T. E. Netherland

Getting Started

So, we have a freshly minted website, and reference to two books (thus far). “Why?” you may ask.

The urge to write began shortly after my graduation from seminary in 1999. I was unhappy with my credo (a position paper on one’s theological beliefs written near the end of the MDiv or MTS program) and still unsettled regarding what I actually believed. Seminary education is supposed to force one to unravel existing religious/theological beliefs and reassemble (perhaps some) old threads with new threads to form a coherent and defensible belief system. That process did not happen for me within the allotted time. So, post-seminary, I continued to read and write as I worked out what beliefs to shed and which to adopt.  I eventually realized that a theological credo was no longer necessary or relevant. So, I asked myself, “What am I to do with all of this work?” Over twenty years later I completed my first book.

“But, why publish?” I thought that someone might benefit from reading about my struggles.

Beyond the Brink: Reflections of a Former Christian, is meant to be a memoir as seen through the lens of theological and scientific inquiry. I am not happy with the end-product and plan to write a revision with far less esoteric language (i.e., sans theological papers) and more about my life and my thinking as I came to various conclusions. Today I am an agnostic (if one must choose a label) because “atheist” too often seems to imply one who “declares that there is no god.”  I simply am no longer convinced that one exists.

Alien Jesus (volume 1 coming this Christmas), a graphic-novel, is a fun project that I started shortly before retirement. It offers a fanciful, tongue-in-cheek account of a world in which Jesus was bodily human and sentiently alien. Below is a recap of its origin as extracted from the book Forward.

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On 2022/8/26 19:48, Thomas Netherland wrote (to Nic & Elliott, cc Nancy):
Hi Sons-o-mine,
I just shared an idea with your mom and she loves it. [We] should produce a graphic novel about “Alien Jesus” [AJ], a representative of the first species [Ahnjel] in the universe to overcome the biological imperative of survival-of-the-fittest. The only way to avoid self-destruction is to live a selfless life. Humankind is on the cusp and he [AJ, not AI] came to help us avoid disaster. You guys can illustrate and collaborate on the story-line.
I’m ¾ serious, but game if you are.
Love,
Dad

On 2022/8/27 07:54, Thomas Netherland wrote:
OK. I’ll start.
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Thus began this project. Approximately eight months before I retired, and now over a year later, I’m having a blast. I get to pick up a childhood love of drawing and test my ability to create, or rather morph, a story (I admire authors who seem to create worlds from nothing). I consider this work to be imaginative editing. A novice writer and graphic-artist (as shall become obvious), I am thoroughly enjoying the art exercises and tutorials (still learning how to use GIMP), as well as the practice needed to develop the art (especially outdoor scenes, anatomy, and light & shade). Some may notice varying levels of detail and accuracy across the graphic panels – a general lack of consistency – which I hope shall improve over time. Meanwhile, I share with you, in all of this, my struggling attempts and meager progress.

I continue to marvel at our growing perception of how vast the universe is and how we are so small. Yet we, like the Ahnjels, are adept at connecting the dots. Our ability to see shapes in clouds also allowed us to detect and survive the predator in the weeds. However, our brains sometimes make connections that are not real, but which we accept as real (e.g., I swear it was an alien face looking me through the bar window across the street from our vacation apartment in Berlin). The scientific method is a device we have created to help reign in our nonsense. Even so, scientists must be wondering, especially with the recent James Web Space Telescope revelations, “What is the underlying reality to the reality we think we know?”

I trust that this series does not come across as too sacrilegious (but only just enough). Having given up on religion, I am simply having fun with an idea, and I do not grudge anyone’s faith unless it contributes to the debasing or ostracizing, or otherwise detriment of others.  So, believers, keep believing – as long as you don’t tread on anyone.

And with that bit of wisdom, I hope you enjoy the unfolding story of Sahn of planet Gahd (get it?), a.k.a., Alien Jesus.