Apocalypse Please?

No this not about Muse's great song but about a never ceasing stab at predicting the apocalypse. I had to comment on this trend of some "christian" groups who keep trying to predict the end of the world.

I remember seeing the book 88 Reasons The World Will End In 1988, in 1991. Even I got excited about the predicted end by the terminator machines in 1997, but it  never came. Harold Camping predicted the end would come in 1999 by some Jewish calendars and interesting mathematical calculations, but even math failed us. The millennium bug that was Y2K, the year to usher in the computer apocalypse also failed to boot.  The Mayans and some Christians thought 2012 was the end, we even got a mediocre movie out of it. And recently the rare Blood moon of 2015 align with some Jewish festivals thus the apocalypse. These are only a small handful of the times this has been done, rest assured this will not be the end literally, nor of this problem.

Christians please wise up. This has been done so many times. I have watched people I love make life decisions over our tendency to fall for panic inducing predictions that do little more than make both book profits and false prophets alike.

Christians we are called to be wise as serpents. Wisdom calls to us but we keep deciding we would rather be simple. Proverbs warns of the importance of wisdom and the foolishness of ignoring it. Christians are not stupid. We have a logical informed life changing Gospel and an intelligent and all loving wise God.

Why do we fall for this? 

Jesus himself told us that no one would know the hour or day. So why, why do we keep thinking he is wrong and these false prophets are right? 

This also doesn't mean "But we can know the year or season!" It is meant to communicate don't ask, you will not know. God does say we can read the signs but that means looks high for your redemption draws near not that it is meant for some kind of specific interpretation and it is definitely happening on this date so buy guns and sell your stock.

The guy on street corner holding the sign has at least the sense to not tack a date onto the warning. 

Might part of it be that we are so heavenly minded we are no earthy good? What I mean we have so little to contribute and less to hope for in the here and now that only the hope of heaven moves us? 

Are we maybe in danger of loving God but not so much our neighbors? If we knew the apocalypse was tomorrow shouldn't we be preaching the gospel, rather than trying to get our ducks in a row? Anticipation of his returns is every Christian's hope but it should change us for the here and now, for the better.

We should be that much better at love and ministry to the world. We should be that much better because there really is an urgency in the message. Today is the day of salvation!

There is an atheist website about pet care for after the rapture. It is mocking the whole concept for sure but it is clever in that we have not been. If we predict, freak-out and are duped by this only to do it all over again next time then where is our hope and our security really planted? It certainly isn't in Jesus' own words.

Furthermore what does this say of Christians? Well unfortunately it says we both fail to possess understanding of our own theology nor do we engage our minds beyond a fight or flight response. 

So after every mistake are we learning or is our guitar still weeping? John Lennon is spinning in his grave.

Our redemption does draw near, with every passing day it is closer than when we began, but God will come in his time and we will not know when. That is why we are told it will happen like a thief in the night. The picture is for us to prepare in such away that we are ready no matter when it is. Why? Because we do not know and will not know. The signs are a reminder of the times for the purpose of moving us to timely ministry not an indication of an expiration date.

The idea is that his return is imminent. This means we can't know the time but we are always supposed to be prepared. We are to be ready. This is the point of the parable of the 10 virgins. Be ready because we do not know when the bridegroom will come. There are things to be done for preparation. There is a way to wait. When we chase after dates we are like the foolish virgins who are not prepared and only do what is necessary after the time has run out. We sit around with our wicks not trimmed and our oil running out. We wait for the calling of the city guard to announce his return before we move into action. This is why people chase dates because they themselves are not prepared and they need something to make them move.

Part of the reason we are not told the date is to prompt a response in us now. We have to develop a life style of discipline in order to be prepared. Or else we become the wicked servant who supposes the master is still far off and beats the fellow servants and is completely caught off guard when the master arrives.

So please dear Christian stop looking to the next prophet or world event to inform you of something that God has said he will not share. Instead understand that everyday your redemption draws near and that that means live accordingly.

Many more nice looking round numbers on the calendar will come but that should not bother us . But If not, how about February 1, 2121? It has a nice calendar looking date and It is far enough in advance for me to keep some credibility. If the Lord should tarry until the date comes to pass I will be already dead and safe in his hands.

But really, why not just listen to God?

Thanks

A Dying Breed

The previous commentary on Jude was all about false teachers already in operation in the first church. But false teachers were not only around in the first century. The apostle Paul vehemently charges young Timothy to a proclaim and respect the Word of God in 2 Timothy 1.

1I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.   

Why does Paul say this, what is he so concerned about? 

3For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, 4 and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths.

Paul continues on to warn that people will not put up with sound doctrine. He seems to think that eventually people will no longer be interested in what the Bible teaches. People will want teachers that simply tell them what they are eager to hear. Hmm....

Peter also writes to the church about this. In 2 Peter 1-3

2 But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. ² And many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of truth will be blasphemed. ³ And in their greed they will exploit you with false words. Their condemnation from long ago is not idle, and their destruction is not asleep.

John also writes about this in first John 2 and 4. He says already many false teachers have gone out into the world and that this is why we need to test the spirits to see whether or not they are from God. We are charged to watch.  Because many Antichrists have come and will continue to do so. 

This is why I do this. There is something to be said for holding the line. I believe that. I don't make the mistake of thinking I am the only one, but I want to be one of the ones who do.  I think we are already seeing this all around us. People who want to deny Hell, people who want to deny that sin is sin. People who want to call darkness light and good evil. It is very easy to follow a culture when a culture is collectively moving in one direction. Our country did it when it was walking after God in it's infancy and they are still doing it as it walks away from him in its so called maturity. This is why mass appeal for the Christian church should always raise an eyebrow. If we are attracting the world to our services we should be prudent enough to ask ourselves why?

Have we created doctrine to scratch their itching ears or are they falling on their knees and repenting before a Holy God? One message fills churches and makes people happy, the other is the heart of Jesus getting people to a place where he pronounces that their sins have been forgiven.   

I have even seen this a bit in this blog. My most read blog are the ones that encourage and remind that God will come through in hard times. My least read ones are the ones that remind that God has some hard things to say to his people as well. But God brings both messages as his followers we must as well.

I thank God that we live in a country where we can stand up for the truth. But the other side of the coin is that the acceptable truth is being more and more regulated.  I see a future where in order for America to preserve its current and evolving way of life it will become necessary to curb the freedoms that granted it. It will be more important than preserving the truth that allowed for that way of life to come about. It may still be years off but we are already seeing some trying to compare all religion to the radicals that want to tear down our world. If they can make that link in enough people's minds than our Christianity will be truly relegated to a personal religion not free on the streets. 

The answer so far has been to get in line, acquiesce, and thus we get the people that Paul and Peter and Jude were talking about. The other option is to take their encouragement to heart and to continue on. But this may and probably will result with us getting to experience the persecution that Jesus talked about. The kind that only those other countries get to live with. 

I want to hold the line and be faithful to the end. This may sound like I am being presumptuous, but I don't think that the apostles were just given to drama. 

Are we a dying breed? I hope not, let's continue on. 

thanks

A Lack of Clarity (all those versions part two)

The reason I wrote the first blog about this subject was because of a tendency I have seen to write off the Bible because "You know the Bible has changed and been re-written over the years by many different people right? You do realize this right?" In other words you are foolish to put too much stock in its pages.

I cannot tell you how many times I have seen someone post this on comment sections about anything that has to do with Christianity. I know, why read the comments, it is the bane of our existence?! 

But I wrote that last one to point out that actually we have extremely accurate Bibles that highly reflect authorial intent which Christians believe were God breathed.

2 Timothy 3:16 
14But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it 15and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

But I didn't address the other line of argumentation fully which is also used just as often: that the Bible is just not that "clear". Well I have mentioned this in passing a few times and after having read yet another article about how we all need to chill because the Bible is not that clear. I felt the need to stand up once again and defend Gotham. Not that Gotham needs my defending, nor am I Batman but the church has a history of good theology and I don't want that to go away with a flood of misinformation. Louder voices on the internet are not always good ones.

So in my response I wish the Christians would admit about the Bible though difficult can be understood with study and practice. Maybe not to full complete understanding or liking but that is why humility is important in knowing God. I may not understand everything fully but let's stop tossing babies around in bathwater.

Relevant Magazine had an article about things people need to admit about the Bible and they are right ; to undermine the scriptures is a great way to undermine the Christians faith which is very relevant to enemies of God. So I will respond to their five points.

Point 1 The Bible is not magic but a collection of Books with different Genres. Good, true point.

Point 2 The Bible isn't as clear as we'd like it to be. Um sometimes it isn't but I think that this is more of a passing blip than a point. It is awfully clear on many things. It is awfully clear on many things that people do not like. Just because we do not like something doesn't mean it becomes unclear. Let's not let the little ambiguous ones undermine its authority. It's little foxes that spoil the vineyard afterall. Well we are at it let's talk about the one you think are so ambiguous that you think we should create a principle that actually undermines its authority. See I have seen this point but people don't want to discuss it.

The example used the point of violence as God commands against it but at other times uses it as judgment. Why is God so inconsistent? It must be unclear. Well to understand this point apply your first one. In one way God is commanding obedience for his people to act as judgment on the nations, and in another he is commanding no personal vendettas. God says vengeance is mine. It is not inconsistent for him to carry out such vengeance with the hands of his people who he actively governs over. See distinctions which come about through study shouldn't make us conclude that the Bible is too difficult to make assertions, but that is always what this line of argumentation wants to argue.

Jesus often spent a lot of time quoting from the Old Testament saying it is written for his line of reasoning. It as is if he put a lot of stock in what was recorded in ink. Jesus even combated his own temptations with the words of scripture, but Satan tried to do the same. Jesus didn't throw up his hands and say "You are right Satan we are both using the same scriptures, it is just so unclear!" No, he seemed to believe that the words long written down had meaning when properly understood and applied. 

This point should be the Bible doesn't always ask easy things of us; but a lack of understanding does not mean a lack of clarity. 

Point 3 The Bible was inspired by God not dictated by God. True so what are you getting at? It seems since this was not fleshed out into any real reason, that this is simply to undermine the authority because  "You know God didn't directly say it? This is that same argument that "You know it's not in red letters so Jesus doesn't believe that!" The Bible does give testimony on what its' readers should believe about it. 

The Bible acknowledges that many people will rise up and misuse the word and that false teachers will abound. The answer is not to throw up our hands in hopelessness. No, the answer is to study to show yourself approved.

2 Tim 2:15
14Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers. 15Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

Point 4  We all pick and choose the Bible we Believe, Preach and Defend. Well, some may I guess, but largely as a whole no we don't. But as you have displayed, the weak Bibliology that is being build on this premise will conclude from the flimsy foundation you are building with points 2 and 3.

People will do this if we continue to uphold a view of the Bible that is so grounded in man's own ability to comprehend God. But when we ground our view in the Bible's own testimony, that it does come from God then there will always be someone to point out that the Bible does in fact say something worth listening to. If this is really the truth about Christianity then we are a stupid people indeed. In fact if my Bible is simply the version that I like then who is to say who is right, or if anyone is? And for that matter why not go find one that is a little better, perhaps the book of Mormon or the Koran? See, if we have this little regard for the Bible than we really have no right to use it to make lists of 5 reasons that others should pay attention to.

Point 5 God is bigger than the Bible. Again true, to the point of obvious. But this is usually meant to mean that being spiritual is as and if not more important that understanding God's revelation. But then if you are not willing to submit to his own revelation about himself, if you are not willing to acknowledge that his delivery system was also for a reason, than who is now even bigger than God? Well, you are. All world religions believe this. They believe God is bigger than the pages of scripture so they inevitable leave them to find him elsewhere, and we get another religion. So which one will you let define your God? I will rely on the revelation that he gave from his disciples inspired by God himself. You can rely on your world experiences if you want to.

We live in the internet age where everyone is welcomed a comment. Ok sure, even I am using that privilege. But just because somebody writes something doesn't make it true, just as my own words are subject to scrutiny. I used to tell my students in ministry no speaker, no writer, no pastor, no blog, nobody is better than the word. Every speaker, writer, blogger, pod-caster whatever on matters of Christianity, God , Theology, everyone is this area is only as good as they are submitted to the word. Even Paul didn't just say "Well because I say so!" he commended the Bereans who went out studied what he said. Don't let someone convince you of something just because they are eloquent or they have a platform. Search it out, submit to God and he will lead you into truth. Solomon said it this way

Proverbs 25:2
It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out.

If the truth sets you free, it shouldn't lead into a bondage of ambiguity. Because the author is right about this thing; everyone does have their version of the truth. The question is does it reflect God's or not? Is it submitted to God? People waver, people change, people fight, people argue, people disagree, but that is people not God's testimony. James gives a warning on this matter in his third chapter.

Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.
 
The clarity questions is really about accurately reflecting God's word or not. So take the time to make sure you are.

thanks

Do we really need to fight the Avenger?

With another law passed from the supreme bench in our country some have started to speak out more about rebellion. But what is all this rebellion business about?

The obvious example is the civil war but is that what we really want? 

Well the question is of course at what point should the church stand up to a corrupt government? You know because of Nazi Germany? Well how about instead of going to that extreme which may be a legitimate barometer for a culture to at least reference, let's instead ask how should a Christian think about this?

I am not so interested in how a republic should respond to this type of losing of its rights; I will leave that aspect to the political scientists. Since the government is not a Christian institution how should it act fair in this instance? How do you legislate for a people of differing values? differing worldviews? How should both anti-discrimination laws and free speech work? It can become so nuanced that someone is going to feel violated at some point; probably making an executive judicial ruling in favor of one over the other without the input of the people is not such a great idea, but here we are. I am no lawyer so I can only speak to the faith of those who feel like they are living in an increasingly sinful world with no help from a system they thought would help them.

So if using the system doesn't work as many feel in this case what does a Christian do? Do we grab our guns and religion and start a revolution? I sure hope not, and here's why.

We should always look at how those who resisted in the Bible did it. We are called to live at peace with everyone after-all. Christians do not go to war for their rights. They do not even go to war over the Gospel, they peacefully present it and they accept the consequences.

But even Biblically speaking there is precedent to run for our lives but never, never to kill for them. We have too many times in history taken principles in the Bible and have turned them into reasons to kill for and quite frankly we have been wrong every time. Vengeance is God's.

We have to of course deal with what Jesus said to Peter about the sword. In preparedness Jesus told the disciples that a time was coming where they may need to buy swords, but was this for going on the offensive? When the time came for Jesus to be taken away one of the disciples decided that that was the purpose of the sword and rose to the occasion. But what was the outcome?

When this account happens in John:

Jesus said to Peter, "Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?"

It was more important that God's will be done even when they were threatened with physical violence.
Luke records the same event. Luke 22:47-53
This time Jesus rebukes his disciples when this happened and even goes so far as to heal the man's ear.  He did not want his disciples engaging in acts of violence and even restored the person.  

Mathew records it this way.
52Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place. For all who take the sword will perish by the sword. 53Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?

Jesus teaches that if one wants to live in such a way that he takes justice into his own hands then he will be opening himself to that kind of death. He also reminds Peter of God's own sovereignty and plan.

So yes he did tell them to obtain a sword, but was it to go on the offense? It seems that this was not what he was getting at. It seems he was simply acknowledging it may be dangerous out there and be prepared, an object lesson perhaps?

So let's understand the context they are in the process of putting Christ to death and he was not at all interested in the self-righteousness of even his own protection from this with acts of violence from his followers. Ah but that was for a pivitol time in redemptive history, what about when something not as essential as Jesus dying on the cross is happening? Well if the answer is not already in the question then let's look at the New Testament. 

Paul writes to the church is Rome. Now when we hear Rome we think of cool ruins and exotics locals over in Italy and that awesome movie Hudson Hawk. Nice.  But think about what that culture was really like. I was just in Italy last year I walked the halls of the Vatican, strolled over the canals of Venice, and the stood in the middle of the Roman Colosseum. The Roman Colosseum was a system in place for the sport and entertainment of the people. But the sport was brutal fights to the death, often with Christians and simple slaves trying to stay alive. Not only this but the system supported cults, temple prostitution, and yes homosexual lovers was common. You could also be jailed with no supply or care for your lively-hood for speaking against the Caesar. He used Christians as human torches for his garden parties and blamed the fire of Rome on Christians to incorporate open and free persecution of them. There were so many religions and gods that if you violated one of them you could bring the ire of the whole community down on you. You could say sin abounded. In fact Paul points out the state, not of just humanity, but of Rome in the beginning of his letter to the Romans.

So let's understand the context that Paul writes when he pens Romans 13. 

1Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. 2Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment.

Remember this is the government that eventually puts Paul to death. To further the example the new Jewish converts had to live through John the baptist being beheaded, James the brother of John being beheaded. Phillip the evangelist being stoned to death and let's not forget Jesus was put to death as well, he rose again thankfully. If you read Fox's book of martyrs the traditions are that almost all of the disciples had their end in this way. But the persecution was never a reason to get organize and raise the capitol. In fact the disciples had a reputation of rejoicing when they were persecuted for the Gospel's sake. The only other response that came about from persecution was a scattering and a spreading of the Gospel. 

The resurrection took the power out of violence. What is the point of physical striving with arms when there is a resurrection of the dead to look forward to?

In other words the response of Christians to a corrupt government is a doubling down on the preaching of the Gospel. The message is reinforced by Paul telling the people to "Owe no one anything except love." Now love did have stipulations for living for sure, but for Christians. We see in the rest of chapter 13 that the responsibility was to display love nonetheless. I mean Paul reminds them to keep paying taxes. It would be nice that if I can't go to war at least I can stop supporting them financially. But Paul seems to think that the Christian should continue to love and support God's avenger. 

If part of our system of government is to allow dissent then we are still in fullfillment of Romans 13 by using the system as given to us. This is what Paul did in appelaing to Rome, he did not simply let the system silence him he used it for the gospel's sake. But when a system changes for the worse all we can do is thank God for time that he gave us to establish his kingdom in the way we were able to do and then continue to do so under a stricter hand. 

Part of the rub for us I know is that we live in a society that grants us a voice of dissent. In fact our free society was based on a voice of dissent. We are blessed to live in a country that started out honoring God and thus adopted some tenets of freedom. But unrestrained and undefined freedom will always consume itself. It will leave behind all those good intentions of the people who believed that man was somehow better than he actually is. 

See if our anthropology is that people are basically good then we will think that ultimate freedom will lead to utopia.  But an anthropology that reflects true human nature reveals that when we are given more freedom we use it selfishly, sinful humans with ultimate freedom leads to more moral decline and the collapse of society or at least one that wants to live in opposition to God. That is why our founding Father's though wanting to establish a free society still recognized the need for laws and even laws to protect the people from the newly instituted government. The separation of church and state as Thomas Jefferson penned it, not in the constitution I might add, was to prevent government interference with religion not prohibit it. Now somehow it is interpreted backwards. But if God's deems our plight worthy of an exodus then he will provide his own Angel of Death, he doesn't need us for that role, but if not and probably not, we must continue to be faithful and humble ourselves. All we can do is pray for our leaders to change or for the Maker to return.

If our prayer leads us to anger and temptation to rise up then our focus is wrongheaded and we are not resting in the one who has both the power to raise up kingdoms and bring them down.   

Daniel 2 reminds

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever,
to whom belong wisdom and might.
21He changes times and seasons;
he removes kings and sets up kings;
he gives wisdom to the wise
and knowledge to those who have understanding;

When commanding Jeremiah the prophet God tells him of his power over the nations

1:10See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms,
to pluck up and to break down,
to destroy and to overthrow,
to build and to plant.”

Psalm 75 is also about this. 

The last point is simply this. We are not Israel, so we are not a true theocracy and we do not get to act as his sword. He did that under a different covenant for judgement, but at this point in history he has reserved all judgment to the Son, who when he returns will administer it all. As I said before all we can do is know that they will give account, even the very avengers that we had a hard time living under that God allowed for a time.

This is a hard truth no doubt. It takes humility to let God handle his own affairs in the realms of men but they are his affairs. His affairs are justice, mine are obedience. The only warfare Christians wage are on their knees humbly before God.  So maybe we should we should enact some warfare: take it to the Lord in prayer. 

thanks
 

Changing Dirty Filters

I recently was working a job where I did maintenance. A common problem was with our air movers. Air returns have filters. Our houses have filters. Filters grab the particles of dirt and dust out of the air so we do not breathe them.  But when our filters get dirty and need change they can shut down the clean air.

In the same way we have filters in the way we hear a messages. I hinted at this a little while back when talking about the church.  Different people have different backgrounds. We see, we hear, we feel differently.  If we have a background of works and pain then we are sensitive when a message has this sound to it so we shut down. Or perhaps we have a background of license and then we are sensitive to a message that has a lot of grace talk. Or perhaps we have a background with the Word being misrepresenting and so we are sensitive to when this happens etc. 

A problem occurs over time when the filter is spent. In other words I have put up filters and rightfully so in order to filter the garbage. But, over time if we do not clean out the filter or simply change it, it starts to malfunction and starts to prevent clear passage. This is a problem in HVAC and it is a problem in communication. If we always bring our hurts and pasts to the table and never clean out the filters then we will always hear what we fear. What happens if we loose the ability to hear outside of our experience?

We can see how our own culture has changed into the kind of people who cannot hear beyond its filters/pain/experience. We do this and we refrain from entering into any kind of useful dialog because our offense siren will not turn off.  In other words we assume.

I don't need to tell you what happens when we do that. The bigger problem is however overtime we do not simply not hear, we can't hear. The actual message is gone and instead what we see is enemies and offenses all around and we do not engage. We do not hear the encouragement that was there. We do not hear the life that was there. We most certainly do not hear the exhortation that was there. Our filter is clogged and over time we begin to think that the it's air that is dirty.

I am sure at some point something I have written has pricked someone the wrong way. Perhaps I wasn't clear or I was insensitive. This is something for me to work on for sure. But what all of us can work on is how we filter information. This is a problem of our culture for sure, but again this is not a blog for the world to fix itself with, this is for the church. If as Christians we do this then we risk missing out on something God may have for us.

I think we get a picture of this from the story Joseph and his brothers.

Joseph has these awesome dreams about what God was going to do his life. Joseph perhaps naively thought that his brother would rejoice with him over the revelation from God.  His brothers misunderstood his excitement for pride and wanting to rule over them. Their filters of jealousy and competition for their father's love ended up with them selling him into slavery. A misunderstanding perhaps?

Another example is David and Saul.

David only ever wanted to serve the King and God but his deeds continually out paced the King's. Unfortunately all Saul could feel was jealousy over loosing his throne and kingdom.  He could not see the ally that God had brought him because of his filter of fear of loosing what he had and jealousy of a more popular man among the people. He was blinded to the relationship that God put in his life and would not heed what God was doing. A misunderstanding perhaps?

Another example is our course Jesus and his disciples with even the pharisees.

On many occasions Jesus was simply misunderstood from the people he was speaking to. Jesus had to stop and clarify many times to the disciples because they were not tracking with him. They had their natural filters out and could not see the spiritual things he was communicating. Perhaps rightly so, in this case, but then even Jesus had to take the time to make his message known. Even Jesus with all his communication gifts had to take the time to clarify himself with the people he wanted relationship with.

I understand that Jesus is perhaps in a different category from the rest, but he still gives us the example of needing to clarify. This is especially true when communicating with the world. They may hear certain things we are not saying. We may however also be saying things we are not meaning. So clarify, understand, listen, we may yet be able to communicate the gospel to a dying world, but we will never do it we can't first communicate to one another well.  Misunderstandings are going to happen, from a writer's/speaker's perspective we need to take the time to clarify the message. From a reader/listener perspective we need to take the time to clean or change our filters.

Talking past each other is a real shame, in the church and outside. This inability to communicate well has led our country collectively to become the "walking wounded". If we do not work through our pain filled filters or tear down our sharpened tongues we will no longer communicate anything other than hurt. When everyone is a victim, nobody has a problem to work on. When we foster a society of blame, nobody grows. As Christians we should want to change this.

Why? Because we want to hear God when he speaks, Don't we?

thanks

And Justice for All (I need a Hero)

No, this is not about Metallica's hit album from 1988 nor is this about AL Pacino's movie from 1979. But Justice for All is what we all want, what we all desire. And rightfully so, God created us in such a way that we recognize the lack of it, and desire wrongs to be righted. 

Some may say they don't believe in evil but just pay attention to what's going on in the world for a day and see if that worldview holds up. 

I was recently thinking about my post on the violence and entertainment. In fact I started thinking about this while watching the new show Daredevil; about a guy who looses his sight and gains super powers of smell and hearing to fight crime. Now some super hero shows are light hearted and very flashy and entertaining and others have a more harsher tone. This one has the latter. I was thinking about the harshness of the tone and I realized it served a purpose. The more harshness of the material the greater vacuum it causes in the void of hope and justice. This creates the need and desire for justice, this then calls out for and almost demands that a hero stand up. It is a workable formula.

I realized the level of the harshness speaks to the level of my desire for it to be stopped. I realized I was being taken in by the delivery and being hooked into the narrative, this is good writing. But I also wondered if this maybe is supposed to carry over into reality. Now bear with me here for a second. Often the horrible tragedies of this world make us call out for God, like with 9/11. We see human suffering and we want justice. We see human pain and we pain ourselves, this is a good human response. Empathy.

But sometimes we see the harshness in the world and instead of desiring a hero we desire an explanation.
In humility we desire help, accountability, we look for a hero. In pride we want vengeance and an explanation that satisfies our demands.

Now God does not want chaos to rule the land and for us to simply wait out evil, this is not the message. This is why he left governments in control, to curb sin. Romans 13 tells us this. But this desire and even demand for an explanation drives us to the point of compounding the offense. When we cannot rest in the deliverance we rend in the reasons why. We tend to harden our hearts and lose hope.

But the Christian response is supposed to drive us to him and realize that he will do justice. God will repay all evil. God does not wink at sin. Vengeance is indeed his. But our level of rest and trust in him reveals our level of discomfort in the waiting, our annoyance at the lack of salvation. It does not in any way alleviate the suffering but my demands of reasons will be laid to rest if I truly believed that God was just. 

This is what the prophet Jonah struggled with in a reverse way.  As much as God is just, he is also a forgiving God.  Jonah did not want to preach repentance to the Ninevites because he wanted them to be judged. Even though vengeance is God's, God had a different desire for them, he wanted to offer repentance.

As much as it may comfort me that justice will come, God may want to show mercy. Ouch!  Do I want blood more than God does? This is that harsh reality that I am not God. I have to realize that I am not supposed relent to God's justice because he will get them in the end, but because he is just and good he will always administer just and true judgment. In other words if someone will repent who am I to demand that they be denied mercy? 

This is the reality of our world. It is a harsh place. It is meant to point us to a savior, it is meant to show us that we need God. The degree that we can come to terms with that is the degree we have accepted him as Lord.  That is not to say that all suffering is merely an object lessen, but it does contain one if we are able and willing to see it. The world contains evil because of mankind's fall into sin. These are the consequences. It is not because God doesn't love or doesn't have enough power but that this is the reality of living apart from God which we chose. This is the quality of life we continue to choose. As much as we say we don't like it God agrees and says "Come away with me.

I have always had little compassion for kidnapers. One of the recent episodes of Daredevil was about a kidnapping. I have no room in my heart for this. It strikes me as the most vile unforgivable sin. To steal a person from their home and victimize them into fear and leave the rest in constant fear and worry and pain is just so emotionally horrible to me. It pains me and makes me cry our for justice. The show offered a hero and my pain was satiated.

But life does not always offer a hero as our stories do. A masked man does not show up and take away the evil and punish injustice. We get to read about it on the internet. We get to watch in on TV and we get to experience it in out communities. Where are the heroes? I think this is why the movie Boondock Saints (1999) was such a cult classic, why it became so popular. "Maybe someone should just kill them all?"  This is our temptation.  If we can just get rid of evil people we would feel better. But does simply getting rid of evil repair the reason for it?  The reason for evil is that man's relationship with God is broken.

But our relationship with sin is so ingrained that evil begins to conjure desire for reasons rather than heroes. I should desire a time when wrongs are righted. I should be trusting in the one who will act justly whether with judgment or mercy. As a Christian I should rest in what Paul says from Acts 17.

In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹ For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”

A Christian should never lament that there is no justice. This is to say there is no God. God will come again and he will render judgment. I do not need to worry about anyone getting away with anything, no matter how long ago it happened, or how the system worked or failed to serve justice. God will be just and he will balance the books. 

But do I believe that? As a Christian am I overly wrought with worry and overly distraught with the lack of justice? Do I scream at the evil in the world as a non believer does? Do I scream at the injustice in Washington as a non believer does? Do I really believe that things are so far out of God hands that nothing can be done? 

It is one thing to pain over tragedy it is another to harden our hearts because justice is never done. As the Bible says "Be angry but do not sin."

Justice is coming, a hero is on the way. All those who thought they got away with it. All those who we wonder if they got away with it. All those who still cause death and destruction. All those travesties that we read about and don't. All the victims we know about and don't. All the times we have to stop watching, stop reading, and stop listening because it is just too overwhelming. All the unchecked evil will give account. This is the Christian worldview. 

And when he comes he will stand on the Mount of Olives they will see him, him who was pierced for our sins and killed for our injustice. The world will bend the knee and every mouth will be stopped and every mouth will confess that he is Lord either willingly or not. 

I don't have to grasp at answers. I don't have to worry about injustice. I can rest in my Hero. 

thanks

The four letter word Theology

I read a very useful quote the other day about hermeneutics and it got me thinking. In his witty succinct manner Douglas Wilson says:  "Theology is simply remembering the verses you read over there while you read the verses here."

Now I love Theology, hence the subtitle to this blog, but unfortunately, often it gets a bad wrap. I keep seeing blogs that encourage people to stop saying that the Bible is clear. Well I would agree if the Bible is not clear on something. But I think the Bible is clear on a lot of things, especially if you take the time to learn how to read it. I also read another one about proof-texting, the author didn't flesh out how this works exactly other than to say not to do it. But what the term means is not to take a verse out of context and use it to prove your theological point.

Remember in the temptations of Christ, Satan said to Jesus "It is written", but before we say "That is right! we shouldn't try to prove things from the Bible!" But remember, Jesus also said "It is written" in his responses to Satan when tempted. The obvious take away is one was doing it better than the other. Jesus knew why it was written. You could say he took the time to understand the context and meaning of the passage, or he had good Theology.

In fact the exchange between Jesus and Satan, I believe, is a perfect example of why we need to be exceedingly clear when we use the Bible and how to do Hermeneutics.  

Paul even makes a big deal when telling Timothy about being sure his doctrine is good.  1 Timothy 1 is all about this. He reminds him again in 4:16 saying that it will save his life and his listeners'.  Paul reminds young Timothy again in 2 Timothy 2:15 To study and show himself approved, rightly dividing the word of Truth, why? To not be ashamed.

So, yes, some use it to their shame, but it can and should be used well. 

Unfortunately, to some terms like doctrine and theology are considered the four letter words of the church. Why? Because doctrine divides and theology/knowledge puffs up. I have also seen a bit of this in both Bible college and seminary. The Bible theology professors have one slant and the systematic professors have a slightly different slant and rarely the two shall meet.  I had the privilege of studying one in Bible college and the other in seminary and I have personally felt this challenge. I have seen this many times and I think I have learned something. I think that an example lies with Augustine.

Augustine was a benedictine monk who lived in the 3rd century in northern Africa and his theology has influenced many theologians and thinkers to this day. Sure, he had some problems in systematic theology and some problems in biblical theology especially in the old testament. But one thing he had down was pastoral theology. What I mean by pastoral theology is not just another of the theological disciplines but the way his theology impacted the way he led his people.  His theology generated a change in his life that meant he gave his for the sheep. They knew he loved them.

It was his theology that translated to rubber meets the road faith.

Part of the problem I have seen is that sometimes we communicate with too much straight Bible and not enough "Hey I am with you" language. When the time isn't taken to see why the Bible says what it says people start to think it is distant and too hard. But this can lead to people saying do not proof text, or rather do not make Biblical assertions. Other times however there is too much "Hey I am with you" language and not enough Bible, but that is a different problem for a different day.

I see the problem as one having to do with a lack of pastoral theology, or I should simply say a lack of usefulness. This is where the boot meets the boardwalk.  This can be reduced to answering the question "Yeah but what does that even mean?" Pastoral theology as I am using it is delivering doctrine and theology in a way that doesn't cause people's eyes to gloss over and start checking Facebook on their phones. It leaves people challenged and excited for the word and not leaving with them saying
"And that's why I don't read the bible."

The pastor has to first be real and relateable. Read Augustine's The Confessions and you'll see this real quickly. As useful as knowing that the Greek word for "work" means a lot of synonyms for work is, this may not be helpful to the listener.  A pastor has to take the time to make the language understandable. If not then often the language he uses is not simply flying over the hearers head but angels are not allowing it to leave the stage. The listener wants to know how difficult passages speak to their lives, or, if they even do? But a pastor must stick mostly to the text. This may mean making assertions and defending a position. Because it is the text that is authoritative not our opinions or what we want to speak about that week. If we follow the first two steps this won't sound as boring as it sounds. Sure add stories, add anecdotes, but the meat should be the word, that is why God gave it too us. That is why so much history and blood was spent to preserve it.

Finally a pastor should be one who remembers that "Theology is simply remembering the verses we read over there while we read the verse over here". This is really just another way of what Paul says to Timothy in 2nd Timothy 2.
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 

Pastoral theology is presenting the word in enjoyable, relatable, understandable, applicable truths, which it is if the time is taken.  Part of this translates to the people feeling that their pastor is believable, relateable, approachable, and that he cares for them and this in turn that God feels the same way. The point is not to sell ourselves but the bible is clear "How will they hear without a preacher?" The pastor is in a sense "selling God" but the people will not buy-in, if the pastor is distant, cold, aloof, grandiose, or merely selling himself.

I have seen how this type of preaching leaves people with distance from the pastor and the word itself and thus they concluded that Theology is not good.

Augustine is a major influence in all of Christianity.  By his pastoral theology he won his people with love and charity, and ended up literally giving his life for them, to serve them.  He understood that to lead was to serve, and thus the people saw God.  His Theology pointed him to charity, but it came from rightly handling the word of truth.

Theology sometimes has hard truths for us. The Bible sometimes makes difficult assertions. While knowledge may indeed puff up, sometimes doctrine is meant to divide.  You can usually tell one way or the other if love is in the mix.

Augustine won me over personally to the pastorate while studying him in seminary. The way he loved his people inspired me to continue in pastoral ministry when i was tempted to walk away. I was letting the burn out and challenge of people in the ministry overcome me until I truly understood that love was the key to ministry. Augustine understood his role of loving the sheep while bringing the word.  

To his people theology wasn't a four letter word, to them theology meant that the pastor loved them, and more importantly that God did.  It is truth and love, love does not discount truth, and love is void without truth.

thanks

Do you believe in Magic?

Ronald MacDonald has taken what the Lovin' Spoonful (1965) has given us and delivered it to us between two hamburger buns. Yes we believe in magic, the world wants to believe, but is that OK with you dear Christian?

As I mentioned previously I read all the Harry Potter books and watched all the movies. They were great!  That obviously tells you a bit of the direction I am going in, but let's talk about why.

The arguments seems to go well don't your read your Bible? Haven't you read Deuteronomy 18:9-14

⁹ “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. ¹⁰ There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering, anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer ¹¹ or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, ¹² for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. ¹³ You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, ¹⁴ for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.

Well yes, yes I have. The question is what does this mean for us today? This seems pretty straightforward, do not practice the stuff.  Do not consult mediums, do not seek out fortune telling, do not use tarot cards, etc.  This is not simply the case in the Old Testament because these practices are condemned in the New by Paul in Acts 13.

When the disciples saw Jesus walking on the water they thought they were witnessing magic calling him a ghost. When the people saw the miracles performed by the disciples they may have thought they were witnessing magic, a magician tried to pay money for it. Pharaoh tried to duplicate God's miracles with Magicians.  Magic is a real thing and that is why God warns against it. There is real power behind magic fueled by the enemy.  The Pharisees accused Jesus of doing his miracles by a very real but other power. Jesus then explained to the Pharisees what blasphemy is. It concerned Jesus when they equated his power with the power of Satan to say the least. The difference seems to lie in the source of power. The question becomes where is the power coming from? The Bible paints the picture of either from God or from the enemy. True enough.

So there is good power to be tapped from the Holy Spirit and evil power from the enemy. So some may ask the question about white magic versus black? The response is the Bible does not distinguish, both are not from God. God gives his own power and the enemy tries to duplicate it.  Actual power, actual sources.  If you are engaging in actual sources, seeking actual power then you are in violation of the Bible and you are opening yourself up to other worldly spirits. 

The New Testament warns us about even blaspheming the heavenly beings of which we have little understanding. (2 Peter 2:10, Jude) Do not engage them, do not seek their power or influence, they are real, but we are protected from them.  Our God is greater.

OK, but what about reading a book that has it in it? Or a movie that includes it? Or playing a game that uses it as a game-play mechanic? What is that exactly, how does that work? Now that is a good question.

So how does this translate to works of fiction? Fiction creates worlds and world views and fantasy is not based in reality. For example, is the force from Star Wars demonic? Or is it George Lucas's way of communicating a world view in which his story is framed? A different world view perhaps?
"The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It's an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together." --Ben Kenobi to Luke Skywalker aboard the Millennium Falcon. (1977). Good scene!

This is essentially the main story element to the Star Wars Universe.  Now this has obvious eastern philosophical thinking influences.  But does that mean George is pushing Hinduism? No, he is simply creating a backdrop for telling the story of the Skywalkers. I am free to take away what I want from the story, for instances: Light sabers are cool, The Force is cool, and Han Solo is cool.  The question becomes is this OK for the Christian to read, watch, enjoy? Well the answers seems obvious, no? Star Wars is fine, leave Star Wars alone!  Houdini!

Jude borrows ideas from the book of Enoch. The book of Enoch is as superstitious and magical a book as they come, there is a reason it is not included in the Cannon, but it still useful for understanding Jewish traditions. Paul even quotes from Greek poets and philosophers to get his point across in Acts which would be considered foolish superstitious idolatry in and of itself, but he found it useful for the gospel.  So how it is used is also important. 

But what about other works of fiction that are not so conspicuous?
Harry Potter sets up a universe where magic is real and there are witches and wizards living right under our noses. Magic in this case is simply a story telling feature that gives supernatural elements a defining and working set of rules. Magic is what describes the powers that these individuals have. It is setting up a world view where this is the norm, this is not about Satan versus God. The magic is a part of the world, simply hidden from view. It does have good versus evil, there is a difference.

Back to the Star Wars example. It is the same with science fiction. In science fiction the magic factor is how the author solved the problem that science can't in the real world answer. Just give it some sort of future sounding technology and move along. How do you blow up a planet? The Death Star obviously. But to use a more extreme example? Super hero movies, where do the powers come from? Often from an accident or an extreme circumstance. But to push our "Christian" rote answer would be to say "Is the power from God, no? Then it is from Satan!" Therefore do not watch or read comic book hero movies. Do you see how this line of reasoning doesn't engage the mind very well, and will never reach a culture that does?

Some would then say well magic is different it is named in the Bible. Like I said, the point is the source of power. If in real life all actual magic comes from Satan then fine I agree. But if an author sets up magic as part of the governing rules to communicate the way his universe works, we should not equate that with Satan and God. An author is allowed to think outside the box. The author who creates gets to set the stage and decide. Now obviously an author can choose to equate magic with the demonic, that is different. But this is not often the case because even authors know what Satanism represents and often want to distance themselves from it. But even in cases when authors do use Satanism in books it is usually the easy way to communicate "Well this person or movement is just plain Evil." They are trying to sell books after all.

So if an author uses a setting with Magic, we need to realize this is their attempt to explain something away. There is no reason to attribute this to actual evil. Even when an author does use the demonic and angelic they are typically setting up a dualism which still fails to capture the reality of magic, the world view is still different. Also for a Christian to hold rules this strict is to condemn C.S. Lewis and J.R. Tolkien. What we really end up saying is that some parts of culture simply cannot be redeemed. But the Christian should be redeeming culture as C.S.Lewis and J.R. Tolkien did to fantasy, not condemning them for using magic and wizards as a narrative tool.

What we really end up saying is people are not free to use their imagination.   

What the Bible is getting at is contacting the powers behind the magic which again comes back to the source. If authors are getting rid of those sources of power and creating something else we should not force them to take up the demonic side because of our failure to engage. As Jesus reminds in Mark 9, if someone wants to do good let's not condemn them because it doesn't look specifically like a Christian good.

I agree with the Bible, avoid contacting the powers, and avoid pagan cultic practices, and if any of these stories do encourage you to do these then by all means cast them away. Or if in a certain case the author is trying to influence you then by all means burn the book. But perhaps it does create a temptation for you, then realize this is an example of the individuals temptation. So if they create a temptation for you then by all means distance yourself but do not condemn a brother who does not also feel tempted. But watching a stage magician or illusionist is not different from reading fiction with magical elements in it. They are both fake. The Bible is concerned with the actual spirits and powers not the mere labels of magic being added to make-believe.  

This is like saying all secular music is from Satan and all Christian music is from God. A Christian needs to think in broader categories than this. There are more colors than black and white and I am not talking about the many shades of grey. The Christian needs to evaluate all his entertainment with wisdom not with rote fear. A Christian needs to properly evaluate all aspects of life, we have a tendency to throw out the baby with the bathwater on a lot of things. Maybe someone in your life has had a bad experience with this or that issue, then please, safe guard yourself. But let's not create new laws for others in order to distance everyone from the actual commandments as the Pharisees did. Jesus always brought them back to what was written not what they believed. 

Next time you are watching or reading something and start to freak out because there is a mummy on screen or talk of the force or someone is casting a lightning bolt at a goblin, pause, take a breath, and ask yourself these questions: If anything, what is this encouraging me to do, causing me to feel? Do these violate Christian principles? Then apply as appropriate. But allow God to move differently in others as far as your temptations go.    

So go out there and cheer for Gob Bluth on his merits as a magician, not just because his job does or doesn't incorporate magic. I really believe that the Christian needs to take the time to examine what is going on in their entertainment, by critically thinking about it, not simply by running from it.

Christians should be engaging culture not getting ready for the next witch hunt. 

thanks

Sex and Violence

Based on a previous post about the comedian and my response to that I recently had a short discussion with a friend of mine on the merits of Christian consumption of entertainment. Specifically about how our entertainment speaks and how we receive, respond, and even have a voice with it.  I had that discussion and while I was still pondering how this works I heard a radio discussion about why Harry Potter was not allowed to have Christian themes or anything redemptive because of its use of magic. 

I know that Harry Potter was so five years ago but this still speaks to the current problem of what do we consume for entertainment. Now I have read all the Harry Potter books and watched all the movies. That perhaps lets me speak to the issue or admit that I can't because I have already succumbed to its "magic" as another Christian dupe. But I will attempt to cast my spell and see if I have any influence at all.  Expelliarmus!!

Now perhaps my obvious bias will turn off a few but kidding aside, Christians do need a response on entertainment, but it should be based on the Bible and reason and not fear. I will focus on just a few areas used within entertainment: sex, violence, and magic with pagan practices.

So let's ask some hard questions should Christians watch "R" movies?  What content should be avoided?  Are some subjects too evil for Christians to view? Can Christians engage in any of these without it being sin?

I will admit that the one that I think makes the most sense is sex.  This is one with the least nuance. This is the one that Bible tells us to flee from.  This is the one that Job made a covenant with his eyes over.  This is the one that proverbs warns us against. This is the one that can cause marriages to be destroyed.  This is the one that Leviticus has the most addendums to for wrong practices. This is the one that gets repeated in the New Testament over and over again to take extra caution over. 

So what should the Christian response be? Shame? Fear? No we have tried that and it doesn't work. The Christian response should not therefore be that it is evil or shameful, but it does need a warning.

Some want to say "Well, that is the Old Testament" and true enough it is, but these warnings and commands are reiterated in the new Testament by Paul and then again at the Jerusalem council.  The issue was on what, if any, parts of the law Gentiles need to pay attention to. See Romans, 1 Corinthians, and Acts. Then some say "But Song of Songs is all about sex!"  True it is, but a theme of the book is not to awaken it before its time.  This is the point, sex is an amazing thing, when it's in the right context. 

The song of songs is meant to celebrate sexual love. Which it is, a celebration of a gift of God.  The Bible even contains stories of sex, but when it does the purpose was about the heirs that come from them and not for the purpose to arouse, when it is not about a bigger purpose the Bible is replete with warnings after warnings on this subject.  

Let's teach our kids that it is not a hateful, shameful thing, but that it is a wonderful thing but that it is reserved for marriage. So sexual content? In marriage? Good. For arousal and entertainment outside of marriage? Bad. For more information read your Bible. This is why porn is a problem, it involves actual people most of the time and its cause is for arousal. Christ clarified the way this sin works with the mind, so lust is the real problem, this happens with actual contact or not.

It seems to me that in the 80's and before, sex was often used in movies to communicate that the couple actually loved each other. Obviously this had range as well, but now it seems that sex is simply used to entice.  It sells, it always has, but it didn't used to be only for a enticement.  It seems as the times go on and as we become much more "mature" and able to handle these things we are simply injecting it into more and more of our entertainment.  

I once had a friend who had recently got married and told me that he still went to topless bars.  I was surprised not because he was a Christian, because he wasn't, but because this type of sin actively wars against the vows of marriage. I asked him why and he gave me the typical response, that he simply looked and didn't touch.  I told him that I could never do that because it causes desire which leads to darker more, tactual places. Then I asked him how long did he think it would be before only looking wasn't enough?  He got the point.

So 50 shades of Grey? Nope.

Moving on...

Violence, this one is perhaps more nuanced than sex because it is in all stories. The Bible is full of stories of war and battles and the victors are viewed as heroes and God frequently communicates himself to us as a warrior which is something to be looked up to.  Ecclesiastes says that there is a time for war. War involves violence. God frequently involved his people in war and conflict, and used it as a legitimate punishment for evil. Even if the evil was other forms of violence.

The Bible encourages people to view warriors and victors as honorable and worthy or praise. The question then becomes all violence?  Well no, the Ninevites for example are historically known for their brutality and gory shows that they put on to scare their enemies.  This is why Jonah didn't want to preach repentance to them because of the gross nature of their violence. The rule of an eye for eye was implemented not to make the world go blind as Gandhi said, but was to restrain evil.  This was to put a cap on violence. We tend to go overboard with this stuff. 

True enough that in the New Testament Jesus comes and shows a more excellent way.  He shows the way of restraint and he seems to teach passivity when it comes to our experience of personal violence.  But God himself essentially says leave the violence to me. "Vengeance is mine."  Actual violence is to be avoided by Christians.  But violence is given to the government to restrain evil, that is until God arrives on the scene to deal with it himself. God doesn't himself have a problem with punitive justice.

So violence is nuanced, God uses it, but should we be entertained by it?  Well again the Bible frequently uses valor and victories to tell a story, so that does not seem so out of bounce. But what about gore? What about slasher flicks?  Well I would draw the line there. It would be similar to the games of the Roman empire. Sure there were victors with stories of honor but essentially it was slaves in a bloody sport to the death for the citizens entertainment.  Like how WWE is only for entertainment, except people were actually killed, and the acting was better. I don't believe that Christians should have attended the Roman games and we should avoid gory entertainment, especially when there isn't any redeeming factor. I wish zombie movies could tell there bleak and human survival stories without having to emphasize and capitalize on the gore, maybe a pipe dream?

The gore element seems to be the 'lust' factor in violence, it is only to entice with death. It seems silly to discuss brutality factors but that does seem to be the point. What is this violence enticing me too? Is it causing me to honor soldiers and valor or is it enticing me to glory in death? This may be why the Gospels exclude the gory details of crucifixion. The fact the word excruciating had to be invented to describe it should be enough to make the point. If not Mel Gibson helped us on this bit. 

A further nuance? Well violence in films and TV do not hurt actual people in the making.  The way Jesus addressed this sin was anger leading to violence. When we view violence it is not typically fueling anger in the person watching as porn does with lust. Violence is usually a MacGuffin, which is why we walk away with such themes as self-sacrifice, justice, honor, service, camaraderie, valor etc. While again in porn there is no MacGuffin it is about the acts being witnessed, it is to stimulate. This is why a book or a movie about the gulf war or famous battle is fine. 

So Saving Private Ryan? Fine.

So for the Christian the purpose is how do I think Christianly about this?  The Christian must answer these questions to engage culture. It must be more than a knee-jerk reaction to offense but a Biblical response, especially when the outside world loves to point out hypocrisy. So take the time to learn why the Bible says what it says and when it says it. Learn why the Bible had battles and had heroes.  Psst. it had something to do with God's judgement. For another example that maybe defies the gore element I spoke on?  To avoid a knee jerk reaction, think about  the Passion of the Christ. It was gorier than most films but the point was to show what Christ suffered for us, the extent of his suffering. I think that that is very redemptive. This was a unique situation where the gore did help the point, but again use your Christian mind to decide.  

This is just such a big topic that these first two points have taken longer than I had thought, so I will do part two next time.

thanks