Harvest Thoughts

Knowing: The "Signs" of our Times

 Movies show us better than any other medium the state of mind in our culture. I distinctly remember "Signs" with Mel Gibson. These two were strikingly similar. Both have mysterious "other-worldly" occurrences taking place. Both deal with the end of civilization. Both have undertones of spiritual disillusionment that is seeking peace through negligent non-resolution and cynical bitterness. But oh the difference in the endings!

Signs ends with purpose restored, the aliens are fought off, all events, even the tragic, have been pointing to one glorious conclusion. Mel Gibson's faith is restored and he returns to ministry. Knowing ends (yes I'm going to spoil it- you cannot spoil that which is already rotten) with eminent destruction of humanity, good-willed alien kidnapping, humanity (especially adult humans) demonized, the Christian message made utter foolishness and ignorance, and all hope is in the alien utopia where a select few children can start over. No God, no purpose, no resolution, and alien whateverville instead of heaven. How sick! Even the second coming is portrayed as being fulfilled through the alien rescue plan. Nicholas Cage returns to his Pastor father and family and they all hug agreeing it's all going to be alright, Cage knowing it's not, but sees that ignorant views like heaven at least let men die in peace. The only hope is actually in the new future the aliens will provide for the children.

 

Only about 8 years have passed between these two films, but what if they actually are showing "signs" of the drift into a deeper and more hopeless skepticism in our culture? Can the church bail out fast enough to save the ship? Or are we all hugging and holding out eternal hope like a Helen Steiner Rice poem to the world? They are dying and begging for "hope that will not disappoint." Will we give it to them?  

Grieving Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson passed away this week, apparently from a heart attack. His body simply could not bear up under the quantities of prescription drugs he was taking to numb his pain. The question everyone is asking is "What went wrong? How could such a talented performer have lived such a tumultuous life and died so tragically early?"

Why don't we ask these questions while people are still alive? Who was praying for Michael Jackson? I wasn't. Who ever wrote Him a letter to let him know he was loved. I didn't. His life was tragic every day. One report said he was over $300 million in debt. $300 MILLION! What kind of pain was he trying to bury?

 I heard a Christian radio personality's response: "I hope he was saved." That is supposed to be compassion. Then they went on to speak of other pop stars who died tragically in the midst of otherwise successful careers, like Elvis. They felt it appropriate after the commercial break to feature a caller whose grandmother had been an Elvis impersonator.  They had a good laugh about that and went on to advertise the watermelon-seed spitting contest coming up this weekend. HOW CAN WE BE SO OUT OF TOUCH? HOW CAN OUR HEARTS BE SO COLD?

Jesus said the love of the many (literally, "the most") would grow cold in the last days. Will we be among "the most"? Hollywood's suffering children are the public testimony to the church that the world we live in will kill everyone who submits to it. What good is salt that does not season, or light that does not shine? Let's get our hearts into God's fire and God's fire into our hearts! 

A Blight at the Museum: The Smithsonian

My family just returned from a short trip to DC, where we took in the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History and I took the above picture. Here's the tour, in summary:

In the ocean exhibit, there are hundreds of amazing skeletons and fossils, but the place is plastered with inscriptions such as this one: "We are accustomed to speaking of Mother Earth; Mother Ocean is probably more accurate, since it is the origin of all life and responsible for the vast array of diversity we find today."

The pinnacle of degradation, however, was the "Neanderthal Burial" display. The scene is as follows: There is a family of stumpy-faced cave people and they are burying their dead son. He is bound with straps, and laying in a hole, while the mother stands over him waving a bloody thing, one of her breasts hanging out, and the father, who is covered with patchy hair, is holding up his hand to perform the rites of the ritual, all while their 12 year-old looks on.

All seems very viable, right? Let's consider what the Bible says: God through Christ is the author of all life, not the ocean. Secondly, we were all created in the image of God, males and females- not as half-ape mutations. The woman had not even the modesty to cover herself in the presence of her child and husband- she had no dignity because she was not yet fully human; yet the Bible says that when they knew they were naked, they covered themselves because they were ashamed. These cave people were pagan- not worshipers of God; yet the Bible says that from the very beginning Adam walked with God in the cool of the day, and even after he was separated from Him by sin, he made offerings to God and worshiped, and taught his children to do the same.  

Honestly, I was grieved in the Spirit beyond belief by this entire place. These ideas are not a parallel theory; they are a cannon aimed at the very core of Christian thought and all faith in God, and they are fundamentally destructive to life; and its free to the public! If you were to take away every false inscription in the place, it would be one of the most remarkable testimonies to the glory of God in the world.

I know Christians can seem so monothematic: its either evolution or abortion. But we are fighting for the souls of men, and "as a man thinks within himself, so is he." You are not an advanced mutation: You are a child of God, created by Him and for Him, to the praise of His glory.