by Doug Muder (January 1988, revised January 1989) One day when God was inspecting the distant corners of the world, He came to a large, green island. The sun shone there each day, and each night the clouds came and brought a soft, life-giving rain. Trees grew to tremendous heights, and the island was filled […]
By Doug Muder Once there was a man who gave up on life. He was not an old man, but he had seen enough of life to know what he thought of it. He had made, lost, and made back several fortunes. He had loved a wife and watched her die. He had raised children […]
(a story by Doug Muder) You are sitting in the middle of a circle of stones. It’s dark and it’s clear; the sky above you is filled with stars. You are wrapped in everything you own, and it’s almost enough. The side of you that faces the fire is warm, and the side that faces […]
By Doug Muder Jesus returned to Earth and came to America. For two weeks there was great excitement and many television shows were devoted to speculation about the meaning and purpose of his return. But as he did no miracles and announced no new teachings, interest faded until he had only a handful of followers. […]
By Doug Muder Once there was a beautiful city that fought a long war against another city. Its soldiers tried very hard, but eventually they were defeated. The enemy soldiers came into the beautiful city. They took many valuable objects, made slaves out of many of the people, and went back to their own city, […]
By Doug Muder One day (a long time ago) three young men were traveling. That evening, since they were lost and knew of no town or house in the area, they slept on the open ground by a large rock. As they slept, all three of them had the same dream. They dreamed that a […]
By Doug Muder The sails had not stirred in thirteen days. During that time the sky had been filled with high clouds of a grayness so uniform that the position of the sun was often a matter of some debate among us. The stars we had not seen for some time; they were lost to […]
By Doug Muder Christchurch International was one of those midsized, managable airports that Tom rarely saw in the States. It was nothing like JFK, LAX, or Logan–or even Auckland, for that matter. He and Mary walked down the ramp into the gate area, went downstairs for the luggage, and then stood out on the curb […]
By Doug Muder Part 1, in which we meet both the narrator and Sidney, but not God. In Seminary they taught us to make eye contact with the congregation. “Write your sermon down, so that it’s all clear in your mind,” Professor Voorhees taught us, “but for God’s sake don’t stand up there staring down […]
By Doug Muder Matt Riser was into it. He stood motionless but for his fingers and a fast head bob that bounced the ends of his blond hair randomly across his shoulders like balls in a lottery machine. His eyes were closed and his teeth gritted. The sound ricocheted through the empty bar – harsh, […]