Wordless Wednesday!
Today you are on the
verge of battle with your enemies. Do not let your heart faint, do not
be afraid, and do not tremble or be terrified because of them; for the Lord your God is He who goes with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.’ Deuteronomy 20:3-4
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Breathtaking picture! I love the color of the water!
ReplyDeleteOct 10th,
ReplyDelete"Morning, MaryLu., and Debbie".
Well, I actually did try leaving a message yesterday morning ... it didn't take, so I didn't wait around. Either I am getting poor reception on my internet service (computer is in the basement) .... or, my computer is showing its age !
Love the picture, and love the verse you have with it ! Imagine -- God is with me (us), and "He" is going to fight for me (us) against our enemies, to save us ! What an awesome God we serve !!! Thanks for sharing.
Take care, and, God Bless, In Him, Brenda
Powerful picture. Even more powerful Scripture verse. I do up little cards for unsponsored Compassion Canada kids and am always in search of verses that will inspire them, encourage them, comfort them, and give them hope. These verses fit the bill to a tee.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it should taken into account that whilst the Americans might like to think themselves or the cause so holy and righteous (in the war of 1812 whatever) not all British people were evil heathen or lechers that they might be presented as. History is not so 'black and white' like that.........
ReplyDeleteThose who are following Jesus Christ know this to be true: "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." Ephesians 6:12
DeleteWe are not fighting against flesh and blood--humans/nations--but against the *spiritual forces of evil*. People in every nation are influenced by evil forces in the spirit realm, just as people in every nation are influenced by the love of God and Jesus Christ.
I believe that MaryLu expresses that truth in her books (have you read where a British officer marries a new colonist in America? They were both hurting people, both needed to turn to God for healing, and both helped each other in healing--regardless of their nationalities. It was beautiful!)
If you haven't read all of MaryLu's books--or you are only thinking in terms of the physical realm (people/nations) and not the spiritual realm (are the people influenced by God/love & healing & deliverance - or - satan/anger & resentment & killing & evil?)--try viewing the situation with a different perspective. You'll be able to tell who an individual (not a nation) is influenced by very easily.
Lora
All I see so far is the 'official', though actually very accurate line that the war of 1812 was all the fault of the Wicked British with impressement, and no mention of the greed and warmongering of the some Americans like the 'warhawks' in the government who seemed intent upon invading Canada.
DeleteI am only halfway through one of Marylu's books, but answer me this, is there honesty about the less than admirable motives of American characters, or is it almost always the British who are vilified as wicked and evil? From what I have seen from this book, and reviews of others, this seems to be the case- either them or the upper classes. People are not necessarily 'influenced by Satan' because they fight against America, or because Americans consider them to be 'tyrants'.
I also notice that the one example you provide is of a British officer who marries an American women, and I presume stays in America, and probably goes over to America's side if it's the book I assume you mean. In other words the Brit is only good if he stays in America, the aristocrat is only good if he gives up his wealth to marry a commoner?
Thus from what I have seen (and I may be wrong, prejudging) there isn't much balance or showing of both sides, Its more America good- British evil, , immoral, selfish, wicked imperialists/commoners good, Upper classes universally irreligious, pompous, lecherous, narcissists, who defy God's laws.
Perhaps I can help clear up this misconception. I'm so sorry if my books have caused you any grief. Let me state first off that I love the British people. My ancestors are British. My books are not meant to be political commentary, nor are they meant to show both sides to the war. Please remember I am a Romance Novelist and it is my job to write a story through the eyes of my characters as they would see things. Most of my characters in my Surrender to Destiny series are Americans. I did extensive research on what the American attitude was at the time of the war and tried my best to show that attitude through my characters. Of course they were angry and hostile toward the British and thought them evil That was what they believed. Do I believe that? No. I also have other series, Charles Towne Belles and my pirate series in which most of the characters are British... and I assure you, they are quite loveable. :-) In my current post Civil War series I've been accused of being pro-South and pro-Slavery simply because all of my characters are Southerners. That's silly. Of course I'm not pro-slavery or either for the north or south. I was just trying to be true to how the characters would have felt at the time.
DeleteAnyway, I apologize for any distress I have caused you. I hope you understand where I'm coming from. Blessings to you, Bookish Medievalist. I'm actually thinking of writing some medievals in the future.. love that era. :-)
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DeleteOoops meant to say, 'not very accurate' above.
DeleteI understand where you are coming from with wanting to reflect the common attitudes of people at the time (though I wonder if they were so common), but I do think novelists ought to make some attempt to be balanced and show both sides, not least because so many people seem to derive their knowledge of history from fiction.
As a Medievalist, my knowledge of the 19th century is decidedly lacking, but I have read some articles found with simple Google searches, and they seem to suggest that some Americans were not happy with the policy of the 'warhawks' in the government at the time of the war, and did not believe impressment alone was a legitimate basis for declaring war. If this was indeed the case, it would appear that people were aware that government policy was a much a cause of the war than anything else, and so the view that the British were entirely responsible may not have been universally shared.
Indeed it has even been demonstrated that in some areas there were secret negotiations to possible cede American territory to the British- which again hardly suggests the hostility was universally shared. As stated previously, things are rarely black and white, and whilst the majority of people may have felt a certain way, or official propaganda promoted a certain view of events, it doesn't necessarily follow that this reflects the attitude of the entire population.
Apologies if I mistook any opinions or attitudes, but when I see the depiction of the British in one of yours books described in terms of 'mild racism/xenophobia' perhaps my reasons may be understood.
Perhaps it could also be argued that there is a difference between simply showing how characters would have seen other groups or nationalities , and the way in which those groups themselves are depicted?
DeleteWhat I mean is its one thing to just show how Americans saw in the 1800s saw British people as evil and hated them, but do your books actually present them as having been such, as though the attitudes of Americans were real and correct? This is the impression I have.
Would it perhaps not be more constructive in such a case to depict the group of people in question in such a way as to show that that what the majority of protagonists believed about them was not entirely true or justified for that group as a whole?
It's been a great discussion, and I truly do value your opinions. Yes, of course there were many people in America who didn't view the British as evil and yes, the government had much to do with the entire mess. But once again, I'm only a romance novelist. :-) I create characters with specific viewpoints that fit into the storyline I'm hoping to write. Could I have written some of the British characters differently and not made them appear so evil? Yes. But it wouldn't have fit nicely into my plot. Again, my goal is not to teach history. My goal is to write an entertaining story that glorifies God. I do extensive research and try my best to present factual information but I cannot in the scope of my novel express all the viewpoints of the time. I would hope people who find it interesting would do their own research and read non-fiction books on the topic. The British were the villain in my story.. to portray them any other way would have taken away from the plot. Again, I'm truly sorry to have caused you any stress. :-)
DeleteDo you really think that it is truly glorifying to God though to present a version of the past that is based on propaganda, historical distortions and the demonizatation of other peoples and races to just to make Americans feel good about themselves or their history?
DeleteI don't know quite what to say to your accusations. My books are based on historical fact not distortions. Many people in America were angry with the British and considered them the enemy. I presented their viewpoint through my characters. I'm not sure how to make you understand that this is a romance novel.. a fictional story and not a history book. The entire series is about finding God's destiny for your life, not a political or historical discourse on the War of 1812. My purpose is not to demonize any group of people nor to make another proud of their country. My purpose is to show God's love and power in the lives of individuals. I'm truly sorry that you found such offense in my books. That was not my intention. I've enjoyed our discussion but I see we have reached an impasse. God Bless you Bookish Medievalist. I pray you find comfort in God's arms.
DeleteI'm not meaning to make 'accusations', but in my experience its quite possible even for historical facts to be distorted, or represented in such a way as to not give the full story.
DeleteI am not saying you are deliberately doing that per se, but the popular misconception that the war of 1812 was all the fault of the British (isn't it typical of human nature to blame the other guy?) whilst ignoring the role of the American government in causing the conflict, or those who were not hostile seems ultimately to be a distortion. Often what happened in wars such as this one were a result of the actions and failings of men, rather than perhaps God's 'destiny'.
In my experience also too many people say 'its just fiction' without appreciating how potent a medium historical fiction can be to influence people's perceptions and beliefs, even if such is unintentional on the part of the author. Some people do go on to do further research, but not all will, and some people do 'learn' their history from fiction, when they might never read a history book.
So might such people perhaps going to take out of books they read? They may have any biased preconceptions they hold reinforced, or to be left thinking it was God's will for the saintly Americans to beat the evil British heathens when ultimately it may be argued was no real victor in that particular war.
At the end of the day it may be said that even harmless romantic fiction can influence people's perceptions of the past and result in them believing things that may not be entirely true and accurate, if they take its representation of history as 'gospel'. That is one of the greatest drawbacks of the genre as a whole. Its not meant to say authors intend that.
Yes, amen!! I've learned so many times in life that sometimes I'm supposed to fight, other times I'm supposed to stand back and let God fight for me. And He's an expert. :-)
ReplyDeleteLora
Beautiful - where do you get all your lovely pictures, MaryLu?
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