C. David Belt's Blog, page 5

In the army of ancient Rome, there were many brutal ways of punishing soldiers who committed offenses, and many of these resulted in the death of the offender. One such capital punishment was carried out by the offender’s friends. If he had done something that was worthy of death, often his friends were ordered to beat him to death with their fists.

As the commander of the Continental Army, General George Washington, after the conclusion of active hostilities with Great Britain but while he needed to keep his army in the field and ready to fight, discovered a plot among some of his soldiers to march on Philadelphia and force Congress to acquiesce to their demands. He ordered the conspirators to be executed by firing squad—a firing squad composed of their closest friends.

Why? Why were the friends of the guilty ordered to execute them? Because the friends probably had known what the guilty were planning and had chosen not to stop them. Perhaps they had even aided and abetted them. If, of course, it was found that the friends knew nothing, they were not held accountable.

In ancient Israel, under the Mosaic Law (given by Jehovah, even Jesus Christ), capital punishment was carried out by stoning, and the accuser had to throw the first stone.

When Jesus was confronted with the woman taken in adultery (a capital crime), he said to her accusers, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her.” One by one, the accusers departed, convicted by their own consciences. I have often wondered, where was the man with whom the woman had committed adultery? Why was he not brought before the Savior along with the woman? I have also often wondered if he was perhaps part of the crowd or watching from a safe distance. When the accusers had all fled, Jesus told the guilty woman, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” He determined that she had suffered enough, but he charged her to abandon the sin. He did not let her off the hook entirely, but he showed her mercy. It was up to her to decide if she would continue in sin or repent and be forgiven. He also said on another occasion, “Behold, he who has repented of his sins, the same is forgiven, and I, the Lord, remember them no more.”

Perhaps in that crowd of potential stone-throwers, there were those who had been injured by the sin or one like it. Perhaps there were children whose families had been broken. What about the woman’s husband, the man she’d betrayed? What about the wife of the absent-yet-equally-guilty man, the woman whom he had betrayed?

What about the wronged? What about those hurt by the sin?

The Master Healer can and will heal them as well, if they turn to Him.

Perhaps there were those in the crowd who simply got swept up the furor of emotions. They saw the crowd and heard the shouting, so they gathered. They heard the accusations, they believed the accusations (I mean, the woman did not deny the accusations, and the Savior did not declare that she was innocent of the charges), and yet these people stood there with stones in there hands, ready to meet out justice. Ready to kill.

But when the Savior suggested they look at their own consciences, they all walked away. All of them. There was not one innocent among them.

Imagine you are in the crowd with a stone in your hand. Once the stone-throwing starts, what happens if some of the stones miss? I mean, does every stone-thrower have perfect aim? What if some of those stones bounce or ricochet? What if some of those stones hit innocents in the crowd?

If you cast the first stone, you are declaring that you are without sin. If you cast any stone, you are declaring that the death you cause is justified. And if there are innocents hurt, well shucky darn. Them’s the breaks, folks! And if you throw that stone with hatred in your heart, you are guilty as well. Jesus said, “Wherefore, I say unto you, that ye ought to forgive one another; for he that forgiveth not his brother his trespasses standeth condemned before the Lord; for there remaineth in him the greater sin.”

Hatred is never justified. Hatred will never make you happy.

Vengeance will never make you whole. And if to achieve your vengeance, you destroy innocents as—oh, well, can’t be helped—unavoidable collateral damage, you have become a monster.

Truth matters. Truth ALWAYS matters.
If the only way you can win on the “Battlefield of Ideas” is to be dishonest, you undermine the credibility of your legitimate arguments, and you simply don’t deserve to win.
If your idea of an “adult discussion” is to engage in character assassination or encourage (even tacitly) death threats and other threats of violence, you aren’t interested in the truth, only in sounding a trump before you as you signal your own virtue and bask in the praise of sycophants.
And if you think for one nanosecond that someone deserves to die or be assaulted simply because you disagree with them, YOU have a problem.

Another epic adventure from C. David Belt, and a special treat for Edgar Allen Poe fans. Lenore O’ Corbain, a somewhat edgier heroine than Belt’s standard characters, has the power to communicate with birds and uses her abilities to investigate her family’s murder. The lore behind Lenore’s powers is intriguing, and I’m hoping to see more of this element in future books. With a sweet romance, heartwarming interactions with ravens and parakeets alike, and the kind of horrifying, gut-wrenching gore I’ve come to expect from Belt’s works, An Enchantress of Ravens is absolutely thrilling.

Elissa C. Nysetvold – author of “Nightwalker”

In John Milton’s “Paradise Lost,” Lucifer proclaims, “Better to rule in hell than serve in heaven.” Lucifer willingly chose Hell over Heaven. And I’m certain he felt justified in doing so.

Recently, we have experienced yet another senseless tragedy, yet another monstrous act of violence, yet another horrific slaughter of innocents. Such villainy is all too common today. Across the globe, evil men (and women) somehow find justification for evil.

And in the wake of this latest horrific act, many—too many—will attempt to seize on the tragedy, to cash in on the grief to promote their own selfish agenda, to justify their own evil.

The vultures are circling yet again, salivating over the prospect of feeding on the dead.

Details are emerging about the shooter’s terrible homelife, about the bullying he endured at the hands of others. He was a victim certainly. But somehow, in his mind, he twisted all this into a justification for murder. He justified himself killing innocent children.

I will not name him. I will not give him, even posthumously, any notoriety. At the very least, he deserves ignominy.

He is dead now and has gone to the justice of God.

He was slain by a courageous Border Patrol agent, while local law enforcement waited more than 40 minutes without acting.

May God bless the hero who risked his own life to prevent more slaughter. I wish I knew his name, because HE deserves to be named. (The gunman’s bullet ripped through the hero’s hat. That’s how close he came to sacrificing his own life.)

Shame on those who will use this monstrous act for their own ends, never letting “a good crisis go to waste.” They say,  “But I’m just trying to make the world a better place!”  

To which I say, “Seriously?” You think you are the heroes here? You’re ghouls, feasting on the corpses of murdered children.

Rather than exploit this tragedy or simply wallow in the horror of it, let us examine our own hearts. I certainly am. May we turn to God. May we beg His Son to heal the wounds in our own souls before we justify evil or exploit evil for own ends or give in to grief.

Hatred, no matter how justified it might feel, will never make us happy. Hatred and love cannot co-exist in our hearts. Let us choose love over hatred.

Revenge, no matter how justified it might feel, will never make us happy. Revenge is not justice. The ancient Nephite prophet, Mormon, witnessed the complete destruction of his own people, slaughtered in the name of revenge and hatred. I’m certain the Lamanites felt justified in genocide. Mormon said, “Behold what the scripture says—man shall not smite, neither shall he judge; for judgment is mine, saith the Lord, and vengeance is mine also, and I will repay.” (Mormon 8:20)

Self-righteousness will never make us happy. It only makes us feel (falsely) superior.  “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)

Being a victim for the rest of our lives will never make us happy. Victimhood is its own self-perpetuating hell. Let us choose Heaven over Hell.

Having been a victim never justifies bullying, no matter who the target is. Bullies target those who cannot fight back or defend themselves. Bullies often cut their victims off from any hope of succor. Yet, too often, we cheer the bully on or stand aside and let the bully act with impunity. (Because, after all, the bully was once a victim, right?) Bullying is cowardly. Having experienced evil at the hands of others will never justify committing evil ourselves.

Evil never justifies evil. No matter how righteous we may feel in exacting our revenge, we are never justified in hurting innocents.

“Okay,” we say, “but I’m not going out and shooting children. All I’m doing is . What I’m doing is righteous, even if I am committing some petty evil. God will justify me in committing sin in the name good. Surely, the object of my hatred deserves what they get. And if there are innocents who suffer as collateral damage, oh, well. After all, I’m the righteous one!”

But God says, “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20)

The answer is—and always has been—love. In other words, the answer—is and always has been—Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, the One who atoned for our sins and failings (and we all have them), the One who will judge us all in the end.

When faced with a choice between love and hate, Heaven and Hell, why would we willingly choose Hell?

A gruesome murder, a mysterious killer, and a woman with a peculiar power over ravens. Sound intriguing? That’s because it is.

Enchantress of Ravens, by C. David Belt, was definitely a fun read. The main character, Lenore has a very cool set of powers that she uses in the name of good, although it doesn’t always work out that way.

And then there’s the villains, my favorite part. These evildoers made me ache to see them get some come-uppance by the end.

And it all ties together with some great side characters, a blooming romance, some fun lore, and lots of Edgar Allen Poe references throughout.

I’d highly recommend this fun, fast-paced read.

Jared Agard – Author of “Dread Watch”

C. David Belt never disappoints. An Enchantress of Ravens took me for a wild ride and hit all my shiver spots.

Marsha Ward – 2015 Whitney Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient

My English teacher, when I was in the eighth grade in Lexington, Kentucky, had a Ph.D. in (I kid you not) mythological birds. The woman was, in a word, eccentric, but she was also a great teacher. (What she was doing teaching junior high school was beyond me.) The focus of the class was literature. Early in the school year, we had a unit on Edgar Allan Poe’s The Raven. The teacher (whose name, sadly, I have forgotten) required that each student memorize and recite before the class one verse (of the student’s choosing) from that classic, dark poem. For each additional verse memorized, extra credit would be given. And if any student memorized and recited the entire poem, that student would be awarded an “A” for the entire year and would be excused from all other classwork and homework. The teacher said, “Of course, none of my students have ever memorized the entire poem, and I’m sure none of you will either.”

Was she kidding? Challenge accepted!

I, of course, memorized and recited the entire poem. As it turned out, I was the first of her students, in all her history of teaching, that had done so. I was also the last. She told me she would never propose that challenge again . . .

For the rest of the year, I quite happily sat in her class and read whatever I wanted (which actually included all the course work, plus Tolkien, Burroughs, Stoker, and Shelley). And at the end of each semester, I happily accepted my “A.” (Just for grins and giggles, I took the final exam, and only missed one question.)

I adore The Raven (even though “what there at is” is, in my not-so-humble-but-almost-always-correct opinion, kind of a cheap rhyme for “window lattice”). The poem is masterful and haunting and deliciously dark.

At an even younger age, I developed a fascination for mythology—Greek, Roman, Hindu, and, most especially, Norse. My interest predated my obsession with comic books (and TV superheroes), e.g., Batman, Superman, the Flash, Green Lantern, Spider-Man, Captain America, Iron Man, and, of course, the Mighty Thor. I was reading Bullfinch’s Mythology in first and second grade (along with Dr. Seuss). I watched or read any retelling of The Odyssey. My parents bought me a series of books retelling the stories of Thor, Loki, Odin, Freyja, Sif, Frig, Baldur, Siegfried, and Brunhilda.

I was, in a word, hooked.

In 2019, my lady wife and I went on a cruise to the Norwegian fjords. In preparation for this voyage, I studied Norwegian. I had zero intention of speaking to anyone in Norwegian (and, indeed, I did not), but I wanted to better understand the culture by learning the language. One of the many fascinating discoveries I made in that study is that the Norwegian word for “victim” is “offer.”

A victim is an offering.

(We had a wonderful time on the cruise, by the way.)

An Enchantress of Ravens ties in with my novel, The Sweet Sister, though only tangentially. But my research for that book (The Sweet Sister) engendered in me a fascination for ravens. They are quite fascinating and oft-misunderstood creatures. Ravens hold a place of significance in many cultures and mythologies.

Which brings me back to my eighth grade English teacher with the Ph.D. in mythological birds. Her doctoral dissertation happened to be on—you guessed it—ravens. She told us that the raven is not an actual flesh-and-blood-and-beak-and-feather bird, but a purely mythological creature. Like the punk kid I was (and, in many ways, still am), I felt compelled to show her an encyclopedia entry on the common raven. (Yes, children, this was in the primordial past before the internet when we poor, benighted humans had to look stuff up in printed books, instead of on a smartphone.) Even presented with that article (which included a photograph of an actual raven), my teacher informed me that ravens did not exist in North America. Once again, I showed her the text to the contrary. She then told me that ravens are extinct in North America. When I showed her (again) the same text stating to the contrary, she declared categorically that the encyclopedia was out-of-date.

Ah, well . . .

Never let the truth get in the way of the narrative?

While, technically, it is true that any print encyclopedia entry can be out-of-date the instant it is published, ravens are most definitely not extinct in North America (at least, as of this writing).

However, she was still a great teacher. Without her influence I would never have read anything by Maxim Gorky, and I would be the poorer for it.

As an added bonus, An Enchantress of Ravens finally answers the burning question that I’m absolutely certain has been on everyone’s mind since reading The Sweet Sister: How did Winslow Abbot obtain the ravens, Bran and Badh (pronounced “Bov”), on such short notice? I mean, that is the burning question that’s been on everyone’s mind, right? Well, even if it hasn’t precisely been burning, at least now we have the answer . . . (if you read this book).

For those who are police-detective-TV-show-challenged, “M.O.” stands for modus operandi, which (for the Latin-challenged), means, “method of operation.” In other words, how someone (usually a criminal) typically does things.

On another note, “UVMA” is the official acronym for the “Utah Veterinary Medical Association.”

Many works of fiction declare that they are, indeed, “works of fiction,” and that any resemblance to “actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.” Well, that’s not entirely true with this story. There is one very real person depicted in this novel: Dr. Willie Lanier, D.V.M. Willie is currently (as of this writing, but then, that might be out-of-date by the time one reads this) the Chief Public Health Veterinarian for the State of Utah. He is also a great guy. Willie frequently sits next to me (once again, as of this writing) in the baritone section of the Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. Willie has graciously consulted on veterinary matters in three (so far) of my novels. He has also consented to his depiction in this story.

I hope you enjoy my offering.

In the immortal words of Noah, “Eyes tasty!”

C. David Belt

December 2021