Satan: Prince of Darkness is a 1998 Arts and Entertainment Channel documentary which is ultimately unsatisfying because it attempts to be non-controversial. It rightly points out several modern understandings of the demonic; that the ancient fear of witches and the devil in part stemmed from a fear of women and sexuality; that the Salem witch trials were the result of rampant human fear and ignorance; that in the Eighteenth Century, Satan began to be seen as a rebel against authority and that in the Nineteenth Century he became an object of ridicule as science began to explain away God and Satan; and that, in the modern era Satan is seen as an interesting myth, the BOOGEYMAN.
The Bible clearly declares the Devil and his demons to be real, dangerous beings who seek to hinder or invalidate believers. Ephesians 2:1,2; 1 Thessalonians 2: 8, 3:5; Acts 5:3; 1 Corinthians 7:5; Revelation 2:10, 12:10; Matthew 13:38-3.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Book Comment: Profiles of Protestant Saints
In my 17 November 2009 comments on Butler's Lives of the Saints I briefly discussed the Protestant understanding of "saint." Cardinal Richard Cushing, the Catholic Archbishop of Boston, admitted in 1968 that the idea of Protestant saints may seem to be "novel." In his preface to Profiles of Protestant Saints, he acknowledged that Paul declared all believers to be saints and also that God raises up whomever He pleases to perform whatever tasks He wishes.
Profiles of protestant saints was written by a Roman Catholic for a Roman Catholic audience and details the stories of nineteen individuals who were raised up by God for service in times which called for that service. It was as if just the right person were placed in just the right situation at just the right time. Exactly.
Those profiled include Martin Luther (1483-1546), a disgruntled Roman Catholic priest; Adoniram Judson (1788-1850), who evangelized Burma; Alexander Campbell (1788-1866), the founder of the Disciples of Christ; Richard Allen (1760-1831), a highly educated Eighteenth Century African-American theologian and church founder; and Samuel Schereschewsky (1831-1906), a Lithuanian rabbinical student whose last words were, "I thank thee, Lord, for the scholarship, and for the time - and for the finger." You'll have to read the book.
Profiles of protestant saints was written by a Roman Catholic for a Roman Catholic audience and details the stories of nineteen individuals who were raised up by God for service in times which called for that service. It was as if just the right person were placed in just the right situation at just the right time. Exactly.
Those profiled include Martin Luther (1483-1546), a disgruntled Roman Catholic priest; Adoniram Judson (1788-1850), who evangelized Burma; Alexander Campbell (1788-1866), the founder of the Disciples of Christ; Richard Allen (1760-1831), a highly educated Eighteenth Century African-American theologian and church founder; and Samuel Schereschewsky (1831-1906), a Lithuanian rabbinical student whose last words were, "I thank thee, Lord, for the scholarship, and for the time - and for the finger." You'll have to read the book.
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Don't Be a Sausage
Silvanus (aka: Silas, fl. 1st century) was probably Peter's amanuensis (scribe) and, according to Roman Catholic tradition, went with Peter and John Mark to Rome in 42 AD/CE. He is also known to have been a companion of Paul. His most famous teaching is "Do not be a sausage which is full of useless things."
We are to devote all of our attention and resources to serving God (Deuteronomy 6:5; Romans 12:11-12; 1 Peter 2:12; Psalms 19:7, 10-11.), so what did Silvanus mean by "useless things"?
In the Christian context a useless thing could, of course, be mindless accumulation of things, but what Silvanus was probably talking about were personal distractions or hindrances to one's Christian witness and/or things about the believer which could cause distractions or hindrances to others.
Useless things to a Christian could be: pride, always having to prove that you are "right," gossip and judgementalism, hobbies which obsess you, failure to forgive (especially when they don't "deserve" it), and church "busyness." Useless things are things you would throw away to lighten yourself when the Devil was chasing you.
We are to devote all of our attention and resources to serving God (Deuteronomy 6:5; Romans 12:11-12; 1 Peter 2:12; Psalms 19:7, 10-11.), so what did Silvanus mean by "useless things"?
In the Christian context a useless thing could, of course, be mindless accumulation of things, but what Silvanus was probably talking about were personal distractions or hindrances to one's Christian witness and/or things about the believer which could cause distractions or hindrances to others.
Useless things to a Christian could be: pride, always having to prove that you are "right," gossip and judgementalism, hobbies which obsess you, failure to forgive (especially when they don't "deserve" it), and church "busyness." Useless things are things you would throw away to lighten yourself when the Devil was chasing you.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Film Comment: Vegas in Space
Vegas in Space (1991) is one of the weirdest movies you will ever see.
Three outer space soldiers take pills to transform themselves into women in order to go undercover (as showgirls!) to Vegas in Space, the capital city of an all-female planet. They're there trying to find out who stole Queen Veneer's jewels.
All but two of the parts are played by drag queens, two of whom died of AIDS the same year the film was released. There are unrelenting gowns, glitter, wigs, thick pancake makeup, 27 cent sets, and atrocious over-acting. This movie is up your nose with all it's garishness. I suspect that it is not really intended so much as a film but as an in your face "so what do I care what you think?" statement. It drips hostility to societal norms from every sequin.
What the film actually represents is the final level of moral relativism, where each person defines their own "truth." Each person lives as they choose unconstrained by any norms or common moral ground; "being themselves." Man has no higher judge and any moral rules are merely individual preferences. Many see this as ultimate freedom and personal valuation but, in truth, it declares that there is no real value to anything, including human life. Human life can be manipulated and even discarded, The door is open to the development of fascism.
Three outer space soldiers take pills to transform themselves into women in order to go undercover (as showgirls!) to Vegas in Space, the capital city of an all-female planet. They're there trying to find out who stole Queen Veneer's jewels.
All but two of the parts are played by drag queens, two of whom died of AIDS the same year the film was released. There are unrelenting gowns, glitter, wigs, thick pancake makeup, 27 cent sets, and atrocious over-acting. This movie is up your nose with all it's garishness. I suspect that it is not really intended so much as a film but as an in your face "so what do I care what you think?" statement. It drips hostility to societal norms from every sequin.
What the film actually represents is the final level of moral relativism, where each person defines their own "truth." Each person lives as they choose unconstrained by any norms or common moral ground; "being themselves." Man has no higher judge and any moral rules are merely individual preferences. Many see this as ultimate freedom and personal valuation but, in truth, it declares that there is no real value to anything, including human life. Human life can be manipulated and even discarded, The door is open to the development of fascism.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
good Ideas for a Christian Life
1. Plant a garden.
2. Study your Bible.
3. Become more involved with your spouse and children.
4. Don't be afraid to speak up.
5. Have a healthy sex life.
6. Realize that your secular pursuits are for God as well.
7. Be surprised when you fail, not when you succeed.
8. Understand that the universe really is orderly.
9. Don't allow your career or hobby to become all-consuming.
10. Know that we really are different and they really don't understand.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
News: Chinese Christian Pastors Given Prison Time
In Linfen City, Shanxi Province, China, on 25 November 2009, Yang Rongli and four other house church pastors were sentenced to multiple years of prison time for "illegally occupying farming land" and "disturbing transportation order by gathering masses." Thier real crime was refusing to register their churches and accept governmental control of their worship services and other activities.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Book Comment: My Little Bible
My Little Bible is a children's book of 20 Old Testament and 22 New Testament one page illustrated stories which give a good overview of the main historical events and Biblical concepts at a level accessible to an elementary school child. Unlike some Christian books for children it doesn't shy away from the death of Jesus. It is also quick to report His resurrection.
Hollingsworth, Mary, My Little Bible (Nashville: Tommy Nelson, 1991)
Hollingsworth, Mary, My Little Bible (Nashville: Tommy Nelson, 1991)
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