But... the bottom line for me, is that this film actually motivates me. It gives me energy to want to be more personally missional as well as in terms of rallying the church to be in the world and among people. It motivates me to want to be training and teaching Christians how to respond to these very things that are being asked today. I have a lot of hope and optimism, because I believe there are answers.It motivates me to hopefully be encouraging others to remember to "be in the world" as Jesus taught (John 17:15), so that people get to experience that all Christians are not like Bill broadbrushed them. So even if someone views the film and thinks Bill is raising great questions, they know Christians they can go and talk to about what he is asking. They know that all Christians are not the war-loving, can't wait till Armageddon types he sort of hints they are among other things. So they may see the film, and think "hmmmm...? That's not like the Christians I know."
Sunday, October 05, 2008
Kimball on Religulous
Dan Kimball writes about viewing Bill Maher's film, Religulous. He sums up:
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4 comments:
I was going to raise the question if anyone was going to go see this. I think everyone should based on what I've seen. I think Dan's post here is dead on 100%. We should all be aware of what people outside our bubble are asking/saying and how so many things in religion/christianity are viewed as so silly and out of touch with reality in the world. (things that SHOULD be viewed as silly IMHO.
Two great books to also read - "I Sold My Soul on eBay: Viewing Faith through an Atheist's Eyes by Hemant Mehta. (He visits and comments on a number of different mainline churches - small to large - including the biggies - very enlightening about what we do. It's amazing to see and hear an outsider's perspective on worship and particularly worship music and how lame it's viewed by an average Joe.)
And if you're really daring - "Letter To A Christian Nation" by Sam Harris, if you really want a scathing take on Christianity from the world's eyes. I found it very challenging to force me to really wrestle with what and why I believe what I believe. Not for the faint of heart or faint of faith. But if you want a great view of how many people view Christianity and the questions they ask and wrestle with, it's a good read.
Why do we need to be worried about how atheists and the world views Christians and worship? They are spiritually dead and aren't going to understand our world no matter how we try to engage them in conversation.
If you feel that you must see this film, please wait until it goes to DVD and then RENT it. Do we really need Hollywood to make more of these types of films?
Guess who Maher supports for President?
John C,
I agree with you, and with the author of "I Sold My Soul on E-Bay," that some worship music is lame-- cringe-worthy lyrics (meaning, theologically bad, trite, etc.) and cheesy music. Too much of what comes out of the Christian subculture, period, is lame-- artistically atrocious movies, theologically shaky books with little Biblical basis for their claims (particularly with "Christian psychology"), terrible "Jesus junk" items such as "Testa-mints," and so on.
However, we must not forget that the author of "I Sold My Soul on E-Bay" is an atheist. Biblically speaking, he does *not* have a positive, or even "neutral," attitude towards the God who is revealed in the Bible in the person of Jesus Christ (the same God as in the Old Testament, for anyone who thinks that the Persons of the Father and Son, revealed in the OT and NT, respectively, are somehow "different Gods!"). While it is sadly true that too much contemporary "Christian culture" is artistically and theologically bad, and sometimes, just flat-out weird, the fact is that, according to the Bible, atheists, and everyone other than Christians, are "darkened in their understanding" and futile in their reasoning (Ephesians 4:17-19, NASB). Moreover, their hearts and minds are hostile to God (Romans 8:7, Colossians 1:21-23). We cannot expect them to have an appreciation for worship music, or for the things of God, generally speaking. When they *do* have such an appreciation, they are being wildly inconsistent with their worldview and with the bent of their hearts.
Some atheists and other non-Christians may, and often do, have better artistic taste than Christians. The reasons for this state of affairs are complex. Some of it has to do with atheists borrowing (stealing, actually) their artistic sense from a Christian worldview. Some of it also has to do with Christians not always having a good grasp themselves on the beauty and wonder of the Christian worldview-- ultimately, the beauty and wonder of God Himself. The more that we see His incredible beauty and wonder, and the more that we see the many things in life that God uses to bring glory to Himself, the more that our art will improve. Even at its best though, atheists can only appreciate art made from a Christian worldview by being inconsistent with what they claim to believe and with the bent of their hearts (which are hostile to God).
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