I asked my dad yesterday (with a little bit of an attitude) "whenever someone tells me that I have to do something like close my eyes, I almost don't want to do it and I think isn't that legalistic and pharisaical?" Dad gently responded, "ok, you may be right that you don't have to pray with your eyes closed but if you have them open then you are susceptible to distraction. If you have them open, you may see something that causes you to think of other things or in some cases may cause lust and if you are sinning while you are praying then your prayers are meaningless." Hmm, good point. He continued, "Closing eyes brings focus and concentration on the being you seek to honor." Hmm, another good point. He continued, "But i sense an attitude of skepticism or challenging in you. It is as though you want to buck tradition just because it is a tradition. Bucking tradition without any basis or because you don't understand is the same as being a Pharisee with all the traditions."
"If a tradition is good in that it can help you to glorify God better than you should embrace it, not because it is a tradition but because it can help you focus better. Don't worry that a million other people are different. Remember that people have struggled through the same things you are thinking and have desired to develop practices that can help people glorify God better. Don't just try to reinvent the wheel with all of your own ways to worship God, no doubt there will be many holes. Work on loving the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind. And love your neighbor as yourself." hmm, another good point. Tradition for tradition sake is bad, but following certain traditions to try to glorify God are quite good.
At the heart of this questioning is a deep pride that I can do better than others. I seek to get away from being like others because I am better or more creative. But these thoughts are prideful. Yes I am creative, but that doesn't mean that I hold the keys to true communion with God. Indeed, I am a wretch who knows little about God and needs to find humility in order that I may be formed by God into the one He wants me to be. It is time to stop questioning everything in the name of "I just want to know." Instead I need to embrace a true quest that seeks answers in order that I can help others, not so that I can just question and do nothing with the knowledge.
Hollywood has come into our churches. Every Sunday, across the metroplex, hundreds of churches play little movie clips that illustrate points in the sermons that are being preached. Or perhaps these clips are the means of communicating the application to the people. Whatever, the means of the clip, it has clearly become the tool of choice. Is this a good thing? What are we communicating if we incorporate a movie clip into our services and what are the natural repercussions, if any?
What is the primary dictator of the cultural trends and attitudes of America and perhaps the world? I would argue that it is the cinema and movies. Just look at people and who they idolize. Will Smith, Mel Gibson, Kevin Costner, etc. These men have been in plenty of movies and are essentially world renowned actors. The theology of Hollywood is being communicated in all kinds of movies. Take for instance Brokeback Mountain. This movie is premiering in a few weeks and it stars two superstars who will portray two men who are homosexuals. The movie will show their intimate relationship in great deal. It comes at a time when the edges have been pushed to allow and be sensitive to this type of sin. There was a time when this would not be allowable. But Sin has invaded Hollywood because it is run by people.
Because Hollywood is a secular entity with little or nor morals as a whole, to use them as a point in our sermons is to condone the garbage that is being communicated in movies. Recently, a large church in the Dallas area began a series called Reel to Real. They showed extended clips of movies and then discussed them. The Bible was essentially dethroned and we learned from the good or bad message of the movie. The introduction, message and application were all communicated through the movie. There was “sermon” time and a verse was read to make a point. In any case after every Sunday for a while I would go home and rent the movie that was shown. I received all the garbage of the movie along with that point made. In some cases the movies had a bunch of junk in them.
Perhaps I am belaboring a point that may be inconsequential but I think it is important that the Bible not be replaced by the theology that we see in movies today. I think it is important to remember that the authority of movies is fleeting and depraved. What are we thinking making movies the teacher in our Sunday services? What are they going to remember? The movie clip of the hottest movie out or the verses you quoted to back the point the movie was making?
