Real Romance and Bogus TheologynJudith Rossner: Emmeline; Simonn& Schuster; New York.nby Becki KlutenAlthough God was pronounced deadnsomewhere in the 1960’s, He has recentlynbeen making a rather remarkablencomeback. Various concepts of God, ornreligion, are more and more in thenpublic eye, and a phenomenon callednthe “religious right” is sometimesncredited with having political influence.nChurches of all denominations are reportingnincreased attendance, the “electronicnpulpit” is beamed into more andnmore homes, a southern preacher isnone of the biggest names in the news,nand a few public schools are trying tonallow children to pray in the classroom.nA Christian could reasonably be expectednto approve of the general directionnof this trend, and most do, but thenjoy is not entirely unalloyed.nWithin the Judeo-Christian conceptnof God is the acceptance of the existencenof Satan. Lucifer, chief among the archangels,nwas not content to be “subordinate,”nand God had to cast him out.nBy definition, then, Satan must be extremelynable, clever—not merely a mischievousnlittle creature with horns andnpitchfork—more intelligent, perhaps,nthan any but his maker. The Judeo-nChristian tradition holds that God andnSatan are engaged in a perpetual battlenfor men’s eternal souls, a battle in whichnGod may be more powerful, but Satanndoesn’t play by gentlemen’s rules. Onenof his favorite tricks is to disguise whatnis evil and make it appear to be good,neven godly. It is perhaps, best illustratednby one of Christ’s parables:nThe kingdom of heaven is likenednunto a man which sowed good seed innMrs. Klute is on the editorial staff ofnthe Chronicles.nChronicles of Cttlturenhis field: but while men slept, hisnenemy came and sowed tares amongnthe wheat, and went his way. Butnwhen the blade was sprung up, andnbrought forth fruit, then appeared thentares also. So the servants of thenhouseholder came and said unto him,n’Sir didst not thou sow good seed innthy field.’ From whence then hath itntares.’ He said unto them, ‘An enemynhath done this.’n-Matthew 13:24-28nWhen one learns that “tares” are weedsnwhich look very much like wheat,nChrist’s explanation of the parable becomesnquite clear:nThe field is the world; the good seednare the children of the kingdom; butnthe tares are the children of thenwicked one.n-Matthew 13:38nThis parable might then account fornsome of the notions, even doctrines,nwhich only purport to be of God. Suchnideas are often espoused by good, wellmeaningnpeople, but these pseudo-Christiansnalways seem to be tailorii^g thenword of God to fit human predilectionninstead of the other way around, makingnChristianity a little more comfortable—na better fit, as it were.nJudith Rossner seems to be one ofnthe “tares.” Christianity is too hardnfor her. She wants God to be gentler,nnicer. Rather than a merciful God, ablento forgive even the blackest sin, Ms.nRossner wishes He would redefine sin,nlower the standards. The Lord’s methodsnof communication don’t quite suit Ms.nRossner either. She seems to think Henshould protect us from all unpleasantnessnevery step of our way—with noneffort whatsoever on our part. If Hendoesn’t work quite that way, well then,naccording to Ms. Rossner, God justnisn’t enough. He wasn’t enough for thenlapsed Catholic Terry in Looking fornMr, Goodbar. Terry’s problems werennnvery complex, stemming from conditionsnbeyond the control of man, andnRossner sent her to all the wrong placesnto look for answers. Terry occasionallynglanced to the Church for solace, butnwhen the priest (God’s surrogate) didn’tnimmediately set things right, any possibilitynof help from above was quicklyndismissed, and she searched the ThirdnAvenue bars ever more thoroughly.nJbLmmeline derives more comfortnfrom God than Terry did. Trying toncome to terms with the necessity ofnleaving home (at age 13) and going tonwork in a faraway mill, she remembersnseveral portions of scripture. Then:nShe looked at the sky, feeling God’snpresence . . . and she felt for the firstntime that she would be able to go ifnthey sent her . . . she would not benalone.nEmmeline’s mother gives her the familynBible to take to Lowell, the mill town,nbut it doesn’t ease the pain of separation;nshe can’t read it because the coachnshakes too much. Ms. Rossner distributesnliberally clues about what she seesnas God’s inadequacy. Among the mostnobvious is when several girls are refusednjobs or dismissed from the mill for reasonsnthat are beyond their control. WhatnMs. Rossner thinks a mill corporationnought to do about a woman who had nonone to care for her children, or a tubercularnapplicant, is left to speculation.nEmmeline feels very far away fromnGod in Lowell; even going to churchndoesn’t seem to help. She has the badnluck to go first to a cold, impersonalnchurch; again this is somehow assumednto be God’s fault. Rather than seek anothernchurch, Emmeline decides thatn”God couldn’t see her in Lowell.” Thenonly other sources of guidance fornEmmeline are implied to be inadequate:nan older mill girl does not provide theninstant closeness that Emmeline craves.n