Best of

I'm having a bit of a watershed moment. I have been successfully avoiding most scandalous news during this holiday season, enjoying a brief respite from cultural pressure. Last night, as Matt was sitting on the bed while I checked my AOL mail, then checked out a special "Best Movies of 2006", things quickly turned sour. The top fifty movies selected for high honor stupefied me...as I clicked one to the next, hoping for some bright, shining glimmer of hope I saw nothing but political bias, twisted, depraved humor, gratuitous violence, glorification of sex anywhere and everywhere but in marriage, and mockery of America and Christianity, just to name a few. I wondered when this became typical and accepted...where decency left...I decried our culture and fought waves of despair. Matt (my precious spiritual leader and head) opened the bible and read Romans, reminding me that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, that we should not be surprised at the trials we face or the persecution we see around because of His name. He posed the question, "Why is it that the Word of God, total truth, can tell us exactly what is happening in the world from thousands of years prior, yet, when we see the confirmation of scripture in a news report or movie review, then we shake our fists and cry out to God as if it were His fault somehow that culture is going to pot?" (Paraphrased liberally.) It made me wonder which is perceived to be truth and reality. Why am I surprised by what I see when I knew I would see it? He warned us so that we would have peace, knowing full well that He has overcome this world. My computer is messing up wildly...more to come.

Wisp

I am just going to talk it all out here and see if I land somewhere...

There is no security but Christ.

There is nothing but Him. There is no government protection. There is no special interest group. There is no vaccination. There is no alarm system. There is no text book, no president, no pastor, no priest, no mantra nor purchase that will make us secure but Christ alone.

And I do not know enough of Him.

I read Al Mohler's response to the question, "Is America a Christian Nation?" on the Newsweek/WashingtonPost site. I rather liked it and thought, as always, he portrayed "thinking Christians" well. However, afterward, I scrolled down and read about half of the commentary: some banal, some typical, some vindicating and some, well, disturbing.

There are times when I pridefully think I have it all down...I think I can defend the faith well. I believe that our enemy, the devil, cannot possibly throw anything new at us so I study hard, reading voraciously, learning the best possible means to refute whatever deceitful "grenade" is thrown in my general direction. Yet, there is always more. The word "relentless" comes to mind. There are still those times (often, if I am honest here) when I am rocked...and I realize again that I am a novice in this. I hear whispers telling me to back off, naturally, and I want to move back and busy myself in quiet work, allowing someone--anyone--smarter than me handle the "world."

One of the more immediately terrifying things I read in the comments section was the proposal that all proselytizing be outlawed and all religions which espouse this (or the parts within said religion) be banned. Um. O.K. Perhaps they would like to live in Iran or North Korea or even China? Do these people understand the consequences of ideas at all? These inane verbal upchucks would be laughing stock if they weren't the bitter reality for some in other parts of the world.

Of course it doesn't occur to them that their own insistance is a rudimentary form of proselytizing in itself. No one consistantly "keeps to themself" and if we stick to a strict definition of the word then we all, to a degree, move from one school of thought to another, repent, adhere and follow. Not only that, but we generally like others to come along with us, to their ill or gain. With this type of illogical-logic, there wouldn't be any competition, no need for advertizing, no basis for ambition at all; just a slothful generation of private people not offending anyone. Now that is scary.

***

The world is changing.
The world is always the same.
The world is, was before, but will not always be.
It has been my hope and cruelest disappointment.

I was once told that my idealism would get me into trouble somehow, someday. Pride of life, that is, with a veneer of shiny "wishful thinking," perhaps. Maybe its manifestation is seen in my desire for a neo-reformation not for God's glory but my own personal peace. I confess this.

I sound as if I am despairing. Truthfully, my heart is heavy.

People tell me to stop reading. For me, that is like telling a person to stop noticing the sun. I mean, it is there. It is vital. It is obvious. But, then again, one cannot look too intently at the sun without something bad happening to one's sight. Hmm. You all should see Matt and I trying to keep Luke from looking dead-on at the sun while driving in the car. We assume he will learn...