REPOST : 1978 The Stand Journal 7: Spiritual Tones

I am re-posting this.  CNN has an article on King and religion (HERE) in which I am quoted discussing children, Stephen King and faith.  


There are spoilers here. In particular, I am looking at the spiritual tones of Chapter 36 .

The Stand is an intensely spiritual novel. That is obvious just from the cover, which shows good and evil hacking it out. Later editions of the paperback have also included a horse and rider; reference the horsemen of the Apocalypse.

The 1978 edition walks you slowly toward the spiritual elements. The uncut version is quicker to the draw. King calls the book in his introduction a "long tale of dark Christianity."

King gave John Marks at Salon an interview in October of 2008. In that interview he discussed at some length the spiritual elements of The Stand. (HERE) 

Important to the discussion at hand, King says: "It's an effort to say, let's give God his due here. Too often, in novels that are speculative, God is a kind of kryptonite, and that's about all that it is, and it goes back to Dracula, where someone dumps a crucifix in Count Dracula's face, and he pulls away and runs back into his house. That's not religion. That's some kind of juju, like a talisman. I wanted to do more than that. I wanted to explore what that means to be able to rise above adversity by faith, because it's something most of us do every day."

TYPES -- Abagail and Moses:

Mother Abagail is a type of Moses. Typology in the -- theological sense -- explores connections between the Old and New Testament. Usually the study draws between old Testament characters/objects and the Messiah. Thus Noah, Moses, The Ark of the Covenant, the Tabernacle, are all types of Christ. This is not exclusive, though. John the Baptist is a type of Elijah.

I am not reading the Moses theme into the book. It's there! First, it's in the text itself. Mother Abagail references the burning bush account in detail. Like Moses, she is humble and does not consider herself worthy of the task. But she is also smart enough to know that it would be unwise to argue with God.

If Mother Abagail will not argue or curse God, Frannie is not so timid! When told of the Stand, Fran bursts out with, "Killer God!. . . Millions, maybe billion -- dead in the plague. Millions more afterward. We don't even know if the children will live. Isn't He done yet? Does it just go on and on? He's no God, He's a demon, and you're His witch!" p.613

Abagail says about going to Colorado: "I've been told in a dream by the Lord God. I didn't want to listen. I"m an old woman, and all I want to do is die on this little piece of land. It's been my family's freehold for a hundred and twelve years, but I wasn't meant to die here any more than Moses was meant to go over into Canaan with the Children of Israel." p.337

Mother Abagail also heals Fran as a "sign" she is a true prophet. p.614.

Later in the novel she struggles with pride. King explains: "I always in my mind equated Mother Abagail with Moses."

By the way, Stu is later used as a "type" of Elijah as he relives the story. Elijah was fed by ravens -- Stu is fed by Kojak.

The Stand as Apocalyptic Literature:

King tells Salon: "Americans are apocalyptic by nature. The reason why is that we've always had so much, so we live in deadly fear that people are going to take it away from us." That's insightful! I agree wholeheartedly.

The Stand is Apocalyptic in nature because it is a story that deals with end time themes. It does not pretend to actually be a prophecy of any kind! It does not employ much symbolism, but is straightforward in its telling. No poetry or riddles! You have to go to The Dark Tower for that kind of stuff.

DREAMS:

"Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions." Joel 2:28

Several features of apocalyptic literature appear in the Stand. Dreams, for instance, are an important aspect. In The Stand, Dreams are used to direct the characters. Dreams are important to Joseph in the Old Testament, the book of Daniel and to Joseph, Jesus' step father. Revelation, Ezekiel and other prophetic books are not the result of a "dream" but "vision."

In The Stand, the dreams seem straightforward. But the symbolism is there! Mother Abagail's home represents safety, while the corn fields represent the unknown where evil lurks. So characters are called in from the dangerous corn to the safety of the home. Now, it's interesting that once they reach this safety, it turns out to only be a rally point -- the journey is only paused.

Biblical Imagery:

The plague is not just an "accident." Abagail sees the plague itself as the judgment of God. "God had brought down a harsh judgment on the human race. Some might argue with such a harsh judgment, but Mother Abagail was not among their number. He had done it once with water, and sometimes further along, he would do it with fire. Her place was not to judge God, although she wished He hadn't seen fit to set the cup before he lips that He had. But when it came to matters of judgment, she was satisfied with the answer God had given Moses from the burning bush when Moses had seen fit to question. Who are you? Mose asks, and God comes back from that bush just as pert as you like: I AM who I AM."p.317 .

In just this one passage we have the following references:

1. The plague as judgment.

2. The flood of Noah's day. (Water)

3. The final judgment. (Fire) These two references together are probably drawn from the theology set forth in 2 Peter. "long ago by God's word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire , being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men." 2 Peter 3:5-7

4. The cup. Jesus prayed that the 'cup" be taken from him. The cup being the cross, or his mission. Abagail sees her mission as a cup.

5. Moses and the burning bush.

The flood in Genesis 6-9 is a world wide event -- like the superflu. The idea of a "plague" -- sickness in this case -- comes from Moses' account in Exodus. There were 10 plagues, ending in the Angel of Death on Passover night. On that night, many died. The children of God were allowed to escape, only to face Pharaoh on new grounds.

PLAGUES:

In Revelation we are told that God gave the two witnesses the power to bring plagues down on the earth. There is also a plague of hail, described thusly: "From the sky huge hailstones of about a hundred pounds each fell upon men. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible." Revelation 16:21

In terms of outlining the apocalypse (in Biblical terms), we would have to say that Mother Abagail is not a Tim Lahay pre-millenialist. That is, she does not think the children of God are raptured out before the tribulation. Here's how Abagail puts it: "I"m ready to go right now if You want me. They will be done, my Lord, but Abb's one tired shufflin old black woman. Thy will be done." p.323 She'd love to be taken out -- but she is ready -- like Christ in the Garden -- to endure suffering for the work of God.

A Very Real Devil!

"The devil isn't real -- the Bible's employment of such a character symbolizes the evil and sin inside of us." I had to go to a Bible University to learn that kind of garbage. The Bible never argues that the Devil is simply an idea -- he is a real being.

In The Stand, Nick suggests the idea that the Darkman isn't real. Abagail's thoughts run like this: "There wasn't really any Satan, that was their gospel. There was evil, and it probably came from original sin, but it was in all of us and getting it out was as impossible as getting and egg out of its shell without cracking it. yes, that had a good modern sound to it; the trouble with it was that it wasn't true. And if Nick was allowed to go on thinking that, the dark man would eat him for dinner."

Nice! I wish I could have gone to class with Mother Abagail, she would have served up that theology professor for her own dinner.

Abagail tells the five before hey leave to take their Stand, that the darkman "who is not a man at all but a supernatural being." p.614

Fire!

We should not overlook the use of fire as a symbol. . In The Stand, how does the end come for the wicked? Fire! The nuke in Las Vegas is set off by the finger of God himself! "Larry! The Hand of God!" . . . "and the thing in the sky did look like a hand" p.763 Expresses, possibly, the image of judgment coming from the finger of God. In Exodus Pharaoh's magicians declare that the plague is the "finger of God" and cannot be reproduced. (Ex. 8:19). Now get this, Jesus said that he drove out demons "by the finger of God." (Luke 11:20)

"And the righteous and unrighteous alike were consumed in that holy fire." 764 Compare to Jesus saying God causes the rain to fall on the righteous and the unrighteous, Matthew 5:45

Reverse Themes:

The Stand runs backward from typical end times theming as it nears the end.

In the Bible, localized plagues are warnings of a great world wide final judgment of fire. In the Stand, the plague is world wide, but the judgment of fire is localized.

Compare the Las Vegas scene to this: "They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them." Rev. 20:9 Now, here we have the wicked taking a "stand" against God. But fire comes from heaven and destroys them. So the journey is made by the wicked, who stand ready to attack the righteous.

Dark Themes:

In The Stand, what happens in America is supposed to be the prelude to a world wide conquest by Flagg. To accomplish his purposes, though, he needs a child. To get a child, Flagg has determined he must have a virgin. Of course, there is no immaculate conception here! . However, things do not go as Flagg planned! Not only does he lose his bride, his people get fried. But the expanded version makes it clear that this is not the end of the conflict. The darkman simply moves on, and the story continues.

Oh, and while noting dark themes -- how about the discussion of Flagg crucifying people! Yikes!

THE STAND

The idea of "The Stand" doesn't make sense to me! It is a plot turn that possibly doesn't work. Why must they go and "stand" when in the end God is going to send Trashcan man to bring ultimate doom?

Of course, Mother Abagail sees the need to "Stand" as an act of faith. Jesus spoke of the need to "stand" in his famous Olivet discourse when he discussed the signs of the end of the world. He said, "he who stands firm to the end will be saved." Matt. 24:13

Further, the manner in which Abagail sends them out is at least reminiscent of Jesus sending out the 12 into Israel.

Abagail's instructions:

1. The destination: "Go west"

2. The provision: No food, no water, not clothes.

3. The transportation: By foot.

4. The time: Immediately.

5. The warning: One will fall.

Compare to Jesus' instructions: "Do not take along any gold or silver or copper in your belts; take no bag for the journey, or extra tunic, or sandals or a staff -- " Matthew 10:9-10

"yes, with God's help you will stand." p.614

"Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand" Eph. 6:13