1. Kessie says:

    Interesting how there is no grace in this brave new world of ours. There’s no grace in any religion but Christianity, really. I’m glad Bethany House are sticking to their guns.

  2. Julie Dick says:

    Surprised, but delightedly so.

  3. Kerry says:

    I remember a similar pile-on of the Chris Pratt / Jennifer Lawrence movie “Passengers”. Chris’s character was seen as an unredeemable rapist / murderer simply for–out of loneliness–waking up another passenger. Completely missing the redemptive arc (grace) represented in the film. That’s when I realized these folks are more rigid than the staunchest legalist. And they lived in a world I didn’t want to live in. (And they probably didn’t want to live in either, if they bothered to think it through.)

  4. The current Woke mob reminds me of puritans. They have their own rules but the scarlet letter is in full force.
    Another comparison, McCarthyism. Speak as we rule to be right or we will destroy you. And we all know how history views McCarthyism.

  5. Robin says:

    Thanks for this article. I wrote a blog post about redemption in response to this situation, but it wasn’t nearly this eloquent.

  6. Beth K Vogt says:

    I’ve been following this story, Mike. Been difficult to wade through all the vitriol. Appreciate your well-thought out blog post.

  7. Deborah Rather says:

    Thank you for writing this, Mike. The sanctimony of the mob would be humorous if it wasn’t so vicious and misplaced. Karen’s critics can’t even see that she agrees Wounded Knee was an atrocity. That they try to punish HER for it is both misguided and bigoted, as it smacks of racism and religious discrimination. Sadly, it also speaks, shouts, of a lost world, with no understanding of true redemption or forgiveness, trying vainly to usurp God.

  8. Kelly says:

    Such an excellent post. I totally agree. While the backlash made me heartsick for Karen and a story I loved, I was deeply saddened when someone responded to my twitter post that “the hero was unredeemable.” I don’t know how people live in a world where what is moral one day is heinous the next and don’t believe they can find forgiveness. I’ve never been so grateful for the undeserved grace and mercy of the cross. In At Love’s Command, the hero eventually learns that he cannot atone for his involvement at Wounded Knee by fighting injustice, but only through Christ’s work on the cross–ironically, a lesson many of the book’s critics need to hear.

    • Lori Altebaumer says:

      Thank you Bethany House for defending Karen and her story. And thank you Mike for your defense as well. “Good storytelling explores these questions and fleshes them out.” What exactly is the purpose of storytelling if it’s not to stir in us a hope for a better tomorrow that transcends the reality of the brokenness around us? Like Kelly, I’m grateful for the undeserved grace and mercy of the cross. And I’m grateful for the brave authors who tackle unpleasant truths in order to share that message with me.

  9. “Characters who participate in genocide cannot be redeemed,” another critic said.

    That stands as one of the saddest statements I have ever read. Oh, to know the power of The Blood! To not see any weakness whatsoever in it!

    Some people tell little white lies. Some people rob liquor stores. Some say nothing when they are given too much change back. Some murder innocents.

    And Jesus died for us all. Such agony, not to be understood.

    We are sorry, Lord. We are sorry.

  10. MindySteele says:

    Thank you Bethany House for standing behind your author. This is such a moving and eye opening post. Grace and mercy are so well defined in this book. I remember my college history grade coming down to one project, in which I addressed Wounded Knee, from two POV’s. The professor rolled his eyes when I began, but the perfect A that I received at the end, showed me that even the smartest among us has much to learn. Let’s be better humans and strive to lift up the broken as Christ directed us.

  11. E.F.B. says:

    Yes, thank you, Bethany House for setting a better example than some other publishers. I feel strongly that Christian publishers need to stand apart in how they respond to controversy. Be aware of the culture, do your best to publish books you feel confident are communicating God’s Truth, and when you’ve done your utmost to make sure it’s a book you csn stand by, be willing to keep standing by the book and the author if there’s backlash. Those who hate the book won’t buy more from the author or publisher (and probably weren’t likely to buy from them in the first place) and those who discover they agree with the book and in fact like it, may become life long supporters… which is what happens even with non-controvertial books, just minus the temporary social media uproar. As Disney found out when they dropped Gina Carano, taking cancel culture’s side can hurt your wallet as much if not more than standing with the person whomis being attacked. Loud as cancel culture is, there are other people with different opinions who vote with where they spend, or rather DON’T spend their money instead of jumping on social media.

  12. What do these people think of John Newton, who wrote Amazing Grace? Once a captain of a ship for transporting slaves? Somebody needs to write a novel with him in it.

  13. Jenny Chasteen says:

    Thank you for spreading the word about this! So fascinating. I’m proud of how the author and Bethany House are handling these topics!

  14. Jay DiNitto says:

    I dunno. Bethany House’s response was nice and official, but I would just ignore the criticism, or even be mocking/dismissive of it “”Romancing Auschwitz? That’s a great sequel idea!”). Marxoid hall monitors really hate it when you don’t take their moralizing seriously. Christians are too proper about this stuff; they don’t have to be mean, but they sure don’t owe these nerds an explanation.

  15. Lilliana says:

    Honestly, since Christian romance is such a big and popular genre, I’m afraid they’ve gotten too used to participating and intersecting with secular romance conventions and awards, they’ve gotten used to being accepted there and almost being compared to clean secular romance authors.
    But precisely because they are a Christian genre, they should stop worrying about liking their non-believing counterparts: they do not believe in redemption through the blood of Christ, in sexual purity (they believe that fornication is part of romance), they do not consider God in their relationships, it is really normal for them to hate those who write based on the gospel! I wouldn’t be surprised if there comes a time where christian romance writers can’t be so friendly with RWA anymore.
    Some time ago there was another problem because apparently it is horrible that during the second world war a Jewish woman becomes a believer in Jesus Christ from the heart and not just in appearance to save her life.

What say you?