Relief: A Journal of Art and Faith

by Daniel Bowman Jr. (editor)

A full picture of Christ involves a juxtaposition of life and death, this moment and eternity, crucifixion and resurrection. Death and heaven and hell are only half of the picture. Many examine life only through a lens of death, as if life is only valuable as a tryout for the afterlife. Christ did speak to what would happen when we die, but he was also extraordinarily concerned with what can happen when we live . He focused often on the here and now of life, teaching that he came to give us life, and life abundantly.The goal of this publication is to pursue a complete picture of Christ and life -- real, gritty, painful, wonderful, this-side-of-heaven life. In an effort to never offend, too many Christian publications fail to express the power of a real Christ in a real world, opting instead for clichEs and placating expressions of the ideal. Relief seeks to bridge the gap between mainstream fiction and cotton-candy Christianity. Christ's goal was never to keep us sheltered and comfortable. He did not pull his punches. The primary measuring stick for good Christian writing cannot continue to be safety. It must be skill - the ability to expose what is real, express it eloquently, punch the reader.For authors who cry out for an appropriate venue and readers who long for stories that don't make them gag, we present Relief .

168 pages, Paperback

Published April 11, 2016

About the author

Daniel Bowman Jr. is the author of A PLUM TREE IN LEATHERSTOCKING COUNTRY (Virtual Artists Collective, 2012) and ON THE SPECTRUM: AUTISM, FAITH, & THE GIFTS OF NEURODIVERSITY.

His poems and essays have appeared in The Adirondack Review, American Poetry Journal, Art House America, The Bitter Oleander, Books & Culture, Cha: An Asian Literary Journal, Istanbul Literary Review, The Midwest Quarterly, The Other Journal, Redactions: Poetry & Poetics, Rio Grande Review, Seneca Review, Volume 1 Brooklyn, and many others. He recently completed his first YA novel, THE AUTISM JOURNALS.

A native New Yorker, he lives in central Indiana with his wife Beth and their two children, and teaches creative writing at Taylor University.