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    Why Bad Things Happen to Good Parrots: A Sermon Under the Mount in Three Essays, plus a Short Story about Kurt Vonnegut
    Why Bad Things Happen to Good Parrots: A Sermon Under the Mount in Three Essays, plus a Short Story about Kurt Vonnegut
    Why Bad Things Happen to Good Parrots: A Sermon Under the Mount in Three Essays, plus a Short Story about Kurt Vonnegut
    Ebook63 pages33 minutes

    Why Bad Things Happen to Good Parrots: A Sermon Under the Mount in Three Essays, plus a Short Story about Kurt Vonnegut

    By Arik Bjorn

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    About this ebook

    Arik Bjorn is determined to dig his way to the center of the theological mountain—even if all he has is a trusty garden trowel: “I have always wanted to aim my keyboard directly at the Creator and ask several pointed questions not about how to live, but about why we are alive.”

    In the title essay, “Why Bad Things Happen to Good Parrots,” Bjorn presents a heartfelt reflection 20 years in the making on Theodicy, or the Problem of Evil, “under the collective shadow of Aslan, Frodo and Freddy Kreuger.” In “Magic Chickens, Lemon Seeds & a Universe Sans Unicorns,” he wonders why the Creator presented us with this Universe, so absent in miraculous lemon trees, when human beings seem so good at inventing more interesting ones. And with “The Science Fair at the Edge of the Universe,” Bjorn contemplates Creation prequels, such as a divine spicy midnight snack that may have led to the Big Bang. In the concluding short story, “Vonnegut Lives,” the author makes up for the fact that writer Kurt Vonnegut left our Little Blue Planet without appropriate ballyhoo.

    Arik Bjorn lives in Columbia, South Carolina. He is a graduate of Evangelical Ground Zero, Wheaton College. In 2016, he ran for U.S. Congress as the Democratic Party candidate for South Carolina's 2nd Congressional District.

    Visit his website, Viking Word, to read his articles at Forward Progressives and Patheos, as well as his fiction and personal blog, The Viking & the River Horse. You can follow Arik Bjorn on Twitter @arikbjorn and on Facebook.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArik Bjorn
    Release dateDec 27, 2014
    ISBN9781310116940
    Why Bad Things Happen to Good Parrots: A Sermon Under the Mount in Three Essays, plus a Short Story about Kurt Vonnegut
    Author

    Arik Bjorn

    Arik Bjorn is a novelist, screenwriter and essayist, but most of all, a dedicated father and public librarian. He enjoys French silk pie as well as a quality shot of bourbon. His writing explores such themes as the Problem of Pain and building Civilization (or at least humanity's efforts to-date).Bjorn was the 2016 Democratic Party U.S. Congressional candidate for South Carolina's 2nd District. He holds degrees in archaeology/ancient languages and library science. His work has been read by lots of folks in 190 countries.He has seven books available, including three essay collections: "Waiting for Civilization," "The R-Rated Theologian" and "Why Bad Things Happen to Good Parrots."He has one short story collection, "Birds of a Feather," as well as a book of verse, "Pocket Lint.""So I Ran for Congress" chronicles his experience running for U.S. Congress against Joe "You Lie!" Wilson.Bjorn's most recent publication is about life in South Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic, "Show & Tell at World's End."To read more of Arik Bjorn's writings, visit his website, VikingWord.com -- he is also active on Facebook and Twitter.p.s. Arik Bjorn is a native Minnesotan who now resides in South Carolina. Please send him pictures of snow on occasion.

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      Book preview

      Why Bad Things Happen to Good Parrots - Arik Bjorn

      Why Bad Things

      Happen to Good Parrots

      A Sermon Under the Mount in Three Essays, plus a Short Story about Kurt Vonnegut

      by Arik Bjorn

      Published by Viking Word

      Smashwords Edition

      Copyright © 2014, Arik Bjorn

      Why Bad Things

      Happen to Good Parrots

      A Sermon Under the Mount in Three Essays, plus a Short Story about Kurt Vonnegut

      by Arik Bjorn

      Arik Bjorn is determined to dig his way to the center of the theological mountain—even if all he has is a trusty garden trowel: "I have always wanted to aim my keyboard directly at the Creator and ask several pointed questions not about how to live, but about why we are alive."

      In the title essay, Why Bad Things Happen to Good Parrots, Bjorn presents a heartfelt reflection 20 years in the making on Theodicy, or the Problem of Evil, under the collective shadow of Aslan, Frodo and Freddy Kreuger. In Magic Chickens, Lemon Seeds & a Universe Sans Unicorns, he wonders why the Creator presented us with this Universe, so absent in miraculous lemon trees, when human beings seem so good at inventing more interesting ones. And with The Science Fair at the Edge of the Universe, Bjorn contemplates Creation prequels, such as a divine spicy midnight snack that may have led to the Big Bang. In the concluding short story, Vonnegut Lives, the author makes up for the fact that writer Kurt Vonnegut left our Little Blue Planet without appropriate ballyhoo.

      Arik Bjorn lives in Columbia, South Carolina. He is a graduate of Evangelical Ground Zero, Wheaton College. Bjorn was the 2016 Democratic Party / Green Party fusion U.S. Congressional candidate for South Carolina’s 2nd District. Visit his website, Viking Word, to read his articles at Forward Progressives and Patheos, as well as his fiction and personal blog, The Viking & the River Horse. You can follow Arik Bjorn on Twitter @arikbjorn and on Facebook.

      Table of Contents

      Introduction: Magic Chickens & the Problem of Evil

      Why Bad Things Happen to Good Parrots

      Magic Chickens, Lemon Seeds & a Universe Sans Unicorns

      The Science Fair at the Edge of the Universe

      Vonnegut Lives!

      About the Author

      Introduction: Magic Chickens & the Problem of Evil

      The subtitle of this short collection of essays is a "Sermon Under the Mount," which means—well, to be honest, I haven’t a clue. But here’s what it could mean.

      At the beginning of my biblical studies graduate school program, my advisor assigned me to select a topic for my master’s thesis. That initial conversation went something like this:

      Me: I have arrived upon my

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