Whose Side Are We On?

Courtesy unboxedwriters.com

Do Christians unintentionally do the devil's dirty work in promoting movies that tell lies about the character of God?

Have you ever had one of those moments in which it seems as though a topic you've been pondering for some time suddenly becomes clear? In case you're wondering what to call that moment, it's called an epiphany, and I had one recently in regards to Christianity's relationship to movies. Let me share with you the thought processes that led up it.

Negative Publicity

Many Christians made a big deal about the recently shown movie "Noah" and its apparent disregard for the biblical story of the same name. Not surprisingly, it ended up being the top movie by a large margin in terms of money generated for that weekend.  That last bit of news got me thinking as to if all the negative talk about that movie actually increased ticket sales somewhat as people wanted to see the source of all this controversy for themselves. I have heard that in Hollywood there is no such thing as negative publicity, and while we may never know for certain if that was true in this case, it did give me food for thought. However God can also be misrepresented in a different way, so to help round out the picture lets look at a movie which Christians viewed quite differently.

Son of a Different God

The movie "Son of God" based off of "The Bible" miniseries shown on the History Channel, depicts the story of Jesus Christ, and its creators apparently planned to have many people watch this because in some of it trailers display a number to call and purchase group tickets. This movie generated no negative publicity that I am aware of, and although it brought in much less money in its opening weekend ($25.6 million vs. $43.7 million) than "Noah" is still doing quite well for itself. The problem with "Son of God" comes from its creators going to the opposite extreme than those who put "Noah" together. One reviewer put it this way.

"If the producers only wished to film a good story, that would have been okay. After all, the life, death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ really make a wonderful narrative, made all the more wonderful because it is true. But the producers have declared their wish that the movie and the miniseries would reach many people with the Word of God. Films can do that, and—while I hope this one does—I fear that biblically illiterate viewers will see nothing in the movie to help them understand how Jesus’s death should benefit them. Though grossing well at the box office, it remains nothing more than a fairly incomplete depiction of Christ as a happy smiling wandering miracle worker that made some downtrodden people feel good about themselves."

Smear Campaign

By emphasizing such extreme views of God and His teachings, many "biblically based" films lead many to adopt distorted views about God. It becomes so difficult to reconcile the extremes that many people simply choose the extreme that suits them best. God either becomes so vindictive that one cannot reason with Him, or so passive that one need not worry to disobey what He tells us to do. The devil is happy for us to believe either one of these lies because both fall under his smear campaign against God, and is even happier when God's professed followers do their best to spread these lies to all their friends and family.

The Christian's Response

So how should Christians deal with such movies? We cannot simply bury our heads in the sand and pretend biblically incorrect movies don't exist (and they do generate some witnessing opportunities), but at the same time we shouldn't spend so much of our time and energy on these films that we don't have the time or energy to devote to worthier causes. So next time a professedly Christian film starts generating some buzz, be careful that the cause you promote is of heavenly, and not diabolical, origins.

What do you think of this viewpoint? Be sure to share your views in the comment section.

[SAHD] Parenting Lessons From Eden

Courtesy fanpop.com

Who better to learn parenting lessons from than humanity's Ultimate Parent?

As a new parent I have discovered that people often give you tips, books, etc. on how to be a better parent.  Naturally some advice is better than others, but the best guidance I have found comes from our Ultimate Parent, God Himself.  Here are some lessons I discovered from where it all began, the Garden of Eden.

Create the Best Possible Environment

This one falls in the "too obvious to be seen" category.  I didn't see it at first either, but it makes a lot of sense.  God wanted the best for His kids so he made them the best home possible.  Now many of us may not have a lot of options regarding where we live, but that doesn't mean we can't be creative in our current situation.  A great way to get creative is to get your kids involved in the process.  You may not get a lot of feasible ideas, but at least you're spending time with them.  While you're spending time with them, be sure to . . .

Maintain Their Innocence

This point may be a bit controversial for some.  So much is said how we should not shelter our children and how we should prepare them for the the "real world".  However, look at what God did with His kids.  God purposely told Adam and Eve to avoid the tree that would give them the knowledge of evil, which brings us to our next point.

Give Simple Rules to Follow

God gave three basic commands to His kids: Be fruitful and increase in number, Fill and subdue the earth, and especially Don't eat from this one tree.  A possible application of this principle is instead of getting our kids to follow a litany of rules, get them to follow one simple rule, Do what your parents tell you to do (I know, I know, easier said than done, but one dream, can't he?).  Ultimately God's kids didn't listen to Him, but there is a silver lining for us even in that situation.

Don't Treat Yourself Too Harshly

Hey, if even God's kids didn't listen to Him, if for some strange reason our kids don't listen to us, we shouldn't take that as an indictment against our parenting skills. Children ultimately make their own choices that are beyond their parents control.  However, there is one part where parents have a lot of control.

Don't Avoid Punishment

Now no good parent wants their children to suffer, but when God's kids disobeyed Him, He simply had no other choice. He could have simply excused them because He is God, and can do whatever He wants, but that didn't happen.  Without some punishment, from that point forward, nobody (esp. Satan) would have taken God seriously.  When for whatever reasons parents avoid punishment that only erodes their authority and emboldens their children to try something worse.  Notice also that the punishment was simply allowing them to experience the consequences of their actions.  Something to think about, and while you're thinking . . .

Think More About God
 
While you may not agree with all of my applications, I hope that I have gotten you to think more about what lessons we can learn from the Bible, and I also hope that you take more time to read it for yourself.

What lessons regarding parenting (or anything else for that matter) have you learned from the Bible?  Share your discoveries in the comments section below.

The Divine Hitman

The Death of Jezebel
Courtesy Orientalism in Art

Truth may not always be stranger than fiction, but it can be as dramatic.

The horseman rode off to meet Jehu and said, “This is what the king says: ‘Do you come in peace?’”
   “What do you have to do with peace?” Jehu replied. “Fall in behind me.”
   The lookout reported, “The messenger has reached them, but he isn’t coming back.”  2 Kings 9:18

As I am reading through the Bible, I am constantly amazed at how many great stories exist in the Old Testament.  Those who neglect that portion of the Scriptures miss out on many stories involving colorful characters.  Jehu is one such character.  There are two Jehus in the Bible, the first one, Jehu son of Hanani, was a prophet, and while I'm sure that he had an interesting life, the one I'm talking about is Jehu the son of Nimshi, who was a military leader who became king of Israel.

Jehu son of Nimshi comes onto the scene during the time when Elijah was the main prophet in Israel.  Shortly after the Mount Carmel experience, God gives Elijah a "to do" list which involves anointing two kings and his prophetic successor.  Apparently, Elijah didn't complete the list before being taken to heaven, so we find Elisha being the one to set Jehu's reign in motion.

I'm not going to retell Jehu's entire story (which you can read in 2 Kings 9-10), but I will say that his story reads like some sort of action movie (hence the provocative title for this post).  After being anointed king by an anonymous young prophet described as a "maniac", Jehu, formerly a military commander, becomes the leader of what amounts to a death squad hunting down and eliminating all those connected with the now-deceased evil king Ahab and the worshipers of the false god Baal.

One of my favorite parts of this story shows that there was something special about Jehu (if I was making a movie, this clip would be in the trailer).  As he was approaching the hideout for number one on his hit list, Ahab's son Joram, Joram sends out a messenger to see if Jehu has come in peace, and as all good action-movie stars go, he has definitely not come in peace.  Jehu had such a way about him (I would compare him to Leonidas of Spartan fame), that with two short sentences (see text above), he convinces not one, but two of Joram's messengers to switch sides and fight against their former leader.

After eliminating Joram and Ahaziah, Jehu goes after the prophet-killer Jezebel, Ahab's widow.  What happens next says something about both Jehu and Jezebel.  When Jezebel heard that Jehu was on his way, she did her hair and put on makeup, and stood by a window waiting for him.  When he arrived she asked him if he came in peace (you know the answer to that question), and once again, with a few words, Jehu was able to convince some on the other side to do his bidding.

The remainder of the story involves more action as Jehu makes his way through his divine hit list (incidentally, nobody after this point asks if he came in peace), and God commends him of his services even though Jehu didn't get everything right.  While I am not advocating the glorification of bloodshed, I'm writing about Jehu's story for the purpose of getting people to pay more attention to the entire Bible.

So if you take the time and read some of the great stories of the Old Testament, you will find that the truth in the Bible can be as interesting as the fiction you'd find elsewhere.