In Genesis 15:20, when God first mentions the Hittites in His covenant with Abraham, they numbered among the ten tribes that occupied Canaan. Before the turn of the twentieth century, though, skeptical scholars pointed to this passage and other Hittite references to prove the Bible’s inaccuracy. After all, they had no proof that these tribes ever existed. Therefore, they reasoned, the Bible must not be true.

Just because something isn’t proven yet doesn’t mean it won’t be in the future. The Hittites’ story illustrates this.

1871

In this year, the first evidence of their existence was uncovered at Carchemish, in Syria, on the Euphrates River.

1887

An Egyptian peasant woman, while digging for mud which she used as fertilizer, stumbled upon some clay tablets bearing cuneiform writing. They became the famous Armana letters, ancient letters written by monarchs and princes, some of them Hittite. In the picture above, we see an example of cuneiform writing.

1906-1911 & 1911-1912

Professor Hugo Winckler discovered some ten thousand clay tablets in Turkey that held cuneiform writing in several ancient languages. They provided a wealth of knowledge about these people. As it turned out, the professor had discovered a Hittite capital city, present-day Boghazkoy, Turkey, and its archives.

Before they became an empire, the Hittites scattered from Turkey and throughout Palestine. Joshua defeated the Palestinian Hittites during his conquest of Canaan (Joshua 9:1; 11:3).

The empire began around 1460 B.C. from Turkey all the way to Syria as far as the Euphrates River. Around 1200 B.C., it came to an end. As a major military power, they once overran Babylon and waged war against Egypt. Around 1286 B.C. troops under Pharaoh Ramses II clashed with Hittite soldiers at Kadesh, Syria. The battle was indecisive. Eventually, the two empires made peace when Ramses married the Hittite king’s daughter.

Sources

Gardner, Joseph L., ed. Reader’s Digest Atlas of the Bible: An Illustrated Guide to the Holy Land. Pleasantville, New York: Reader’s Digest Association, 1981.

Payne, J. Barton. “Hittites.” In The Zondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, ed. Merrill C. Tenney. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1963.

Starr, Chester A. A History of the Ancient World. 4th edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1991.

Unger, Merrill F. Archaeology and the Old Testament: A Companion Volume to Archaeology and the New Testament. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1954.

A story without conflict is boring. A story without conflict is not a story. To keep readers engaged the writer must use conflict in every scene. Also, the conflict must be well-written, which means it must be visual and engaging. In other words, readers must see the conflict, not told it.

What is conflict? It’s a contest between two opposing forces, each force having an objective or goal. It’s not always the “good guy versus the bad guy,” though of course, it can be and often is. Let’s look at the different types of conflict found in literature. Perhaps they’ll spark some ideas.

Man versus Self

This is internal conflict. A character is struggling with issues within himself/herself. It’s a novel centered around introspection, moral choices, self-doubts, and coming to terms with oneself.  An excellent example of this is William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” In the play, Hamlet struggles with a moral decision – whether he should avenge his father’s murder. His indecision leads to his tragic end.

Man versus Technology

Mary Shelley’s novel, Frankenstein, illustrates this. Doctor Viktor Frankenstein creates a monster who eventually turns on him.

Man versus Nature

Jack London’s famous short story, “To Build a Fire,” is an excellent example. A man and his dog get caught in extremely cold weather in the Yukon. The man struggles to survive.

Man versus Man

This is the most often used conflict. Two characters oppose each other, and each one has a different goal. Think of it as protagonist (hero) versus antagonist (villain). They struggle against each other in various ways. Their struggles don’t always have to be physical. They can also struggle politically, morally, or even competitively.

Man versus Society

 This story’s conflict centers on “man versus the world”, “man versus culture”, “man versus government”, and similar things. Characters grow and change, and these tales also carry some heavy themes. A good example of this is George Orwell’s classic work, 1984. In it, the main character, Winston Smith, opposes Big Brother and his tyrannical regime.

When I was in college, I’d considered becoming a foreign missionary. With my love of language, I pondered joining the Wycliffe Bible Translators. Ah, but the Lord had other plans, and my life took a different direction. Or did it?

Looking back on my early literary years, I wonder. When the Lord called me into writing for Him in the mid-1980s, He confirmed it time and again. Without these confirmations, and the confidence I was doing His will, I may not have persevered during the hard times.  Since then, with numerous bylines under my belt, I think I understand now. I am, indeed, a missionary using my language skills.  A literary missionary. Not just me—all Christian writers are.

As missionaries, like every other ministry, we must take our calling seriously. That means lots of hard work in our efforts to reach our intended reading audience. Most of us likely won’t receive the accolades of some who serve in the public eye. And that’s all right. If we stay true to our calling and keep our motives pure, such things won’t (and shouldn’t) matter.

God watches over His literary missionaries. Our words will reach those He intends to reach. I doubt we’ll ever know how effective our work has been, how many people our stories, articles, poems and books have reached, till our journey here ends and we enter our heavenly home.

Called to write? Don’t quit. There’s a vast mission field out in this world. The world needs to read our words.

When I was in college, I’d considered becoming a foreign missionary. With my love of language, I pondered joining the Wycliffe Bible Translators. Ah, but the Lord had other plans, and my life took a different direction. Or did it?

As I look back on my early years, I wonder. When the Lord called me into writing for Him in the mid-1980s, He confirmed my calling time and again. Without these confirmations, and the confidence that I was doing His will, I may not have persevered during the hard times.  Since then, with numerous bylines under my belt, I think I understand now. I am, indeed, a missionary using my language skills.  A literary missionary. Not just me—all Christian writers are!

As literary missionaries, like every other ministry, we must take our calling seriously. That means lots of hard work with an eye toward reaching our intended reading audience. Most of us likely won’t receive the accolades of some who serve in the public eye. And that’s all right. If we stay true to our calling and keep our motives pure, such things won’t (and shouldn’t) matter.

God watches over His literary missionaries. Our words will reach those He intends to reach. I doubt we’ll ever know how effective our work has been, how many people our stories, articles, poems and books have reached, till our journey here ends and we pass on into our heavenly home.

Called to write, then? Don’t quit. There’s a vast mission field out in this world. The world needs to read our words.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Deep South.

Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Deep South.

Painting by George Caitlin. Mandans playing Chunkey

Chunkey, an ancient Native American sport, is enjoyable for everyone. Also, it’s easy to play. The game goes back at least as far as the 7^th century A.D.

Much like stickball, Native American tribes, particularly those in America’s Southeast, played this game to settle disputes. They took this game seriously and even played it to gamble. Quite a few players lost everything in their wagers, sometimes with even more tragic consequences such as suicides. Today, it’s usually played for fun.

Below is a basic overview of the game. The Native Americans then and now play different variations of the game and have different methods of scoring.

Playing Field

• In previous centuries, the tribes played it on a hard surface, such as packed clay.
• Nowadays, it’s played on grass.

Equipment Needed to Play

• Hickory or popular spears that are eight to ten feet long. These are called chunkey (pronounced ‘tchung-kee).
• Round chunkey stone, sometimes with a hole in it. These were often made of sandstone, clay or granite.

How the Game is Played

• A player rolls the chunkey stone across the playing field underhanded, like a bowling ball.
• Players with spears hurl them at the stone. The player whose spear came closest to the stone scores a point.

Famous American painter and artistic chronicler of the West witnessed this game, as seen in his painting at the beginning of this post, He recorded what he saw in writing as well.

The game of Tchung-kee [is] a beautiful athletic exercise, which the Mandan seem to be almost unceasingly practicing whilst the weather is fair, and they have nothing else of moment to demand their attention. This game is decidedly their favourite amusement, and is played near to the village on a pavement of clay, which has been used for that purpose until it has become as smooth and hard as a floor. … The play commences with two (one from each party), who start off upon a trot, abreast of each other, and one of them rolls in advance of them, on the pavement, a little ring of two or three inches in diameter, cut out of a stone; and each one follows it up with his ‘tchung-kee’ (a stick of six feet in length, with little bits of leather projecting from its sides of an inch or more in length), which he throws before him as he runs, sliding it along upon the ground after the ring, endeavouring to place it in such a position when it stops, that the ring may fall upon it, and receive one of the little projections of leather through it.

— George Catlin, 1832

Sources

Lindsey Bark, “Chunkey: A Game of Stones,” Cherokee Phoenix, August 27, 2020, Chunkey: A Game of Stones | Culture | cherokeephoenix.org

Anne Gregory, Chunkey, Cahokia, and Indigenous Conflict Resolution (Thesis), Scholar’s Bank, University of Oregon, September 25, 2020, Chunkey, Cahokia, and Indigenous Conflict Resolution (uoregon.edu)

E. Metcalf, “Chunkey: More Than Just a Game,” Real Archaeology(blog),November 5, 2023, Chunkey: More Then Just a Game | Real Archaeology (vassar.edu)