A stupid and careless life

     Don't live a stupid and careless life.  A stupid and careless life leaves damage in its wake and almost always ends in a stupid and careless way.

"See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5: 15-16.

Modalistic Monarchism

     Noetus, who was probably from Smyrna (Izmir, Turkey), fl. 180-200, taught the doctrine of Modalistic Monarchism, which said that Jesus was really God the Father, so that it was really God the Father who was born, lived, was crucified, and died.  The teaching was declared to be heretical.

     Modalistic Monarchism found its ultimate expression in the teachings of Sabellius (fl ca 215, in Rome).  His doctrine, known as Sabellianism, taught that the Son, the Holy Spirit, and the Father are the same being in three different manifestations, in effect denying the humanity of Jesus.   Sabellius was excommunicated at Rome, but his doctrine spurred the clarification of the orthodox doctrine of the Trinity.

Dynamic Monarchism

     In my post yesterday on The Green Pastures I mentioned Dynamic Monarchism, which held that Jesus was merely a man into whom the Divine Christ (Holy Spirit) descended at Jesus's baptism.  Some Dynamic Monarchists denied that Jesus possessed any of the divine nature.

    The first important Dynamic Monarchist was Theodotus (fl 190 CE, in Rome), a tanner from Byzantium (modern Istanbul, Turkey).  He was excommunicated as a heretic by Bishop Victor of Rome (189-198).

Film Comment: The Green Pastures

     The Green Pastures (1936) is a highly controversial film which is often accused of being racist and demeaning to blacks.   (I believe it is nothing of the sort.)  Several countries banned it upon its release and many theaters in the United States refused to show it, for widely varying reasons.  Modern conservative Christians may be bothered by the film's seemingly Dynamic Monarchist Christology.  (I believe that is reading the film too literally.)  

     The premise of the film is that God ("de Lawd," portrayed by the wonderful Rex Ingram) and his angels are all uneducated Southern rural black people, as is everyone else on Earth after de Lawd creates it.  The biblical stories illustrated in the film are the Creation, Noah's Ark, the choosing of Israel as God's Special people,  and Moses leading his people from bondage.  The New Testament is avoided altogether until the final smile by the unchangeable and omnipotent Lawd when he decides how he's going to set everything straight without violating his own nature.

     The big name actors in the film (Rex Ingram, Oscar polk, George Reed, Eddie Anderson, Abraham Gleaves, Myrtle Anderson, and Frank Wilson) seem to have taken this film very seriously.  The story is based on a Pulitzer Prize-winning play, written by a white man, and the all-black film was made with an all-white crew.

     Somehow this film transcends its origins.   The society which made it was flawed, not the message.  God is in total control of the universe, His angels are His faithful servants, God is graceful and merciful and loves and is loved by His children, and He values each one of us as if we were the only one.

Hallelujahs

     Hallelujah (Hebrew = "praise (present imperative mood, indicating a command, a wish, or a permission)  + Ya(weh). "

     Lauren Spears, a veterinary missionary in Cochabama, Bolivia, tells of a Mexican friend who told her that the locals in Mexico call believers "Hallelujahs."  This delighted her so much that she declared, "I want my life to plainly state that I am a Hallelujah, nothing more, nothing less."

     Paul said, "... be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord." Ephesians 5: 18b, 19.

Walk-on-by Culture

"We live in the walk-on-by culture where if you see things, you don't get involved ... if you do, you could get stabbed, get maimed ..."  Mark Tonderai, director of the film, Hush (2009).

Another light bulb joke

How many anarchists does it take to change a light bulb?

Just break the thing!