A Reading from the "Good Christian Book": a Cento-style Poem (WARNING - PLEASE read the disclaimer).

This is a WARNING. PLEASE do NOT read any further until you read my disclaimer. This poem contains religious themes as a vehicle for a thought provoking discussion on the twisting of information to fit a particular narrative.

The Community Guidelines state that “we welcome stories and conversations that discuss religion in historical and journalistic contexts.” Vocal "cautiously moderate stories that take an overtly religious stance." It does NOT state that these stories are prohibited, only that "similar to our stance on hate speech, there's just no home on Vocal for content that divides us, rather than content that engages us and brings us together."

https://shopping-feedback.today/resources/community-guidelines?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Story%20Rejected%20%5BTriggered%20Mail%5D%20(Redesign)</a></p><p class="css-14azzlx-P e1ccqnho0">PLEASE understand. I am NOT promoting one religion over another. I am NOT preaching to you as to what you should or should not believe. I am NOT trying to alienate or divide my readers with this content. I hope that you read this poem not as a sermon, but as an invitation to think about how the same message can be twisted and distorted by people to fit a particular narrative. In the current climate, I want it to be thought provoking that, one can read the same thing and derive two different ideas from it. I want you to think about all that we hear, see, and read in the media each and every day. This information can be altered and slanted as well to fit a certain message that people want told.

This is a cento-style poem, which uses passages from other literary works and weaves them into a new piece. In this case, I chose the Bible as my literary work. Bit and pieces are “cherry-picked” from the same literary work and woven into two very different messages that were originally placed into two side-by-side columns. I chose this to highlight the juxtaposition of the contrasting themes. That formatting did not translate into the Vocal system. I chose the Bible because, when I looked at the visual art piece that this poem was written about, I felt it had religious undertones. This poem is a reaction. It was a competition and I decided to publish my poem here, as it was not selected as a winner. I have published other poems from similar competitions that had religious aspects to them without issue. I have included links to the poetry publication to which I submitted this poem for further information and as "proof" that I did not write this poem to be "preachy" or to further a particular religious cause.

And I ask you PLEASE, if you do comment, do NOT comment on the “religious content” of the poem, but rather on the literary juxtaposition of two contrasting themes, pulled from the same material and formatted to fit a certain narrative.

I hope that this disclaimer is enough to satisfy the moderators. Thank you.

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This poem was written in response to the Rattle® Poetry Ekphrastic Challenge for October 2023 and was ultimately not selected. You can find more information here.

https://www.rattle.com/ekphrastic/

A Reading from the “Good Christian Book” - A Cento-Style Poem

Brothers and Sisters,

Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but underneath are ravenous wolves. This is how you must deal with them. Tear down their alters, smash their sacred pillars, chop down their sacred poles, and destroy their idols by fire. They shall be handed over to the sword and become the prey of jackals! Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. My wrath will flare up, and I will kill you with the sword. I shall vent my fury on you, breathe the fire of my rage against you. For by my wrath, a fire is enkindled that shall rage to the depths of the nether world, consuming the earth with its yield, and licking with flames, the roots of the mountains. I shall collect you and blow up the fire of my rage for you and have you melted down. On that day I will seek the destruction of all nations. Terror and the pit will be your lot, desolation, and destruction. As for cowards, the unfaithful, the depraved, murders, the unchaste, idol-worshippers, and deceivers of every sort, their lot is the burning pool of fire and sulfur, which is the second death. Anyone whose name is not found written in the book of life will be thrown into the pool of fire. Throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. If sinners do not repent, God sharpens his sword, strings and readies the bow. All human beings that are doomed, lose the right to be redeemed; they must be put to death. Their dead will be thrown away, the stench will rise from their corpses, and the mountains will run with their blood. For the Lord, your God, is a consuming fire, a jealous God.

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Beloved, do not trust every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they belong to God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. For this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. I did not call the righteous but sinners. Amen, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. For you were once darkness, but now you are the light in the Lord. Live as children of light. Let us love not in word or speech but in deed and truth. The truth that dwells in us will be in us forever. In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments. You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and all your mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. The second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. Blessed are you when they insult you and utter every kind of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.

The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.

Submitted under MRB

A cento is a poem that is composed entirely of lines from other author's poetic works. For this work, my cento-style poem takes all its lines from verses from various books of the Bible.

For more information on how to write a cento, or many other different forms of poetry, I recommend the following book: The Teachers & Writer Handbook of Poetic Forms, edited by Ron Padget, and published by Teachers & Writers Collaborative.

https://www.amazon.com/Teachers-Writers-Handbook-Poetic-Forms/dp/0915924609/ref=sr_1_1?crid=30YZ3BRNLV46P&keywords=the+teachers+and+writers+handbook+of+poetic+forms&qid=1695307903&sprefix=the+teachers+and+%2Caps%2C204&sr=8-1