Black Chapters 9-11

In these chapters we meet the boy for the first time. I find it interesting that Ted portrays Elyon here as a boy. Why does he? Not being Ted, I can only speculate, but what I see is that as a boy he is approachable. he could be talked to, easily. in this world there is no fear of Elyon, only the experience of his deep love, so he is a boy. You can talk to him, play with him, without worry or fear. That's my humble take at least. The people are also intriguing. They are so simple. And I don't mean that in a negative way at all. They are without shame, without fear, without pretense. They are not embarrassed. And seeing them makes me see how different my life is because I DO feel these things. Every time I read this I wish I could live in this world, if only for a short time. We see Thomas wake again in the 21st century and start trying to raise the alarm on the virus. Now really, would you believe him you got this call? I really can't blame people for hanging up on him!

Black, chapters 1-8

Yes, I read up through chapter 7 yesterday. Did I mention I read quickly? Already Thomas's predicament poses a number of interesting questions. First of all, what is real? He finds himself living in two worlds, and which is real? Is it the black/colored forest? Is it the 21st century world? What is real? To him, when he is in one the other seems to be a dream. But this makes me ask myself, what is real? Because I know that this world is just a breath, that one day I will live in a world that is so much more than this one. Though I want to make the most of this life, I hope that I always remember that there is more to it. What is that quote? There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio? I'll have to look it up. Secondly, as we begin to meet the people of the colored forest, it makes me wonder what life was like in the garden, and what it would have been like if Adam and Eve had not tasted of the fruit. I think that is where Ted was going with this civilization, though in the context of this separate world. But imagine relationships with pure innocence. Ehere each is quite literally perfect. Know you could choose any man or woman as a mate and love him madly because they were all perfect, and because you were filled with love and made to love as God loves you. Relationships in our fallen world are fraught with peril. We fail each other daily. We are assuredly not perfect. But what would that have been like? Enjoy this glimpse Ted gives us. Third, and if you have not read the whole series, just skip this please, but one of the Roush makes mention that no one has gone into the black forest and come back out, EXCEPT one other time. Now, generally Ted doesn't put such things in there unless he is going to get to that story in some other book, some other time. I want to pay attention this time and see if that story comes out. I also now make sense of all the references to this seeming familiar in an odd way. Poor Thomas, stuck in this circle. I kinda feel sorry for him, knowing his choices will lead him back to the same place. Does Ted want us to think that? That he will keep repeating this cycle? Or do we think that Thomas might make different choices at some point along the line and change the outcome? I just don't know. And if Ted were reading this I doubt he would answer. I tend to think he wants you to make your own assumptions. So now I head into Chapter 8, as Thomas wakes up back in the 21st century after hearing that that world would end in 2010, the current year for him, due to a virus, which we have already hear discussed by our villains in the first chapters. And ironically the only reason they are interested in it is because of Thomas. Ted just loves to create Paradoxes it his twisted series, doesn't he?

My next project

I love to read. I love to dive into a book and live in that world for a time. I've always had alone for books and ai am one of those people that reads my favorites over and over again. If I didn't I would spend a fortune on books! I find myself drawn back to the Ted Dekker Circle series and all the connected books. I've decided to take that journey again, but this time I am going to try to blog my thoughts as I go through. I don't know that anyone is listening. If you are, well, I'm really doing this for me, not you. But if you get something out of it, well that's awesome! I really enjoy reading Dekker. He has a gritty style that I know doesn't appeal to everyone. Many Christians are even offended by his works because he refuses to follow the rules that most Christian authors do. He doesn't feel the need to pretty things up. He does gloss things over or put a veneer on reality. He doesn't mind getting gross or dirty. When I read his books though, I feel like he writes what is really under the surface, what we think but won't admit to the rest of the world. Sometimes I think his dialogue is a bit lacking. But he always makes me think. So, off I go, with Black.....