Bad Press

Back in the day, I used to be a huge fan of Stephen King. The first book I read of his, The Stand, was then and still is to me his best book ever. I wasn't a huge fan of horror, I just loved how great his stories were. The way he wrote intrigued me and it was training for a young man that would soon be a Bible thumper and somewhat of a writer myself.

After 1986 I encountered The Lord and 86st Stephen King for the King of Kings. I suddenly began to notice Kings hateful agenda against Christians in general. The mom in Carrie is a Pentecostal nut who locks her daughter in the closet to pray. The murderous warden in Shawshank Redemption quotes scriptures and even the werewolf in Silver Bullet is a preacher. John Coffee in the green mile is an excellent character type of Jesus and even has the initials of JC, but of course he’s not very smart and unable to articulate really anything. The crazy lady in Misery hobbles the feet of a poor guy while wearing a giant crucifix.

So it makes me ask, what's your deal, pickle?

I don’t think for one second you go to hell for reading Stephen King or watching his movies, but because I’m a Christian, going to hell is never an issue for me anyway. I just can’t imagine how it is helpful or profitable to partner my head with a guy who doesn't partner with me in and what my life is all about. I know he is a great writer and an important part of our culture but I ask myself a question I already know the answer to. If you or I wrote 20 or 30 brilliant books, and year after year the hideous villain in all our novels was a homosexual or a Muslim, would we be praised as great writers and contributors to the culture? Stephen King lives in a world where He consistently gets away with what he accuses Christians of doing in all of his novels. He’s a zealot who portrays good people as bad guys because of his own self centered ideology. The Texan in me says “Rain on him.”

Foggy Identities

It’s not uncommon to have the tube glowing in the Brewer house and a few months back I stopped in the living room to see what my son was all balled up on the couch about.

“What ya watching?” I asked as he handed me the chips

“It’s a scary movie called The Mist, dad. These awesome giant bugs are eating people.”

I sat down on the couch and before I got to the bottom of my ruffles with ridges, I knew who had made it.

“This is a Stephen King Movie, isn't it?’’

“Yes sir, how’d you know?”

“Because the only monster worse than the bugs is the Christian who hates abortion.”

The Crazy Christian converts the locals into murderers and the good guys shoot themselves in the head just seconds before help from the army arrives. Now that’s entertainment. I haven't had so much fun since my visit to the doctor right after my 40th birthday.

I am a big movie fan like any red blooded American, but I get sick of how Hollywood’s hatred of people like me is constantly spilled out under the guise of art.

If you are a Christian, I want to encourage you to not limit yourself to any subculture. You and I are the counter culture and America needs us more than ever. These knuckleheads publicly mock us but privately call us when all hell brakes loose. These bullies collectively accuse us but individually need us to be the people that stand out these days.

Don’t worry about the bad press you get. It puts you in really good company. Don’t you back off for one second. Let your light shine! Make a difference in people’s lives. Hate injustice and what isn't right. Call it like it is and stand for Jesus while standing with the rest of us. Lets stand up together in spite of all the bad press. While there might be multidimensional bugs in their mist, Jesus Himself promises to be in our midst if we all stick together.

For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of you. Matthew 18:20

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