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Today, I am excited to announce a new book project that should be ready for release this summer. WE are very excited about this project. Because we are going the self-pub route, we can sell the book for less money and therefore make it more available. Catholic solidarity, what's up? We are.
Did you say "we" (and 9)? Oh yes, I did.
Who are the writers, pray tell?
(if you need help chillin, check out this video...close your eyes to chill, open your eyes if you want to make yourself keep reading...)
Patience is a virtue. I will get there, but first....
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What is the book about? The current working title is Undoing Babel, and the book is a multi-story conversion book aimed at 20-30 somethings. It is NOT an apologetics book. It is 90% narrative. BadCatholic up front, party in the back. That's right. Marc "Bad-arsenic" Barnes will be writing the forward. Any book intended to do what this book is intended to do deserves some bad you-know-what-ness.
We got it.
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Undoing Babel: more party in the back than this guy |
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Speaking of intentions. The mission of Undoing Babel can be described in one sentence:
"To propel a small chocolate morsel into every caffè latte found in any church, anywhere, that allows such nonsense, whereby caused spillage on designer jeans produces the necessary angst so as to find the cause of said spillage."
While the designer jeans are drying off on an eco-friendly clothes-line, we pray that revealed through our inked lives many would consider the most unlikely savior of the ecclesial chaos we were all born into, and that somehow they would open their hearts, as we did, to the Catholic Church.
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Before I tell you about the authors (COME ON ALREADY, BRENT!), I wanted to tell you about the illustrator(s). Oh yes, this will be a picture book. That means you can read it to the kiddos. Well, sort of.
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| If they can do this, they can do anything... |
I may be starting an Uniconiclastic controversy. I dunno. Then again, I've got the Czar to back me up. You heard it here first: Mr. and Mrs. Awesomeness (also known as the Vandapools) will be creating some artwork for the book. Can you believe this book could not find a publisher? I know, I did not look very hard, but then again everything is a part of God's plan. I front some dough, and God gets some mough (more). Speaking of dough...
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ALL PROCEEDS (PROFITS) FROM THIS BOOK WILL BE DONATED TO "The Philippine Aid Society".
Bam! Take it up a notch.
I figured if the concept for this book was to "Undo Babel", then we might as well support Catholic efforts to evangelize and do works of mercy in a country where self-made popes are promoting more chaos. This book is not an ecumenifuzzy book. Sorry, there are plenty of those out there for you to choose from. This book is about stories, conversion and Catholicism--straight up on the rocks.
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Let us now talk about the BOYS who will be contributing to this project.
First, there is me. You already know about me. Nuff said. For the rest of the gents:
Tim Troutman believed in the Bible. He just couldn’t figure out how we got the one we call “the canon”. Like so many 20-somethings, Tim traveled the road of the spiritual nomad: questions, doubt, fear, and finally hope. Through this journey, he connected with 10 or so other former Reformed Christians who now tell their story and talk about the Catholic faith at the extremely popular blog site www.calledtocommunion.com.
Ultimately, that is Tim’s heart: Communion. His passion is to bring the Church together, to undo the Babel that divides us, or in the words of Christ, “that we would be One, as the Father and the Son are One.” As I mentioned, he is one of the co-founders of the website: Called to Communion, and is the founder and Chief Mercy Officer of The Philippine Aid Society.
On the outside, everything looked great for David Williams. He was the perfect young man; the one any mom or dad would dream for their daughter to marry. At least that is what you were lead to believe.
In the light, David was one man, but in the dark he was another. David sought help from every Christian resource imaginable, yet for many years deliverance was a chimera he merely chased in the night. His guides, although good intentioned, became like those that Jesus described as “the blind leading the blind”. What would heal his moral mayhem? David’s story will touch the heart of anyone who has struggled with sin and did not know where to turn. David turned to the Catholic Church and in a life consecrated to the Sacraments. What did he receive in return? Freedom.
Research shows that a vast majority of Christians of all stripes leave their faith in college. Steve Lawson was one of them. Raised in a loving Catholic family, he came to a crisis of faith in college and traveled the path of agnosticism for a while. Yet he knew there had to be something more.
At a point of despair that bordered on nihilism, Steve decided it was time to investigate the faith of his childhood. He now works for EWTN radio and runs a conversion website www.whyimcatholic.com that highlights the stories of converts to Catholicism from every imaginable religious background. His story will give hope to those with fallen away Catholic friends or family, or to a modern person who has given up on the meaning of life.
Vince Gilbert was your average American kid. Raised in a nominal Christian home, they did their religious duty but not much more. At about 12 years old, Vince realized that following Christ meant giving up many of the temptations that were beginning to allure him--exit Christian story.
In his chapter, Vince allows the reader to follow him into the treachery of sin and for him the necessary agnosticism it entailed. Reaching the point of medicated depression, Vince escapes his labyrinth of confusion in the most unexpected encounter with a St. Joseph statue and the Eucharist. You can figure out the end of the story from the picture to the left.
This last guy needs no introduction. He never sleeps. He never slumbers. He is Mr. Apologeticus. A self-described "young-gun", Devin Rose--a.k.a. If Protestantism Is True--is a former atheist who turned his life over to Christ after spiraling into the depths of depression. Upon emerging from his dark night, Devin soon realized that there was truly one Savior, but that a thousand voices were competing to be His spokesman. Who can speak for Christ?
A question like that eventually led to his conversion to Catholicism. Now, an accomplished author, father, engineer, and blogger, Devin will share his story in Undoing Babel in the hopes of reaching his generation with the good news that Jesus truly did found a Church you can find.
First, there is me. You already know about me. Nuff said. For the rest of the gents:
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| Tim Troutman |
Ultimately, that is Tim’s heart: Communion. His passion is to bring the Church together, to undo the Babel that divides us, or in the words of Christ, “that we would be One, as the Father and the Son are One.” As I mentioned, he is one of the co-founders of the website: Called to Communion, and is the founder and Chief Mercy Officer of The Philippine Aid Society.
____________________________________________________
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| David Williams |
In the light, David was one man, but in the dark he was another. David sought help from every Christian resource imaginable, yet for many years deliverance was a chimera he merely chased in the night. His guides, although good intentioned, became like those that Jesus described as “the blind leading the blind”. What would heal his moral mayhem? David’s story will touch the heart of anyone who has struggled with sin and did not know where to turn. David turned to the Catholic Church and in a life consecrated to the Sacraments. What did he receive in return? Freedom.
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| Steve Lawson |
At a point of despair that bordered on nihilism, Steve decided it was time to investigate the faith of his childhood. He now works for EWTN radio and runs a conversion website www.whyimcatholic.com that highlights the stories of converts to Catholicism from every imaginable religious background. His story will give hope to those with fallen away Catholic friends or family, or to a modern person who has given up on the meaning of life.
____________________________________________________
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| Vince Gilbert |
In his chapter, Vince allows the reader to follow him into the treachery of sin and for him the necessary agnosticism it entailed. Reaching the point of medicated depression, Vince escapes his labyrinth of confusion in the most unexpected encounter with a St. Joseph statue and the Eucharist. You can figure out the end of the story from the picture to the left.
____________________________________________________
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| Devin Rose |
A question like that eventually led to his conversion to Catholicism. Now, an accomplished author, father, engineer, and blogger, Devin will share his story in Undoing Babel in the hopes of reaching his generation with the good news that Jesus truly did found a Church you can find.
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The LADIES. Feminine sagacity is superb. Thus, it is my honor to have 3 wonderful ladies writing in this book.
Kassie Rutherford was raised in a normal, loving home. She was also raised to believe many stereotypes about the Catholic Church. Mostly. When she went to college, she needed a job. Little did she know but the baby-sitting job she accepted would undo her theological assumptions and send her on a journey that would once again prove "all roads lead to Rome". Kassie blogged her way to the Church at www.secretvaticanspy.com as a tongue-in-cheek way of recognizing the conspiracy theories surrounding her conversion. Supported by the blogosphere and the local Catholic community, Kassie’s story is one of courage, wit, whimsy, and wonder. Her writing is a mix of all four.
A steady attitude of apathy, which was intermittently punctuated by moments of intense anger, could best describe the religious environment in which Melissa Siik grew up. Though her parents professed a loose belief in God, they had nothing but disdain and ridicule for those “weak-minded, uneducated bigots” who called themselves “Christians.” This attitude would follow Melissa throughout her teenage years, during which she indulged in a number of temptations and developed both a drug addiction and an eating disorder.
During her years of recovery, and as she worked her way through successive academic honors on the path to a Ph.D. in English, Melissa’s formerly tacit belief in the inherent stupidity of religion generally, and Christians specifically, began to fuel many of her academic passions. However, she had no idea that her academic and personal pursuit to reveal the idiocy of Christianity would eventually lead her to the most shocking act she had ever committed: her conversion to Christianity—and not just any form of Christianity, but Catholicism, which she had formerly regarded as the greatest enemy of intellectualism, personal freedom, and feminism.
Calah Alexander has never been your average girl. Refusing to fit into a mold, Calah lived the status quo lifestyle of someone growing up in the 80's and 90's. Status quo? Isn't that what the 80's and 90's were all about? Everyone rebelling, so in the end no one was rebelling.
Thus, Calah's story touches upon some of the more profound themes of human suffering and searching so indicative of her generation. Of course, her delivery is 1,000 pounds of classical self-deprication which has been the raison for the following at her blog Barefoot and Pregnant. Armed with anti-Catholic biases and years of spiritual wounds, Calah enrolled at the University of Dallas in Irving, TX. While there, she discovered a Church that had been buried underneath an avalanche of myth and lies. Now, she is Catholic.
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| Kassie Rutherford |
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| Melissa Siik |
During her years of recovery, and as she worked her way through successive academic honors on the path to a Ph.D. in English, Melissa’s formerly tacit belief in the inherent stupidity of religion generally, and Christians specifically, began to fuel many of her academic passions. However, she had no idea that her academic and personal pursuit to reveal the idiocy of Christianity would eventually lead her to the most shocking act she had ever committed: her conversion to Christianity—and not just any form of Christianity, but Catholicism, which she had formerly regarded as the greatest enemy of intellectualism, personal freedom, and feminism.
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| Calah Alexander |
Thus, Calah's story touches upon some of the more profound themes of human suffering and searching so indicative of her generation. Of course, her delivery is 1,000 pounds of classical self-deprication which has been the raison for the following at her blog Barefoot and Pregnant. Armed with anti-Catholic biases and years of spiritual wounds, Calah enrolled at the University of Dallas in Irving, TX. While there, she discovered a Church that had been buried underneath an avalanche of myth and lies. Now, she is Catholic.
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This book will not be a success without YOUR HELP. In the combox, let me know what you would be willing to do to make sure this book is a success. Your prayers are very much coveted.
Thanks Jen for hosting!
