"No, here's looking at you two...idiots."
I realize I'm close to two years behind on this post, so bare with me. So Mollie and I watched Indiana Jones IV the other night, hence my love for the guys in the above picture.
Seriously, what a wretched movie. As a fan of the Indiana Jones films, I felt that this was basically a cinematic atrocity. I had been previously informed that the film would bring about this kind of reaction, but I guess I just had to see it for myself.*SPOILER ALERT* This movie sucks.
There, I spoiled it for you. The basic idea is that Aliens did something with the Mayans or some other civilization...anyway, it's not important because all this movie did was completely ruin the world of Indiana Jones. Every one of the other films connected reality with something transcendent or bigger than our everyday experience. The first and third films even alluded to the existence of the God of the Bible, which was cool. Even the Hindu thing in the second film was interesting. And then, Lucas and Spielberg went and undid all of that by connecting everything in the ancient world with freaking aliens. Aliens? Seriously? Dang it George, couldn't you just keep Star Wars and Indiana Jones separate? No, you couldn't, and now I dislike you and your films more than ever. And Steven, seriously? How could you let him talk you into this? Every movie you make is good. How could you?
Getting to the point.
One of my other big problems with the film was that it was full of computer generated scenes (just like the new Star Wars films). I'm glad that we have the technology that allows for those things, it really adds to some films (Lord of the Rings, The Matrix, Spiderman etc.). But, when a series of films has an established way of doing things, why change it? Just because you can do something, doesn't always mean that you should.
Paul dealt with this idea in 1 Corinthians saying: "Everything is permissible for me, but not everything is beneficial. Everything is permissible for me, but I will not be mastered by anything."
And this is what's hard about the Christian Life.
We are technically free to do anything or engage in any behavior that isn't expressly condemned in scripture as sin. This creates a lot of grey areas in life, and most people really like black and white. In fact, we tend to go to one of two extremes to avoid the grey and Jesus warned His disciples about both:
"Be careful," Jesus warned them. "Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and that of Herod." --Mark 8:15
He's warning them about two types of sin: Religion & Worldliness
The Pharisees were religious zealots who loved rules and regulations. They had stopped serving God and were really committing idolatry by "worshipping" a god they had fashioned according to their own rules and desires. Religion creates self-righteousness and pride, two things the true God of the Bible doesn't like.
The yeast of Herod referred to the followers of Herod (Herodians) who had forsaken their connection to the scriptures and embraced the ideas and practice of the Greeks and Romans. They no longer saw any need to worship the one true God and worshipped foreign gods, all the while indulging their own sensual desires.
Interestingly enough, it was only the person of Jesus and His message that brought these two groups together. In the first part of the Gospel of Mark, these two diametrically opposed groups come together to find a way to kill Jesus. Heathens and the self-righteous folks working together, isn't that sweet? And all of this happens because people who love religion and people who love the world can really only agree on one thing: They HATE Jesus and they HATE Grace.
And this is the struggle for us who look to follow Jesus: That we would really follow Him and live in Grace, avoiding both religion and worldliness. It's easier said than done and only comes out of a growing relationship with Him. The exercise of biblical discernment in the grey areas of life comes only when we are being fed by the Word and walking by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16).
So let us examine ourselves and our conduct. Let us live discerningly and make choices that reflect our Saviour and who He is in our lives. And remember, learn from Lucas and Spielberg and know that just because you can, doesn't mean that you should.
The Pharisees were religious zealots who loved rules and regulations. They had stopped serving God and were really committing idolatry by "worshipping" a god they had fashioned according to their own rules and desires. Religion creates self-righteousness and pride, two things the true God of the Bible doesn't like.
The yeast of Herod referred to the followers of Herod (Herodians) who had forsaken their connection to the scriptures and embraced the ideas and practice of the Greeks and Romans. They no longer saw any need to worship the one true God and worshipped foreign gods, all the while indulging their own sensual desires.
Interestingly enough, it was only the person of Jesus and His message that brought these two groups together. In the first part of the Gospel of Mark, these two diametrically opposed groups come together to find a way to kill Jesus. Heathens and the self-righteous folks working together, isn't that sweet? And all of this happens because people who love religion and people who love the world can really only agree on one thing: They HATE Jesus and they HATE Grace.
And this is the struggle for us who look to follow Jesus: That we would really follow Him and live in Grace, avoiding both religion and worldliness. It's easier said than done and only comes out of a growing relationship with Him. The exercise of biblical discernment in the grey areas of life comes only when we are being fed by the Word and walking by the Spirit (Gal. 5:16).
So let us examine ourselves and our conduct. Let us live discerningly and make choices that reflect our Saviour and who He is in our lives. And remember, learn from Lucas and Spielberg and know that just because you can, doesn't mean that you should.
1 comment:
I am laughing hysterically.
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