an image with higher resolution was not available, but you will get a better idea of the art by going to the amazon page and clicking on "see larger image." Go do it!

Time Masters, Book One: The Call
Author: Geralyn Beauchamp
Publisher: Cold Tree Press
October 2007; 588 pgs. $18.95 paperback
ISBN: 978-1-583851-98-2

www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/asin/1583851917

Also check out the great information to be had at the Christian Fiction Review Blog and click on the CFRB links to the left. Come back every few days to see what new things are offered by the blog group. You never know, there may be some cool surprises!

Would you vote for Flashpoint?

Hey everyone, the Preditors & Editors poll is up and Flashpoint has been nominated in the Fantasy/ Science fiction category for 2007 novels.

If you liked the book and would like to vote for it, you can click on the banner above or the link here and it will whisk you to the polling page. p&e. com

I do appreciate anyone taking the time to vote!

Once there, you have to input your name and email address; a message will be sent to your email from P&E with a link to click on to confirm your vote (their way of monitoring voting). Easy peasy!