Opus 2012-108, On the Street: Snow White Is Back

This week I noticed a poster advertising a new movie.  I think the title was “Snow White and the Huntsman.”  I watched the trailer for the movie the last time my wife dragged me into a theater.  It looked like one I might go see but not one my wife would be interested in.  I will wait until my son is in town.  This movie, from what I remember from the trailer, was a silly application of the fantasy genre.  It contains everything that I think makes fantasy a waste of time.  I remember warriors turning into flocks of birds.  What?  How about a little plot line here.

Why would I be interested in seeing a movie like this but would not want to read the book?  Because in a movie I can get into the special effects.  I call it the “Star Wars Effect.”  It is the application of cool technology that is entertaining even if it is ridiculous.  In a situation where I am ready for warp speed distraction I can suspend belief, thinking and rational expectations for things like X-wing fighters banking in a vacuum like WWI bi-planes.  In a book I need a plot and characters to support the excitement. 

The current generation doesn’t understand plots.  What they want are weird special effects whether on the screen or on the page.  They have not been taught the principles of cause and effect so they have no problem with new magic tricks that resolve the tension of a story.  Remember, this is the generation that voted for Hope and Change.

They have no sense of literature and are poverty stricken intellectually.  They can read the sentence, “Washington crossed the Delaware.”  When you ask them what he crossed you get blank stares.  If you ask why he crossed, you get blank stares.  How about if you ask, “How did the crossing of the Delaware and the following victory effect the American Revolution?”  You don’t even get blank stares.  They have already tuned out and are texting a comment to a friend about how dull the class is.

I may still go see the movie.  It provides a little escape and as long as you don’t take it too seriously does no real damage.

I hope.

homo unius libri

Opus 2012-107, On the Street: Balancing the Budget

Recently, on my way to work, I passed a motorcycle cop who had pulled someone over and was writing a ticket.  There was nothing unusual about that.  I noticed that it was a policeman from the town I work in.  There was nothing unusual about that.  What was strange was the location of the ticket writing.  The ticket was being written in the city limits of another town on the side of the freeway heading toward the town.  There is no way that this cop had any kind of jurisdiction over how this guy had been driving.

On the same day I saw a highway patrol cop take off after someone.  He was sitting out of sight by an off ramp.  In this case there was no question of his right to enforce the law at that location. 

So what?  California is having trouble balancing its budget.  Every day we sink lower in the hole.  Instead of slowing the spending the politicians are looking for more income.  I think perhaps the word has gone out to try to balance the state budget by writing tickets.

We should always obey the law.  We should always drive with care.  Having said that, maybe this would be a good time to be extra careful.  Not only is The Man from the Government here to help you, he wants you to pay for the effort.

homo unius libri

Opus 2012-106, Immortal Quotes: Foolish Questions

I can’t remember where I first heard it.  I am sure that it was identified as a Chinese proverb, but then everything is attributed to the Chinese, Benjamin Franklin or the Bible.  The saying goes like this:

 “Any fool can ask a question that a wise man cannot answer.”

The simplest application of this is the simple, and often impossible to answer, question, “Why?”  Any parent has experienced the perpetual series of “why’s” that children can generate.  If you haven’t then I assume your children are not talking yet. 

Think about it.  How many people who would be thought to be wise can explain how an airplane stays in the air?  How many have even heard of Bernoulli’s Principle?  At school I am being asked if I know what a “cataract” is.  I can give them several definitions but none of them are the current meaning to an 8th grader who walks in ignorance and wears it with a badge of pride.

When it comes to the big questions, I don’t feel that I need to have the final answer.  Can you explain the Trinity?  What is love?  Why do people vote the way they do?  What is the purpose of life?  I have answers but I am always open to new information. 

Kids will say, “I have a question.”  They get tired of me answering, “I have an answer.”  What they really don’t like is the answer, “I don’t know.”  But it is the answer that wise men use more often than the ignorant.

homo unius libri

Opus 2012-105, Monday Pulpit: The power of Music

Recently the Pastor was doing an innovative worship service, which I already wrote about.  In the process of his comments he said the following:

“...which music does better than preaching any day.”

I missed what preaching did better.  He was either talking about a particular point of truth or the ability to communicate in general.  I question the statement.

The Bible makes a clear statement about the role of preaching.

(Romans 10:14 KJV)  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Jesus made it clear that preaching was His most important activity.

(Luke 4:18 KJV)  The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,

I asked myself the question, “Does the Bible lift up music anywhere?”  My personal opinion was, “No.”  It turns out I was ignorant.  Don’t assume you know what the Bible has to say just because you have not noticed it.  I did a few simple searches on my Bible software.  I love Bible software, even when it shows me my ignorance.
 
I started with a search on “sing” in the KJV.  I was surprised at how many times it was used.  In its basic form it was used 119 times.  In defense of my original position, it seemed in a quick look through that the singing was toward the Lord, not to communicate truth to others.  “Singing” was used 29 times.  “Song” came up 78 times.  Okay.  I am impressed.

In looking through the verses that used “song” I came across this:

(Deuteronomy 31:22 KJV)  Moses therefore wrote this song the same day, and taught it the children of Israel.

We see that Moses was writing songs to teach the congregation.  I began to wipe the mud from my face.  Just a few verses before that I found,

(Deuteronomy 31:19 KJV)  Now therefore write ye this song for you, and teach it the children of Israel: put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the children of Israel.

So Moses is writing the songs to bring people to conviction.

I lose.  Music is given of God as a means of communicating truth.  I don’t know if it does it better but I am afraid to look deeper.  I have been wrong enough for one day.

I hate it when that happens.  But I love to grow in my knowledge and understanding of the things of God.

homo unius libri

Opus 2012-104, Monday Pulpit: The Innovative Service

Sunday the pastor put on an innovative service.  He had a local songwriter sing a number of his works interspersed with pastoral comments and scripture.  I had my typical reaction:  Ho, hum.  It was not a problem with them.  The pastor does a good job.  It was his idea to get the other guy to sing, not the ego of the musician.  As home grown music writers go he was above average.  The problem is in me:  I come to worship, not to experiment. 

I know that pastors have this need to be creative.  They are told that contemporary worship requires innovation.  To that I will do a little proof-texting:

(Proverbs 24:21 KJV)  My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:

For me worship involves finding ways to focus on the person and works of God in His three persons.  I want to praise, hear, grow.  I don’t want to be entertained.  I don’t want to be surprised, except by the Holy Spirit touching a spot I was covering up.

Innovation drives people away.  Have you ever been to a Brazilian Barbeque.  They are awesome places to eat.  A multitude of waiters are walking around with swords and skewered on the swords are an endless variety of meats that have been prepared in the kitchen.  They will come up to you and offer you some.  I would always ask what it was and, depending on how adventuresome I was feeling, say “yes” or “no.”   Innovative worship is like being required to eat whatever they bring around.  Most people would not come back.

Or suppose you go to a place that has a world class salad bar.  Innovative worship is like sending your tofu-and-bean-sprout, crazy uncle to the salad bar for you.  It would only require one trip to decide to do it different next time.

Or picture the church pot luck that would stand out as one of the highlights of your culinary journey.  Imagine that you were required to sample every third dish with no variation.  I might leave and head for the golden arches.

So if you are a pastor, you might want to back off on the innovation.  If you have a say in worship you might go with the recipe that makes a restaurant stand the test of time:  Great food in a pleasant environment with the innovation on the daily special list, not the only game in town.  People looking for innovation tend to come once.  People looking for good food come back if they find it.

homo unius libri

Opus 2012-103, Tax Dollars at Work: Smokey Is Back

Or maybe he never left.  I have noticed a sudden deluge of posters with a new, upgraded Smokey the Bear, pointing at me and telling me that only I can prevent forest fires.  Got it.

My question is why do I need to know this driving down an asphalt street bordered by concrete sidewalks and businesses that have sprinkler systems?  I don’t smoke so I won’t be throwing any cigarettes out the window.  I am not homeless so I won’t be building any bonfires in the trash cans.  I am not so evil that I expect to be receiving any lightning bolts soon.  The nearest forest is miles away.

Do I really need to be reminded about forest fires in the middle of town?  And I have to pay for it.  It comes from either direct transfer of my wealth in taxes or in indirect Robin Hooding by giving tax deductions to people who follow the bidding of government officials.

Just another little way in which we could move toward smaller government, eliminate the deficit and lower our tax bills.

Vote the suckers out.

homo unius libri

Opus 2012-102, Christian Cliches: The Writing on the Wall

You may have heard someone talking about reading the handwriting on the wall.  You may not be aware that this is from the Bible.  Here is the key verse.

(Daniel 5:5 KJV)  In the same hour came forth fingers of a man's hand, and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaister of the wall of the king's palace: and the king saw the part of the hand that wrote.

Belshazzar was king of the Chaldeans and was having a party in Babylon.  In the process he was mocking the God of Israel.  Suddenly a hand appeared and wrote on the wall.  When the writing was interpreted it spelled out his doom.

The way this is used seems to tell people to look at what it clear before them.  Usually it is inferred that the news is bad.  That is the current usage but, like many teachings taken from the Bible, it is not true to what actually happened. 

If you go and read chapter 5 in Daniel you find that the king could not read the writing.  He called his wise men and they could not read the writing.  It was there in plain sight, but they could not understand the message.  Finally someone mentioned Daniel, he was summoned and he translated it. 

This is much more typical of where we are today.  The writing on the wall is clear.  Society is in decay.  Government is becoming a tyranny.  Education is becoming a joke.  The church is becoming irrelevant.  Marriage is becoming a game.  What does it all mean?  Much of the world sees the writing and instead of calling a man of God, a Daniel, they turn to their own wise men who consult their psychology texts and sociological gurus and ultimately don’t have a clue.

The church has the ability to read the writing but they are ducking and bobbing to avoid being put on the spot.  The problem is in the heart of men and women.  It is sin.  The theological terms are original sin and depravity.  The Biblical terms are the flesh, the old man, and of course, sin.  That is sin as a condition, not as an action.  Even the world will admit that there are things that could be categorized as “sin” but they deny the evil in the hearts of men.

The writing is on the wall and the news is not good.  To find a solution you need to recognize the problem  It will not be made clear by the ignorant intellectuals who reject truth.  It is time for the people of God to step up to the plate and speak truth.  In Belshazzar’s time the translation came too late. 

We had better not wait too long.

homo unius libri