Sunday, April 17, 2016

TOW #24 - Hearts of Fire (Part Two)

     It has been two months since I last picked up this book, Hearts of Fire, but the stories are just as thought-provoking as ever. Like last time, I commend the book for an appropriate balance of detail and plot advancements; the stories were just long enough to be developed, and short enough to remain interesting and active. However, this time, I noticed one aspect of the storytelling that was almost distracting: the wholeheartedly, resolutely Christian viewpoint of the writers. This initially seemed like a rhetorical weakness, but after further reflection, I see how it supports the ultimate purpose of this book to not only tell stories, but to give encouragement and strength to those facing any sort of faith-related struggles.
     My day-to-day reading material is overwhelmingly "secular-based," or at least in no way so openly faith-centered (though articles may have religious themes or undertones, or a writer may even directly address religion, it is not in the same confidence that this book has). At the time I found it slightly distracting, but I believe now that it was actually a very effective aspect of the writing. Maybe the authors did not even consider it (their faith may simply be that resolute), but the chosen tone of voice reinforced the central message of holding onto one's faith in all circumstances. Clearly, if any of the women's faith had wavered, the epilogues of their stories could have been very different.
     This aspect of the writing initially made me draw back a little; it was so unfamiliar that it sounded almost "biased" (which could be considered a rhetorical weakness, but as the large majority of readers of this book are likely Christian, it would not be a major issue). Yet as the idea continued to circle around in my head, it began to present itself as a refreshing sort of challenge. The idea that I was unsettled by this resolutely Christian perspective was an effective motivating force to refocus myself in terms of my faith. Perhaps it was intentionally written in this way with the hope of directly encouraging readers like me to further contemplate that sort of completely unwavering faith.

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