Lost in Thought

Will the World End in 2012? by Raymond C. Hundley, Ph.D.

Marissa Thompson — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 17:51:38 +0000

In what he calls “a Christian guide to the question everyone’s asking,” Raymond Hundley addresses ten arguments supporting an imminent end of the world: Mayan prophecies, solar storms, the Large Hadron Collider experiments, Nostradamus’ predictions, reversal of magnetic poles, collision with Planet X, alignment with the sun and other planets, a super volcano, the Web Bot project, and religious predictions. In each chapter, Hundley attempts “to let them [the arguments] speak for themselves and present the most compelling arguments possible for their point of view,” rather than dismiss them merely because of his Christian perspectives.

The book is a very educational and interesting read, as Hundley provides very extensive background information on each theory. If nothing else, readers can at least walk away with more knowledge of the world’s history. I started reading the book expecting not to be at all convinced about anything, and I assumed that each theory would be summarily dismissed as ridiculous and impossible because they are nonbiblical. I was pleasantly surprised however, to discover Hundley admits that some of these theories do have merit. Hundley does indeed approach these theories from a viewpoint of science and logic, and this impressed me.

Hundley also provides a epilogue addressing what this means to us as Christians, and this final note was very satisfying. He writes: “He could come in 2012 or He could come tomorrow, but the question is, are you ready to receive Him and be received by Him?” He ends with a call to remain hopeful and joyful amidst all these end times theories. I agree with Hundley that this is an opportunity to minister to the nonbelievers around us and to give them hope. It is refreshing to see a work that acknowledges science and logic while giving honor to God.

The Gospel According to “Lost” by Chris Seay

Marissa Thompson — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 01:22:01 +0000

The Gospel According to “Lost” explores some of the spiritual, biblical, and philosophical references within the TV show, Lost. Seay analyzes fifteen different characters of the show, explaining how we can find biblical messages in each of the Losties’ personal life journeys, and reveals the truths readers can take from this show to apply to their own lives.

I found this book not only edifying but extremely fascinating. I am a huge Lost fan, and I am currently waiting patiently for the sixth and final season to finish and come out on DVD. I will probably be waiting a while, so I decided to read Seay’s book in the meantime.

I had always recognized the existence of biblical references within the show’s script, but Seay elucidated some of the harder topics I had previously struggled with. Some of his characters analyses really hit home with me; specifically, his discussion of Desmond and Penny:

Nothing dissuades her [Penny] from dropping everything to find Desmond--not even
Desmond himself, who runs away in the first place because he's scared of the
implications of accepting and returning her love. It's only when he has lost her
that he realizes how transforming love can be. This separation proves to Desmond
that true love is unmerited, inexplicable, and fiercely magnetic. He finally sees
that he does not, and indeed cannot, earn Penny's love . . . Nothing can stand
between us and the love of the living God: not our fear or reluctance, not the
disapproval of others, nothing. And even then, for as long as it takes for us to
accept it, his love will bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and
endure all things. Love never fails. (p. 172-174)

This is just one example of Seay’s simple yet profound messages within The Gospel According to “Lost”. For anyone who enjoyed the show, this book is a great tool for understanding some of its implications in terms of faith and God’s immeasurable and unmerited love for us.

Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogging . . . Now “BookSneeze”?

Marissa Thompson — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 00:53:08 +0000

For whatever reason, Thomas Nelson has apparently changed the simple, straightforward name of “Book Review Blogging” to “BookSneeze”, because books are contagious or something. I don’t know, anything with the word “sneeze” in it I have a hard time taking seriously.

It doesn’t really bring up much of a pleasant image either. Sneezing books? That sounds rather painful, and I can’t imagine that it would be that fun (though I could imagine it being strangely fascinating) to watch. Especially if someone had a cold, and they just kept repeatedly sneezing books out. I guess I was picturing books coming out the nose, but most of the sneezing action comes out of the mouth, I guess. Hmm . . . I shall have to ponder this.

Green by Ted Dekker

Marissa Thompson — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 04:58:00 +0000

It seems like all the Green reviews I’ve read so far have said things like “truly Book Zero” or “completes the Circle”. I didn’t really understand what that meant, and maybe you have to read it to get it.

Somewhere near the end, there was a line that went something like, “What was once green was now black.” That pretty much sums it up. Green happens after White, but the last chapter of Green is the first chapter of Black. People who have already read the other three books know that there’s a weird thing going on with time. It’s in the future, but it’s like Earth’s past happening again in the future. So at the end of Green, Thomas gets sent back to Denver for a second chance. He gets attacked in the alley by the New Yorker again, gets shot, and falls into the dumpster. The last line gave me goosebumps: “And then Thomas Hunter dreamed, and the world would never be the same.”

On a more spiritual note, this book has moving descriptions of Elyon, or God. If followers of Christ don’t find some of these scenes emotionally stirring, they have something wrong with them. *SPOILER ALERT* The scene directly following Chelise’s death comes to mind, when she meets Elyon as a boy and dives into his lake.

Dekker seems to delve deeper into darkness in this book, which definitely deals with more “evil” than the previous books. He takes on a very challenging topic, and overall, I think he did a fantastic job.
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Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogging

Marissa Thompson — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 18:35:45 +0000

Really quick, I’m just letting you (which is who, exactly?) know that I have just been accepted into the prestigious Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger fellowship. They are very exclusive, and my application was reviewed and accepted within 24 hours.

Just kidding. I mean, I am, now, officially, a Thomas Nelson Book Review Blogger, which is a very long title. But it makes me feel special.

Anyway, I will be using this blog to post reviews of books that Thomas Nelson Publishing sends me. It’s very cool. Check it out. If you sign up, you can get free copies of selected books that you request, and then they send it to you, you write a 200-word review on your blog, and you request another one. And the best part is, you get to keep the book!

My first act as a T.N.B.R.B. executive will be to read and review Green, Ted Dekker’s newest book, which I am very excited about. See you (again, who are you?) then.

Looking Ahead

Marissa Thompson — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 06:40:55 +0000

I’m not sure which form of communication I like better: writing or filming. I mean, I’ve pretty much figured out that I like using a lot of words, and I can use a lot of words in written blogs AND in video blogs. So I’m just not sure. My original career choice was to be a writer, because I’ve always liked to write, but then I haven’t always had a video camera. Once I got a video camera for Christmas I started using it and I really enjoyed using it, though I didn’t start trying it on just plain old me talking to the camera until a couple months ago. And I’ve discovered that I enjoy that almost as much as writing.

I write for one of the newspapers at my school, and I do that because I like to write. I don’t enjoy exclusively journalistic writing, per se, but I like the writing. I don’t think journalism is really something I want to go into as a career, but I’ve been planning to major in writing or at least English for several years. I feel like it would be a major betrayal to decide something different. I don’t know exactly what or who I would be betraying, other than myself. Can you even betray yourself? I mean, it’s you, and you have one self, and so you can’t really hurt yourself’s feelings. But I kind of feel like that’s what I’m going to do if I start looking into other career paths. Like I’d be cheating on myself.

Once I got a camera and started using it often, I began thinking that maybe filming was what I wanted to go into instead. But I keep doubting myself. I like writing, no, I love writing. I like the really informal style I’m using now, and I like writing fiction. I like writing a lot of different things if my voice can come out in any way. Maybe it’s because I don’t talk much otherwise, and so I use writing to do it. I can’t say I don’t do much verbal communication, because I can do a lot of that. It’s just that most people don’t see that side of me. I once saw this button that said, “People who don’t know me think I’m quiet. People who know me wish I was.” What I’m doing right now is a little product placement for my vlogs.

I really have no idea where I could end up. I just feel that I have to commit to something now; I have to figure this out now. I don’t really like to go into things without a plan, and going to college without a specific career choice in mind scares me, honestly. I mean, what about nursing? That pretty much has nothing to do with writing, or filming for that matter, but I feel bad for even considering other things. I mean, I don’t know the first thing about nursing, but I’m saying that I really have no idea what will happen to me. I could have some bizarre, life-changing experience in two months that could cause me to completely rethink my life and change course completely. I’m looking at WOU to major in English Writing, maybe minor in Film Studies. What if that changes? What if I suddenly decide I want to be a cop? What if I apply to a college and they accept me and I attend for a year or two years and realize that isn’t where I want to be?

Basically, July just started and I’m freaking out. I’m having a quarter-life crisis here. Hopefully seventeen years is less than a quarter of my life, but quarter-life sounded better than fifth-life. It’s okay to round every once in a while, though 68 and 85 is a bit of a difference when you’re talking life span. This is totally irrelevant. However, writing seems to be the most efficient form of communication available to me at this time, or at the least the one I’m most experienced in. Who knows? Maybe next year I’ll be spouting my life story on camera.