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Mr. D, impressive literary endeavors there. The only Dreiser work I'm at all familiar with is "An American Tragedy". (I'm more familiar with "On The Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" by Paul Dreiser!) As to the Qur'an, are you familiar with Bernard Lewis? Anyway, glad you're popping in. Back to work now... | ||||
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All of you who participated in turning Ray's forum into a big religious discussion completely deserved the stuff I laid on you... I don't hate Christians, I never have. I wanted to teach you an important lesson: If you are going to use a non-religious forum to spout your faith, then you deserve exactly what you get. It's as simple as that. The call to prayer on this forum was an insult to everyone who does not believe this stuff. You can put any spin on it you wish, but it is still another back-door method of pushing Christianity on a non-Christian forum. Besides, if you REALLY wanted people to pray for Ray, why don't you go to WHERE the people who would be more interested hang out..like Christian forums. You'll get better results, i.e. more participants. The Mencken quote was the other end of the spectrum. The other extreme. This whole religion scenario is nothing but spam. It is no different from how you would feel if I kept coming here and pushing Adventure Books of Seattle on this site. Or if I continued to espouse the merits of Obama for President, etc. After a very short time, it would become irritating to everyone, except AB fans or Obama supporters. Think about it.This message has been edited. Last edited by: Robert M Blevins, | ||||
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Robert M. Blevins: My 'entire' life since I was in 6th grade has revolved around finding God, tho I was clueless in what I was doing. I never even read Bradbury in the 6th grade, but Bradbury was going to be the main 'help'... starting back then! Can't be more plain in a few sentences. Not going to hide the facts over this lifelong experience or take suggestions to do otherwise. Will keep you in prayer, Robert. Others may even put you on their list. | ||||
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While Nard may espouse a more fundamentalist view than I hold, his thread did not pressure anyone to become a christian. It said that IF you are a christian consider praying for Ray. As I have gotten older, I have realized it is not my life's work to judge others or to teach others life lessons (unless they ask). Both I and my colleagues, friends, and family are much happier. Being responsible for everyone else's beliefs is really exhausting. I recommend doing what one can to avoid it. That's my unsolicited advice for the day. | ||||
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I'm having a great time going through Dreiser's works again. I'd forgotten how powerful his work is. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature at the same time Sinclair Lewis was. Lewis got it, but many scholars felt it should have gone to Dreiser. I think both writers are great, so I certainly don't begrudge Lewis. But Dreiser would have more visibility today if he had been chosen. I took a graduate seminar that focused totally on Theodore Dreiser with some minor comparative studies with Bernard Malumud. It is amazing to be able to have that kind of educational focus with a professor who was a Dreiser specialist! | ||||
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I agree that Dreiser's work is pretty darn good. Since we're recommending books here right now, I have one too. 'A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier' by Ishmael Beah. This one should get a few prizes. I recently picked up a hardback from Amazon. It's the true story of an eleven-year old boy from Sierra Leone who was drafted into the army to fight the rebels in the mid-1990's. Some of his friends who were also pressed into service were even younger, and had to drag their AK-47's along...because they were not big enough to actually carry them. Stunning, inspiring, and sometimes disturbing book. I highly recommend it. Beah now lives in the U.S. and sometimes tours around the country talking about his experiences. Recently, I had the chance to meet this soft-spoken man while he was in Seattle. Get the book...  | ||||
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The fact that Ray remembers being a baby, etc, is a sign of great spiritual advancement in the Eastern religions. Many great saints of the East remember their whole lives even back to the embryonic state, and before, since reincarnation is a commonly accepted religious concept in the Eastern religions. I know that Christians are not open to the beliefs of other religions, but I just thought I'd add something from the perspective of another religious tradition. Another point from the Eastern perspective is that it is extremely difficult for the ordinary devotee to assess the spiritual status of the people around him. Only God really knows the hearts of men. | ||||
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fanboy: Do you think remembering being a baby is that much of a deal? Surprising just how much you can recall once you start working on it. I remember being circumsized when I was a week or two old at the most. The pain snapped a photo in my memory. Took me a while when I was older to figure that particular event out. I certainly didn't remember being born, like Ray said he has. On the other hand, I remember a great deal in detail before I was one year old. But I think lots of people do. I didn't forget much, where there are others that may tend to forget. As to the last comment, about accessing the spiritual status around them, that is something along the lines of Christianity. I am NOT to judge an unbeliever. I can judge a Christian believer, and will be judged with the same standard that I use. In fact, it says out of my mouth I judge myself. But as to an unbeliever, judgement is left to God. | ||||
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Have to agree wholeheartedly. I have no problem with your beliefs, Nard, or anyone else's for that matter, but it's a little too much like Spam in my book, and quite insulting to those of us who don't believe in Gods. I'm an atheist, have been since the age of 13 when I saw a man kill himself in front of my eyes, but I wouldn't dare come on a board dedicated to a great writer (who already has an affiliation with a church in any case) and start telling 'Christians' that their beliefs are hogwash. It's a matter of respecting others, and being true to the nature of the board. Now, if Ray had written the Bible, it would be a whole different story (in more ways than one)  | ||||
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... WaitingTom: Well, I tell it one more time because obviously none of you guys are listening. Are any of you understanding anything I'm writing? How can you? If you 'get' what I am saying then you'll know a couple things right off the bat: This is a board about Ray Bradbury and about our love for Bradbury and how we are affected by Bradbury and a Q&A about his works, etc etc. I became a Christian much later in life by a direct intervention by Ray Bradbury when I was in 6th Grade. And I like to talk about it. Get it? You think this is some kind of joke? Or some farce? Obviously you do. I don't. It's been my life! And you can post your own posting and forum about whatever you like. This is my posting about how interesting a writer Bradbury actually is in his influence. Now if you can't understand THAT...why I am writing the things I do the way I do, then there is absolutely nothing else I can, or anyone else can, say to you. ... | ||||
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Much of England is turning atheist, so it is no surprise the Waiting Tom is insulted. | ||||
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You sound quite angry there, friend. And if anything I wrote is responsible for triggering that anger, it was not meant with malice on my part. But the 'call to prayer' although aimed at 'Christians' is on a public board about Ray Bradbury. My first response was one of horror. Is Ray okay? Is he injured? In a life threatening situation? What has happened to my hero? And then I come in all worried and you're calling for him to get into heaven? I don't know if that was a call for conversion, or for him to see the 'error' of his ways, but it sure sounded that way, and besides he already has a belief and a a church, he's a Unitarian or some branch of that Church(I know a lot of them and they're great, loving and warm people who actively embrace a lot of differing faiths, even us Atheists). Do you see how your post could have engendered worry in us non-theists? If you post on a public board expect a reaction of some sort. And in any case, I thought I was quite light-hearted about the whole matter. | ||||
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Folks! (and folkettes) See the "Religion 101/Orange Crop" thread. I most heartily embrace our friend Doug's suggestion that we have our religious discussions there. That's why that thread was initiated. This thread was begun as a request. See the difference? Sheesh! | ||||
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Braling II! Sheesh? Ditto! This was a simple request for prayer. Obviously, people don't like to pray! | ||||
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I will pray for Ray to Live Forever, and continue to bless his readers with thought-provoking stories, coaxed from his muse, and that he will continue to inspire in the way he has inspired so many to find their own truths on the journey of life. So many paths, so many choices, only one can be taken at a time. Fiction gives us alternative paths that may then alter our own choices and take us down different roads to a better result. I thank Ray for helping in that vicarious experience which came about becasue he asked "What if" and then wrote a story about one of those paths. | ||||
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Topic ClosedRay Bradbury Hompage Ray Bradbury Forums Forums Imported Forums Ray's Legacy To ALL Christians: Pray Ray Bradbury into Heaven
Ray Bradbury Forums Forums Imported Forums Ray's Legacy To ALL Christians: Pray Ray Bradbury into Heaven