{"id":994,"date":"2023-04-09T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-09T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.steveblaising.com\/content\/?p=994"},"modified":"2023-04-09T21:59:48","modified_gmt":"2023-04-10T02:59:48","slug":"how-easter-turns-your-mess-into-your-greatest-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.steveblaising.com\/content\/how-easter-turns-your-mess-into-your-greatest-message\/","title":{"rendered":"How Easter turns your mess into your greatest message"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The worst mess in our lives can be reversed into our greatest victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Disgraced Civil War general, Lew Wallace, turned a surprise encounter with the leading atheist of the 19th century into a best selling novel and inspired the greatest Easter movie ever.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nLew Wallace survived the mess of Shiloh to advance his message in Ben-Hur\/Wikipedia<\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
A decade had passed since the war, but the scars and memories were fresh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
On a train to attend a Yankee reunion of fellow veterans, Lew Wallace reflected on the horrors he encountered in many battles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He failed to bring his troops to the front line at Shiloh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Frustrated by a misunderstanding of verbal orders, Wallace, a natural warrior, arrived to the field on the wrong day. But, the damage was done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lew Wallace was relieved of his command and remained on the sidelines for most of the remaining war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Shiloh failure haunted him for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Shiloh and its slanders! Will the world ever acquit me of them? If I were guilty I would not feel them as keenly.”<\/strong> Lew Wallace<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Surprise encounter<\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n
\nRobert Ingersoll, “The Great Agnostic”<\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Suddenly a familiar voice in the next train car startles him, \u201cIs that you General Wallace? I want to talk.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Robert Ingersoll, also a veteran of Shiloh, was travelling the countryside speaking and making a name for himself as, \u201cThe Great Agnostic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ingersoll was the leading atheist of the 19th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He was a lawyer, a political leader and a gifted orator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Wallace accepted Ingersoll\u2019s invitation and went to his train car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The discussion, no light subject, went all night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe went over the whole question of the Bible, of the immortality of the soul, of the divinity of God, and of heaven and hell. He vomited forth ideas and arguments like an intellectual volcano.\u201d<\/strong> Lew Wallace<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Ingersoll argued all night that Jesus as God was nonsense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus is . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
a great hero<\/li>
an ideal man<\/li>
a courageous person<\/li>
but not God<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Ingersoll insisted that people should divest themselves of this erroneous thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Lew Wallace was not religious either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He states in his autobiography that he had no clear convictions about God or Christ and that he didn\u2019t believe or disbelieve.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But, he felt frustrated by his ignorance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, Lew resolved to research the whole issue and to resolve one way or the other who Jesus Christ really was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The result of his research?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One of the greatest American novels, Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n
\nCharlton Heston in 1959 Ben-Hur<\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Instead of winning another soul to skepticism, Robert Ingersoll inspired a Biblical epic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Quick facts about Lew Wallace and Ben-Hur<\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n
\nLew Wallace writing under his beech tree\/Indiana Historical Society\/M0292<\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
Most of the manuscript was written under Wallace\u2019s beech tree<\/li>
Published in 1880, four years after the train ride with Ingersoll<\/li>
Best-selling American novel of the 19th<\/sup> century<\/li>
The four-year project inspired Wallace and led to his faith in Christ<\/li>
The 1959 MGM film won 11 Academy Awards in 1960<\/li>
The book\u2019s sales surpassed Gone With The Wind<\/em><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
“With this beautiful and reverent book you have lightened the burden of my daily life.\u201d<\/strong> Letter to Lew Wallace from President James A. Garfield<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
Forget the mess, focus on your response<\/mark><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Many times our journey on earth involves confronting horrors of disease, conflict or misfortune.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Six of my personal friends and family members have been diagnosed with cancer in the last five years. \u00a0I carry that burden with them.<\/p>\n\n\n
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