FREE TO WRITE

Over the years, one of the things that I have given an enormous amount of thought to is what my responsibilities are as a creative. Especially writing. 

Shane Brigg shares some
deep personal reflections

What I have resolved in myself is that the freedom I have in writing comes with sobering obligations. 

Several narratives have inspired this resolution.....

Consider the dystopian world of the movie “The Book of Eli” where the main character is the custodian of the last remaining copy of the Bible, or another which is represented in Fahrenheit 451 where society has outlawed books (they are burned along with the houses they are hidden in). Then there is the superlative work of Marcus Zusak’s “The Book Thief” which represents the book burnings of Nazi Germany during World War 2. The main character discovers a book and begins her adventure of stealing books from the burning piles. Throughout the novels and stories mentioned above the written word, writing, reading, and language are presented as metaphors of freedom, hope and justice. They provide identity and personal liberty to characters who gain "the true power of words" (Zusak). 

The real-life stories and writing of Dietrich Bonhoeffer reflect this perspective and have also been inspiration for me, as do the lives and stories of other writers and thinkers who laid their life on the line to deliver ideas, information, and ideologies through the written word.

The freedom to write comes under a myriad of forms. Along with the delivery of its creativity, prophetic elaborations and provocations have come long-standing threats against writers and the freedom to write. Writers are often influential voices that play a key role in inspiring activists, analyzing, and critiquing state and world affairs, imagining different realities and futures, and generally challenging the status quo so that justice is presented, proposed, produced, and protected. This has meant that through the ages writers have collided with other entities.  As new realities emerge in our world today, including local, regional, and potential world conflicts, the COVID-19 pandemic, other diseases, and repressive responses to sweeping protest movements writers are continuing to do what they do best..... 

Write. 

This often comes at a cost.

Throughout history writers have had their individual freedoms constrained by individuals, groups and authorities (in democratic and authoritarian countries alike). Writers and thinkers who attempt to question social or cultural norms, preserve ethno-linguistic traditions, or criticize policy, plans, perspectives of various structures and processes remain common targets for officials and leaders treating peaceful expression as a threat. Legal charges, detention, threats, and even death are all strategies utilized to silence writers’ voices and ideas from reaching and influencing a wider audience.

During 2020 alone, according to data collected for the Freedom to Write Index (Produced by PEN*), at least 273 writers, academics, and public intellectuals in 35 countries—in all geographic regions around the world—were in prison or unjustly held in detention in connection with their writing, their work, or related activism. *PEN exists as a support network to give writers a voice, to provide for intellectual exchange and to promote freedom of expression for all writers. The acronym originally stood for ‘poets, essayists, and novelists’ but now includes playwrights and editors among that number. Testimonials recounted by Christian ministries such as the Voice of the Martyrs, Open Doors, and  Asia Harvest (and others) speak of countless God-fearing souls who have been incarcerated and martyred for delivering faith-fuelled messages via their writing and lives.

When PEN was in its formative days it was threatened by the rise of Nazism in Germany. At its 1933 Congress in Dubrovnik, the Assembly of Delegates (led by PEN’s president of the time : H. G. Wells) reaffirmed the Galsworthy resolution as a response to events of the previous few months:  the Nazi Party had burned many thousands of books it deemed ‘impure’ (inconsistent with, or hostile to its ideology) in bonfires across Germany. The following day, the German delegation attempted to prevent Ernst Toller, an exiled Jewish-German playwright, from speaking. The German delegation walked out of the Congress – and, out of PEN, until after World War Two. An overwhelming majority rejected the German position and reaffirmed the principles on which they had just voted.

Interestingly a dedication inscribed on a PEN International memorial which sits in a simple grove of trees beside Lake Burley Griffin in Canberra says,

‘The spirit dies in all of us who keep silent in the face of tyranny.’

I have watched with interest the various ‘convoys of freedom’ occurring across the nations this year. These ‘pilgrimages’ (movements of people leading to transformation) have included Australian’s amassing in Canberra, Canadian truckies, families evacuating from the Ukraine, Myanmar refugees, Yemenis, minorities, majorities, millions worldwide in diaspora. Some are by choice, some are forced into exile, some are reactions to individual personal freedoms being limited, some are in fear, some are with a form of faith, some are all about themselves, some are about others, some are friends, some are strangers, some are simply because they want to survive, others because their comforts and securities and liberties have been curtailed. Some walk with limps, some drive their rigs, some must be carried. Some are sad. Some are mad. Some are angry. Some are hopeful. Some are dying. Some have died. 

I am moved with love and compassion with a fair bit of perlustration, sometimes frustration, and much deliberation, and a seeking of wisdom for action. 

Especially in caring for friends who are part of these flows of humanity. I recognized that I have an obligation in my relative freedom: it is a responsibility to do something, and I have discovered, for me, that something is to write.

                                           

Some see freedom as an inherent human right. This includes the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and more.  Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination.

Some see Freedom as an illusion. 

 “Man is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does,” 

wrote Jean-Paul Sartre. 

But humanity is not so much condemned to be free as condemned to bear the consequences of their choices and to take responsibility for their actions. Humanity has a free will, but that does not make them ultimately free. On the contrary, our choices are mainly driven by survival and default to self-orientation. Moreover, because people live with others, their freedom is limited by morals, laws, obligations and responsibilities – and that’s in countries where human rights are being respected. So, all the freedoms we experience or aspire to are relative: freedom of opinion, freedom of action, freedom to choose a career, residence, or partner. Every choice necessarily leads to a commitment, and thus to obligations and responsibilities. These in turn lead to limitations; but also, to meaning. 

The relative freedom to make a positive contribution to the world gives life meaning, and that is what we all ultimately seek.

In 1944 Justice Learned Hand, speaking to more than a million people in Central Park, New York defined one of the lessons of World War Two when he said:

“And what is this liberty which must lie in the hearts of men and women? It is not the ruthless, the unbridled will; it is not freedom to do as one likes. That is the denial of liberty and leads straight to its overthrow. A society in which men recognize no check upon their freedom soon becomes a society where freedom is the possession of only a savage few – as we have learned to our sorrow.”

He then asked:

“What then is the spirit of liberty? I cannot define it; I can only tell you my own faith. The spirit of liberty is the spirit which is not too sure that it is right; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which seeks to understand the minds of other men and women; the spirit of liberty is the spirit which weighs their interest alongside its own without bias...”

My thoughts are that we simply shouldn’t take Freedom for granted. We simply shouldn’t take liberties that Grace cannot afford. We simply need to discover a freedom that is beyond anything that serves self in a reality of mutuality of supporting and empowering and giving agency in relationship with each other. This supersedes agenda to the place of freedom journeys of a convoy of life that embraces one another not because we see the same but that we love and care and share and give and live in a unity beyond our own personal liberty and freedom. Writing can help do that.

All this makes me think about the words of the Apostle Peter (writing to the believers)

“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God. Honour everyone.  Love the family of believers. Fear God. Honour the emperor.”

1 Peter 2:16-17

The uncompromising position Dietrich Bonhoeffer took in his seminal work Ethics grapples with the premise that Peter espoused and is raised elsewhere throughout scripture. For Bonhoeffer it was directly reflected in his stance against Nazism. It was during this time grappling with the challenges of WWII, until his arrest in 1943 and death, that he worked on Ethics. 

Both in his thinking (his writing), and in his life, Bonhoeffer’s ethics were centered on the demand for action by responsible people in the face of evil. People should not rest on the laurels of their freedoms (real or perceived). He was sharply critical of ethical theory and of academic concerns with ethical systems precisely because of their failure to confront evil directly. Evil, he asserted, was concrete and specific, and it could be combated only by the specific actions of responsible people in the world. He did this through his writing and this inspires me to do the same.

I am free to write. I am free to write about whatever I will. But in my freedom to write, my personal narrative has become a pursuit of using my craft responsibly. 

For me, writing is a calling to not only do it well, but with a sense of mission, to help bring hope, justice, life and God’s love and freedom. 

Am I enjoying the process? Yes. Is it life bringing and not with a legalistic compulsion? Yes.  Provocative, and catalytic, fuel for thought? Yes. Inspiration to write? Amen.

Maybe it is for you too ?

Writing with Passion - Jo Wanmer

It’s a good idea to give yourself time to think.” 

F T Heywood 1966.

Old writings hold much wisdom. The above quote is stored in my memorabilia under the heading of ‘Quotable Quotes from the Letters of a Great Man’. A great man in my eyes, for he was my father and his letters became treasure after he died.  At the time I attended Rockhampton Girls Grammar as a boarder, enabling me to complete years 11 and 12. My mother wrote to me twice a week without fail. Everyone's letters were distributed after our evening meal. They were our only contact with our parents. A black  phone languished on the wall in the entry but we girls never dreamt of touching it. Letters were our connection and daily highlight.

My dad on the other hand only wrote occasionally. His short letters were eagerly awaited, even if his spider scrawl was hard to read.  He died half way through year 12….and the letters stopped. The few I still had I kept for about forty years, and then I reduced them to a few quotes.

Mum’s letters detailed her daily life. Dad’s letters taught me how to live my life.

“If you have 40 men in a hut you have to be extra careful with money and other easily stolen things. But you can usually narrow the field down in a few weeks and in due course you know who it is.”

I can’t remember what I wrote to elicit this response but he used the occasion to teach me.  As I recalled his writings after his death, I realized he was trying to prepare me. Did he know his time was limited?

The other author I honor today diid know his time was limited. He wrote with passion to his ‘family’, teaching and exhorting them, cajoling and rebuking them, loving them and discipling them.

But he didn’t write as I do from the comfort of an airconditioned room, office chair and keyboard. Or as my dad wrote from his messy office desk shoved in a tiny room, using the few minutes he could find in his busy life as a pastoralist and farmer.

Paul wrote from prison, shackled in chains. The only contact he had from his beloved people was by messengers bringing reports and letters. His eye sight was so bad that when he wrote in his own hand the letters were huge. He relied on a scribe. I’ve often tried to imagine what drove a man, who had lost his freedom, to write passionately about freedom that's available to everyone. How did he keep his mind on things above when chains and mud shackled his feet? ( image from adobe.com)

He dictated and his scribe wrote one copy. Paul didn’t safely file the original and send a copy. He sent the only copy and told his family to share his letters around. The first group couldn’t photocopy it so they either released it or someone sat down and copied it, maybe once, maybe twice. Somehow, nearly two thousand years later, there are millions of copies of those letters. they are important to our faith to this day. 

Why did Paul persevere under such heavy difficulty? Did he know his letter would be read for centuries? I don’t think so, but still he was used by God in an impossible situation to write words that minister to me today. What inspired him to rise above his circumstances and write?

Some say he was instructed by the Holy Spirit and I’m sure that's correct. But how did that instruction happen? Was it a still small voice in the middle of the prison clamour? A Dream? An angelic visitation? I don't think so. 

His writings make it clear he was a man like you and I. Often he was led by circumstances. In this case, he was bodily confined but his spirit was fired by his passion. The same fire that drove him to persecute early Christians, now drove him to call Christians to higher heights. The anger that killed Jesus' followers was now being used to destroy the religious spirit that wanted to remain, mixing and perverting the new way. A man that writes, ‘I wish you’d go all the way and castrate yourselves!’ is still a passionate man of zeal.

Passion.

I devoured my Dad’s letters for the same reason. He was a quiet man but passionate about pushing me to my best. I have just finished reading Pauls letters again for the same reason. This author calls me ever higher. His passion is contagious.

And I suddenly realise that passion for my message pushed my first book to publication standard and into print. I wanted the world to know what God did for me. It also explains why my other books languish, waiting. The passion isn’t strong enough to push me past the obstacles of publication. Or is it a fear of judgement of beliefs I hold passionately?

In a few blogs in the last weeks, some of our writers talk of the struggle to write this year - even though in a way we, like Paul, have been confined. Maybe we are in the hush before the storm, the rest before the race, the preparation before production? I believe God is working in each of our lives and He will bring forth a flurry of words in His time.

What about you? What makes you write and persist until the words are good enough to engage and delight a reader? What pushes you past the endless obstacles to get a book in print?

 

       Jo and Steve Wanmer live just north of Brisbane where they do   business, ministry and life together. They share their home with          Barclay, a lively toy poodle, who demands much love and many   walks.  Jo's award winning book, Though the Bud be Bruised, was published six years ago. Other manuscripts are either in rough draft, edited draft, on scraps of paper or in her head. It has been a quieter year for her, as for many - a time to reflect as she enters her seventh decade.

                                                       

Becoming an Elephant

I stumbled across an old email the other day—it hinted at a true story about elephants. I’ve always been fascinated by these creatures (who abounded in the land of my birth), so I eagerly read on. What an intriguing tale! Lawrence Anthony, nicknamed ‘The Elephant Whisperer’ had been an international conservationist, environmentalist, explorer and bestselling author. I quote from the narrative:

“On March 7, 2012 Lawrence Anthony died. He is remembered and missed by his wife, 2 sons, 2 grandsons, and numerous elephants”, italics mine.

How did those ‘numerous elephants’ show that they remembered him?
How did we know that they did?
But first, what had they to remember of him?

Lawrence Anthony had been a legend. Rogue elephants who would usually have been put down, had been calmed, rescued and given refuge in a large sanctuary he established for them. Anthony was known to be exceptional in caring for traumatised elephants. When the ‘Elephant Whisperer’ died, something mysterious and profound took place. From miles away, wild elephants—dozens of them, silently began a long trek to his home, in solemn single file, taking at least 12 hours to reach. They stayed for two days, refusing to eat or drink, saying goodbye to the man who had championed their cause.

What an amazing story! And what a brilliant example of remembering. How did they even know he had died? We human beings are good at recalling the bad done to us. Do we also bring to mind often the acts of kindness we’ve received? I've been inspired by the life of King David as I've studied it recently. I was struck also by an occurrence that took place when King Saul died. Men in the small town of Jabesh Gilead came stealthily at dead of night, and took his body away with them so that his enemies would not taunt his body. These valiant men risked their lives for a dead king, because years before, King Saul had helped them. They too had remembered.

Would you like to be an elephant today? Not in size of course. Nor in looks, so you can rest easy. But would you like to be an elephant today in the act of remembering?

WHAT CAN WE, WHO CALL OURSELVES CHRISTIAN WRITERS, REMEMBER?
1. That Jesus bought us life, freedom and salvation. Praise Him.

2. The inspiring books we’ve read and how we’ve been changed through them.

3. Writers, role models and teachers in our writing sphere who have taught us, shaped our writing and grown us. Let’s appreciate them.

4. That our dreams, talents, abilities, time and even opportunities to write, all come from Him who reigns over all. We are stewards. We owe it all to our Lord.

5. That everything we’ve achieved are gifts from Him, so any praise directed at our writing and speaking efforts should be boomeranged back to our Creator.

6. The encouraging ways that God came through for us in the past, so with grateful hearts, we can entrust the future of our creativity to Him.

7. The deep joy we have in being writers called of God—how thrilling the journey. Let us never take our calling for granted.

And so today, I pause, reflect and give thanks. To God—for calling me to write for Him, for His guidance and inspiration. To you, my fellow writers who’ve taught me over the years and encouraged me stay on course. To those whose insightful books have showered God’s truth over my being. I look forward to new mountains yet to climb, because all I know of our God tells me that if He’s come through for me in the past, I can count on His faithfulness in the future.

I’d like to be an Elephant today.
Would you care to join me?

And now my Christian Writer Friends, this is for you:
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phillipians 1:3-6


Anusha’s been on many interesting detours in life, as a lab technician, a computer programmer, a full time Mum, a full time volunteer, a charity director, a full time job chaser, until one golden day (or was it a dark moonless night?) God tapped her on her shoulder and called her to write for Him. She has never recovered from the joy it brought her. She loves to see others enjoying life with Jesus and does her mite to hurry the process in her world through her writing and through her life. The goodness of God is her theme song through each season, as she dances in the rain with Jesus. Please stop by at her website Dancing in the Rain to say G’day. She’d love to see you.

The "Kudzu" of our Minds

Isn't it wonderful when things just link together nicely?! In the post before this one, Melinda Jensen raised the issue of sex in Christian fiction and very bravely and beautifully looked at the interaction between the words we read and our minds. 

And wouldn't you know it, the very thing that I was led to talk on in this post was our minds.

Some of you may have heard of a plant called "Kudzu?" For those who haven't, here's the Wikipedia description of it,

They are climbing, coiling, and trailing perennial vines ... Where these plants are naturalized, they can be invasive and are considered noxious weeds. The plant climbs over trees or shrubs and grows so rapidly that it kills them by heavy shading.[3] The plant is edible, but often sprayed with herbicides.[3]

If you have a moment, I recommend you go and google Kudzu, to see for yourself the insidious nature of the plant.

The imagery is quite frightening; vast expanses of land, huge trees, even entire houses, completely smothered by the ivy-like vines. 

This plant was introduced in the late 1800s as a good thing; an ornamental plant that could be used for land management, food for stock and even basket making, among other things. But, left unchecked, it rages out of control, and takes over everything in its path. 

As I read about the Kudzu and gazed on the images, something within my spirit was quickened; immediately I thought of our minds, and how quickly thoughts can be planted, and in no time at all completely smother our minds, our thinking, our ability to think rationally or with clarity.

Now I must point out, I'm not actually talking about sex...although yes,that is one very obvious one that can take hold, (and why I do agree that it should be very carefully handled in Christian fiction, if indeed included at all...again, I refer you to the discussion in the previous blog). But there are so many different thoughts or patterns that can be rooted in our minds, and some of them are actually good to begin with. It is when we start to let those thoughts or patterns take control of our mind that they lose their beauty or usefulness, and become noxious, robbing us of so many other good things. 

So what are some examples of these noxious mind-weeds? Here are three examples that I came up with:

• Particularity - it's great to aim for a high standard in life; the Bible says we should do everything as if it was asked by God directly. But when particularity is allowed to grow into excessive proportions, our sense of peace can be completely overshadowed as it grows into the noxious weed of Perfectionism. Instead of pleasing God, the source of our inspiration, we start seeking other people's approval, perhaps out of fear of not being good enough, or perhaps out of a driving need to be the very best compared to others.

• Pride - being proud of one's achievements is a good thing! We should be cheering ourselves on, sometimes louder than anyone else! But, if we allow our thoughts of self to get too big for their britches, pride can become a smothering Arrogance. We begin to do what we do for the accolades of others, perhaps because that is where we receive our self-worth. These thoughts will soon smother any sense of humility, and can be our undoing.
  

• Prudence - being cautious and careful is an honorable quality, and shows wisdom. What happens though, when we begin to feel overly cautious? Or we become so well-planned that we are unable to allow room for spontaneity or, dare I say it, a Holy Spirit prompting to do something contrary to our plans?! If the seed of prudence is planted and allowed to grow without constraint in our minds, it becomes Rigidity. This is possibly the most dangerous of the three things listed here, as it can completely obscure our purpose, our passion and our fervor for life, and for God.

I could list many noxious weeds that have, by the love and grace of Jesus Christ, been uprooted from my own mind; I have many to still be removed. It's not easy; sometimes it's painful, even a little shameful. But oh, the freedom that I have experienced as I allow the Holy Spirit to convict and then get to work!

And my sincere prayer, as I write this blog, is that someone reading this will be gently, compassionately, lovingly convicted, so they, too, would allow our loving and glorious Father to start digging up the Kudzu of their mind, that they might be all they were created to be!

~~~~~~

Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Romans 12:2 NLT