© 2013 The Wired Word
The novel had been released earlier this year as a "debut" book by a former British military man named Robert Galbraith.
The book received surprisingly good reviews for a first-time novelist, but eventually the British newspaper The Sunday Times did some investigating and decided on the basis of word and style analysis, along with the fact that "Galbraith" and Rowling share both a literary agent and a publisher, that it was Rowling's work. After the paper published its conclusion last Sunday, Rowling 'fessed up.
"I hoped to keep this secret a little longer because being Robert Galbraith has been such a liberating experience," Rowling said in a statement released by her publicist. "It has been wonderful to publish without hype or expectation, and pure pleasure to get feedback from publishers and readers under a different name."
The book has since become an overnight bestseller, and the initial print run has sold out. Reprints will include a revised author biography with the statement "Robert Galbraith is a pseudonym for J.K. Rowling,"
The noted American author Stephen King, who wrote several early novels under the pseudonym Richard Bachman but was eventually outed, told USA Today that in these days of the Internet, keeping a popular author's identity hidden is "an impossible secret to keep for long."
But King added that Rowling "is right about one big thing -- what a pleasure, what a blessed relief, to write in anonymity, just for the joy of it."
Still, said King, "Now that I know, I can't wait to read the book."
More on this story can be found at these links:
J.K. Rowling Unmasked as Secret Author of Widely Praised Crime Novel. Slate
Aparecium! J.K. Rowling Revealed As 'Cuckoo' Mystery Author. NPR
Stephen King Cheers J.K. Rowling's Try for 'Anonymity.' USA Today
The Big Questions
1. In what ways does God sometimes work "behind the scenes"? What enables you to recognize his activity?
2. When and in what ways have you benefitted from the work of an unknown Christian?
3. When has a willingness to not receive credit for your efforts enabled something helpful to occur for others?
4. Under what circumstances is anonymity not a good thing?
5. When have you been the beneficiary of an anonymous gift? Have you ever felt supported by prayers even though you had not been notified that you were being prayed for or about who might be praying for you? Have you ever given anonymously to help another through the church or other agencies?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Esther 4:14
For if you keep silence at such a time as this, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter, but you and your father's family will perish. Who knows? Perhaps you have come to royal dignity for just such a time as this. (For context, read 4:1-17.)
The biblical book of Esther contains the story of a royal decree that Jewish people living in the Persian Empire were to be killed, and how Queen Esther, a Jew herself, though the king didn't know it, saved them by intervening with the king (a dangerous act, depending on the king's mood). The line above is spoken by Esther's relative Mordecai, suggesting that maybe the whole reason Esther had been selected by the king to be his queen was so she could be in the right place to avert the crisis and save her people.
Note that Mordecai says nothing about God having arranged all of this. In fact, the name of God is not mentioned anywhere in the book of Esther. Yet when Mordecai says that if Esther does not help, "deliverance will rise for the Jews from another quarter," he's likely expressing confidence that God is active behind the scenes and will bring about deliverance for the Jews by other means.
Martin Luther spoke of "the hidden God," whose actions are the opposite of what is patently visible. For example, Jesus' death appears to be defeat, but in it, we are saved.
Questions: What are some signs that God is active in the events of this world? Where do you hope God is working? Where do you think God is most needed? Are some people, in your opinion, better able to receive help from God when they don't know God is involved?
Matthew 6:3-4
But when you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your alms may be done in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you. (For context, read 6:1-6.)
These verses are about deliberately practicing anonymity, but their teaching (along with all that Jesus said in the surrounding verses) is that "reward" is not earning God's favor or receiving recognition from others but experiencing God's blessing.
One TWW team member, whom we'll allow to remain anonymous, comments that Matthew 6:3-4 causes this member to think about how our tithes are used. The member says, "I like the idea that my offering is doing God's work, whether that is paying for the overhead of the church or assisting the many charities that the church supports. In some way, it takes me out of the driver's seat of how my tithe should be spent and puts it in God's hands. I feel blessed with the anonymity of this as the one who tithes and relieved that I don't have to make these decisions."
Questions: In what ways have you been blessed by quietly and genuinely meeting someone else's need? Do you derive more satisfaction from giving anonymously, or from getting to see the face of a recipient when they know you are the giver? Many churches have books or plaques that honor those who give memorial gifts. Do you think this text speaks to their situations? What helps us determine which gifts should be anonymous?
Does giving anonymously give some people the freedom to act according to their choice? Does giving anonymously have something to do, in your opinion, with preventing oneself from being inundated by requests from others?
Mark 1:44-45
[Jesus said,] "See that you say nothing to anyone; but go, show yourself to the priest, and offer for your cleansing what Moses commanded, as a testimony to them." But he went out and began to proclaim it freely, and to spread the word, so that Jesus could no longer go into a town openly, but stayed out in the country; and people came to him from every quarter. (For context, read 1:40-45.)
Early in Jesus' work, a man with leprosy came and asked Jesus to heal him. Jesus did, but then he asked the healed man to "say nothing to anyone." Clearly Jesus did not want to be identified primarily as a healer. Nonetheless, the man proclaimed what Jesus had done, and so many people then came to him for healing as well that he "could no longer go into a town openly." Jesus was likely concerned that the clamor for healing would keep people from hearing his proclamation of the gospel. Yet, because of his compassion, he did not turn those needing healing away.
Question: When would anonymity about your good deeds free you to do other good things as well?
Mark 14:12-15
[Jesus'] disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?" So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him, and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there." (For context, read 14:12-16.)
Commenting to this text, preacher Halford Luccock writes, "Notice ... that this householder was anonymous. What a figure in church history ['Anonymous'] has been .... Poet, composer, saint. Turn to your hymnal and look up the hymns 'Anonymous' has written. ... 'Come Thou Almighty King,' 'O Come, All Ye Faithful,' ... 'Fairest Lord Jesus,' and a score of others. How many anonymous people there are in the New Testament -- the centurion who had great faith, the town clerk of Ephesus, a gallery of great souls. They are the hope of the world." Likewise, when God works in the world, it is often done by "Anonymous." "There are no near limits to what a person may accomplish if [he or she] does not care who gets the credit," says Luccock.
Questions: How do you feel about Luccock's statement that "There are no near limits to what a person may accomplish if [he or she] does not care who gets the credit"? Why do you think he said "near limits"?
John 21:20-24
Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; he was the one who had reclined next to Jesus at the supper and had said, "Lord, who is it that is going to betray you?" When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about him?" Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me!" So the rumor spread in the community that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?" This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and has written them, and we know that his testimony is true. (For context, read 21:20-25.)
The "disciple whom Jesus loved" is an anonymous person in the New Testament. This disciple was almost certainly a man, since he was present at the Last Supper, which by custom at that time would not have included women, but beyond that, we can only guess at his identity. Nonetheless, as the text above explains, he was the eyewitness behind the gospel of John, so that gospel was based on his testimony. Despite the misunderstanding mentioned in the text about him not dying, the way this disciple "remained" with the community was that his testimony would live on and continue to be heard and read in John's gospel.
Because this disciple is referred to using this terminology only in the gospel of John, he is sometimes assumed to be John, but others think not. John was from Galilee, but after Jesus committed the care of his mother to this beloved disciple, he took Mary to his home, which allowed her to remain near Jerusalem (John 19:26-27; Acts 1:14). Thus, this disciple's home was likely in or near Jerusalem, not far away in Galilee. Based on this, some have surmised that he was Mark or Lazarus or the owner of the upper room or some other follower of Jesus who was not one of the Twelve.
Questions: While the possible identity of the "disciple whom Jesus loved" is of interest to Bible students, does it matter in terms of believing his testimony as recorded in the book of John? Why or why not? How have you benefited from John's gospel specifically?
For Further Discussion
1. Respond to this: Regarding being helped without knowing the source, consider the story of the poem "The Touch of the Master's Hand." It was written by Myra Brooks Welch (1878-1959), a church musician at the Church of the Brethren in LaVerne, California. After she developed crippling arthritis at a relatively young age and could no longer play music, she took up writing poetry by grasping pencils in her gnarled hands, eraser side down, and plunking out her verse on manual typewriters. After the poem was published in the February 26, 1921, issue of the Gospel Messenger, it was copied and recited over and over again, usually attributed to "Anonymous." Welch took that in good humor, but her most famous poem was almost never credited to her. Yet it did great good, having inspired many. (NOTE: We are not suggesting that people's creations should be usurped simply because those works can do some good. Copyright laws enable many people to make their living, and should be respected.)
2. Have you heard the saying, "A miracle is a coincidence in which God chooses to remain anonymous"? Fittingly, the source of the saying is unknown. Is the saying helpful? Why or why not?
Responding to the News
This is a good time to consider where a concern for receiving credit is interfering with something God is calling you to do.
Closing Prayer
Thank you, O Lord, for all the anonymous people through the centuries who have passed the knowledge about and testimony to the Christian faith on to us. Enable us to do all the good we can in the spirit of Christian charity and grace. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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