Posted on 08/23/2008 9:54:44 PM PDT by DaveLoneRanger
Joe Eszterhas' latest book is a shocker, but not the kind that made him rich and famous.
The upcoming release from the man who penned dark thrillers such as Basic Instinct and Jagged Edge tells the story of his spiritual conversion and his newfound devotion to God and family.
In Crossbearer: A Memoir of Faith, to be published Sept. 2 by St. Martin's Press, Mr. Eszterhas describes how his life got turned around during the summer of 2001.
He and his second wife, Naomi, had just moved from Malibu to a suburb of Cleveland - where he had grown up; she was from nearby Mansfield. They felt Ohio would be a better, more wholesome place to raise their four boys (he had two grown children from his first marriage).
A month after the move, Mr. Eszterhas was diagnosed with throat cancer. Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic removed 80 percent of his larynx, put a tracheotomy tube in his throat, and told him he must quit drinking and smoking immediately.
At age 56, after a lifetime of wild living, Mr. Eszterhas knew it would be a struggle to change his ways.
One hot summer day after his surgery, walking through his tree-lined neighborhood in Bainbridge Township, Mr. Eszterhas reached a breaking point.
"I was going crazy. I was jittery. I twitched. I trembled. I had no patience for anything. … Every single nerve ending was demanding a drink and a cigarette," he wrote.
He plopped down on a curb and cried. Sobbed, even. And for the first time since he was a child, he prayed: "Please God, help me."
(Excerpt) Read more at toledoblade.com ...
Wow. If you can be forgiven for “Showgirls”, you can be forgiven for anything...;-)
When we reach our darkest place, Christ is there. It is only there, in the dark, that we can truly see the Light as it is meant to be seen - pure, unending, unfailing...
The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:4-5
Especially in my own life. Continually.
God works in mysterious and wonderful ways. Always has the big picture covered. Bless Joe and his wife.
:D
:D . . . Continually
cool
>Wow. If you can be forgiven for “Showgirls”, you can be forgiven for anything...;-)<
I actually liked Showgirls. I’ve also seen “ An Inconvenient Truth’. Believe me, Showgirls should’ve won an Oscar compared to that crap.
I actually skimmed through The Devil’s Guide’ at the Public Library one time while waiting for my GF. It was actually entertaining. Lots of sex and F’ bombs. The most interesting chapter was his description of what happened to Don Simpson (Simpson-Jerry Bruckheimer) and his downward spiral to “cardiac arrest”.
A Biography of C.S. Lewis may help him understand.
Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
“He and Naomi decided they could not, in good conscience, donate a dime to the church because of the clerical sexual abuse scandal.”
The guy is still screwed up in his way of thinking. Has he ever considered how many faithful priests there are who have not been guilty of sexual abuse and who try to live a holy life? When invited by Christ to throw the first stone, he probably would go ahead and do just that.
WOW
“The vilest offender who truly believes, at that moment a pardon receives.” “We’ll be surprised at who’s there - and who’s not there.”
I’m a life-long RC and I won’t donate money to the church, either.
I’ll donate money to Parish schools and to Convents, but not one penny to the male dominated heirarchy of the church. They knew what was going on and they protected child predators. All the way up to the level of Cardinals in this country, they knew! Some of those predators were hidden away in monasteries - how shameful!
I’m happy that he is back in church. But, he sounds like a typical liberal to me. He thinks other people should pay for the church’s expenses, not he.
Also, since God has forgiven him, shouldn’t old Joe also consider that God may forgive others too? His excuse for not giving any money to the church sounds too PC to me. I hope he repeats the Our Father many times each day, and contemplates the last two verses more. True humility requires not only asking for forgiveness, but being willing to asknowledge others’ sinfullness too and to pray for them.
“he sounds like a typical liberal to me”
Me too—one of the “pick and choose” buffet catholics. He very likely supports abortion, obama and biden.
You wrote:
“I’ll donate money to Parish schools and to Convents, but not one penny to the male dominated heirarchy of the church.”
No one donates to the MALE DOMINATED HIERARCHY. They simply donate to the Church. Apparently your real religion is feminism. I guess you would call the Apostles and Jesus a male dominate hierarchy too?
“They knew what was going on and they protected child predators.”
Some knew, and did as you say. But not all.
“All the way up to the level of Cardinals in this country, they knew!”
Again some. In my diocese we never had a problem. There were two or three abuse cases over the last 20 or 30 years and they were all dealt with immediately. No cover ups, no moving the abuser to a new parish, no hush money, etc. We were blessed with good bishops. I think I should be more thankful to God for them than I am!
“Some of those predators were hidden away in monasteries - how shameful!”
True, but that’s essentially all over now - Thank God! There’s no reason to not support the Church. And if you think it’s just a male dominated hierarchy then you’ve got other issues.
I think that, when people, pick some negative aspect of something to justify themselves for not donating money, they are just being cheap. It is certainly cheaper to not have to budget for giving. Cheapskates, that's all! It is that simple.
I agree. The word that came to my mind was freeloader. He condemns the whole of the clergy, finds the homilies boring, and makes no contributions, but thrills to the power of the Mass and the Litergy. He has been rewarded with a new life physically. I would hope that he receives more spiritual regeneration.
He is young in his faith and I would cut him some slack. After the life he’s led and to read that some priests were doing the same type of things—probably shakes his faith a bit. He probably donates to charities he knows well. No different than we who may not donate to the RNC but donate to local candidates we know.
Wonder if he's consistent and doesn't pay taxes, in good conscience, to local, state and federal governments for the sexual abuse scandal in public education or if his principles are selectively applied.
Yes. He is on a journey, searching for markers along the way. He has come a long way. Throwing stones at him while he travels is not encouragement.
I do not hold to the tenants of the Roman Catholic faith. I still have a visceral reaction when I think of the young, innocent, trusting lives ruined by those who attacked them and those who enabled. I am not sure how I would handle it if I was within the Roman Catholic Church. I can understand his being deeply disturbed by this and proceeding cautiously.
“I’m a life-long RC and I won’t donate money to the church, either.”
I assume that you attend Mass on sundays and thereby use a church building which has to be maintained, cleaned, uses utilities i.e. electricity and water. If you don’t make a financial contribution you depend on the charity of others in order for you to sit in a clean pew, walk on a swept floor in a air-conditioned and lighted church building and use a restroom if need be.
I don't think so. He seems to have his eyes on The Lord rather than "the church." That's a good thing. :-)
I walked away from the church in 1967 after what happened to my grandmother.
She had been given as a gift to the church, specifically a convent of French nuns, as a toddler 3-years old. That happened over a century ago and though not a normal practice in the late 19th century, it did happen occasionally. When she was 15-years old her older sister died and my grandmother persuaded to leave the convent. She was told it was her family duty to marry a family friend over 30-years her senior even though she rejected the idea. She was forced, against her will, to marry. He was a cruel drunk who beat her so badly she miscarried their first child. When she became pregnant a second time, she fled and sought an annulment. Her husband, quite wealthy, gave the church $100,000 dollars to deny the annulment. She traveled to Nevada and got a divorce.
She met and married a man who loved her and married her, together rearing 4 children as good Catholics. Even though my grandfather wasn’t Catholic the family donated 10% of their income every year to the Church.
When my grandmother died, a devout Catholic to the end of her life, the Parish she attended refused to allow her funeral mass in their church.
I’ve only been back twice: when my nephew was Christened and received his first communion/confirmation.
The priests-as-predators scandal just affirmed my hardened belief that the Church heirarchy is rotten. Mind you, I don’t feel that way about the “Church”, or nuns, or the parishoners in general - but the men who control the Church and who won’t follow their own Cannon (Church Law) not to ordain known homosexuals. They are preoccupied with money and staffing churchs above doing what is morally right.
I wish I had the answer for everything that is wrong in this world. I don’t even have an answer for those things that go right.
You have a beautiful name, and that’s why I send you the following”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDDCzb3dv_Y
(I saw it today independently and was going to post it myself. Then I used the 'Search' function...)
Cheers!
Glad that function works. I haven’t had much luck with it myself, so far...
I’m a pretty harsh critic of the things that go on in some churches. And I hate that you went through an experience like that, even secondhand. But (unless I’m misinterpreting what you said) it’s not fair to walk away from the whole body of Christ because of rotten persons like your grandmother encountered.
You don’t have to go to church to believe in religous dogma.
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