In our autonomy-loving culture, the concept of destiny can cause our hearts to bristle. Unless we’re talking about true love. We gobble up stories based on two souls searching for their one true love. That’s when we put all our trust in destiny’s ability to align the stars. But in most other cases, we don’t want to feel locked in, unable to change our future or have a say in how our lives will unfold.
Destiny and fate are central to Mary Shelley’s classic Frankenstein, which inspired our fall Persuasion series, What We Make of Ourselves. In this episode, Erin Straza and Hannah Anderson discuss the sixth and final reading (Volume III: Chapters 5–7), as Victor and his creation wrestle with fate and if they have any say whatsoever over the course of their lives. Now at the end of the Victor’s story, destiny is seen as the flip side of the ambition that launched us into this tale. Christians especially wrestle like this as we try to make sense of how our actions matter in light of God’s sovereign will. If the will of God is certain, do our daily actions matter? How much control do we have over the future? Is it possible to miss God’s will for our lives?Listen in for dialogue on questions like these as we take a look at what we make of ourselves. Then continue the conversation on Twitter @PersuasionCAPC or in the CAPC members-only community on Facebook.
If you’d like to read along for this series, check the reading schedule posted below. We recommend B&H Publishing’s Frankenstein: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting (Karen Swallow Prior, Mary Shelley). Whether you read along or not, listen in for conversation weaving the themes of identity, formation, creation, and community.
FRANKENSTEIN READING SCHEDULE
Conversations for our fall series will center on Mary Shelley’s original 1818 edition of Frankenstein. We will be reading from the recent release from B&H Publishing, Frankenstein: A Guide for Reading and Reflecting, edited by Karen Swallow Prior. Here’s the reading schedule (page numbers match the B&H edition) if you want to read along with us:
- 9/28 EP 223 Reading 1: Volume I, Preface–Chapter 3 (pp. 27–78)
- 10/5 EP 224 Reading 2: Volume I, Chapters 4–7 (pp. 78–121)
- 10/12 EP 225 Reading 3: Volume II, Chapters 1–4 (pp. 129–162)
- 10/19 EP 226 Reading 4: Volume II, Chapters 5–9 (pp. 162–206)
- 10/26 EP 227 Reading 5: Volume III, Chapters 1–4 (pp. 211–256)
- 11/2 EP 228 Reading 6: Volume III, Chapters 5–7 (pp. 256–306)
This episode of Persuasion is sponsored in part by B&H Publishing Group, publisher of Frankenstein: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting (Karen Swallow Prior, Mary Shelley). B&H Publishing seeks to provide intentional, biblical content that positively impacts the hearts and minds of people, cultivating lifelong relationships with Jesus Christ. Learn more at bhpublishinggroup.com.
HOSTS
Erin Straza: Web / Twitter
Hannah Anderson: Web / Twitter
PERSUASION PODCAST
PersuasionPodcast.buzz
Twitter: @PersuasionCAPC
Instagram: @PersuasionCAPC
Facebook: /Persuasioncapc
PERSUASION 228 RESOURCES & LINKS
Frankenstein: A Guide to Reading and Reflecting, Karen Swallow Prior, Mary Shelley
Did you enjoy this episode of Persuasion? Give the series a listen:
Persuasion 221 | Imposter Syndrome (but with books)
Persuasion 222 | What We Make of Ourselves: A Read-Along Series
Persuasion 223 | What We Make of Our Time
Persuasion 224 | What We Make of Our Suffering
Persuasion 225 | What We Make of Others
Persuasion 226 | What We Make of Our Stories
Persuasion 227 | What We Make of Our Mistakes
Theme music by Maiden Name.