You might be a postmodernist if...

• You are absolutely sure that nothing is absolute.
• You believe there is no truth, except your own.
• You accept everyone’s beliefs, that is, as long as they agree with yours.
• You assert that you are right in the assertion that there is no right or wrong.
• You are ardently convinced that everything is questionable.
• You question everything, except your own doubts.
• You believe words have no intrinsic meaning and touchdown rebar seventeen precipitation la vaca choo-choo Montreal ө.
• You have ever used the term “meta-narrative” as an excuse to get out of a traffic ticket.
• You are humbly convinced that all certainty is arrogance.
• Your doctrinal tenets include the words “perhaps”, “maybe”, or “possibly”.
• You esteem doubt as a more noble virtue than truth.
• You believe tolerance is so important that no exceptions can be tolerated.

Ephesians 4:31

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

I. bitterness – lit. “bitter gall”
1 a : being or inducing the one of the four basic taste sensations that is peculiarly acrid, astringent, or disagreeable. b : distasteful or distressing to the mind.

2 a: marked by intensity or severity: a : accompanied by sever pain or suffering
b : being relentlessly determined c : exhibiting intense animosity

II. wrath – lit. “passion, angry, heat, anger forthwith boiling up and soon subsiding again” – the word is similar to the word used for being intoxicated with wine.

1 : strong vengeful anger or indignation

III. anger – lit. “1) anger, the natural disposition, temper, character 2) movement or agitation of the soul, impulse, desire, any violent emotion, but esp. anger”
1. a strong feeling of displeasure and usually of antagonism
2. an intense emotional state induced by displeasure

IV. clamor – lit. “a crying, outcry”
1 a : noisy shouting b : a loud continuous noise

V. slander – lit. “detraction, speech injurious to another's good name”
The greek word is also translated as “blasphemy”
1 : the utterance of false charges or misrepresentations which defame and damage another's reputation
2 : a false and defamatory oral statement about a person

VI. malice – lit. “malignity, ill-will, desire to injure, evil, trouble”
1 : desire to cause pain, injury, or distress to another

VII. all - lit. "each, every, any, all, the whole, everyone, all things, everything"
1 : the whole amount, quantity, or extent of
2 : every member or individual component of
3 : the whole number or sum of

VIII. be put away - lit. "to lift up, to bear away what has been raised, carry off"

1 : to move from its place
2 : to take off or away what is attached to anything
3 : to remove
4 : to carry off, carry away

Searching for Signs in Sorrows

I have never made it a habit to venture guesses as to why God allows a specific sorrow or pain in my life. I know that suffering is part of His divine will, and I know that painful events and sorrowful situations tend to have a refining effect leading to patience and endurance. I do not, however, find it prudent to hypothesize about God’s specific purpose. To do so is futile and can lead you down a path of sign searching and self-deception. We don’t know the mind of God. All we know is what He has chosen to reveal to us through His Word. We should learn it and stick to it. To speculate about the pain in our life, or even worse, the pain in our brothers life, is harmfully foolish.

I once believed in a divine reward/punishment system. When I was naughty, bad things happened to me. When I was nice, I received lots of blessings. This Christian karma is a dangerous lie. True, when we live in sin bad things tend to follow, but that is just the destructive nature of sin. Sometimes God still blesses us even when we are walking in sin. Remember that demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us. Also, when we are living righteously bad things still happen. As Christians, this is sometimes a direct result of persecution. At other times, though, we are just collateral damage in a sin-stricken, decaying world. Either way, it hurts.

So when sorrow comes, don’t add to the misery trying to figure out some secret message from God. Don’t worry as much about the whys and the hows. Don’t assume God is punishing you for some unrelated sin or shortcoming. Instead, just continue to repent and trust that God will use the situation, the pain, the hurt, and the sorrow, to strengthen, establish, confirm, and perfect you.

for His glory,

DJ

Love

Love is patient, covering a multitude of sins.

Love is kind and gentle, turning away wrath.

Love is not jealous, for where envy and selfish ambition are there is disorder and every evil practice.

Love is not arrogant, for arrogance stirs up strife, and God resists the proud.

Love is not rude and the words of a wise man are gracious.

Love does not seek its own and does nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but humbly regards others as more important.

Love is not quick to anger, because the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

Love does not keep a record of wrongs, but forgives seventy times seven, just as God in Christ has forgiven.

Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the Lord and seeks His righteousness.

Love rejoices in the truth of His word.

Love bears all things, carrying the burdens of others and thus fulfilling the law of Christ.

Love believes all things, and is not driven and tossed by the wind.

Love hopes all things, looking for the blessed appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Love endures all things, laying aside every encumbrance and entangling sin and running the race with endurance.

Love never fails.

The Tongue

² For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. ³ Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. ⁴ Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. ⁵ Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.
See how great a forest a little fire kindles! ⁶ And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. ⁷ For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. ⁸ But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. ⁹ With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. ¹⁰ Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. (James 3:2-10, New King James Version)

It is astonishing that such a small organ as the tongue can posses so much power. Like a rudder on a ship, the tongue can controls the coarse of the whole body (James 3:4). How quickly a sharp word can stur up fighting and strife, and how easily a kind word diffuses anger (Prov. 15:1). The tongue is an instrument that can be used to praise or and to curse men (James 3:9). Men can teach bears to ride tricycles and lions to jump through hoops, but the tongue is a wild, untamable beast (James 3:7-8).

Controlling the tongue is a struggle common to all mankind. We all stumble over our tongues. How many forest fires have been started by the spark of the tongue? I have always prided myself in my ability to restrain my tongue. Though it may not be apparent from reading this blog, but I am a man of relatively few words. To my recollection, I have never been accused of talking too much.

However, keeping my tongue from evil and my lips from deceit (Psalm 34:13) is only half the equation. Scripture also teaches that I am not only to avoid sin, but I am to use my tongue for good. In other words, instead of just keeping my mouth shut, I am to take action, using my words to serve others for God’s glory. My speech should not be just non-sinful (neutral), it should be actively positive.

Scripture commands that out words be:

Full of Grace

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person. – Colossians 4:6

Words from the mouth of a wise man are gracious, while the lips of a fool consume him.-Ecclesiastes 10:12

Pleasant

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. –Proverbs 16:24

Appropriate

A word fitly spoke is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. –Proverbs 25:11

Edifying

Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. –Ephesians 4:29

Our mouths should be a spring of fresh water. Not evil or unwholesome and not merely neutral, but actively righteous and good.

for His glory,

DJ

The Book of Eli

SPOILER WARNING

I don’t often venture into the realm of Hollywood pop-culture, but once every blue moon I encounter a noteworthy notion. I recently saw the movie The Book of Eli. It is my understanding that this film has generated a fair amount of controversy, and rightly so. I do not intend to give an in-depth review of the movie’s plot, character development, special effects or other cinematic features. Instead, I want to discuss and analyze the worldview of the film.

The movie centers around Eli (Denzel Washington) who is a prophet-of-sorts in a postapoculiptic world. He is on a mission from God to protect and deliver the last remaining copy of the King James Bible to a safe location somewhere west. You can think of Eli as a cross between Paul and Rambo, or Joshua and Jason Bourne. He is a Bible-thumpin’, butt-kickin’ pilgrim on a mission. The Bible itself is depicted positively. The movie alludes to its power and importance. It is portrayed as being righteous and moral.

The degenerate condition of mankind and the moral decay of society were in sharp contrast to Eli’s book. What is left of society after the war has degraded into complete and utter depravity and despair. The strong prey on the weak, and murder, rape, slavery, and cannibalism are the norm. This is a very interesting concept. What would the world be like if God’s Word was all but snuffed out for thirty years? The movie depicts this grim reality in gruesome detail. The film is rated R, and well should be. Aside from the graphic violence, the language was coarse and unwholesome. It contained several F-bombs as well as explicit and crude language. This aspect of the movie seems to reinforce the concept of a godless world. I can understand the reasoning behind the violence and crudeness, but it is my opinion that it appeals more to the sinful flesh than it does to promote the holiness of the Bible. Indeed, the Bible too is full of violence and sin. A cursory reading of the OT reveals murder, war, acts of vengeance, and so on. However, the Bible typically only alludes to these things, not giving graphic, detailed descriptions. As far as the movie goes, I appreciate the concept but disapprove of the delivery.

The movie also explores the philosophical worldview concepts of the Bible itself. The villain sought it in order to control the hearts and minds of the people. This is not all that unrealistic. History is full of incidents where leaders have misused and skewed the Bible to persuade and control the masses (for further reading google “The Cathlic Church”). The Bible has been distorted as propaganda for wars, monetary gain, and even genocide. The villain wanted to harness the inherent power of the book for his own gain. Eli, on the other hand, saw the book as the key to the restoration of society. He describes the central meaning of his book as teaching that one should always do more for others than for oneself. This is certainly a central focus in Christ’s teaching, however, it is secondary to the central message of the Bible. The Bible is primarily a book of salvation. It is the message of man’s failure and redemption through Christ. The whole of the Bible preaches Christ and points to His redemptive work on the cross. Morality and righteous living are an important aspect of Biblical teaching, but even this is a direct derivation from the holiness of God himself. Morality, on its own merit apart from God, means zilch.

The movie did have several inspiring moments. Eli’s quotation of Psalm 23 was especially moving. It is quite poignant because Eli depends on God for guidance, strength, and protection. Eli stands fast in his faith and convictions. He is courageous in the face of seemingly insurmountable situations. He quite literally “walks by faith and not by site.” Another highlight was Eli’s prayer over the meal he shared with Sonara. It seemed heartfelt and genuine, and was pretty theologically sound.

One of the most dramatic moments occurred at the end of the movie when Eli recites the book from memory. The scene evokes a sense of excitement and joy as he boldly and dramatically quotes,

“In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

This is especially significant in light of the evolutionary mindset that is so profound in our culture. To hear this truth quoted on screen by a heavyweight Hollywood actor was incredible.

The scene that pushed the movie over the limit for me was the final treatment of the Bible. After Eli’s extraordinary journey, the newly printed KJV Bible was placed on a bookshelf between the Torah and the Koran. The placement of the Bible suggest its equality with the other religious books, implicating that the Bible, and by extension Christianity, is just another system of right and wrong. These implications reveal the underlying worldview of the film.

Overall, the concept of the film was interesting, entertaining, and though-provoking. However, the film failed to accurately depict the true nature of the Bible as God’s Word and message of salvation. It treated the Bible as just another moral guidebook. This fact, coupled with the graphic violence and crudeness, leads me to conclude that the film did more harm than good in its effect on the cultural worldview.

for His glory,

DJ

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes…For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” – Romans 1:16-17