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.

*Worldview Alert*

Rick Pearcey wrote a new post in his and Nancy's blog which is also linked on the pearceyreport.com. I think, as I am only about halfway through the article, he is doing a great job of explaining the concept of universal, yet, individual worldview. Read it.

And, while I'm on the subject of worldview stuff...

Concerning my husband's earlier post on, The Last Unicorn, which we watched a week ago, allow me to give my side of the story. I'd agree that there were some touching moments (he was more fond of her voice than I was. I thought it was a low-level screech at all times-her sense of alarm seemingly misplaced at many points throughout the movie.) and there was a neat nostalgia and shared laughter over the sheer cheesiness of the musical score (can we say, literal much?)but, above all, I left in the middle of the movie feeling disturbed.

When I was in first grade at South Fork Elementary, we were shown this movie in school as class reward (*&!!*%&#!!!!). I remember feeling immensely affected by it...I remember the driving force of the red bull and the image of the unicorn-turned-naked girl (thinking that I wanted to be beautiful like that) when "magic" was left to do its will. I was stunned, watching again, the graphic violence and sexuality certainly not intended for the young, impressionable age I was when first watching it. Little ones are so tender...

But, even beyond all of that, there was a startling omission I naturally did not catch the first time around at age, what, five? The Unicorn is looking at the caged Harpy, an evil bird bent on distruction of all things good and true and beautiful, and she, the pristine, eternal Unicorn says that she wished the Harpy could be freed from her cage since, in her own words, "we are two sides of the same magic." Matt and I turned to each other and made some gonging-alarm sound as we realized how they effortlessly slid that neo-Hindu (New/Old Age) garbage into a child's cartoon.

I wonder if I could sue South Fork for mental "trauma" attributed to the violent/sexual/philosophical content of the flick? Does this not count as a gross violation of my innocence as a child? Just a thought...
:o)

"And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! " -Jesus, Our LORD. Matthew 18:5-7