Editing can be a vicious business. An editor has the power to take out the knife (aka the delete button) and slice or even hack away at the precious musings of a budding writer.
It can be agonising to have your work butchered. As an editor and a writer, I have been on both ends of the scale. I have watched my 'babies' mutilated. I've also been accused of ruthless butchering! (pun intended)
At times the accusation is probably justified... it is possible to get over-enthusiastic and cut out perfectly good meat along with the unwanted fat!!
More and more, though, I want to look at the editing process as one of refinement rather than massacre. A sculptor takes a piece of clay. He or she molds and shapes it. Once the basic shape is achieved the art work is not complete. The final stages of careful smoothing, carving and shaping are vital to the finished product.
It is hugely satisfying to edit an article and discover that the original master-piece is more beautiful, vibrant and effective thanks to a careful snip or a slight rearrangement of words.
There are obvious comparisons. If God is the potter and I am the clay, am I willing to submit to the process of refinement in my life? Will I allow the masterpiece to be 'edited'? Or am I fighting back ("no, no... don't take that away... don't do that it hurts... I'm fine just the way I am")?
Fortunately, the Great Editor does not need a warning against ruthlessness! He doesn't make mistakes.
Trying to follow His example I still need to learn to be truly 'ruth-full' :)
RGW (aka The Editor)
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6 comments:
The Great Editor made murders, rapists & child molestors. The Great Editor allows genocide, famine & disease. If these are not mistakes by The Great Editor, then he is one evil piece of work!
Above Anonymous comment was written by Realist.
Hi Realist,
I guess first and foremost this comes down to whether or not you believe in the existence of God.
If there is no God, then there is no dilemma.
If, like me, you do believe there is a God, then this is a serious and challenging question.
What is God like? If He is good, holy and loving, as the Bible teaches, then why does He allow evil and suffering?
And where does evil and suffering come from in the first place? Why are some people loving, generous and self-sacrificing, while others choose to destroy life? Why do the rich keep getting richer while the poor still lack the very basics of life?
Trite answers are not enough. Like many people, I've wrestled with this issue both intellectually and in response to suffering in the lives of those I love.
I have found reasonable answers that don't undermine my belief in a powerful, loving and good God although, at times, I still have questions. (I’m happy to share my journey in this… but only if you are interested.)
Others including some great intellectual and philosophical thinkers have explored the issue and have found answers that make sense - people like the author CS Lewis (who claimed to be the most reluctant believer on earth!)
RGW (aka The Editor)
I have found reasonable answers that don't undermine my belief in a powerful, loving and good God although, at times, I still have questions. (I’m happy to share my journey in this… but only if you are interested.)
I would be interested in what these reasonable answers are.
Hi Realistic,
I just posted a comment and then lost the whole thing in cyber space :( So I'll try again. It could be that you end up with two replies - if so my apologies in advance.
My challenge with such an important question is to be brief. I've wrestled with this issue for 20+ years.
Part of my journey has been on the 'rational' level (asking questions, thinking through the issues, considering different alternatives, listening to what others say on the subject, asking more questions and trying to find a logical solution).
Part of my journey has also been more on the experiential / subjective side - as I have gone through painful situations and tried to make sense of suffering.
And through all of this, there are still times when I ask "WHY?" - whether screaming in anger or whispering through tears.
I'm working on a blog right now that looks at the more 'rational' arguements.
I'm also working on answers to your other great questions... trying to be brief so I don't bore you to tears!!
Watch this space. Thank you for engaging. I really respect and appreciate that.
Ruth (aka RGW aka The Editor)
I won't be bored. It annoys me that in society today that confronting and discussing religion is taboo. That people think that just because they believe in something (IMO irrational) that they are protected and immune from challenge and critisism.
I was born/raised catholic and questioned, read, researched and thought about it and the end result was that I am now an atheist (after a brief phase of calling myself an agnostic because it was so hard to break through the brainwashing of my childhood).
I feel that there is too big a dissonance between the notion of an all powerful and all loving God and the amount of hatred and evil there is in the world. And "free will", although a very clever device and 'get of out jail free' card, just doesn't cut it. For me it is a cop out.
So I will be very interested to read your blog.
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