Thoughts on Christmas Eve

So here we are, celebrating the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem on December 25th in year zero...

Except for a few, small troublesome facts.

Jesus was born in Nazareth, not Bethlehem. Bethlehem was a later literary invention by one of the Evangelists (Matthew) who wanted to place Jesus's birth in the City of David to show he was of the line of David. The "census" that supposedly initiated the pilgrimage that places the "Holy Family" in Bethlehem is also a literary invention. It simply did not take place!

One thing the early writers agree on: Jesus was born during the reign of Herod The Great. Two problems here. For one, Herod the Great died in the year we call 4 BC. If Jesus was born during Herod's reign, he had to have been born in 4 BC or earlier. Also, the "massacre of the innocents" under Herod seems to also be undocumented literary invention (though, it seems, not entirely out of character for Herod).

For most of the early centuries, Jesus's date of birth was not fixed on the yearly calendar. Faced with pagan solstice ceremonies and the vestiges of the Roman's Saturnalia, Christmas was developed to take the place of these heathen celebrations. The three kings of the East (who are not in the gospel, although a group of magi are) were invented or embellished at any rate to literalize this capitulation of the pagans. The "celebration" of Christmas is a relatively new event in the life of the Church. There were several Protestant denominations that held the celebration of Christmas in contempt even unto the 19th century!

So go ahead, celebrate Christmas... but let's get the facts straight. The when and how of Jesus's birth is not as important as the message he preached: God is Love. Love your enemies. Care for the poor. Renounce your worldly goods, pool your resources, and live together in harmony. And what if you encounter resistance? Love them. Love the resistors. Turn the other cheek. And if you have any question over what degree this should be taken to, then look to His example, he who DIED ON A CROSS while still loving those who put him to death. In other words, there is no question of degree. You love all the way to the end. Period. No exceptions.

I still find no religions that follow this doctrine in the world today.

Vatican Ambassador Podcast

I'm putting out a new press release to trumpet some good news:

HEARD ANY GOOD BOOKS LATELY? MIKE LUOMA’S VATICAN AMBASSADOR COMING TO PODIOBOOKS.COM!

Burlington author and radio announcer’s second book added to national website.
The PODCAST revolution spreads to audio books!

Burlington, Vermont – December 19, 2007 – Bring on the Sequel! Mike Luoma’s science fiction novel Vatican Ambassador has just been picked up by the online audio book website Podiobooks.com (http://podiobooks.com). Vatican Ambassador is the sequel to Luoma’s Vatican Assassin, which has been featured on the site since August of 2007. Vatican Ambassador will be “live” on Podiobooks on Wednesday, December 19th.

Co-founded by Evo Terra and Tee Morris, co-authors of Podcasting for Dummies, Podiobooks.com provides “serialized audio books in podcast form.” At Podiobooks.com listeners can subscribe and listen to audio books in podcast form for free, or voluntarily donate to the authors. Podiobooks.com is helping to revolutionize the way people experience books.

Vatican Assassin, the first book, has been enjoyed by over 490 subscribers through Podiobooks.com. Luoma narrates the chapters of the book himself, subtly changing inflection and altering his voice to highlight and differentiate each character’s voice in the science fiction novel.

The books take place about a hundred years in the future. A war between the Earth controlling Universal Trade Zone (UTZ) and their allies, the New catholic Church (NcC) and Mars-based Universal Islamic Nation (UIN) recently flared up as the UIN attempted to retake part of Earth by force. The UTZ repelled the UIN attacks at the end of Vatican Assassin. There were heavy casualties on both sides. Now both sides are rebuilding.

The title character, Vatican Assassin Bernard Campion or “BC”, has been named the acting ambassador for the Vatican to Lunar Prime, the Independent City-State on the Moon. But BC’s old boss Pope Peter the Second has died, and the new pope has been strangely silent since appointing BC to his new position. The Governor of Lunar Prime, Marc Edwards, is in a political fight for his reelection against Daniel McEntyre, the widower of the former Governor, Meredith McEntyre… whom BC assassinated under orders from The Pope. As the acting ambassador, BC is about to find out it’s harder to negotiate with people than it is to kill them.

Mike Luoma is a Burlington, Vermont based author and an over-20-year veteran of Vermont radio currently with The Point (www.pointfm.com). He released Vatican Ambassador earlier this year (2007). Vatican Assassin was published at the end of 2005. Both are available at local outlets in Vermont and at Amazon.com and other online stores. He’s now writing the third book in the trilogy, Vatican Abdicator. Luoma features his books on his website, www.glowinthedarkradio.com.

Podiobooks Web Site: http://podiobooks.com
Mike Luoma Web Site: http://glowinthedarkradio.com
Email Contact: glowinthedarkradio@comcast.net
Phone: (802) 865-2597

Time Flies...

Buzzing around my head, those damn time flies...
Can't believe I haven't written anything here in months.

I've been writing other things, though...

Just finished the second draft of book three of the VATICAN ASSASSIN Trilogy, Vatican Abdicator. Lots o' typin'! It clocked in at 254 pages. It will be expanding from there, though. I have a short preview online. This is raw, and will change, but might interest you if you've been reading and/or listening to the first two: vaticanabdicator.com

I'm stepping back for a small break right now. Focusing on the Podiobooks.com podcast of the first two books. Vatican Assassin is complete! I'm now gearing up for Vatican Ambassador, recording chapters ahead to be sure I can deliver it in a timely fashion. You can listen to all of Vatican Assassin here: http://podiobooks.com/title/vatican-assassin

Juan Carlos and I are planning issue three of Panthea Obscura for early 2008. The script is done, but I may tweak it a little.

Speaking of 2008, my calendars are for sale! The newest features many of the doodles I've been posting here. Find out more at my homepage:
glowinthedarkradio.com