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Vol. 1 November 2010
Story at the Bottom of Everything by Robert Kramer
p.15
Anthony’s Corner
On the Ethical Use of Video p.17 Cover Story
by Robert Cely
p.1
424 S Main St Ste 101 Holmen, WI 54636
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Cover Story
Th e Faceless O n e by
13 November 2010
Robert Cely
The Artist’s Vocation
contents 15
Story at the Bottom of Everything by
17
Robert Kramer
Anthony’s Corner On the Ethical Use of Video
Anthony Horvath
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Debbie Thompson
Contributing Editor
Tanisha Holbrook
Content Producer
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Literary Apologetics is the promotion of the Christian world view through fiction.
The hope is that people will be primed to receive the Gospel more easily when it or its components are presented through story and narrative. Additionally, Christian literature adds to the cultural climate which in turn can help prime an entire society for understanding, if not accepting, Jesus as Lord and Savior. Notable examples include G. K. Chesterton, C. S. Lewis, Dorothy Sayers and perhaps J.R.R Tolkien. To interact with a ministry devoted to developing an evangelism strategy centering on ‘literary apologetics’ please visit the home page of Athanatos Christian Ministries at
www.athanatosministries.org or
www.literaryapologetics.com
In 2010, Athanatos Christian Ministries hosted its first annual online apologetics conference and held a writing contest along with it. Robert Cely’s The Faceless One was the clear winner and this marks the first time it is available for reading by the public. Congratulations, Mr. Cely! Enjoy, reader!
Th e Faceless O n e by
Robert Cely
Y
odis hated the blood-stained altar. He hated the scars cut into its stone surface by countless mad strokes of the sacrificial knife. He hated the eerie feeling he got whenever they approached Numa Din, the sacred place. But most of all, he hated the stares of the idols that surrounded him, that sent chills through him with their wild and distorted faces. Yodis had no choice but to be around them. He did nothing to mask his contempt though Oron didn’t seem to care. The shaman continued with his rituals, heedless of the revulsion on Yodis’ face. “Are you paying attention Yodis?” the shaman asked. Though he spoke gently his voice carried the full weight of his authority. “Yes, honored one,” Yodis answered, trying to focus on the shaman as he walked around the altar singing quietly to him-
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self instead of the stares of the idols. “You don’t have to call me that,” Oron reminded him for the tenth time, not taking his eyes off the altar as he spoke. “You’re my apprentice now, just call me Oron.” It would be some time before Yodis could get used to that. After a lifetime of referring to the shaman as “Honored One,” he couldn’t just turn it off. Even if his lifetime had only lasted twelve years. Yodis let his eyes drift away from the shaman patiently preparing his cleansing rituals upon the altar. At first glance Numa Din seemed quite pleasing. Semicircular in shape the space was laid out in gray, polished stones situated on a high hill affording a breathtaking view of the vast jungle. But quickly the appearance turned morbid.
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In the center of the space sat the ghastly altar, stained in brown coats of dried blood, gouges dug into the stone. Behind the altar the firepit was dug to hold the sacred flames. The pit had long been blackened with soot.
eyes who guarded the secret lore of the forest. Ithru, the river god, was twin to the feared Nimiyan, god of war and death. Last of these chief gods was Asher, final issue of Keltis and evil Sifli. He was god of the fire, ever hungry, demanding even the flesh of children to feed his On the outskirts of Numa Din, surrounding the insatiable appetite. paved semi-circle, sat a wall about twice the height of a man. It was here that inspired Yodis’ While Yodis feared all these idols, there was most dreaded fascination. For atop this wall sat one that loomed more mysterious and awful the thirteen idols that gazed into Yodis’ soul and than the rest. At the end of the eastern curve haunted his nightmares. of the wall, apart and by itself, sat the Faceless One. His marble figure had been carved with Over the past months Yodis had come to know greater delicacy and detail than all the others. each of the idols intimately. Beautifully carved Yodis could make out waves of marble hair, out of pink and white marble, they still looked veins standing out on the muscular arms, could frightening despite the talent and care that almost see movement in the figure bending at went into their making. Or perhaps because of the knees as if he were crouching to leap into the fine craftsmanship the idols looked terrifythe air. ing. Most of these fine details went unnoticed at Standing the tallest, perched in the center of first. For what stood out most about the thirthe curved wall, loomed Keltis, god of the dawn teenth idol were the hands that covered the and sky, one of the first beings of the world. To face. As the legend went, the Faceless One was his left coiled Sifli, serpent goddess of the night, a God deep and mysterious. Existing before all also one of the first beings. else he stood outside of time, beyond every othAt the dawn of time Keltis rose up and warred er god and spirit the People worshiped. About with Sifli. Upon his victory he forcefully laid him they knew almost nothing, for he always hid with her and from their union sprang Shota, the his face. They built altars to him rarely, menmany-armed goddess of destruction and death, tioned him in occasional prayers and included dark and terrible as her mother, and Sithi, the di- him in the yearly sacrifices that were sent up to minutive but beautiful goddess of art and story, all the gods. Still they knew nothing of him, only radiant and glorious like her father. that he filled in the dark spaces of what they did To Keltis’ right waited the idol Yena, also one of know. the first creatures and his second wife. After the conquest and rape of Sifli, Keltis passed over the waters of chaos, and peering into the waters saw a beautiful woman at the bottom. He reached into the water and pulled her out, thus creating the earth which is her body. Keltis lay with her and from their union came the other gods and goddesses who decorated the wall.
“What does his face look like?” Yodis asked one day as he tended the idols with Oron.
“We do not know,” the shaman responded in a reverential whisper. “To see his face is death.” “Why?” Yodis wondered aloud.
“Hold your questions, young one,” the shaman cautioned. “We must not speak of the gods in There was Scada, antler-headed god of the hunt, their presence. They may become offended at armed with bow and spear. There was Yana, the what we say. We will talk where they cannot voluptuous goddess of fertility and the harvest. hear us.” Cotl, strange and bearded reigned as the god of Later that night the sacred fire burned. Oron knowledge, one that the shaman’s deeply rechanted to the smoke that rose up to carry his vered. Also dear to the shaman was Laki, the prayers to the stars – the glittering power of long and thin-limbed god of bulging and mad
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the gods. His eyes had taken on a bleary cast, In one quick motion the shaman pulled up the caused by the Shivuk bark he had inhaled, ena- goat’s head and drew the knife across the exbling him to see into the realm of the gods. posed throat. From the deep gash a fountain of blood spewed forth and covered the altar. Yodis The sober Yodis regarded the shaman only briefheld the bronze bowl out, catching the blood as ly. He had seen the intoxicated ritual enough. it seeped from the sacrificial animal. Strangely, Instead, his attention was held by the two supthe beast did not struggle. It lay docile as its life plicants who had made the long trek through drained out. the jungle to the sacred place. Yodis held the bowl in place as the blood overThe first was a stooped and wrinkled old womflowed and covered his hands, spilling onto the an. Her eyes had been narrowed by a life of stones beneath. Even as he had grown used to work in dark light and bright sun until they were the acrid odor of blood he still felt the pull in the no more than slits in her bunched and swolback of his throat, his body resisting the smell len face. She regarded the swaying Oron with of death. deep interest. Absently she held a rope tied to a white goat. The animal’s red eyes stared devil- When the shaman determined the white goat ishly in the firelight, though dumb to its fate. was finally dead Yodis laid down the bowl and assisted his master in the butchering. Together Behind the old lady waited a nervous young they made quick work of the grisly task. The woman. Yodis guessed she couldn’t be older sharp, obsidian knife easily separated the skin than sixteen years. Her wide eyes, filled with from flesh. Yodis laid the skin out carefully and fear and wonder, watched the crooning shaarranged parts as Oron handed them down. man sway under the influence of the strange The heart, kidney, lungs, guts and bowel, sinew intoxicants. Yodis happily kept his eyes fixed in and fat Yodis laid upon the splayed pelt. Oron her, her nubile beauty made all the more lovely chanted as he cut the pieces out, blessing each by the cast of orange flame and the expression one with holiness. The edible meat was set of naive wonder on her face. Yodis hoped she aside, piled onto a stone step beside the altar. would look at him but her gaze stayed firmly fixed on Oron. As soon as the animal had been cleaned the shaman severed the head and handed it to his “Yodis,” the shaman croaked when his chant apprentice. With careful solemnity Yodis placed completed. the head on the skin next to the pile of sinew, He gestured to the old woman and Yodis took fat and organ. Oron took hold of the stripped the rope from her hands. Together they bound skeleton and hurled it out of the sacred place. the goat and hefted him onto the altar. The Tonight, the carrion feeders would feast. animal bleated and struggled against the cords. Silently, Yodis handed the bronze bowl to Oron. Oron put a hand on the tensed muscles and The shaman poured blood over the pile of flesh hummed something deep and soft. Almost imgathered on the goat skin. Then dipping his finmediately the animal calmed and lay its head gers into the bowl he spread blood over his face, down. then Yodis’ face. Finally, he walked over to the From behind the altar the shaman lifted an ob- young woman and drew streaks of blood over sidian knife while Yodis held out a bowl ham- her cheeks and forehead. mered from rare and precious bronze. Yodis Turning, Oron gathered the goat skin and placed watched the knife in dreaded fascination, awed it in front of the idol Yana. Yodis took hold of the by the way it seemed to emanate darkness. young woman’s hand, thrilled at the softness of “Father gods! Mother gods!” Oron cried out, her skin. He guided her to where Oron stood beholding the knife aloft, his head thrown back. neath the idol of the fertility goddess. “By your blessing make this blood holy!” “Behold this woman!” Oron cried out, looking up
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at the voluptuous and swollen idol. “Her womb is barren! For two years many virile warriors have laid in her bed, strong fathers of many sons, yet her stomach does not swell!” A twinge of jealousy sparked in Yodis as he listened to the shaman speak. The aroma of the young woman mixed with the smell of blood heightened his desire. How he wished to be one of the warriors she had chosen to lay with. “She how beautiful she is!” Oron continued ranting at the marble statue. “See her pleasing shape! Her ample breast!”
Yodis was half asleep when they finally arrived back at the village. The fires had smoldered into the soft glow of coals. Those hunters who, for the night had chosen not to sleep in the Hunter’s Hall dozed soundlessly around the ashes. Taking a moment to look around Yodis searched for his father. Papa was not to be seen. Figuring he must be in the Hunter’s Hall Yodis continued on. He ducked into his mother’s hut, a place that would be his home until initiation, and quietly set down the portion of meat that was given to him.
Oron ran his hands over the young woman’s body, highlighting her young and seductive fea- “Is that you Yadi?” Yodis heard his mother whistures. He turned her around so the fertility god- per, calling him by his baby name. dess could see all of her. “Are you still awake Moma?” Yodis asked, mov“This woman is pleasing to many men!” Oron ing over to the corner of the hut where his cried out. “She would bear many strong and mother sat. able hunters! Many lust after her loins! “Your brother eats too much,” his mother said. “But you, Yana, are the giver of children! She is She pulled the baby away from her breast and beautiful and deserving of your blessing! Bless began to gently rock him. her womb! Fill it with the fruit of strong men Yodis beamed at the little infant. He and the and fertile women!” boy were rare, true brothers. Because there was Oron lifted up the goat’s head, dripping in blood. no marriage with the People, hunters competed Streams of crimson ran down his arms. with one another to gain the favor of lying with a woman for one journey of the moon. This way, “Take this sacrifice O fertile Yana,” he cried as he at least, the tribe would know who fathered hurled the head into the flames. “Food for you what child. alone!” Two boys that shared the same mother were “See this delicious fat!” Oron showed a handwomb brothers. If they shared the same faful of the dripping fat to the idol before hurling ther they were called spirit brothers. But on the it into the flames, causing a burst of fire and rare occasion that they shared both father and sparks. mother they were called true brothers. And the “See this sinew and organ!” little infant that his mother held was one such brother to Yodis. “See this entrail, delicious and savory!” “See this heart, most honored of all the feast foods!”
“Hey there Elyan,” Yodis quietly cooed, stroking the baby’s soft cheek with his finger.
Piece by piece the pile of butchered goat went into the fire. The flames leapt up with each handful of fat. Sparks rose into the air, twisting inside the columns of smoke, breathing an aroma to the gods. It suddenly struck Yodis as pitiful that this was all the People had to placate the wild forces of the world.
Yodis frowned, not bothering to hide his disappointment.
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“He looks like you,” his mother told him. “I think he will grow up to be like his big brother.”
“No, he will be a great hunter,” Yodis told her. “You have brought home meat,” his mother re-
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minded him, gesturing to the pile of goat in the Silently Yodis undressed and stood still as Oron corner. walked around him with a Shivuk branch, whispering special prayers. Then the shaman paint“It is the meat of old men and children,” Yodis ed symbols over his naked body. These were scoffed, using the familiar way that hunters inspecial, more powerful than the ones painted on sulted domesticated meat. the other boys. It would take powerful magic to “You will speak to the gods,” his mother told see the gods and not be destroyed. him, reaching out a tender hand. “You will do Oron led his naked disciple to the fire that blazed things that brave hunters are afraid to do.” in the massive pit. He turned Yodis slowly so Yodis didn’t answer. He gazed quietly at the that he faced one idol, then the next, all the way sleeping infant, wondering to himself how to around the semi-circular wall until he looked at embrace a destiny he didn’t want. all of the thirteen gods. Tonight, one of the gods The next season the rains didn’t fall like they would choose him, Yodis would become an acoshould have. The jungle grew dry. Game be- lyte and begin learning the deeper secrets of the came scarce as animals sought water and fresh shaman’s’s lore.
vegetation elsewhere. The women couldn’t A cloud of dust rose up as Oron reached into his gather as much fruit as they usually did. pouch and pulled out a handful of the ground For the moment the tribe was distracted by the Shivuk bark. Yodis squatted and leaned out over upcoming celebration. The in between season, fire. Sparks flew up as Oron cast the dust into after the wet and before the dry, was the sacred the flames. The fire crackled and a red cloud of time of year. The People were consumed with smoke billowed up. excitement and preparation for the feast of Ma- Yodis leaned forward and inhaled the musky cha, even if the feast would not be as plentiful. smoke for the first time. He quickly jerked The feast of Macha was for good reason the back in a coughing fit, his lungs protesting the most wildly celebrated festival of the village. strange smoke. Marked with feasting and debauchery, the People celebrated the acceptance of new men into the tribe. The older men would make sport of the new ones, who made every effort to win the girl of their choice that night. Unspoken tradition encouraged the more experienced women to make a mockery of the boys, teasing and arousing their desire long into the celebration before finally taking pity and allowing one into their hut for the night.
Yodis worked with Oron that day to consecrate the village boys with prayers, sacred water, and the blue and red paint to ward off evil spirits. Duly protected their mothers wept as the boys walked into the jungle, expected to return as men.
Yodis forced himself forward again and breathed in another cloud of the sacred smoke. He inhaled deeply, more prepared for the shock on his system. His body still wracked with a violent cough. A third and final time Yodis leaned forward and breathed deeply of the crimson smoke. This time he didn’t cough. He leaned back and held the smoke in as long as he could before exhaling the cloud into the night air.
He felt the effects almost immediately. The world around him began to spin and dizziness struck him at the same time with a rippling euphoria. It was not an altogether unpleasant sensation except for the sudden disorientation that caused panic to surge through him. Yodis After completing this duty Yodis and Oron made reached out to take hold of something, anything their way as the sun set through the jungle to that would offer stability in a world that had beNuma Din. In the sacred place Yodis would en- come suddenly unstable. dure his own initiation. “Relax,” came the words of Oron from across an
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impossible distance. “Do not fight the power of the smoke. You must allow it to carry you off.” Yodis tried to relax as the spinning in his head increased so much that he had to close his eyes. In the darkness he felt himself being lifted up and pulled out of Numa Din, hurled into the depths of the strange night. Fear begged that he reach out and pull himself back down. Yodis barely resisted the urge and allowed himself to be lifted up higher and higher into the reaches of heaven.
he could make out the red veins that stood out on the giant eye. Another sniff and Yodis was tossed into the air again. The harrowing ritual continued with Yodis being inspected by the gods, waiting for one to choose him. Throughout the pantheon he was passed, made to suffer beneath many stern and fearful gazes.
From Cotl he could almost hear the wise ponderings from beneath his deep and furrowed brow. Shota terrified him as her blood-shot Only when Yodis finally felt the rising stop did eyes searched him over, as if she were appraishe dare to open his eyes. At first he thought the ing the fitness of a meal. Yet none terrified him ritual had failed. He found himself still sitting more than the dark gaze of Sifli, though Yodis on the stone floor of the sacred place, the fire could not help but admire her haunting and irblazing warm and powerful in front of him. resistible beauty. But she too hurled him away and he was caught up by the fertility goddess. He quickly noticed the change. For one, Oron was gone. Yodis sat alone. He jumped up and From Yana emanated the fragrance of a thoulooked around, unable to see the forest around sand flowers all at once that sent heat pulsing him. Instead, the stone space ended in a wall through his loins. She too tossed him aside of thick and impenetrable night. Even above after looking him over. Falling from there into him no stars appeared, only the dreadful pall of Yena’s hands, the great earth mother, he looked darkness. The thought struck him that he could into what must have been the handsomest face not see the stars because now he was among he had ever seen. She quickly threw him to them. Asher, god of the flame, whose eyes blazed with fire and wrath. Yodis was grateful to be tossed Movement caught his eye. He stepped back away from him and into the palm of Sithi, who seeing all over the top of the wall the idols stirsmiled beautifully at Yodis and stroked his face. ring to life. No longer covered in stone the gods She drew him close and pursed her lips as if she moved about with features as distinct and real were about to kiss him. A thrill coursed through as any man. Yodis moved further away, feeling Yodis as he realized he was about to be chosen the eyes of the gods follow him as he moved. and would be touching Sithi’s soft and full lips. Without warning a giant hand shot down and “YODIS!” a rumbling voice sounded that shook snatched up Yodis. Before he knew what was the air. happening he found himself being over by the deep and ponderous eyes of Keltis, father god of Sithi’s eyes opened wide in alarm and fear. She the dawn and sky. The gaze seemed to search threw Yodis down and disappeared in an inhim thoroughly, peering deep into his heart. The stant. Barely could he even scream out his own elder god leaned in and sniffed and Yodis, then fear when he landed hard on the stone floor of with a bellow tossed him into the air. the sacred place. A scream ripped through Yodis’ lips as he was hurled into blackness. Just as he thought he would smash into the ground another giant hand snatched him up and another intense eye looked him over. This time it was the bulging eyes of Laki that inspected him. In the flesh the weird gaze disturbed Yodis even more as
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“Yodis!” the deep voice called out again. Picking himself up from the floor Yodis looked up at the Faceless One who swayed at the top of the wall, hands still covering his face. Yodis trembled, fearful the god might remove his hands and kill him with a glance.
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“Here I am,” Yodis answered, his voice shaking “If I am to be your god then you must have no as he spoke. others!” the Faceless one answered. “Destroy the idols and I will bless you.” “Yodis, I have chosen you,” the Faceless One boomed. Yodis could feel his whole body shake “But who am I to do such a thing?” Yodis cried with the power of that voice. out. “They will never believe that the gods demanded this.” “I long to let my face shine upon your tribe!” “You must!” the Faceless One insisted. “Please don’t” Yodis pled. “For your servant knows that to behold your face is death. What “They will never let me!” have I done to displease you?” “Here is my seal!” the god intoned. “To behold my face is the light of blessing,” the Yodis’ forehead exploded in pain. A hot, searing Faceless One said. “I long to bestow a glory sensation burned into his flesh. He screamed upon you, but only if you would heed my voice. out and grabbed his head, only to have his hands It is my heart to make this tribe a great nation, seared by the same fire. to be the father of kings.” “Yodis!” the god thundered down. “Destroy the Yodis didn’t understand a thing the Faceless idols! Destroy them all! Do this and you will be One said to him. His fear blocked out any underblessed!” standing he might have of the strange words. He hesitated, not knowing what he should do, The pain in his head spread out over his enonly trembling in silence. Finally, his training tire body. He felt as if there was fire running seeped back into fevered brain and knew the through his veins. He heard himself cry out but his voice sounded distant and weak. proper words. “Speak, for your servant listens,” Yodis was “Yodis!” he heard another voice call out to him, one that sounded vaguely familiar. barely able to squeak out. The Faceless One stood up. For a moment Yodis feared the god might remove his mighty hands and strike him down right there. But the face remained covered.
“Yodis! Yodis!” it continued urgently.
The sacred place shook and Yodis was hurled off into the starless night. He momentarily forgot his pain as he plummeted to the earth and a Instead, the Faceless One shook his head and a new panic took over him. shower of stars danced all around him, streak- “Yodis!” Oron cried out to him, shaking his young ing through the sky in a blaze of brilliant color. apprentice. He stomped his feet and the ground shook, trembling the earth to its foundations. Light- The shaman’s face loomed over Yodis. He ning flashed all around him and pillars of fire jerked up suddenly, the place on his forehead rose up on either side of the towering figure. still throbbing. Frantically he looked around, Winged creatures sprung up from out of his taking in the familiar surroundings of Numa Din. robes and circled the god in arcs of light. The “Come, sit,” the shaman said as he gently took voice of music echoed all around, an earthy, so- him by the shoulders and sat him down again. norous sound that brought tears to Yodis’ eyes. “What happened?” Yodis breathed, still disori“You must destroy the idols!” the Faceless One ented from the strange journey. grimly intoned. “You pulled a coal from the fire and placed it Though deathly frightened of the mysterious on your head,” the shaman told him. He wet a god, Yodis knew he could never do such a thing. small cloth and dabbed it on Yodis’ forehead. “Those are our gods,” Yodis weakly argued. “The Yodis welcomed the cool relief of the wet cloth. shaman will never permit me to destroy them.”
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He said nothing for a while though desperate to “What is he testing me about?” Yodis finally speak to his mentor. Too much had happened voiced. for him to make sense of alone. “He is testing your resolve, to see if you would “Did any of the gods choose you?” the shaman really carry out a deed so blasphemous.” finally asked. “Is it blasphemous to do something a god tells Yodis nodded. His voice wouldn’t work. Instead you to do?” Yodis asked, confused by the anhe pointed to the statue of the Faceless One swer of the shaman. from across the space. “Say no more about this,” Oron sighed. Yodis Oron looked at the statue for a long moment could hear the irritation in his voice. before turning again to regard Yodis. He studThey never spoke of it again. ied him with a long and curious stare that Yodis could not fathom. Silently, he pulled some dried Three times that year Yodis partook of the Shileaves from a pouch and began mixing a poul- vuk bark. All three times he soared up to the Numa Din in the heavens. All three times it tice. was empty except for the towering figure of the “This is strange indeed,” Oron told him as he Faceless One who loomed over the sanctuary. crushed leaves in the palm of his hand. “Never Fear overcame Yodis at seeing the massive god. has the Faceless One chosen a shaman.” His knees would give way and he fell to his face, “He told me this was his seal,” Yodis said, pointtrembling, praying that the awful vision would ing to his forehead as if to prove what he spoke leave him alone. was true. “Destroy the idols!” the Faceless One would Oron looked closely at the mark on Yodis’ forethunder from above. “Destroy the idols so my head then gently dabbed the salve into the blessing might descend upon here!” wound. Yodis would never answer the god. He couldn’t “It looks like powerful magic,” the shaman said even look at him. The lightning and thunder, the as he applied the poultice. shaking of the ground, the stars plummeting “He told me to destroy the idols,” Yodis said, from the heavens, the winged creatures, even hoping for advice from the wise one. the sweet strain of music that echoed about the sanctuary; it was all too much for him to bear. But the shaman had no words for him. Even for It took all of Yodis’ will to keep his face to the the rest of that night and next day Oron hardly ground and try not to let the voice that shook spoke to his new acolyte. He would look at Yohim to his very depths consume him body and dis sometimes with an unreadable expression. soul. But every so often, Yodis would see in those eyes the unmistakable resemblance of fear. “Destroy the idols!” the Faceless One would boom, each time more angry than before. Several weeks passed before Oron addressed the issue. They were pealing bark from the Shi- That year the rains dried out again. Only a few vuk tree when the shaman mentioned it. times during the wet season did the skies open up and pour down its nourishment onto the jun“I have decided the Faceless One is testing you,” gle. The People looked to the sky nervously and Oron said, concentrating on the bark. prayed for rains that wouldn’t come. At first Yodis didn’t answer. His eyes watched Later in the dry season the first baby died and the shaman’s hands, delicately separating bark the People grew anxious. Oron went up to the from tree, careful to keep it all intact. Inside, his sacred place almost every day. He inhaled the mind was stirring. He let the question tumble smoke of the Shivuk bark to ask the gods why around before it became too much to keep in. they punished the People. But the gods would
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not speak to him. Oron returned from his spirit walks and wept for the fate of the tribe.
turned his hand against us?” one of the elders demanded to know.
“Why won’t the gods speak?” Yodis asked eve- “It is Asher,” Oron declared solemnly. “The god ryday that Oron returned without and answer. of fire sets his hand against us.” “They must be very angry,” Oron would answer The elders rose up in anger. A great clamor set with a sad shake of his head. “We must have out among them, screaming at the shaman, done something terrible to offend them. pleading with one another. Yodis could not help but harbor the thought that he was at fault. Was it because he did not heed the Faceless One that the rains had dried up? Or was it that the Faceless One had chosen him, and this angered the other gods? Either way Yodis could hardly stomach the thought.
“But Asher is the child-eater!” one of the elders cried amidst the uproar. “He is only appeased by young flesh!”
“Behold the signs!” Oron cried with his hands spread wide. “The fire that consumes the jungle, is this not Asher’s fire? Look at the sky. Who He spoke none of these fears aloud. The sha- but Asher could dry up the rain from the clouds? man, he knew, did not want to speak of the We have angered him and we will not be spared Faceless One. So Yodis kept it all in and let it until his wrath is appeased.” waste away inside him. They argued late into the night. Long after the Later that year a fire swept through the jungle. flames of the council fire faded to embers the It didn’t touch the People but the smoke filled elders debated what they must do. They argued the sky for days. Another tribe, the Anzi, had all only because they didn’t want to do what must of their lands burned up. They took whatever be done. They knew that for all to live one would they had left and moved on, looking for other have to be given up. lands. The days leading up to the sacrifice Oron did not The Anzi passed through the People’s village on speak to Yodis. He hardly even met his eyes. He a search for another home. The worn and tired even went so far as to forbid Yodis from particitravelers, some still covered in soot, begged the pating in the ceremony. People for food and water. It shamed the PeoIt was clear to Yodis why Oron shunned him. The ple to refuse, but they had no choice. They didn’t shaman blamed Yodis for the wrath of Asher. even have enough for their own. Yodis couldn’t Because of him Oron would have the dark task even look up at the wailing Anzi women and the of sacrificing one of the People’s own children. emaciated children they carried. So Yodis would not be an acolyte that night. Weeks later Oron called the Council of Elders toA pall of despair hung over the People as they gether. The oldest men of the village, along with trudged through the jungle. More than one the most esteemed hunters, gathered alone in mother wept as they solemnly processed. The a clearing deep within the jungle. The fire of hunters wore grim faces, determined not to let council blazed in the night and threw long shadthe sorrow of the occasion overwhelm them. In ows on the elders as Oron spoke. every heart they consoled themselves with one “The gods are angry,” Oron told the assembly. thought – sometimes the survival of the tribe “But they will not speak to me to voice their requires such sacrifice, sometimes one must grievance. Instead I have had to watch the signs perish to save many. and consult with the lower spirits to find out For his own part, Yodis was too consumed in his who among the most powerful gods has been own grief to notice much around him. He felt a offended.” vague sort of sorrow for what was about to hap“Have you determined who among the gods has pen, but as one consumed in his own suffering
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he had trouble seeing beyond himself. Instead, as he lingered near the back of the procession he hung his head down and watched the jungle floor pass by as he walked the familiar path. A few people would look his way, the wonder apparent on their faces. Yodis knew they circulated rumors among themselves, swirled speculation around as to why the acolyte was at the rear of the procession. On more than one face Yodis thought he saw pity directed his way.
Little Elyan’s cries pierced the night and drove a dagger into Yodis’ soul. The little toddler twisted in bonds and made eye contact with his true brother. His cry increased with recognition, his screams pleading to Yodis for help.
Yodis took an instinctive step forward and stopped short. A ring of hunters stood between the crowd and the awful sacrifice about to take place. Yodis’ panic increased until it made his head spin. He was helpless. He could do nothing against a ring of hunters. His power was not Numa Din was ablaze with light as the procesin fighting, but in the magic of the gods. sion arrived, not only from the torches carried there but by the massive sacrificial fire blazing Yodis looked frantically along the semi-circularger than usual in honor of the angry fire god. lar wall of the sacred place, scanning the idols The voice of the shaman rose up and cut into perched there. Perhaps was there a god to help, the weighty silence of the People’s grief, echo- he thought. Was there no one to pray to? None ing the words of an ancient and hated ritual. would hear him except… Yodis looked up and saw that he stood beneath the idol of the Faceless One. Immediately guilt assailed him. Even with face hidden Yodis could feel accusation in the marble figure. He even thought he could hear the god, that voice that shook him to his depths, still commanding him to break the idols.
The Faceless One. Yodis hung his head, defeated. The only god likely to hear him was the one he had disobeyed.
Looking up Yodis locked eyes again with his true brother. Pity and sadness surged in him as Elyan’s tear-streaked and fearful eyes pled with him. His heart swelled and ached until he felt it Unable to bear the shame under the shadow of would burst. his god Yodis made his way to the front. The crowd parted for him, ever respectful of his po- The light of the fire began to fade. Looking up sition. Mechanically Yodis moved through the into the young face that loved him, that trusted people, his sadness and guilt robbing him of him and looked up to him, an innocent child all passion. He stepped up to the front of the about be cast into the flames, Yodis lost all sense of fear. Only one thing mattered. crowd – and froze in sudden fear. In that moment, unknown to Yodis, he became possessor of a magic more powerful than any a shaman had ever embraced. He turned and His feelings exploded into a sudden burst of walked back through the crowd with purpose. panic. Yodis looked around, frantically trying He only stopped for a moment to pause beneath to figure out what had happened. He saw his the statue of the Faceless One. He kissed his mother, robed in black, weeping on the floor of hand and covered his face in reverence. The Numa Din. His father stooped over her, his eyes time for action had come. also red from weeping. As the voice of the shaman reached a fevered Realization broke painfully onto Yodis. It all pitch Yodis knew he had little time. He backed made sense now. True brothers were sacred. out of the gathered crowd and made his way siSacrificing one would more likely please Asher. lently behind the wall of Numa Din. Digging his And if course Oron couldn’t allow Yodis to parfingers into the minuscule crevices of stone he ticipate. It explained Oron’s distance, his retiheaved himself up and quickly climbed. cence to even look at his acolyte. There, bound on the altar and crying heartily into the night, lay his true brother.
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From atop the wall Yodis couldn’t help but realize how small Numa Din looked. No one had seen him but he could survey them all – his mother and father huddled together in grief, the crowd of villagers looking on fearfully, Oron lost in his manic chants, spittle flying from his mouth, approaching the altar where Yodis’ true brother lay.
es. The sheer blasphemy of what he did had shocked them all into motionlessness. Yodis took advantage of the shock and hurled down the idol of Shota. Oron was the first to be stirred. “Yodis!” the shaman screamed up at him. “Why do you destroy our gods?!”
He would have to hurry. Asher would be first. Yodis did not answer. He knew that Oron knew Once that idol was destroyed the sacrifice why. Oron had to jump back as Sifli came tumbling down, pelting him with a shower of rock. couldn’t continue. Yodis paused when he approached Keltis, father and chief of the gods. Perhaps I have done enough, he thought. He looked down and saw Oron, hand outstretched in desperation, fearful for the first of the gods. Just beyond Oron he saw his mother take advantage of the conYodis forced the doubt out of his mind. He swalfusion and lift Elyan from the altar. His father lowed hard and pushed with all his might. was right behind and the two quickly unbound Nothing happened. the toddler. Yodis positioned himself behind the idol of Asher and tried to force himself to lay hands on it. Doubt froze him up mixed with fear. Was it even possible to destroy the idol? This was the essence of the god on earth.
Panic rose up again. Maybe he was too late. Yodis smiled and looked back down at Oron. How dear would be the punishment for his blas- Seeing the sheer terror in the shaman’s face a phemy? profound thought suddenly struck him. Who are these gods that they can be destroyed so He looked across at the idol of the Faceless One easily? and breathed a prayer to that unknown god. An unexpected burst of power rose within him. A cry of agony tore through Oron’s mouth as YoHe laid hands again on the idol of Asher and dis pushed down Keltis and the chief of the gods heaved. It slid easily over the top of the wall and shattered on the stone floor. disappeared over the edge. “Stop him!” Oron yelled out, directing the huntThe sound was like a clap of thunder shaking ers toward him, his face contorted with irresistthe sacred place. Every eye jerked to the pile of ible anger. broken marble, the fire god shattered into hunYena tumbled before the hunters jumped into dreds of pieces. Confusion crossed every face. action, crouching spears and angling for a shot. Oron had frozen, reaching down for the toddler, Yodis knew how deadly accurate the hunters shock and disorientation written clearly across were. He had to hurry. his features. Spears glanced off of Yana as that idol went The heads of the People looked up to where the down. Some of the women cried out watching fire god had perched just moments ago, but Yothe fertility goddess destroyed. Yodis dashed dis had already moved behind another one. He behind Cotl, feeling the spears whiz by, miracucrouched behind the statue of Laki, the long lously avoiding a hit. He pushed that idol down limbed, and pushed him from the wall. and ducked as the spears flew again. At the second crash the crowd looked and saw The first spear tore through his side as he Yodis atop the wall. He didn’t wait for them to reached the death god, Nimiyan. His flesh comprehend. Ithru he cast down next, then Scaburned and pain seared through him but he da tumbled down. The crowd simply watched, managed to stay on his feet. Heart pounding bewildered, almost mesmerized to their plac-
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with effort he pushed that idol off the wall, leaving only one more. Yodis stumbled as he tried to move on, strength quickly draining from him. Another spear slammed into his gut and a third ripped his thigh open. Yodis teetered on the wall and fell into the idol of Sifli. He leaned into it for balance and tried to pull the spear from his stomach. Pain roared through him almost stealing his consciousness. From somewhere in the crowd below he heard his mother cry out. He dropped the shaft and let the weapon hang from him, even as blood poured from the wound. Yodis held on to the statue of Sifli growing weaker by the second as dizziness overtook him, unsure if he could finish what he started. He looked over at the Faceless One, still waiting and hidden. One final surge of strength coursed through him. With a strangled cry Yodis pushed with his bloody hands and let out all his remaining strength, tumbling off the wall with the idol. The idol crashed to the ground with Yodis right behind, the jolt of the fall turning him onto his back. The tribe gathered around, silent and curious about this thing they had just witnessed. None more silent and curious than Oron. Yodis had no awareness of the people creeping cautiously towards him. His eyes were fixed on the figure of the Faceless One who rose up and towered over him, his head among the clouds that gathered thick with rain. Somewhere he heard Elyan cry amid the sudden choir of music. Yodis smiled. He smiled even as the Faceless Ones removed his hands, and Yodis could see blood running from the palms. He smiled even though it meant death, even as he felt his life slip from him. More than that Yodis smiled because he saw the wounded hands of the Faceless One cover the People. He smiled because those same hands touched his true brother, and he knew the boy would be special. But most of all he smiled because he looked up at the God who had been hidden for all the ages, and beheld the most beautiful face he had ever see.
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The Artist’s Vocation G.R..T.
The onion peels; Tears of truth Reveals.
The artist feels;
Weeps the brush-Slow
The soul peals.
Sunflower steals Golden sun; Awash
Waterlillies drown
and the broken remnant Heals.
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Story at the Bottom of Everything by
W
Robert Kramer
hen most people think about stories, they think about entertainment. Stories are books, movies, TV shows or something you tell your kids to pass time. But stories are more than that, much more. If we think about our everyday existence, we can discover that stories are really what we’re all about. We communicate nearly everything through them.
We are so saturated with stories that we may not even recognize them anymore, much less their influence on us.
Take music for example. For the most part, songs are stories. People often credit the power of music to move people, but if we examine the history of movements inspired by music we find the lyrics are the main driver. For example, all of the anti-war songs from the Let’s consider our lives for a moment. We 60’s are propelled by the lyrics. When hear and see stories constantly. We read combined with great music, these lyrics the newspaper or internet, watch TV or transformed a generation. Without the streaming video. We tell jokes or remem- lyrics, the stories, it wouldn’t have had ber events from our personal history. We nearly the cultural impact or awareness. listen to the radio, our pastors, and our If we examine the news then we discover friends. We chat over coffee about our that it too is all about stories. Just look at fears or concerns, our joys and sorrows. the most recent election cycle. The news When we ask someone, “How are you?” was filled with stories about candidates if we go beyond a simple pleasantry, we and their campaigns. Rarely was there are really asking them to tell us a story any reporting of actual issues. In fact, that illustrates their life at that moment. many of the stories about the candidates
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became the issues. The election became less about supporting/disagreeing with ideas and more about supporting/assassinating characters. These stories have become part of the governing and guiding of our nation because they are what many based their voting decisions on.
be meant to persuade or entertain. But one thing is certain, stories change lives. Are we really aware of the fact that our stories change lives? Are we considering our words carefully enough? Are we considering the power that they have? It is important to consider who is telling us our stories and whom we are telling When we think about Christianity, we stories to. If we hope to impact our culmust think about God’s story. From the ture then we must hone our ability to tell beginning of the Bible to the end is the stories. We must focus on our craft and story of God’s love for His people. When become the best that we can be so that God walked the Earth he related deep we can reach people with God’s messagspiritual truths through stories. We were es, for His glory. It’s already built into us. created to respond to and retain stories. Everyone tells stories. But very few think That’s why our emotions can so easily be- about it and even fewer seek to get betcome engaged and why we can remem- ter at it. ber enough to repeat a story long after we’ve been exposed to it. It seems that Robert A. Kramer is a Screenwriter and Contriball the information of our lives comes in uting Editor at Christian Video Magazine. He can be contacted at kramer_ra@yahoo.com. the way of stories. Stories may be true or fiction. They may
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Anthony’s Corner
On the Ethical Use of Video by
I
Anthony Horvath
This article originally published in the October, 2010 edition of Christianvideomag.com.
rocked backwards in my chair. If what I just saw on Youtube was true, it was earth shattering and game changing. Seeing is believing, right? Doubt rose in my mind, though. A little over an hour later I had established that the video was a fraud. I found the original source video and I was able to spot where the splicing had been cleverly done. Seeing is believing? I begin with this anecdote- completely true, by the way- because it highlights some of the metaphysical realities that exist concerning video. Video has power that even the written word lacks. In the first place, there is the simple matter that people do believe what they see. Our default state when viewing visual images, videos, and movies, is to accept that what we have just seen is ‘real.’ It takes an act of the will and presence of mind to remind oneself that things may not be as they appear. In the second place, this default state is well known and taken for
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granted by producers, directors, and the like. In fact, it is relied upon. Yet, there can be a temptation to exploit it. Through the magical power of image in motion, the videographer can produce a piece of propaganda with no one being the wiser. The better our technology becomes, the easier it becomes to present fiction as fact. Now, intellectually we understand that movies coming out of Hollywood and sitcoms do not correspond to reality. Though we recognize that manipulation and propaganda sometimes emanate from them, we know that when we view their stories, we are willfully participating in fantasy. The propaganda in these cases is not very potent. It’s there, but we usually recognize entertainment as entertainment. The truly dangerous propaganda is that which is presented as fact, especially when presented visually. In these cases, it comes associated with a chart, a graph, and a computer simulation. Talking heads with letters after their name
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speak… and our natural tendency is to ac- Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth.” In the cept what they are saying is true. After all, screed already cited, he makes it abuntalking heads wouldn’t lie, would they? dantly clear that evolutionary theory proA few weeks ago, James Jay Lee stormed vides the necessary ingredients for underthe Discovery Channel network. There standing and resolving the problems he was a man who understood the power of was ‘awakened’ to by Gore’s movie. Lee video. In his screed, published online, he tells Discovery, “Talk about Evolution. Talk decried the shows “encouraging the birth about Malthus and Darwin until it sinks of any more parasitic human infants and into the stupid people’s brain until they the false heroics behind those actions.” get it!!” Instead, he argued, Discovery should push For some background on Malthus, you “programs encouraging human steriliza- may wish to read this column of mine that tion and infertility.” had been posted on Worldnetdaily.com James Jay Lee was in a desperate spot. He some time ago: http://www.wnd.com/inknew that the fate of the planet hung in dex.php?pageId=111412 the balance. The earth, literally, needed saving. The people who knew this best were actually fueling the death of the earth. He wrote: “You MUST KNOW the human populations is behind all the pollution and problems in the world, and YET you encourage the exact opposite instead of discouraging human growth and procreation. Surely you MUST ALREADY KNOW this!” (Emphasis his)
I have not explored the sources for Lee’s understanding of evolution, but I think it is probable that in one of those deep ironies in life, it was fueled by the very network he was attacking. The Discovery Channel is constantly presenting nature shows and explicitly chalking up phenomena to evolutionary theory. Obviously, this wouldn’t be engaging TV without some visual help, so they help it. The basic pattern can be And how did Mr. Lee come to this startling spotted all the time: “Science knows that revelation? In other online writings he in- such and such came these million/billion dicated that he had been ‘awakened’ by years ago and led to this and that” accompanied by some visual representation
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of the event that will look absolutely real. The program may or may not put a note that what is being viewed is actually computer generated. It hardly matters. People really do believe what they see.
Evolutionary theory has its iconic ‘slam dunks’ as well.
A few years back I was a Christian religion teacher. I taught a young earth creationist point of view but I also did what I could to We may wonder, given the power of vid- sow the seeds of doubt regarding evolueo, especially when presented as fact, to tionary theory, knowing full well that what shape viewpoints, how much of the belief I offered to 7th and 8th graders would be in ‘global warming’ and evolutionary the- mostly forgotten once they hit college. ory is derived from propaganda and peer When I sowed these doubts, I did not say
Haeckel Anthropogenie Double plate illustration showing embryos of fish (F), salamander (A), tur tle (T), chick (H), pig (S), cow (R), rabbit (K), and human (M), at “very early”, “somewhat later” and “still later” stages, from Haeckel’s Anthropogenie published in 1874 Source: wikipedia.org
pressure rather than a knowledge and analysis of the actual facts.
that evolution wasn’t true because the Bible didn’t allow it. I said that evolutionSpace allows me to cite just one exam- ary theory, on its own merits, failed on the ple of a piece of a visual, but inaccurate, evidence. image used to further the argument for One day after school, a girl came in with human caused global warming: the so- her science text book- the very same that called ‘hockey stick’ graph. You’ll want was used at this religious high school. She to research it yourself. When you do you opened the book to the section on the eviwill discover that this visual ‘slam dunk’ is dence for evolution and pointed to an ilnothing more than a fraud. lustration which I instantly recognized as ‘Haeckel’s Embryos.’ To her and her par-
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ents, this illustration was proof positive of evolutionary theory. Seeing is believing. The only problem is that this illustration was a fraud. It was used constantly in biology text books and on the web, often by those knowing full well that it was a fraud. Why was it used? For the same reason why the ‘hockey stick’ graph gets used- it gets the point across quickly, and of course the argument being made is known to be true on other grounds. The logical flaw, of course, is that the images themselves are served up as evidence for those underlying contentions.
computers can create, with utmost realism, any conceivable scenario to present to our naked eyes. Our ability to spread those images has exploded. It raises an interesting question: Have you ever wondered why Jesus came to die and rise 2,000 years ago rather than today?
2,000 years ago there were no cameras, no movies, no Youtube. Jesus performed miracles, but surely his message would have spread faster and further if only they had been videotaped and spread around by email? What, like Bruce Almighty walking on water? Is it really the case that the The incident with the girl did not end well. Resurrection would have been more beThey just couldn’t believe that text book lievable if it had been caught on film? Isn’t writers would put in fraudulent images. the opposite true? We know that anything Obviously, I was just a religion teacher is possible on film- even if we often forget with an axe to grind against evolution- it. ary theory. (Since then, Intelligent Design Christianity is more credible because it proponent Jonathan Wells has produced emerged during the period before video a fabulous book that delves into the use was invented. Seeing was still believing of specious imagery used to promote the but there were few, if any, ways to visually evolutionary view point. It is called “Icons deceive. Considering how much of what of Evolution’ and I submit it for your con- we think we knows comes to us through sideration.) video, it is imperative that we think critiBelieve it or not, the point and purpose of cally when viewing it, and the more so this essay was not to attack ‘global warm- when creating it. ing’ or evolutionary theory. My goal was to highlight the power of video and visual images, especially when they are put forward as documentary. Though I have provided examples where the underlying data behind particular images has been shown to be false or even fraudulent, obviously it may still be the case that ‘global warming’ and evolutionary theory is quite true… although it does beg the question as to why anyone feels the need to stoop to deceptive imagery to further a putatively scientific position.
Anthony Horvath is the Executive Director of Athanatos Christian Ministries. His ministry hosts an online apologetics conference which brings the arts to bear on evangelism. Learn more at http:// www.onlineapologeticsconference.com
Since video has this power, we must be on guard when viewing it. Our technology has increased to such an extent that
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