Book Review: The Secrets of a Fire King

The Secrets of a Fire King by Kim Edwards
2 of 5 stars

Many of the stories in this collection are fantastic. Kim Edwards is definitely a very talented writer. My favorite story was "Thirst" about a woman of the sea (a mermaid, I hope)? I enjoyed her other work The Memory Keeper's Daughter very much.

But I finished this collection feeling...attacked. She is obviously very disillusioned with religion, particularly Christianity, and she used this collection of stories to vent her hatred. As a Christian, I know that the path of Christianity is far from perfect and has hurt many people over the years, as has every other religion. Jesus was perfect and we that follow Him definitely are not; but this was just a beat down for no apparent reason. When I started reading this book I felt that I had a kindred spirit because we have similar writing styles, but now I just feel alienated.

There is a difference between challenging people to think about things and just insulting them. She did the latter. I usually deal with people's criticism of Christianity in writing pretty well, but there was no criticism or correction. She used irrational "Christian" characters, with whom no Christian would identify to justify her agenda. She may think of Christianity as a religion she wants no part in, but she just spread a lot of hate, something she claims to stand against.  She has freedom of speech and I respect that, but I won't be reading any of her future writing. She lost me as a formerly devoted reader.

Cowardice

For this assignment, we were to choose something we hate and write about it. Ranting was allowed...which led to this piece, for which I do not apologize. In my future non-fiction work entitled Ye Brood of Vipers, you can expect a lot of this. Please reply with critiques, questions, etc.

----

I abhor cowardice. I especially despise when cowardice stops people from acting as they should, doing what they are called to do. I have a friend who could be a great leader. She could run for president but she can’t imagine leaving the confines of her home town. What is she so afraid of? Why is the thought of living outside the norm so terrifying for some? Most people like little adventures. They like to get tipsy, spend all night partying, vacation in a different city, etc. But they can’t stand the idea of exiting their known realm. It’s too…uncontrollable. Too many variables could change the way they see the world. And that’s just unreasonable. 

I especially hate Christian cowards, people who say they follow Jesus but really only want to do so if it is convenient. They like to remember Jesus’ kindness and generosity and love, but they skim over the verses that talk about him eating with sinners and prostitutes and cleansing the temple of money changers with a whip. That would require genuinely caring about other people and then doing something about it. That would require taking a stand about something one believes in. And that’s unspeakable. What an uncomfortable idea!

Jesus’ last words before His ascension were “Go into all the world and preach the Good News.” He didn’t say, “Go to church and don’t do too many bad things.” He didn’t say, “Go…treat yo’self because you really deserve everything. You’ve earned it.” He didn’t even say, “It’s ok, you don’t have to go. Just send some money.” He said to get out of your comfort zones and find people who are lost and sick and hungry and naked and imprisoned for the purpose of taking care of them and sharing with them in times of grief and happiness. 

Many Christians cower behind security systems in their fancy houses. Only two live in an eight-bedroom house. (Yes, Brentwood, TN, I’m talking to you.) The idea of interacting with people who are different is just too ghastly to endure. They couldn’t possibly be expected to invite homeless people into their home for the night. How absurd! They would get something dirty! These “Christians” hoard food in pantries larger than some houses and only share on Christmas when they feel guilted. They can’t imagine giving money to people on the streets because those people haven’t earned it like I have. 

The comfort zones that console Christians have become prisons that we don’t even realize enclose us. And we cage in others, too, not just ourselves. Christians now create homelessness through vanity. We create starvation through selfishness. We create poverty through laziness and greed. Christians now create everything that Jesus stood against. Jesus who was himself homeless and poor and hungry and dirty. We would not know Him.

I refuse to be this. I stand against this hypocrisy. I loathe being near people like this. My blood churns and roils when I think about how many “Christian” cowards there are. I contend mightily with this cowardice within myself. Jesus was not a coward. He is a Lion, a fierce and mighty lion with so much love that He cast aside fear for our sake. To be a Christian, we must emulate Him in all respects, especially this one.

--“If this is going to be a Christian nation that doesn't help the poor, either we have to pretend that Jesus was just as selfish as we are, or we've got to acknowledge that He commanded us to love the poor and serve the needy without condition and then admit that we just don't want to do it.” —Stephen Colbert