What Causes Evil?

This weekend I was able to pick up the movie Maleficent and watch it.  I was compelled at this re-imagining of old story of The Sleeping Beauty, and found the new twists to be believable.  Be careful, there are spoilers in this post, so don't read any further if you still want to see this movie.  

Have We Lost our Foundation?

I'm in an adult learning class at my church.  This quarter, we have been discussing Biblical Christianity vs. Postmodernism.  Our associate paster has been marvelously "deconstructing" both world views to help us learn how we may have compromised Biblical Truth in our modern churches.

To sum up the biggest difference between the two world views: We Christians accept the Bible and God's Truth as absolute.  We measure everything to that foundation.  Our moral structure and law system historically was based on these judeo-christian beliefs.  It is wrong to lie.  It is wrong to cheat.  It is wrong to murder.

Conversely, the postmodern worldview indicates that nothing is absolute.  There are no universal foundational truths.  Everything we see and know is based on our perceptions.  If we extend this thinking into our current moral structure and law, we will find the legal system slowly break down to whatever the players think about at the time.  It will become a legal system of persuasion.  I could argue that it already has.

When I think about this, I find myself more than a little scared of our future.  If our society is no longer based on universal absolutes, then anything goes.  It would be fine to lie or cheat, if the circumstances indicated the need.

This scripture caught my attention as soon as I opened my Bible today.

"As for me, it matters very little how I might be evaluated by you or by any human authority. I don’t even trust my own judgment on this point.

"My conscience is clear, but that doesn’t prove I’m right. It is the Lord himself who will examine me and decide." ~1 Corinthians‬ ‭4‬:‭3-4‬ (NLT)

Earlier this week, I heard fellow believers remark that they know when they are right and wrong because the Holy Spirit resides within. I don't argue that the Holy Spirit can convict, but what if we only imagined we heard the Spirit, and instead heard our own desires talking?  I worry that the postmodern world view has invaded our Church.  We think it, we feel it, so it must be OK.

In the end, God is the only judge, but when we need a standard to know right from wrong, we need to check His Word. Read the Bible.

He is our foundation on which everything else is based.

All is Lost

"Somewhere in the Indian Ocean ("1700 nautical miles from the Sumatra Straits"), a man (Robert Redford) says, "I'm sorry. I know that means little at this point, but I am. I tried. I think you would all agree that I tried. To be true, to be strong, to be kind, to love, to be right, but I wasn't." He declares, "All is lost." (Wikipedia)

Just musing...

This made me laugh when I opened my bible. It was the first verse in my daily reading.

“A wise man wouldn’t answer with such empty talk! You are nothing but a windbag. 
The wise don’t engage in empty chatter. 
What good are such words?” ~‭Job‬ ‭15‬:‭2-3‬ (NLT)

It's funny to me because we have leapt into mass hysteria, and we are not considering the source of some of the empty words we hear and see on Facebook.

~Kathy 

The Insurrection of the Church

Insurrection: Organized opposition intended to change or overthrow existing authority

Yesterday, I finally found the movie, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, in a Redbox machine.  I have been checking and checking, but all the machines said it was "out of stock."  I loved this movie.  If you haven't seen this yet, I highly recommend it.  (Caution: spoiler alert)

What's my Identity?

This past weekend, I both finished reading the book, Divergent, and watched the movie.  I have to admit, the book was quite compelling and better than the movie.  I did, however, enjoy seeing the Chicago landscape in the background of the movie version.

Upcoming Movie - The Song

I came across this movie trailer on Facebook the other day, as Kyle Idleman was promoting it on his page.  Kyle is one of my favorite writers.  If you are not familiar with his work, just check out some previous book reviews of mine: Are You a Fan or a Follower?; Gods at War; or AHA - Awakening. Honesty. Action.