singled out

Singled Out
$16.95
In this novel of psychological suspense, Laura Fisher is determined to put her abusive childhood and marriage behind her and create a new happy life. Through hard work and determination, she achieves success as a television producer and raises a son by herself. As her son enters adulthood, she begins to suspect that he may have inherited a legacy of violence.

I read this book because I greatly enjoyed Mr. Brett's previous two out-of-series novels, A Shock to the System and Dead Romantic. I did not enjoy Singled Out as much. The first disappointment was the use of graphic sex scenes. The other two novels dealt with complex sexual themes, but nonexplicity. I also felt the book suffered from lack of character development, especially that of Laura's son. We are suddenly introduced to him as a university student, and have no idea what sort of person he is. Perhaps this ambiguity is intentional, but I found it made the character uninteresting.

The best scenes were those where Laura and her brother debated the possibility of overcoming a tragic childhood. The counterpoint of Laura's optimisim and her brother's fatalism made for good reading.

Singled Out for Him
$4.95

From the Boston Globe, November 9, 2003

Charity Money Funding Perks

"It looked like a high-end corporate jet, the luxurious, long-range Bombardier that landed at the Lynchburg, Va., airport on a sunny Thursday afternoon in September. But no corporate executive disembarked.

Instead, out stepped Nancy Leigh DeMoss.

She is a trustee of the Arthur S. DeMoss Foundation, a private charitable foundation whose mission is to support Christian organizations. The Globe Spotlight Team determined the foundation spent $36 million in 2001 to buy the 12-seat, transoceanic jet -- and millions more over the last two decades to own and operate two prior jets. It is the kind of extravagance that has infuriated shareholders of public companies during the corporate scandals of the past two years. Yet private planes and other big-ticket expenses go virtually unnoticed in the world of philanthropy, even though foundations are publicly subsidized through huge tax breaks for the wealthy donors who set them up."

About singleness and marriage, DeMoss writes "The question is not "What do I want for myself?" but "What does God want for me?" What will please Him and bring Him the greatest glory?", even though the scriptures NEVER implore us to consider such variables in the decision to marry, which is ALWAYS spoken of in terms of personal choice (Prov.18:22, 1 Cor 7:7-9, 36, 39, 9:5) and practical needs (Genesis 2, 1 Cor 7:2-3, 7-9, 1 Tim 5:14). But what on earth would she know about the practical needs of ordinary single women, with a fortune and connections that would make Paris Hilton blush?

Singled Out: Why Celibacy Must Be Reinvented in Today's Church
$17.99
As stated in the product description, authors Christine Col���n and Bonnie Field "thought that by a certain age they would each be married. But they watched that age come and go--and still no walks down the aisle". But in their attempt to affirm singles dismissed by their churches, they somehow latch onto the erroneous idea that they would feel better if they were considered "celibate". Failing to distinguish between the voluntarily celibate and the temporarily or involuntarily "abstinent" is about as dismissive (not to mention sex-negative) as you can get.

Perhaps there are some singles who crave the hard line, the "God-might-not-want-you-to-marry" admonishment to embrace celibacy. But the vast majority need to hold on to the continued hope that marriage might still happen for them, even if they are long past what would be considered "marriagable age". So should we dash the hopes of many, so as to not offend the piety of a few? Those truly desiring a celibate life are not so needy of affirmation and so ready to take offense. But most others need encouragement to never give up in the power of prayer, for as long as their desire to marry exists. All singles, especially those in the grey areas need our sensitivity and good faith.

But the last thing needed is more bumper sticker flattery that elevates prolonged, unchosen singleness into "celibacy". See the stark language of Matthew 19:11-12 -- Christ does not put a smiley face on the unwanted singleness of those who are "born" eunuchs, or "made that way by men". It is only a gifted few who can make such a choice for the sake of the kingdom -- which is vastly different from the default singleness, abstinent or otherwise, you see so often today.

Colon and Field also fall flat in their handling of sexuality. They whitewash biblical passages that endorse marriage as a means of averting sexual sin and frustration. Whether or not there are some individuals who are capable of resisting their biological urges for a lifetime is beside the point, regardless of the unfair suspicion they may endure. Biblical teachings were crafted with the masses in mind, and where you have large populations of people not marrying, you see manifold social ills. Abstinence isn't the answer, celibacy even less so.

We need to work on removing the obstacles to marriage, not "reinventing celibacy". Dressing up celibacy in old clothes accessorized by extra-biblical notions and fancy prose, a la Lauren Winner, is just intellectual ostentation and cronyism -- at the expense of the bookish lonely, looking for answers.