"The Unrighteous" by EK Johnathan (SPOILERS)

[Friends just call me Ross]

I don't see the whole 'resurrection center' scenario, in the first place.

In every video depicting a resurrection, the resurrected person just comes running down the beach,

or out of a forest or a field of flowers, or they come walking through a door.

 

I prefer that presentation.

 

I still love Brother Eric's books, though.  They are so faith-strengthening!

[Tortuga]

11 minutes ago, Friends just call me Ross said:

I don't see the whole 'resurrection center' scenario, in the first place.

In every video depicting a resurrection, the resurrected person just comes running down the beach,

or out of a forest or a field of flowers, or they come walking through a door.

I like the idea of a Resurrection Center, especially for those that may not have family to welcome them back.

 

I wrote this before I knew about the brothers blog..

http://jwtalk.net/forums/topic/21283-resurrection-centers/?do=findComment&comment=302865

 

[Shawnster]

Well,  when people are made to feel like prisoners... 

[Tortuga]

10 minutes ago, Shawnster said:

Well,  when people are made to feel like prisoners... 

Yup, although that requires a completely different mindset to recognize that after several hundreds of years in paradise..

[Shawnster]

OK.  Yes, I found the resurrection of the unrighteous and the ending to be a bit ridonkulous, too.  

 

Don't get me wrong.  It was a god story and it does make you think about some of the challenges and issues that the unrighteous will face when they are resurrected.  We've even discussed some of these very points out in service over the years.  For example, if someone knew they were dying and then they find themselves in Paradise, how will we convince them they aren't in heaven?  It might actually seem like heaven to some people.  I'm sure this won't be a major hurdle (no streets of gold, no wings, no halos, not walking on clouds, no pearly gates, etc...) but I'm sure it will come up.  

 

I love the idea of resurrection centers and that is, indeed, my idea of how the resurrection will happen.  A funeral or memorial service in reverse.   Instead of a place to gather to say goodbye it will be a place to gather to say hello.

 

I am convinced that the way this was written was purely for story sake.  Stories need a protagonist and antagonist.  Stories need conflict to drive the plot.  Stories need an obstacle for the characters to overcome.  In this case, the conflict was the fish-out-of-water aspect the resurrected characters faced.  The conflict was also the hurdles the Lewis family had in trying to reach these newly resurrected ones.  There was no way to write this story like this without thrusting them into this situation.

 

And yes, I found it ridiculous and completely unloving.  

 

4 strangers are resurrected and live in this lodge.  They don't know each other.  They don't know the Lewis family.  They are completely cut off and isolated from anyone and everything they have ever known.  Even their hosts, the Lewis family, do not live in the lodge the resurrected ones live in.  While there are no bars or locks, it's still going come come across like it's a prison.  These people are being held against their will (so it seems) and cut off from family and friends and their homes.  They've been told some fanciful story by a group of strangers and then left alone without any comfort or support system.  How would you expect anyone to react in such a situation?  Does that concept instill trust and love and caring support?  No.  

 

And that is what drives the story.  What kind of gripping story could we have if everyone automatically got along and accepted everything as the Lewis family expected to happen?

 

I think a better story could have been written with just as gripping a plot, but the author sort of painted himself into a bit of a corner on this one.

 

Now, how do I see the resurrection of the unrighteous happening?  In a much more loving fashion.  For sake of argument, let's say all of us Witnesses alive today survive Armageddon.  All of us know worldly people who have died - family, friends, workmates, neighbors, etc....  Assuming that the righteous will be resurrected first (as this book series portrays), then we can include those people into the mix as they, too, know family, friends, workmates, neighbors that are unrighteous.  It only makes sense to me that the newly resurrected will be resurrected around people they know.  Not strangers.  This will help them understand what has happened.  Being around a group of people you know and trust seems more loving when it comes to revealing shocking or unbelievable news.  Further, when a resurrected one sees they are surrounded by Jehovah's Witnesses that they know, that would reinforce the story they'll be told - they died, they were resurrected, the Witnesses were right all along.

 

I also didn't like how the Lewis family were almost ready to write these people off after only a week or two after their resurrection.  Really?  2 weeks after they are resurrected and they start wondering if these newly resurrected ones will be put to death again?  Or that they are willfully sinning against the holy spirit?   

[Dages]

Yeah, this was a bumpy ride. I'd love to read another novel about the resurrection...  more in line with what we see during our last conventions.

[Sylv]

One thing I found unbelievable was that a trained pilot ended up as in infantry soldier...

[Old]

5 minutes ago, Sylv said:

One thing I found unbelievable was that a trained pilot ended up as in infantry soldier...

I too found that odd. Takes a grain or to of salt to make the story line work. But all in all a good read.

[Shawnster]

7 hours ago, Sylv said:

One thing I found unbelievable was that a trained pilot ended up as in infantry soldier...

Oh yeah.  That was the worst.  Would have made better sense to say he was a hobby pilot or grew up flying planes... But that doesn't quite fit with the single parent background he had.  He could have been in the air force instead of army and that would have solved everything.  Or an army chopper pilot.  He could have been shot down in combat.  Crashed and had his legs mangled.  Eject from his plane and break both legs before getting killed by insurgents....

 

Anything but the crazy idea that he'd have 2 military careers in separate military branches and not even out of his 30s 

[Sylv]

10 hours ago, Shawnster said:

Oh yeah.  That was the worst.  Would have made better sense to say he was a hobby pilot or grew up flying planes... But that doesn't quite fit with the single parent background he had.  He could have been in the air force instead of army and that would have solved everything.  Or an army chopper pilot.  He could have been shot down in combat.  Crashed and had his legs mangled.  Eject from his plane and break both legs before getting killed by insurgents....

 

Anything but the crazy idea that he'd have 2 military careers in separate military branches and not even out of his 30s 

I totally agree!

[Shawnster]

From his blog he made it clear that he doesn't outline his stories in advance.  They just sorta grow on their own.  Plus, he released chapters first on his blog as they were completed.  If this is the case then it's possible that he didn't know he needed the guy to be able to fly a plane until the scene unfolded.  Since previous chapters had already been releaseed, he couldn't go back and rewrite the opening.

[Hartley]

I don't see any indication that this brother claims to be an excelent writer. He has however done something different. He has written 3 books based upon what we expect in the future. And in this genre I believe he has written the best work to date.

[Sylv]

13 hours ago, Hartley said:

I don't see any indication that this brother claims to be an excelent writer. He has however done something different. He has written 3 books based upon what we expect in the future. And in this genre I believe he has written the best work to date.

I wholeheartedly agree with you. My husband even read them (he hasn't had much time for reading lately) and likes them, and I just purchased all three books in print for my friend, who does not like to read from a screen. However, that does not stop my analytical side to catch glaring inconsistencies, (such as mentioned above) which my enjoy-the-story side then ignores and continue on.

[Shawnster]

On 12/22/2016 at 6:34 PM, Hartley said:

I don't see any indication that this brother claims to be an excelent writer. He has however done something different. He has written 3 books based upon what we expect in the future. And in this genre I believe he has written the best work to date.

I'm this critical about any author. 

 

Despite his lack of claim,  this brother did a very good job and wrote 3 great stories. 

[GeordieGirl]

I am still in the middle of reading this one so I haven't read all the posts. I am really enjoying it and even if it doesn't completely gel with how I think these things will happen, it has certainly opened new ideas and I am finding it faith strengthening.  Also, I'm very happy to hear we'll still be able to drink coffee 200 years into the new world ... though not necessarily because we are tired and need a caffeine hit.  

[New World Explorer]

On 10/12/2016 at 1:18 PM, Tortuga said:

No spoilers! I haven't finished it yet...

Spoiler: The Critical times eventually end

Forgive me ...I couldn't resist

[New World Explorer]

On 03/12/2016 at 11:33 AM, Tortuga said:

I just finished reading it. The beginning confused me a little because I wasn't sure when the events were taking place...

How would you rate the story from 1 to 5 stars.. ?

Worth undertaking ?

[Friends just call me Ross]

2 hours ago, Gregexplore said:

How would you rate the story from 1 to 5 stars.. ?

Worth undertaking ?

I would give all three of Brother Eric's books five stars.   Since he didn't  write them for financial gain, all he hopes is that we will appreciate them and find them faith-strengthening.. He certainly succeeded, in my case.

[Shawnster]

7 hours ago, Gregexplore said:

How would you rate the story from 1 to 5 stars.. ?

Worth undertaking ?

Yes, despite the flaws... 4 out of 5 stars.

[GeordieGirl]

7 hours ago, Gregexplore said:

How would you rate the story from 1 to 5 stars.. ?

Worth undertaking ?

I'm 2/3 through 'The Unrighteous' which is the second one for me.  Definitely worth reading ..... 4+ stars. My imagination doesn't work very well and these books have stimulated it. And as Ross says,  faith strengthening.   

[Tortuga]

7 hours ago, Gregexplore said:

How would you rate the story from 1 to 5 stars.. ?

Worth undertaking ?

Personally I liked the first book better but it may have just been the novelty of it. This book is good but there are some things in it that don't feel right.

So far I don't like the last book at all, it just hasn't grabbed my attention yet.

[GeordieGirl]

19 minutes ago, Tortuga said:

Personally I liked the first book better but it may have just been the novelty of it. This book is good but there are some things in it that don't feel right.

So far I don't like the last book at all, it just hasn't grabbed my attention yet.

I like the second one better but I agree with what you say about things in them that don't feel right.  But then none of us know what Jehovah has in store for us so although we know it's going to happen,  the rest is just a work of fantasy. I just know that I want to be there when my son wakes up and not some stranger. 

[And_Ray]

I just finished reading this book... It's a great story. Let's you escape from the everyday life. I read many complaining about few things not matching up in this book. Who cares. Personally I don't. I find it interesting thinking and reading about the paradise to come. It's definitely not going to be like this... A hunter running around the wilderness with a knife in his pocket ready to kill an animal or a person... That won't be the new world, however unrighteous one was in the old life.
But overall, great story, good use of writing skills and imagination. I'm now going to start with "critical times".


P. S. He's a prophet! Look at the excerpt below.


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[Omoyeme]

For those of you wanting to read The Unrighteous in Swedish, here's your opportunity! 

 

https://www.amazon.com/Orättfärdiga-Unrighteous-Swedish-EK-Jonathan/dp/1980201692/ref=sr_1_8?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1524515651&sr=1-8&keywords=EK+Jonathan