“Faith Instead of Religion at Gem City Comic Con in 2022” Op-Ed

By Tonja Condray Klein©07/30/2022

The day after a two-day event like an Anime or Comic convention is pretty much the same – honest happiness after meeting many new people and sharing your creativity with others and outright exhaustion from meeting many new people and sharing your creativity with others! I didn’t get any sleep the night before day one of the Gem City Comic Con so I was probably as articulate as an eggplant during most of Saturday at the Dayton Convention Center. One of the things that I certainly was NOT was a posterchild for religion. Christian Faith? Yes, but not because I had to be. Christianity is like breathing when you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Savior, Lord, King, and God Almighty. I couldn’t keep from sharing that part of me any more than I could keep from sharing Eirinth… it’s hardwired in me!

What does that mean? That I’ve been brainwashed by the ideologues of religion to the point of not thinking for myself or having an ability to choose to NOT be religious on command? No, it means the Holy Spirit through a love of my Savior Jesus Christ overflows without conscious thought most of the time… like breathing. Have I studied my Faith for the past forty years of my life? Yes. Did I do that because I HAD to do it? No. I am first and foremost an intellectual learner who NEVER stops seeking more information about everything. That is ALSO hardwired in me. Can I listen to a person who writes in completely different genres and even some that I don’t share interest in or acceptance of? Yes. We need to understand others by LISTENING to what their mindset is so we can reach out and try to connect as a person.

Religion tries to immediately demand agreement in all aspects of a person’s life. True Salvation through Faith in Jesus Christ and what He did for each and every one of us on the Cross of Calvary when we believe is ongoing, changing, regenerating, empowering, overwhelming, and even consuming; what it is NOT is corporate or exactly like anyone else’s experience. A REAL and life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior is PERSONAL. I’m not simply one sheep; I’m HIS Tonja. He knows how to spell my name right every time. He knows which song will help me get through a rough day. He knows that chocolate is mandatory at times for me to function. He knows that I love Japanese Anime and Fantasy novels and decided to call me to a ministry that meshed both together with my music. HE KNOWS HIS TONJA!

Does He approve of every single thing I do, say, feel, or express? No, He likes some but lets His Holy Spirit in me let me know those He doesn’t. He also knows the best way to get my attention and take me outside my comfort zone that I sometimes try to hide within from things I don’t personally like doing. RE-LA-TION-SHIP… He has His Holy Spirit lead as I try to be, and I pray for comfort, clarity, and consistency in what I do. I fail and He forgives. I seek and He surrounds. I rant and He reminds. Child and Father while still friends and sometimes cohorts when I follow as He leads. Am I ever in control? That’s a great question that I often ask! Is it EVER necessary for me to BE in control when I always screw things up on my own? That’s a GREAT BIG NO! Do I still try to wrestle away my human reins of power? Wait… what power?

Without Him I can do NOTHING. Do you understand that? I don’t want to even live without HIS touch of love in my heart and on my life. Do I ever have times of anger and hurt when I don’t get my own way? Well, duh, YES! Each day I have to fight between doing what is needed that is hard and doing what is more convenient. Each day I have to choose to be what I want or try to be what my Savior wants me to become. Each day I have to make a decision to go my own way or “Thy will be done, Lord” instead. Each and every day has the possibility to become a disaster or an opportunity to become a triumph for me and someone else that I share what they needed that even I didn’t know. I’m just as surprised as anyone else when some things happen! It’s never boring, but sometimes it is tiring mentally and physically. I still try anyway.

Am I compelled? No, it’s more like driven by a passion that wants to reach people with my stories to give them a new perspective or even a new life if they find Christ through my allegorical characters and plots. I needed more sleep at 1:30 pm on Monday, but I began writing this instead while the words were in my mind and heart. THAT is driven by an unseen but well-known hand of Grace and Inspiration. Reading parts of my books that I don’t remember actually writing sometimes astounds me, but since I told my Savior that His Holy Spirit has the right to give me those words then there is really no question about how it happened for me. I trust Jesus Christ implicitly. He has never failed me and has saved my life so many times I don’t think most people would believe it. Oh well, I KNOW it, so like those words, that’s ok too.

In case you don’t know me or my history then I’ll give you a short version. I’ve had allergies my whole life with upper respiratory infections that had me on antibiotics more often than not, but I still graduated 4th in my class since I kept doing what needed to be done. I had a seizure in 2012 and was diagnosed with Relapsing/Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. In 2015, I the injection medicine led to an infection that had to have surgery to remove 17 cm x 12cm x 2cm of my left thigh. I still managed to finish my first Eirinth Novel in 2016 even with the scar that I have to look at every day, and yet it still reminds me that I could have died, and that is why I kept writing and finished Eirinth Book 2 in 2019. Then the blasted pandemic hit. My husband, my 91-year-old mother, and I survived. I’m thankful, but the losses didn’t miss us totally.

In 2021, two people who were my colleagues and friends like family were claimed by Covid-19. I was devastated and couldn’t write on Eirinth Book 3. I kept trying to figure out what to do. My Artist ‘Sister-in-creation’ that I’d worked with since 2009 was gone! She was an avowed Pagan, so my heart could only hope that something I’d said let her call on Jesus with her last breath. My Record Producer had been my friend beginning thirty-six years ago and was a brother, not only in Christ but also in singing. When I read about Gem City Comic Con in Dayton Ohio, I contacted them to see if my literary books were in line with their purpose and was told it was to promote READING so YES, I was welcomed. I got a table, and so the circus began! After being at OhayoCon Anime Convention for years I knew the craziness coming.

This was my first attempt to get back into promoting the stories that I honestly believe are a positive read for the teens, young adults, middle age adults, and even mature adults if they love standard Fantasy novels and also like Japanese Anime style artwork and fighting abilities in action scenes written in the story too. There are LOTS of romances going on, and even though there are a couple romance scenes in them, they are NOT graphic but mostly emotional and loving. I just tried to use the normal ratings system and made this PG-13, but it might not even be PG in 2022. While I understand that not everyone will like my novels I also think many people from many ages, backgrounds, and viewpoints will love them. Publishing my novels on my own means I’m still unknown, but it also means that I can write them the way I want too.

Yes, that’s why I get along with the Anime communities – I AM a non-conforming individualist who loves many Anime series. I don’t like bad language or pornographic scenes, and that’s why I don’t have that in my novels. Yes, I was out of church for years and wrote stories that have content I’m not proud of now, but I quit writing that and got back into church when I began writing Eirinth. I’m not ‘religious’ but believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior and the teachings of the Holy Bible, specifically books of Apostle Paul. What Christian churches teach in 2022? That’s why I do understand why so many in the Anime communities and other religions judge Christianity harshly. Even I have been a poor example of a Christian believer at times. I can only ask for forgiveness and try to do better with love. No one is perfect but Jesus.

Why am I writing this for that type of event? I wanted to share the FACT that I am one of those who are going into the highways and byways to find those who are looked over when it comes to inviting them to come to the King! It infuriates me with how some overly-religious people treat others who aren’t in their ‘clique’. I don’t bow to any man or woman in this world, and I won’t do it to self-righteous Pharisees now who refuse to offer Grace and Mercy unless it’s someone THEY think deserves it. Listen to me, religious idiots, you don’t have the RIGHT to judge anyone. You’re as corrupt in ways as this world is in how you treat others that you consider BELOW you. Yes, my house IS a mess. Yes, I DON’T have perfect attire or manners. I STILL reach out to people with HONEST LOVE of Jesus Christ! Do you?

I don’t make friends ONLY to try to get them to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. I have friends who are Christian, Pagan, Wiccan, Buddhist, and Muslim. They know what I believe and why, but I don’t try to force it on them. I honestly try to know each person and find common ties that we can enjoy together. If it leads them to God Almighty being able to reach them personally then that would make me happy, but it’s not a requirement. Friends are few and far between since I’m fighting an incurable disease that is thankfully in remission, but it takes all of my strength to even go to the grocery store sometimes. Those who saw me at Gem City Comic Con probably couldn’t even imagine that I’m dealing with any disease, even in remission. I’m good at hiding my lack of energy. I’m better at letting my Faith give it to me though.

Faith instead of religion at Gem City Comic Con was important for me to do. I’m beginning to get my strength back from being worn out from a lack of sleep, hours at the table, talking with everyone that I LOVED DOING, and then unpacking supplies once home. You then have food to make or order, dishes to do, trash to take out, clothes to wash, and bills to pay. No, I haven’t made a monetary profit from the books or music since I haven’t sold enough to cover expenses of creating, marketing, and stocking. THIS IS A MINISTRY. Two ministries if you separated the books from the music; but honestly, they’re intertwined so that might be impossible. I think I have to put this in a plus category, though, since I met many talented artists, writers, and creators who are doing what they love. I just hope I showed the Love of Jesus. ~TK~

“Faith Instead of Religion at Gem City Comic Con in 2022” Op-Ed

By Tonja Condray Klein©07/30/2022

The day after a two-day event like an Anime or Comic convention is pretty much the same – honest happiness after meeting many new people and sharing your creativity with others and outright exhaustion from meeting many new people and sharing your creativity with others! I didn’t get any sleep the night before day one of the Gem City Comic Con so I was probably as articulate as an eggplant during most of Saturday at the Dayton Convention Center. One of the things that I certainly was NOT was a posterchild for religion. Christian Faith? Yes, but not because I had to be. Christianity is like breathing when you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as your Savior, Lord, King, and God Almighty. I couldn’t keep from sharing that part of me any more than I could keep from sharing Eirinth… it’s hardwired in me!

What does that mean? That I’ve been brainwashed by the ideologues of religion to the point of not thinking for myself or having an ability to choose to NOT be religious on command? No, it means the Holy Spirit through a love of my Savior Jesus Christ overflows without conscious thought most of the time… like breathing. Have I studied my Faith for the past forty years of my life? Yes. Did I do that because I HAD to do it? No. I am first and foremost an intellectual learner who NEVER stops seeking more information about everything. That is ALSO hardwired in me. Can I listen to a person who writes in completely different genres and even some that I don’t share interest in or acceptance of? Yes. We need to understand others by LISTENING to what their mindset is so we can reach out and try to connect as a person.

Religion tries to immediately demand agreement in all aspects of a person’s life. True Salvation through Faith in Jesus Christ and what He did for each and every one of us on the Cross of Calvary when we believe is ongoing, changing, regenerating, empowering, overwhelming, and even consuming; what it is NOT is corporate or exactly like anyone else’s experience. A REAL and life-changing relationship with Jesus Christ as Savior is PERSONAL. I’m not simply one sheep; I’m HIS Tonja. He knows how to spell my name right every time. He knows which song will help me get through a rough day. He knows that chocolate is mandatory at times for me to function. He knows that I love Japanese Anime and Fantasy novels and decided to call me to a ministry that meshed both together with my music. HE KNOWS HIS TONJA!

Does He approve of every single thing I do, say, feel, or express? No, He likes some but lets His Holy Spirit in me let me know those He doesn’t. He also knows the best way to get my attention and take me outside my comfort zone that I sometimes try to hide within from things I don’t personally like doing. RE-LA-TION-SHIP… He has His Holy Spirit lead as I try to be, and I pray for comfort, clarity, and consistency in what I do. I fail and He forgives. I seek and He surrounds. I rant and He reminds. Child and Father while still friends and sometimes cohorts when I follow as He leads. Am I ever in control? That’s a great question that I often ask! Is it EVER necessary for me to BE in control when I always screw things up on my own? That’s a GREAT BIG NO! Do I still try to wrestle away my human reins of power? Wait… what power?

Without Him I can do NOTHING. Do you understand that? I don’t want to even live without HIS touch of love in my heart and on my life. Do I ever have times of anger and hurt when I don’t get my own way? Well, duh, YES! Each day I have to fight between doing what is needed that is hard and doing what is more convenient. Each day I have to choose to be what I want or try to be what my Savior wants me to become. Each day I have to make a decision to go my own way or “Thy will be done, Lord” instead. Each and every day has the possibility to become a disaster or an opportunity to become a triumph for me and someone else that I share what they needed that even I didn’t know. I’m just as surprised as anyone else when some things happen! It’s never boring, but sometimes it is tiring mentally and physically. I still try anyway.

Am I compelled? No, it’s more like driven by a passion that wants to reach people with my stories to give them a new perspective or even a new life if they find Christ through my allegorical characters and plots. I needed more sleep at 1:30 pm on Monday, but I began writing this instead while the words were in my mind and heart. THAT is driven by an unseen but well-known hand of Grace and Inspiration. Reading parts of my books that I don’t remember actually writing sometimes astounds me, but since I told my Savior that His Holy Spirit has the right to give me those words then there is really no question about how it happened for me. I trust Jesus Christ implicitly. He has never failed me and has saved my life so many times I don’t think most people would believe it. Oh well, I KNOW it, so like those words, that’s ok too.

In case you don’t know me or my history then I’ll give you a short version. I’ve had allergies my whole life with upper respiratory infections that had me on antibiotics more often than not, but I still graduated 4th in my class since I kept doing what needed to be done. I had a seizure in 2012 and was diagnosed with Relapsing/Remitting Multiple Sclerosis. In 2015, I the injection medicine led to an infection that had to have surgery to remove 17 cm x 12cm x 2cm of my left thigh. I still managed to finish my first Eirinth Novel in 2016 even with the scar that I have to look at every day, and yet it still reminds me that I could have died, and that is why I kept writing and finished Eirinth Book 2 in 2019. Then the blasted pandemic hit. My husband, my 91-year-old mother, and I survived. I’m thankful, but the losses didn’t miss us totally.

In 2021, two people who were my colleagues and friends like family were claimed by Covid-19. I was devastated and couldn’t write on Eirinth Book 3. I kept trying to figure out what to do. My Artist ‘Sister-in-creation’ that I’d worked with since 2009 was gone! She was an avowed Pagan, so my heart could only hope that something I’d said let her call on Jesus with her last breath. My Record Producer had been my friend beginning thirty-six years ago and was a brother, not only in Christ but also in singing. When I read about Gem City Comic Con in Dayton Ohio, I contacted them to see if my literary books were in line with their purpose and was told it was to promote READING so YES, I was welcomed. I got a table, and so the circus began! After being at OhayoCon Anime Convention for years I knew the craziness coming.

This was my first attempt to get back into promoting the stories that I honestly believe are a positive read for the teens, young adults, middle age adults, and even mature adults if they love standard Fantasy novels and also like Japanese Anime style artwork and fighting abilities in action scenes written in the story too. There are LOTS of romances going on, and even though there are a couple romance scenes in them, they are NOT graphic but mostly emotional and loving. I just tried to use the normal ratings system and made this PG-13, but it might not even be PG in 2022. While I understand that not everyone will like my novels I also think many people from many ages, backgrounds, and viewpoints will love them. Publishing my novels on my own means I’m still unknown, but it also means that I can write them the way I want too.

Yes, that’s why I get along with the Anime communities – I AM a non-conforming individualist who loves many Anime series. I don’t like bad language or pornographic scenes, and that’s why I don’t have that in my novels. Yes, I was out of church for years and wrote stories that have content I’m not proud of now, but I quit writing that and got back into church when I began writing Eirinth. I’m not ‘religious’ but believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior and the teachings of the Holy Bible, specifically books of Apostle Paul. What Christian churches teach in 2022? That’s why I do understand why so many in the Anime communities and other religions judge Christianity harshly. Even I have been a poor example of a Christian believer at times. I can only ask for forgiveness and try to do better with love. No one is perfect but Jesus.

Why am I writing this for that type of event? I wanted to share the FACT that I am one of those who are going into the highways and byways to find those who are looked over when it comes to inviting them to come to the King! It infuriates me with how some overly-religious people treat others who aren’t in their ‘clique’. I don’t bow to any man or woman in this world, and I won’t do it to self-righteous Pharisees now who refuse to offer Grace and Mercy unless it’s someone THEY think deserves it. Listen to me, religious idiots, you don’t have the RIGHT to judge anyone. You’re as corrupt in ways as this world is in how you treat others that you consider BELOW you. Yes, my house IS a mess. Yes, I DON’T have perfect attire or manners. I STILL reach out to people with HONEST LOVE of Jesus Christ! Do you?

I don’t make friends ONLY to try to get them to accept Jesus Christ as Savior. I have friends who are Christian, Pagan, Wiccan, Buddhist, and Muslim. They know what I believe and why, but I don’t try to force it on them. I honestly try to know each person and find common ties that we can enjoy together. If it leads them to God Almighty being able to reach them personally then that would make me happy, but it’s not a requirement. Friends are few and far between since I’m fighting an incurable disease that is thankfully in remission, but it takes all of my strength to even go to the grocery store sometimes. Those who saw me at Gem City Comic Con probably couldn’t even imagine that I’m dealing with any disease, even in remission. I’m good at hiding my lack of energy. I’m better at letting my Faith give it to me though.

Faith instead of religion at Gem City Comic Con was important for me to do. I’m beginning to get my strength back from being worn out from a lack of sleep, hours at the table, talking with everyone that I LOVED DOING, and then unpacking supplies once home. You then have food to make or order, dishes to do, trash to take out, clothes to wash, and bills to pay. No, I haven’t made a monetary profit from the books or music since I haven’t sold enough to cover expenses of creating, marketing, and stocking. THIS IS A MINISTRY. Two ministries if you separated the books from the music; but honestly, they’re intertwined so that might be impossible. I think I have to put this in a plus category, though, since I met many talented artists, writers, and creators who are doing what they love. I just hope I showed the Love of Jesus.

~TK~