Why read that - Martin Cothran and Andrew Pudewa discuss painful books

Speakers

a man who lived a bad life gets near death, and contemplates his life
this mans mind gets very focused because his time left alive is getting so short
Andrew's mom died in his home
- she was in pain
- 2 things she said
  - woke up in pain and repeatedly said "sorry!". He said why? She said "you'll have to do my taxes"
  - she also said, "maybe you'll get to suffer too"
    - their is a certain redemptive power in suffering
    - suffering has spiritual value
Tolstoy is a very Christian writer, and his writing is shaped by believing in a God who suffered
see also: Anna Karenina

the book is very different from the movies
central idea: how close to being like God can we get before things backfire?
Interestingly, when Shelley wrote this, we were not capable of what we can do today
- cloning animals
- brought a wolf species back from extinction
- Final Spark: a company in Switzerland that has connected human brain cells to computers
we want to be creators like God. This book is a cautionary tale of how that desire can go wrong.
"what can we do" vs. "what should we do"
these older books are very philosophical. They are geared toward eternal questions, in a way that modern science fiction is not

commentary on competing philosophies: we need rules vs. we don't need rules
the lawless tribe gains the advantage
there's a tension around freedom being imprisonment, and structure being your path back to sanity
this happened in real life off of Tonka
- these boys had been going to a Christian school, so they lived in a civilized way and created rules and structure
- it turned out okay, much better than the book
if you reject Christian civilization, you will fall victim to idolatry

this book displays a level of poverty you may have never contemplated
this poverty is juxtaposed against the wealth of the empire
this guy finds a pearl and gets sudden wealth - it changes things, but not for the better
the things we think are going to bring us happiness, are often the thing that brings us the opposite

Important

beware that what you want may destroy your life

making a deal with the devil
Oscar Wilde was clearly a truth seeker, but not a Christian when he wrote this
theme: bad company can corrupt
premise: since the picture can suffer the consequences of his sins, he believes that he can do whatever he wants
Dorian's face is beautiful, but the picture is a representation of his soul. And disgusts people when it is revealed.
Oscar Wilde converted to Christianity later in his life
Martin: the language and dialog are absolutely brilliant

Camus does a superb job showing how people will continue to operate in a crisis mode, far after the crisis is over. Sound familiar?
Camus had experience with this from the Spanish Flu
we make the same mistakes over and over again
Andrew: didn't love the book too much. Camus' style isn't gripping.

movie made by Martin Scorcese
Japanese were killing Christians
Christian pastors go there on mission
one of the actors became a Christian during the making of the movie, because the story is so powerful
this book is VERY sad to read
the Japanese were incredibly cruel to Christians in this time
it makes you wonder: if I were in this situation, would I be faithful?
there are things they can torture you with that you have not even conceived of. That is what you are getting in this book.
the Japanese wanted the priests to publicly denounce Christ. They thought that would be the best way to stop the spread of Christianity.
would not read this with kids around. The descriptions of the torture are very powerful.
Endo is like the Hemingway of Japan. Part of a small population in Japan who are Christian's, but he is revered as a great author in Japan.
don't read this book unless you want to wrestle with the hardest decision a human can make
the ending is slightly different in the movie than the book. The movie ends slightly more hopeful.

she is probably the most different writer you will read
it is the most bare look at things, but there are also spiritual implications to everything
impish sense of humor
theme: wanting to avoid the curse of destiny
very different from any other Christian book you will read
hard to understand what this book is trying to to do. Makes for a great discussion.
their wives hate this book?

dystopian fiction is an important genre
- this is what you have. If you continue on this path and take it to its logical end, then this is where you will end up.
controlling people through controlling the language
see also: Brave New World - being enslaved by what you love
very prophetic. We are getting closer to a lot of the dystopian happenings in this book