The Most Potent One-Sentence Gospel Message
The Most Potent, One-Sentence Gospel Message
Before we get to the question that the title immediately arouses, which is “What is this one-sentence gospel message that is so potent?,” let’s talk about the typical statements used by preachers & see where they fail. When I discuss the following statements, I’m assuming that there’s nothing else said. It’s possible to recover something of value from the following statements, if we spend the time & energy to do so. But I want to find that ideal statement, that is, the one that expresses the truth of the gospel in the most complete, effective, & concise way. Continue reading “The Most Potent One-Sentence Gospel Message”
Dawn of the Dead
Dawn of the Dead
Yes, Dawn of the Dead also demonstrates the bible. Question: Does Satan have the power to raise the dead? No. So, how do the dead have the power to rise from the dead and eat and kill people? Only God can raise the dead. OK, so the movie actually combines two things – the evil of murder, cannibalism, and mindless mania with the power of the Good God to raise the dead. That is why the living dead seem to have such power – the movie has combined two opposite things, giving evil a power it does not have. It glorifies God in a backhanded way. But giving evil and death the power that only God has, the movie gave to Satan a power only God has. Fear is the normal response to the power of God exercised in an awesome way. Combine that legitimate fear with the fear of murderous monsters, and you mix hell and heaven. This is not a legitimate theme for inspiring understanding of the gospel; however, even this movie cannot deny the awesome unrelenting power of resurrection, even when it is perversely applied.
In Dawn of the Dead, there is a scene in which the attacking, murderous dead are doused with gasoline and lit. A more fitting view of hell has rarely been portrayed. The love of the family above that which is righteous is portrayed in the black man who hid from the others the fact that she was infected. She becomes a walking dead, tied to the bed, has her baby, who then becomes walking dead. The father defends his wife and infected baby from an uninfected person, thus becoming a murderer because he loved his family more than what is good. The family made into an idol and placed before God becomes the family from hell.
Avatar – post 2 – Jake Sully
Avatar’s Jake Sully
Jake Sully, the main character, is something of a lost person when he arrives at Pandora. He had lost his twin brother, and he talks like he’s open to anything new that might give his life meaning. Of course, the prospect of having a new body, even if only virtual, is attractive to a marine who has lost the use of his legs. Jake doesn’t know his purpose, so at the same time he’s helping the anthropologist understand and befriend the Pandorans, he’s also giving intel to the colonel for him to know when and how to strike the enemy. Jake is the ultimate double agent, although there is no attempt to fool the Pandorans who call Jake and the other virtual Pandorans “sleep-walkers.” Often our lives take odd, unnerving and faith-challenging turns, and we wonder what purpose we were intended for. In that sense, we’re like Jake who had to wait to see the purpose for the crippling he’d experienced. He had to go low before he could go high. Obviously, the “divine” dandelions that light upon Jake while he’s following the Pandoran woman through the jungle are the sign of some sort of calling upon Jake; the Pandoran woman recognizes that.
Avatar – post 1
Don’t focus on the obvious bait for conservatives in Avatar
The danger in discussing Avatar is to concentrate on the negatives, political, religious, military justice. There are so many. While I’d like to touch on some of those things, lest people think I endorse all of the movie’s messages, I want to concentrate on that which comes through sometimes unintentionally, sometimes subtly, and which can teach us about living biblically. I’d like to get the negative out of the way by the following basic statements and questions.
An Open Letter to Emperor Kennedy (Justice on the US Supreme Court)
Dear Emperor Kennedy:
I humbly beseech your Majesty for redress. On my knees, sir, I beseech thee. I have information that the lawyers representing four states in the same sex marriage case, Obergefell, and who argued in favor of states’ laws prohibiting same sex marriage were afraid to do things that they are legally allowed to do. In fact, they were so afraid of offending you and the rest of the Court that they didn’t even ask for the recusal of the two Justices who have officiated over same sex marriages. They were afraid that the Court might retaliate against them and attack their state laws out of some kind of petty meanness, as if you and your colleagues wouldn’t really look at the law. I apologize for that kind of attitude toward the Imperial Court. I know you couldn’t possibly want that. Should our justice system operate under such intimidation from the highest court that lawyers don’t even represent their clients zealously? But, really, are the other Justices that petty?
Continue reading “An Open Letter to Emperor Kennedy (Justice on the US Supreme Court)”