BWO The Best of Journalism, I came to this essay by Alan Jacob on his blog, The Homebound Symphony (Tagline, which I love, “stagger on rejoicing,” and there’s a link to the inspiration on his About page that is worth clicking through.)
He writes about faith, and he reads old novels by authors I’d never heard of. I perked up immediately when he said that Mrs. Oliphant’s books would have been known to Clare, the protagonist of my Harvey Girl novels. Here he parses her short story, “The Open Door,” written in 1881.
What struck me most in this story was Mrs. Oliphant’s fine hand in the construction of the plot–the narrator’s son’s discovery of the ghost, the narrator’s own reluctant realization that the ghost exists, maybe, and then the series of witnesses the narrator drags in, his servant (the lower clases), his minister (a man of faith), his doctor (a man of science), he only wants his banker to bolster what he sees with his own eyes and hears with his own ears. And of course–of course!–it is the man of science who suffers a revelation and banishes the ghost.
But I digress. What impressed me most is Jacob’s conclusion.
That Hell exists cannot be doubted if you believe the testimony of Scripture. And though some wise men have doubted whether there is anyone in it, the story of the rich man and Lazarus would seem to indicate at least one occupant. But whatever the general verdict, in any specific case, concerning any one person, may we not hope as Dr. Moncrieff hopes, and on the same grounds?
If you read old novels — as I do — you’ll occasionally come across a certain phrase: “That’s past praying for” — meaning “That’s impossible, even for God.” I’d suggest that you never use that phrase. Better a fool’s hope than no hope. Better to say, along with Dr. Moncrieff, “Lord, when is it too late for Thee, or what is too hard for Thee?”
It’s been a long time since I read the Bible (once, cover to cover, and I invite you to marvel at my obstinacy in getting through Leviticus) and I had to click through the link to read again about the rich man and Lazarus. When I did, I remembered how that story worked against my ever becoming a person of faith, because the lesson there is “Believe or go straight to Hell.” It’s a continuing message that kind of percolates throughout the New Testament. Hell was very big with Jesus.
That’s faith by coercion. There is no appeal to head or heart, just blunt force trauma, a method I have never found persuasive, as any attempt at coercion makes me want to do the exact opposite.
Anyway. An essay worth reading, if for no other reason than it introduces you to a writer of over 120 novels you’ve never heard of. I think I’ll follow Jacob for a while, see what else he has to say.
Chatter Random Saturday Alan Jacob Homebound Symphony Lazarus Mrs. Oliphant