Some Things Send Chills Up A Writer's Spine

No matter how well-known I may be in Catholic apologetics, in the ocean of celebrity, I am a very, very tiny minnow–for which I am very thankful. Nevertheless, I have encountered my share of people who I thought had an unhealthy fascination with me or my work. This has sensitized me to some of the things that actual celebrities go through.

Recently, I was reading some posts by J. Michael Straczynski (creator and principal writer of Babylon 5, among other things), and I found this exchange (which I gather is part of a larger discussion that I haven’t seen).

I had several reactions, in quick succession:

1) As a writer, chills went up my spine as the nature of the exchange dawned on me. JMS was encountering someone who had developed an intense, psychotic fascination with a character he had written about years and years ago in some obscure series (not B5).

2) My heart went out to the person in question, and I resolved to pray for him (or her; I don’t know which it is).

3) My tension level mounted as I started to read JMS’s response to the person, wondering what he would say.

4) I relaxed, impressed at how well, how wisely, and how charitably he answered the person.

I’m used to being on the hotseat answering questions from all comers, about all manner of subjects. I do it every week. But the prospect of answering a question like this–the sheer responsibility that attaches to how you answer the person–is enough to give me the chills. I hope I would do as well, should I ever be placed in this situation.

I invite you to join me in praying for the person in question, and offering a prayer of thanks that JMS did as well as he did.

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

3 thoughts on “Some Things Send Chills Up A Writer's Spine”

  1. The link seems to be bad.

    And, as a major B5 fan myself, I was always impressed with that series’ treatment of religion – pretty realistic, I thought.

  3. Thanks for the link fix. Having now read the exchange, I agree with everything you said and will pray for this individual too.

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