There is something serendipitous in the
fact that I finished reading this book a few days ago, just in time
for this past Sunday's Mass Readings – and hence our Monday Night
Scripture Study Group a few nights ago – to include the story of
the Woman Caught in Adultery from the Gospel of St. John, 8:1-11. I
was thus able to use a situation posited herein as a launching point
for discussion in our group.
But before bringing up our thoughts
regarding the interpretation of that passage proposed by the
characters here, which I assume represents Eidemiller's position,
regarding the implications of the words that Jesus speaks to the
woman, let me provide an overall review and comments.
It's quickly apparent that this sequel to
As Iron Sharpens Iron forges a connection between the world of
Eidemiller's fan-fiction “Christian Adventures of Doc Savage”
series, formally The Bronze Saga, and the separate
universe that is the setting for the Irons Alliance tales.
Indeed, this story launches directly out of the sixth Bronze Saga
novel, Bronze New World, with a minor character introduced
there becoming the central character of this book which tells the
back story of the mentor character bringing together the members of
the Irons Alliance. Of course, that means that this tale is
ultimately tied into the old television series, The Time Tunnel,
as was Bronze New World. That character (appropriately named
Tempor) travels through time back to the early 20th
century and proceeds by his presence and nudges to events as they
unfold through the years to explain the divergences from our own
“real world's” history that were so apparent in As Iron
Sharpens Iron.
All of which I think is terribly cool both because I am a huge fan of Eidemiller's take on the pulp hero Doc Savage and his aides brought forward into the modern world and having found Christ – yet continuing through ten books (so far? – hopefully so, but Eidemiller has stated that he intends Bronze Shaped as Clay to bring that series to a close) of adventures generally as rousing and action-packed as the original 1930s-1940s pulp magazines – and because in this second series he does much the same with characters of his own creation while continuing the Bronze Saga tradition of including a wealth of little “Easter Eggs” based on pop culture and history. Using the Time Tunnel as a means of bridging between the two series is just one example, and I suspect I did not catch some of Eidemiller's more subtle or obscure references, but, for instance, a still-living ca. 1952 (the time frame of most of the action of both As Irons Sharpens Iron and The Lazarus Paradigm) Amelia Earhart reappears here, to be joined by Howard Hughes, and motivation for the villain's diabolical plot that drives the later part of this book is rooted in Tempor's encounter with J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and the rest of the Inklings 'way back in the 1930s.
Along the way, we are treated to Tempor's
life from his appearance in the early 20th century across
most of fifty years in a series of vignettes as he learns by
experience the limits of what he can and cannot do. What he can do
includes essentially creating a time loop whereby his older self from
the past inspires his younger self in the future (more or less “our”
present) to embark on his cross-time life. This is a time-travel
story, after all. Eventually the narrative catches up to the events
of As Iron Sharpens Iron, which are retold again, albeit
sketchily and from Tempor's perspective through his recorded
meditations. The climatic events in San Francisco and the immediate
fame that results for Tempor and the Irons Alliance bring him to the
renewed attention of an old opponent whose Satanic plot to discredit
C. S. Lewis Tempor had thwarted twenty years earlier. From that
point, the horrific revenge that the old enemy intends drives them to
an epic confrontation in the villain's palatial home at the summit of
Mount St. Helens.
It's altogether a very satisfying
science-fictiony neopulp adventure that leaves you eager for the next
installment. It is, of course, set apart from other such examples in
the growing “New Pulp” movement by its different world view.
As with the Bronze Saga, I have
not dwelt on the religious aspect of this book for a couple of
reasons. I accept that element as both part of the characters
themselves and intrinsic to the character of the work,
although the evangelical flavor of the characters' faith and the
rather overt and somewhat simplistic view of God's interactions with
this world are not precisely in line with my own very Catholic way of
looking at things. I'm very much in agreement with the basic
Christian outlook, however, and overall find that those elements add
far more to the story than they perhaps detract. As I've expressed
before, the main potential problem I see would be a new reader being
put off by them, not being able to see past them to the wonderful
neopulp adventure being told that just happens to be so thoroughly
Christian.
There are, nonetheless, a couple of
specific points related to that religiosity that I want to bring up,
the second of which I referred to in the opening of this review. It
is more important than the first, which can be dispensed with rather
quickly. Fairly early in the book, Tempor establishes his financial
security – indeed builds the “nest egg” for what will
ultimately become the foundation for his philanthropic activities –
through gambling … although semantically he argues that what he did
is not indeed gambling, because “Gambling involves risk”
(Kindle edition, location 1513±
of 5141). He has only wagered on major sporting events of which he,
being from the future, already knew the outcome. I suppose it could
be argued either way, but this seems to me to be of rather
questionable ethics at best. Ultimately for someone to win through
gambling, someone else must lose, and I personally do not believe
that the presentation of what is meant to be a rather model of a
Christian as winning through “risk-free gambling” is very
edifying.
As a side note, that incident does bring
to mind another aspect of Eidemiller's presentation of Tempor's
interactions with the early 20th century that I must also
comment on. A possible exculpatory factor in the above is the fact
that, as a black man, Tempor simply found it much easier to place
bets than it would have been to engage in more conventional means of
investing. I question whether a black man would otherwise find
himself so readily accepted by society, for instance as a teacher
when he first appears, as is the case here. Sadly, and bearing in
mind of course that although I'm a historian my area of expertise
does not include the period of this novel, that is not my impression
of the reality of race relations fifty to a hundred years ago. The
issues of discrimination experienced by blacks is obviously not
ignored, is indeed referred to from time to time, but overall I feel
that neither in early 20th-century America nor in 1930s England would
Tempor have found so many people, even among his Christian brethren,
so willing to overlook the fact that he is a black man and accept him
as an equal.
Finally, however, there is the question
brought up regarding Christ's forgiveness of the Woman Caught in
Adultery and how it is used in this novel. This necessitates a
little background, which perhaps inevitably contains more details
than I normally try to include in these reviews, which I at least try
to keep relatively spoiler-free.
One of the members of the Irons Alliance
that we met in the first book was Mark Durant, who first appears as a
hunted vigilante wreaking havoc on criminals as the “Antibody.”
In my review of As Iron Sharpens Iron I drew a parallel with
the Marvel Comics character the Punisher, to the point of referring
tongue-in-cheek to Durant as such in quotation marks. The parallel
extends to the trail of the dead criminals his blazing guns have left
behind him. He is, nonetheless, drawn by God to the rendezvous with
destiny which launches that story. Of course, among the other
individuals similarly drawn is the FBI agent, Carlin Badge, who has
been closest on the Antibody's heels. And eventually, Durant's
identity as the Antibody comes to light – but after considerable
resistance on his own part he accepts Christ as his Savior and
renounces his former life of violence. Events in that book barrel on
to their conclusion, and when the story takes back up in The
Lazarus Paradigm Durant has resolved that he must turn himself in
to the authorities and pay for his crimes. His new found brother in
Christ, Agent Badge, is going to take him into custody with the
purpose of testifying to the radical change of heart which Durant has
experienced. But as far as the FBI is concerned, the Antibody's
absence following the final violent confrontation at the beginning of
As Iron Sharpens Iron has left him missing for months now,
known to have been wounded, and presumed dead.
Whereupon the following exchange,
initiated by another member of the team, Malachi Tanaka:
“'Much has
been said about Mark and his violent past. However, one thing
puzzles me: who, apart from the few of us in this room, truly knows
that he is the Antibody?'
“'Nobody,'
answered Carlin. 'I had my suspicions, and took them to my
superiors, but they refused to see it my way.'
“'Then why
must you turn yourself in to the authorities?' [this
to Durant]
“'I have to
do the right thing, to pay for my crimes.'
“'You feel
you must “pay back society” for the sins you've committed?'
“'Yes!'
[Durant] stated resolutely.
“'Did the
woman caught in adultery pay society back for her sins?'
“'No. Jesus
told her to “go, and sin no more”.'
“'Then why
can't you do the same thing?'
“It was like
a vacuum suddenly appeared in the room. It was such a simple answer
that nobody had considered it.
“'But all
I've done …,' argued Durant.
“'... has
been forgiven at the cross. It is no longer your burden. But if you
feel you must do some sort of penance, may I suggest something I've
heard of called “paying it forward'. Instead of trying to pay back
what you owe, you do good deeds to others, without requiring
acknowledgement [sic] or thanks.'”
(Kindle edition, Location 2970±
of 5141 ff.)
And it is quickly resolved by the group
to aid Durant in changing his identity, becoming a new person in the
world as he is a new person in Christ. Or, to put it more bluntly,
evading justice.
Monday night, in our discussion of the
Gospel for the 5th Sunday of Lent (Cycle C), John 8:1-11, we discussed the story of the Woman Caught in Adultery,
which does famously end with the words spoken by Jesus: “Go,
and do not sin again” (verse 11, Revised Standard Version).
After covering various aspects of the prepared questions, I threw out
a further question, abstracting for my fellows the background and
situation from The Lazarus Paradigm as presented above,
leading to some interesting discussion regarding the societal
implications of the forgiveness that we unquestionably receive
through the grace of God in baptism. Granted that the Catholic Faith
of the members of our Scripture Study Group and the evangelical
Protestantism espoused by Eidemiller and his characters do have
significant differences regarding the theology and practice of
baptism, I do not believe I am wrong in surmising that we are in
agreement regarding the fact that the waters of baptism wash away
completely both the stain of Original Sin and any prior personal
sins, regardless of how grave those latter might be. And, since
Durant's life of vigilantism, which included murder, preceded his
conversion to Christianity and has now been renounced and replaced
with a determination to live his life for Christ and in service to
his fellow man, that is the real parallel. Does the forgiveness he
received for his prior sins absolve him from “paying for” his
crimes? In a more general sense, should a similar conversion by a
criminal during his incarceration warrant his immediate release,
because the debt for his sins was paid on the Cross? Examples could
be multiplied to any earlier stage of the judicial process, from the
initial hunt for a criminal, through the trial – if a fugitive,
accused criminal converts and leaves behind his life of sin, should
that preempt any trial? – if a defendant converts during the trial,
should he be declared “Not Guilty” and automatically freed?
As you may have already surmised, our
consensus was “No.” A number of points were made, including that
the Gospel does not say that there were no societal
consequences for the woman caught in adultery, and that we had
earlier been discussing how the situation related in the Gospel comes
in a very specific context, that of the Pharisees attempting to
entrap Jesus between renouncing the Jewish Law or countenancing a
violation of Roman Law, assuming that the Jews indeed did not have
the right to administer the death penalty (a thorny question that
cannot be answered definitively). By turning the question of sin
back upon the Pharisees with his words, “Let him who is without
sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her (verse 7)
(with the possibility that Jesus' writing on the ground was precisely
the sins they themselves were guilty of), Jesus deftly put them
in the position of making an impossible choice. Whereupon the crowd
of accusers melted away and there was no one left to condemn the
woman, and Jesus himself admonished her to “Go, and do not sin
again.” He did not thereby countenance her sin, indeed he
commanded her “do not sin again” (my
emphasis). And it cannot be taken as a mandate for how society
should treat those who commit crimes.
But generally I would make this
distinction. Prior sins considered in those terms are offenses
against God, and while God's forgiveness is indeed perfect, crimes
per se are offenses against fellow human beings and society in
general and cannot be so easily negated. To put it in purely
practical terms, the state of one's soul is ultimately a matter
between the individual and God, while the consequences of one's
actions in this world are a matter of concern to society at large.
Moreover, society cannot be so sure that professed repentance is
indeed genuine. To bring it back to the specific situation described
in The Lazarus Paradigm, while Mark Durant's companions may
have absolute faith that his change of heart is real, society cannot
be so sure, and the fact is that they are undertaking responsibility
for his future deeds – or misdeeds. In the eyes of the law, they
are at the very least harboring a fugitive.
Ultimately, while the example of the
Woman Caught in Adultery and the grace offered her by Our Lord is a
fine example of the oft-quoted stricture to “Love the sinner, hate
the sin,” and a guide for how we should treat our fellow man in the
realm of Christian fellowship, it does not seem to me to be a
blueprint for how society can or should operate.
I have lingered over this small part of
the story for a couple of reasons. Partially I think it reveals a
particularly stark example of different understandings of the
implications and applicability of Scriptural examples between
Catholics such as myself and evangelical Protestants such as
Eidemiller – if they would follow through on the implications.
Admittedly, in context, the situation plays out exactly the way the
reader would want it to. Over the course of the first book in
particular, but continuing in this one, Mark Durant, the one-time
Antibody, has been developed into a very likeable and sympathetic
character, arguably the best delineated character in the first book,
and one for whom the reader wants the best. That speaks well of
Eidemiller's skill in writing and developing his characters. But in
a “real-world” situation, the solution proposed would not be so
easily accepted.
But also I wanted to throw it out there
as an example of how one can find issues for deep consideration and
discussion even in examples such as this, of modern neopulp/popular
literature. As was the first book, The Lazarus Paradigm was a
thoroughly enjoyable read, and once again I eagerly anticipate
continuing to follow the adventures of the Irons Alliance in future
volumes.
Cheers!, and Thanks for reading!
No comments:
Post a Comment