90 Seconds to Midnight

The Doomsday Clock has been moved closer to midnight.  We are now at 90 seconds to midnight, the closest it has ever been.  The clock was moved forward 10 seconds on Tuesday, largely due to Russia's threats of nuclear escalation in its invasion of Ukraine.  

Created in 1947 by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, the clock does not definitively measure existential crises, but rather it is designed to foster communications about serious threats to humanity.  Originally this focused on nuclear destruction, but in 2007 it was updated to include climate change.  The farthest away from midnight was in 1991 at 17 minutes away.   As stated above, we are now at the closest we have ever been.

Perhaps it is just a larger reflection of society, but there is a general pessimism in the air and it's not uniquely an American sensation.  There is a lot of hopelessness out there right now and I'm not exactly sure how to combat it.

Are we as believers doing an effective job of conveying hope?  Or have we given up?  Are we just burying our heads in the sand, waiting for heaven?  Or worse, are we the ones that are the most hopeless, giving up on our country, our world and viewing them the most pessimistically of all?

We have to change this.  We as believers should be in the business of hope.  It should be overflowing out of us (Romans 15:13).  It is a fruit of the spirit that should be evident in our lives.  We should be spreading hope because we have hope in Jesus.  And not just a hope for the future, for heaven, but also a hope for today.

Can we focus on spreading that? Can we focus on spreading hope?

Let's move the clock back.

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer." Romans 12:12

Truth, Justice, and a Better Tomorrow

Superman's mission has changed.  This past Saturday, October 16, 2021, DC Comics announced at their DC Fandome event that Superman's long-standing mission for "truth, justice, and the American way" would be changing to better reflect the current world.  

The new mission - a never-ending fight for truth, justice, and a better tomorrow.*

Moving Superman away from strictly an American icon and giving him back to the the world.  DC Comics has stated that the decision is meant “to better reflect the storylines that we are telling across DC and to honor Superman’s incredible legacy of over 80 years of building a better world.”

Unsurprisingly, like the reaction to the new Superman's recent coming out, the reaction has been mixed.  Many praising the decision for its inclusivity and broader scope.  Other's seeing it as one more anti-American sentiment.  Notably, former Superman Dean Cain expressed his disapproval to this as well.

I told you.

DC Comics ditch mention of 'The American Way' from Superman's motto https://t.co/sz1gfnlh5o

— Dean Cain (@RealDeanCain) October 17, 2021

To Cain and similar detractors, this is merely the latest in a series of ill-advised political moves seeking to pander to the left.  It would seem to reveal more of Cain's politics than DCs.

In truth, it reflects a long pattern of changes to the hero's motto and mission.  Dating back to his earliest appearances, Superman's mission has always included truth and justice.  You can find many instances of Superman's slogan only including these two items.  The award winning Fleischer theatrical animated shorts from the early 1940s only proclaimed a "never-ending battle for truth and justice."  Ironically, Dean Cain's Lois & Clark television program only included the "battle for truth and justice" part as well.

The American Way portion has come and gone a lot over the 80 year history of the character.  This tag line originated in a 1940s radio serial; but really came into prominence with the 1950 George Reeves television show.  The phrase was then dropped for the 1960s cartoon, but picked back up by Christopher Reeve in 1978's Superman film.

Not surprising, the phrases comes and goes as American patriotism (or nationalism, depending on your perspective) waxes and wanes.  With the current emphasis on diversity and inclusion that is in the zeitgeist, broadening Superman's mission makes sense.  Likewise, with the increasing globalization of our pop culture and the larger global audience for superhero comics, television, and film, a global mission makes sense.

Plus, Superman has always represented the best of us as humans, not just as Americans.  His core beliefs, his personality, his innate goodness would have come through regardless of what country he hailed from.  What nation he called home.

He's always been the "Man of Tomorrow."  Now his mission is aligned with that.

*I have had to add the Oxford comma myself. 

What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, And The American Way?

Originally posted on December 6, 2019.  Re-posted for context around a couple of Superman conversations, both preceding and following this post. 

DC Films still doesn’t know what to do with Superman, the studio reportedly is unsure how to make the character “relevant to modern audiences” https://t.co/ActQZp2O3t pic.twitter.com/EtxNICHvWT

— Forbes (@Forbes) November 29, 2019

It started with a piece in Variety outlining the future of DC Films, the subdivision of Warner Brothers focused on the DC Comics characters.  It outlined plans for The Batman and discussed in depth plans for the upcoming R-rated features like The Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey, hot on the heels of the success of Joker.  But when it came to Superman, the piece confirmed what many of us have known for a long time - DC really doesn't understand Superman any more.

“The studio has less clarity on what to do with Superman, a character who has now been rebooted two different times in the last 13 years, […] without landing on a winning strategy.”

“To help find a way to make Superman relevant to modern audiences, studio brass has been polling lots of high-profile talent. “ Like J.J. Abrams and Michael B. Jordan.

Now, this will be harsh, but if you don't understand how to make a Superman movie, perhaps you are in the wrong business.  It you cannot find enough material to understand the character, then perhaps storytelling is not your strong suit.

Superman has been continuously published since 1939.  Eighty years of material waiting to be told on the big screen.

For the Man Who Has Everything

Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?

Superman: For All Seasons

All-Star Superman

Really, none of those could serve as an inspiration?!?

And the character isn't relevant?!?

It's hard to fathom not thinking an illegal immigrant raised in the Midwest who moves to the big city to become a journalist to fight corruption and an egomaniacal billionaire isn't relevant today.

Or that the original social justice warrior fighting corrupt politicians and slumlords isn't relevant, as he was presented in his original stories.

Warner Brothers hesitancy reveals a problem with sincerity, with hope, with optimism.  It's the Batman problem.  Everything to them is viewed through a Batman shaped lens.  Batman is gritty, Batman is edgy and dark.  Batman sells.  Ergo, in order for other things to be successful, they need to look like Batman.

And Superman is inherently diametrically opposed from Batman.  Superman is light, Superman is bright, Superman is hope.

You can see this problem in their most recent attempts at a Superman movie.  Man of Steel, while a solid sci-fi film, is a terrible Superman film.  Randian objectivism should not be allowed anywhere near a Superman film unless it is used as a contrast.  Superman should prove objectivism fatally wrong.  He must do what is right simply because it is right and for no other reason.  He protects, he saves those where he has no personal interest, no personal stake.  He will save everyone, or at least die trying.   Superman cannot stand by and let someone die if he has the power to save them, especially if the reason for inaction is to protect his identity.  That strikes against the very core of the character.

"Are you going to help everyone?
No.  But I'm going to try."
Superman: Up in the Sky #6

Likewise, Batman v Superman fails because it provides no contrast between the two characters.  In the film, we are shown no difference between Batman and Superman.  Two characters filmed through the same dark lenses, literally and metaphorically, battling each other because the plot requires it to be so.  And in Justice League, Superman is more of a plot device than an actual character in the film.  The adjustments to the film at least brought forth a few moments which showed what Henry Cavill might be able to do with the character under the right pen, but the disjointed production of that particular movie did no one any favors.

It's a puzzle why Warner Brothers has such a hard time with an appropriate tone for Superman.  Marvel's Captain America: The First Avenger, showed that an earnest approach to superhero film would work.  That character has formed the backbone of their MCU and has benefited from playing off the different personalities in that universe.

Likewise, a film like A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood showcasing an optimistic hero and contrasting him with the cynical world is earning critical acclaim.  And while it is not burning up the box office charts, it has still recouped its costs, nearing $40 million in ticket sales.

We need Warner Brothers to get this right.  We need Superman again, as everything he stands for seems to be under attack.

"To best be in a position to use his amazing powers in a never-ending battle for truth and justice, Superman has assumed the disguise of Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper."

The American Way was later added to Superman's fight, making the better-known phrase "Truth, Justice, and the American Way."

But what is truth when unpopular realities can be dismissed as "fake news" or when documented record can simply be denied?  When the images we see must be evaluated for their level of manipulation?  When scripted dramas are passed off as reality television?  What is truth when feelings and opinions matter more than facts?

What is justice when it seems to be applied unevenly at best?  When the color of ones skin can be the difference in a business meeting in a coffee shop and an arrest at a coffee shop or between life and death in a traffic stop?  When antisemitic, white power, and alt-right groups are on the rise?  When the gender pay gap still exists?  When affluenza is a recognized condition?  What is justice if it is not blind?

What does the American Way mean anymore?  Whose American Way? Especially when our country is as fractured as it is.

Sadly, even the "reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper" part is going away in our society.  Under attack from declining sales and partisan politics alike.

Superman has always existed to be our ideal.  The hero of heroes.  The greatest.  He has been a social-justice warrior before the term ever existed (look back to those initial comics where he was beating up slum lords and corrupt business men).  The Blue Boy Scout.  A father figure figuratively and literally.  The leader of gods and men.

He has been portrayed as a Messiah figure of late, though that is a little misguided in my opinion.  He is much more of a representation of Moses, the leader-deliverer.  A child sent away in a vessel, raised by adopted parents who discovers his heritage and becomes a leader and inspiration.  An important distinction given the heritage of Siegel and Shuster, two Jewish kids growing up in the Depression, with a war raging in Europe.  Into these dark times, these two guys created a beacon of hope.  A strong man who could stop all the bullies and protect the little guy.

Over time, Superman's character continued to solidify.  Powers and weaknesses came and went; some of them very, very strange.  But the core of the character remained.  Superman is honest, fair, and decent.  He is a paragon of virtue who knows and does what is right.  He is the strongest one their is, but uses that strength to protect only, not to intimidate or bully.  Strength with responsibility.

And through the years, we have seen him bubble to the surface when he is needed.  Christopher Reeves fully embodying the character more than any other actor, making us "believe a man could fly."  More than any actor, Christopher Reeve gave the character a lightness, a comfort in his own skin than shone brightly through the screen.  The movies may be a little corny and only two of the four really work, but there is no denying the sincerity of the portrayal that would define the character.

It's that character we need again.

We need that paragon, that beacon of hope to inspire us again.  The example that causes us to find a better way.

We need to believe a man can fly.

May the 4th Be With You

A long time ago in a galaxy far,
far away. . . .

If you traveled back 43 years, little could anyone imagine how big Star Wars would become.  At that time, Star Wars was just a movie that was set to premier 20 days later.  Given the recent performance of sci-fi at the time, it wasn't expected to have much of an impact.

And yet, here we are, with Star Wars a global phenomenon.  A multi-billion dollar, multi-media franchise.  Star Wars land, aka Galaxy's Edge, has finally opened.  Jediism is even a registered and recognized religion.

We've celebrated this weekend by watching through the Skywalker Saga, Episodes 1-8, in preparation of Episode 9, Rise of Skywalker, joining Disney+ today.  Tonight, we'll cap off the saga.

Yes, the movies can be clunky, they can be corny, they don't always work that well.  But there is still a magic in them.  Particularly in the original trilogy.  Lucas stayed so close to the mono-myth, to Campbell's Hero's Journey, that he created a new mythology that still resonates today.

We still connect to hope.  We still want to see good triumph over evil.  To see the evil Empire fall.  We like seeing Nazis lose, even if it's space Nazis.

Plus, the story, the world is so big, there is room for all kinds of storytelling, witnessed recently by the success of the Mandalorian.  Since we've recently viewed a lot of Akira Kurosawa, we could see his influences on Star Wars.  The touches from Hidden Fortress, from Yojimbo.  We talked about how we now want to see Seven Samurai in Star Wars or what Throne of Blood looks like.  What Casablanca looks like in Star Wars.  A more James Bond inspired Agent of the Empire.  You can tell almost any war story, any samurai story, any western in the world Lucas created.

If you are looking for ways to celebrate, for the best content, may I suggest the Original Trilogy, the Clone Wars television show (particularly the later seasons), The Mandalorian, and Rogue One and Solo of the newer material.

Enjoy the day.  Remember, there is hope, even when the world looks its darkest.  Look for good to win out in the end.

And of course, may the Force be with you, always.

Or, for my more orthodox Jedi,

May the Force be with you.
And also with you.

Easter Sunday

"Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared.  But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.  Then they went in and did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  And it happened, as they were greatly perplexed about this, that behold, two men stood by them in shining garments.  Then, as they were afraid and bowed their faces to the earth, they said to them, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?  He is not here, but is risen!  Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.'"

Luke 24:1-7

Today marks the greatest celebration of the Christian life.  The greatest news that could be shared.  He is not among the dead.  He's alive, He's alive, He's alive!!

We have hope because He has won the victory over death and the grave.  No matter how dark Friday was, no matter how difficult the waiting on Saturday, it's Sunday and Christ is victorious!

May the joy and grace of the Easter season be on you and your family!  If you do not know the reason why we celebrate, I pray you find yourself surrounded with friends who exemplify the good news and are overjoyed to share. There are plenty of online opportunities today to join a celebration.

God’s blessings on you today and continuing through this year.

What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and The American Way...

DC Films still doesn’t know what to do with Superman, the studio reportedly is unsure how to make the character “relevant to modern audiences” https://t.co/ActQZp2O3t pic.twitter.com/EtxNICHvWT

— Forbes (@Forbes) November 29, 2019

It started with a piece in Variety outlining the future of DC Films, the subdivision of Warner Brothers focused on the DC Comics characters.  It outlined plans for The Batman and discussed in depth plans for the upcoming R-rated features like The Suicide Squad and Birds of Prey, hot on the heels of the success of Joker.  But when it came to Superman, the piece confirmed what many of us have known for a long time - DC really doesn't understand Superman any more.

“The studio has less clarity on what to do with Superman, a character who has now been rebooted two different times in the last 13 years, […] without landing on a winning strategy.”

“To help find a way to make Superman relevant to modern audiences, studio brass has been polling lots of high-profile talent. “ Like J.J. Abrams and Michael B. Jordan.

Now, this will be harsh, but if you don't understand how to make a Superman movie, perhaps you are in the wrong business.  It you cannot find enough material to understand the character, then perhaps storytelling is not your strong suit.

Superman has been continuously published since 1939.  Eighty years of material waiting to be told on the big screen.

For the Man Who Has Everything

Whatever Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?

What's So Funny About Truth, Justice, and the American Way?

Superman: For All Seasons

All-Star Superman

Really, none of those could serve as an inspiration?!?

And the character isn't relevant?!?

It's hard to fathom not thinking an illegal immigrant raised in the midwest who moves to the big city to become a journalist to fight corruption and an egomaniacal billionaire isn't relevant today.

Or that the original social justice warrior fighting corrupt politicians and slumlords isn't relevant, as he was presented in his original stories.

Warner Brothers hesitancy reveals a problem with sincerity, with hope, with optimism.  It's the Batman problem.  Everything to them is viewed through a Batman shaped lens.  Batman is gritty, Batman is edgy and dark.  Batman sells.  Ergo, in order for other things to be successful, they need to look like Batman.

And Superman is inherently diametrically opposed from Batman.  Superman is light, Superman is bright, Superman is hope.

You can see this problem in their most recent attempts at a Superman movie.  Man of Steel, while a solid sci-fi film, is a terrible Superman film.  Randian objectivism should not be allowed anywhere near a Superman film unless it is used as a contrast.  Superman should prove objectivism fatally wrong.  He must do what is right simply because it is right and for no other reason.  He protects, he saves those where he has no personal interest, no personal stake.  He will save everyone, or at least die trying.   Superman cannot stand by and let someone die if he has the power to save them, especially if the reason for inaction is to protect his identity.  That strikes against the very core of the character.

"Are you going to help everyone?
No.  But I'm going to try."
Superman: Up in the Sky #6

Likewise, Batman v Superman fails because it provides no contrast between the two characters.  In the film, we are shown no difference between Batman and Superman.  Two characters filmed through the same dark lenses, literally and metaphorically, battling each other because the plot requires it to be so.  And in Justice League, Superman is more of a plot device than an actual character in the film.  The adjustments to the film at least brought forth a few moments which showed what Henry Cavill might be able to do with the character under the right pen, but the disjointed production of that particular movie did no one any favors.

It's a puzzle why Warner Brothers has such a hard time with an appropriate tone for Superman.  Marvel's Captain America: The First Avenger, showed that an earnest approach to superhero film would work.  That character has formed the backbone of their MCU and has benefited from playing off the different personalities in that universe.

Likewise, a film like A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood showcasing an optimistic hero and contrasting him with the cynical world is earning critical acclaim.  And while it is not burning up the box office charts, it has still recouped its costs, nearing $40 million in ticket sales.

We need Warner Brothers to get this right.  We need Superman again, as everything he stands for seems to be under attack.

"To best be in a position to use his amazing powers in a never-ending battle for truth and justice, Superman has assumed the disguise of Clark Kent, mild-mannered reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper."

The American Way was later added to Superman's fight, making the better-known phrase "Truth, Justice, and the American Way."

But what is truth when unpopular realities can be dismissed as "fake news" or when documented record can simply be denied?  When the images we see must be evaluated for their level of manipulation?  When scripted dramas are passed off as reality television?  What is truth when feelings and opinions matter more than facts?

What is justice when it seems to be applied unevenly at best?  When the color of ones skin can be the difference in a business meeting in a coffee shop and an arrest at a coffee shop or between life and death in a traffic stop?  When antisemitic, white power, and alt-right groups are on the rise?  When the gender pay gap still exists?  When affluenza is a recognized condition?  What is justice if it is not blind?

What does the American Way mean anymore?  Whose American Way? Especially when our country is as fractured as it is.

Sadly, even the "reporter for a great metropolitan newspaper" part is going away in our society.  Under attack from declining sales and partisan politics alike.

Superman has always existed to be our ideal.  The hero of heroes.  The greatest.  He has been a social-justice warrior before the term ever existed (look back to those initial comics where he was beating up slum lords and corrupt business men).  The Blue Boy Scout.  A father figure figuratively and literally.  The leader of gods and men.

He has been portrayed as a Messiah figure of late, though that is a little misguided in my opinion.  He is much more of a representation of Moses, the leader-deliverer.  A child sent away in a vessel, raised by adopted parents who discovers his heritage and becomes a leader and inspiration.  An important distinction given the heritage of Siegel and Shuster, two Jewish kids growing up in the Depression, with a war raging in Europe.  Into these dark times, these two guys created a beacon of hope.  A strong man who could stop all the bullies and protect the little guy.

Over time, Superman's character continued to solidify.  Powers and weaknesses came and went; some of them very, very strange.  But the core of the character remained.  Superman is honest, fair, and decent.  He is a paragon of virtue who knows and does what is right.  He is the strongest one their is, but uses that strength to protect only, not to intimidate or bully.  Strength with responsibility.

And through the years, we have seen him bubble to the surface when he is needed.  Christopher Reeves fully embodying the character more than any other actor, making us "believe a man could fly."  More than any actor, Christopher Reeve gave the character a lightness, a comfort in his own skin than shone brightly through the screen.  The movies may be a little corny and only two of the four really work, but there is no denying the sincerity of the portrayal that would define the character.

It's that character we need again.

We need that paragon, that beacon of hope to inspire us again.  The example that causes us to find a better way.

We need to believe a man can fly.

Cynicism and Childishness

"Cynicism has become the default position for so much of daily structure and daily intercourse.

Why?  Because it's easy, and there's good money to be made.

Cynicism is a great product to sell, and it's the perfect beginning of any examination of anything.  And part of that is conspiracy theories and what have you.

But I think when Fred Rogers first saw children's programming, he saw something that was cynical, and why would you put that in front of a two or three-year-old kid?  That you are not cool because you don't have this toy?  That it's funny to see someone being bopped on the head?

That's a cynical treatment of the audience, and we have become so inured to that, that when we are met with as simple a message as 'Hey you know what, it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood!' we get slapped a bit.  We are allowed, I think, to feel good.  There's a place for cynicism, but why begin with it right off the bat?"

Tom Hanks, on A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, at the Toronto Film Festival

When did cynicism become the default setting for adults?  A mark of maturity?

When did we become so concerned with showing that we were mature?

Hanks, for his part, refers to the underlying conflict in his upcoming film.  The battle between the cynicism of journalist Tom Junod and the unrelenting kindness of empathy of Fred Rogers, which formed the basis for Junod's article in Esquire in 1998.  It should not come as a shock that kindness and empathy won, especially when they are as pure as Rogers'.

I think we can see this battle in another upcoming film, though in the opposite direction.  Warner Bros. upcoming Joker film directed by Todd Phillips is already garnering a lot of attention.  The film won the Venice Film Festival's prestigious Golden Lion award.  It's being praised as a dark evolution for comics-influenced cinema.   For being deeply unsettling.  A tribute to Martin Scorsese films, closer to 1970s dark cinema than its comics influences.

In short, it's mature because it's dark.  "I say this not to show any disdain for comic-book movies, but only to point out the well-established seasonal logic by which the film industry typically operates.  The summer - the designated stomping ground for superheroes and supervillains - has finally passed, making way for the fall and its traditional bounty of ascetic art films, spit-shined prestige pictures and other subspecies of cinema that have no place in the Marvel and DC Comics universes."  "Built around a credible spiral from outsider to deranged killer, it's as much a neo-noir psychological character study grounded in urban alienation and styled after Taxi Driver as a rise-of-the-supervillain portait."  "You're always aware of how much the mood and design of Joker owe to Taxi Driver and The King of Comedy.  For a filmmaker gifted enough to stand on his own, Phillips is too beholden to his idols.  Yet within that scheme, he creates a dazzingly disturbed psycho psycho morality play, one that speaks of incels and mass shooters and no-hope politics, of the kind of hate that emerges from crushed dreams."     

It's a well-worn argument.  That comic books, that animation, that Disney, that fairy tales are too childish, too simple, too hopeful, too naive.  They are for children, not for any serious adult.

It's an argument that summed up a disagreement between fans of Marvel Cinematic Universe films and the DC Universe films, particularly those by Zach Snyder.  A reductivist argument that says Snyder's films are deep and complex, they are dark and mature.  Marvel films are jokey.  And yet it is an argument that ignores the fact that Marvel films have addressed racism, sexism, the military industrialism complex, and an AI singularity.  They dealt with simpler, more universal themes of standing up for what is right, what it means to have a heart, what it means to be worthy, what is a family, at what cost freedom.

The broader question ignores the fact that when PIXAR is at the top of its game, it produces some of the best films of the year, period.  Not qualified by animation, but the best films of the year.  I'll hold the first ten minutes of Up against any other material put on film.  Inside Out, likewise, was one of the most moving films of its year.  But these films still get dismissed as children or family fare.  Relegated to the Best Animated Feature, with a potential obligatory Best Picture nod to recognize the box-office draw of the film.  The kind where it is supposed to be an honor just to get nominated.

When we segment our entertainment like this, when we focus on the adult, the serious, the mature, at what price does our obsession with maturity come?   That is a question that is also being asked about with the release of Joker.

Richard Lawson wrote in his review in Variety, "There is undeniable style and propulsive charge to Joker, a film that looms and leers with nasty inexorability.  It's exhilarating in the most prurient of ways, a snuff film about the death of order, about the rot of a governing ethos.  But from a step back, outside in the baking Venetian heat, it also may be irresponsible propaganda for the very men it pathologizes.  Is Joker celebratory or horrified?  Or is there simply no difference, the way there wasn't in Natural Born Killers or myriad other 'America, man' movies about the freeing allure of depravity?

The honest answer is, I don't know.  Not after one viewing, anyway.  What I can tell you is that the reaction to the film from my packed audience of Italians and other international filmgoers sounded like roaring acclaim.  Perhaps it's a bit easier to accept and digest all this horror in a country where such men seem rarer - or I'm being an over-worried pill, and it's just a good, startling movie."

Does Joker go too far?  Does it actually reveal something to us, enlighten us?  Or by making us sympathize with a monster, is it desensitizing us, at best, and motivating the depraved of us, at worst?

Is it more problematic that the film refuses to give an answer?  It refuses to take a side in the narrative?  By doing so, isn't it validating all viewpoints, allowing the viewer to read into it whatever they wish?  Isn't that irresponsible storytelling?

Storytelling is one of the most powerful tools we have as humans. It is how we have relayed our history throughout time.  It is how we have taught lessons of morality.  Lessons of importance.

Jesus knew this.  It's why he used parables.  It's why the Bible is as much story, poetry, allegory, as it is history and genealogy.

The greatest story ever told is a story that can be told to all ages.  That seems foolish to maturity.  That requires childlike faith.  "But Jesus called them to him, saying ' Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.  Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it."  Luke 18:16-17

I don't want to be misunderstood, I'm not saying we should not have any mature films.  Or that films should not handle mature themes and subject matters.  Art is supposed to be a mirror to the world around it.  It is supposed to enlighten us, to motivate us, to push us forward, to chastise us, to condemn us, to elevate us.  We need good art now more than ever.

Perhaps, though, we should be a little more careful in how we handle that maturity.  In what lessons that we are teaching.  In the statements that we are making.

Perhaps it's time to get back to basics.  To reiterate those lessons that we are supposed to hold to.

To mere Christianity.

To Common Sense.

To happily ever after.

To kindness, to charity, to virtue.

Perhaps we need fairy tales and myths now more than ever.  To be truly mature and embrace them all.

"Critics who treat adult as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves.  To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush a the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence.  And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms.  Young things ought to want to grow.  But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development.  When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so.  Now that I am fifty I read them openly.  When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up."

C.S. Lewis, On Stories; And Other Essays on Literature

Stewardship II

Or why it matters.  Why we can have hope.

In certain circles of opposition to environmentalism or global conservation, there is a bit of fatalism.  The idea that nothing we do matters in terms of the planet.  That if there is global warming, it's not caused by humans, but by other natural factors.  And likewise, that there is nothing that we could do to change it for the better.

This flies in the face of the available evidence.  We can clearly see areas in which the harms to the environment are our fault.  The plastic islands.  Ocean acidification.  Air pollution.  The list goes on and on.

With all of that, it would be easy to give into despair.  To believe the future is hopeless.  Go ahead and run a search on Google and see how many results come back for the question "should I have kids given global warming?"  There is reason enough to be so concerned that people are contemplating forgoing children instead of leaving them a ravaged planet Earth.

Clearly, there is an issue that demands action.

But, it is also important to remember that we have reasons for hope.

First and foremost, our God is a creator who takes care of His creation according to His will.  He is not just looking out for His people, He will be about redeeming His entire creation.  And that includes the Earth.  That is why there will be a new Earth following the Judgment.  He cares about His creation and He will make it perfect again.  Now, might He use global warming/climate change to accomplish His final judgment?  Yes.  He's done it before with a global flood.  But until and through that time, He is tending to what is His.

“Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not more valuable than they?”  

Matthew 6:26

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.  Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?  In his hand is the life of every creature and the breadth of all mankind.” 

Job 12:7-10

“In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.  The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.” 

Psalm 95:4-5

Further, He has created a wonderfully, living, and self-sufficient organism in the planet Earth.  It is not designed to maintain a status quo, but to be a living and healing organism that adjusts to changes that occur and continually evolves.  It adapts.  That is what all of the effects of global climate change are.  Polar ice cap melting, global sea rise, removal of coastlines, etc.  They are all adaptations of the planet reacting to the change in temperature and trying to compensate.  A system trying to correct itself.  

What is hard to swallow in remembering this fact, is that sometimes the corrective action is devastating to the human race.  We, by nature, are creatures that like to maintain a status quo.  We want to be able to visit the same beach in the same place we remember as a kid, that our parents brought us to, that their parents brought them to, and so on and so on.  We want to be able to continually build houses in now flood prone areas.  In tornado alleys.  On fault lines.  On hurricane prone coastlines.  All on the chance that we will not be affected often.  That we can build to adapt.  

We remove forests, we displace local wildlife, we alter the topography of the region.  And expect that there will not be an effect.  So that we are surprised when nature reacts back.  

Maybe we need to start reconsidering our relationship with His creation?  How much we change it?  How much we take from it?

There is also reason to hope because we do see positive changes in the environment.  We are seeing the benefit of activism regarding protecting, cleaning, and reviving the world around us.

We are saving endangered species.  Red-cockaded Woodpeckers have been saved through science and ingenuity, moving the bird out of endangered status.

We are restoring natural landscapes.  The restoration of the Pawcatuck River in Rhode Island, once dammed, has restored a migratory pathway for American shad, river herring, sea-run brook trout and other species for the first time in centuries.

We are saving habitats ravaged by natural disasters.  Conservation techniques involving putting seedlings in a specific soil mix before transplanting has helped more than 70% native plants survive after wildfires in opposition to invasive cheatgrass.

We are finding new sustainable sources for food and other supplies.  Seaweed farming in particular requires little additional input than sunlight and sea water, holding the ability to remove excess nutrients from eutrophic areas, and even mitigating the effects of ocean acidification.  This could be a great help in saving our marine life.

We're changing our energy use.  Renewable energy use is on the rise.  A recent report from Wood Mackenzie predicts that clean energy technologies have become so cost effective that they will replace fossil fuels as the main source of energy within the next 20 years.  Currently, five states generate more 10 percent or more of their energy from solar energy.  More than 100 cities and counties are committed to transferring to 100 percent clean energy.  And other countries are leading the way.  Germany produced enough renewable energy in the first half of 2018 to power every household in the country for a year.  Portugal ran on renewable energy for the entire month of March.  Costa Rica has been maintaining 98-99% renewable energy for years now.

We are learning about some of the most effective solutions.  In particular, scientists have noted that there is a cumulative space around the world the size of the United States available for planting trees and that this would reduce global carbon emissions by 25%.  Scotland has done their part, planting over 22 million trees last year, smashing their goals.

We are making new discoveries each and every day and we are seeing millions of people, and scores of companies and governments committing to make a change. To become better stewards.  To give up what is easy or convenient, for what is better.  What is sustainable, what is beneficial.  What is healthy.

The good news is that there are very easy steps that can be taken to start.

Recycle.  Even if you don't live in an area where recycling is a part of the city or municipal garbage collection, you can start by being committed to recycling as much as possible.  Focus on eliminating single use items as much as possible, in particular plastics.  Such as plastic straws and other utensils, plastic plates and cups, plastic containers.  Reuse the plastic containers.  Be like our grandparents.  They make excellent containers for leftovers.  No need to buy them separate from the store.   When you upgrade your electronic devices, be sure to recycle the old ones with the electronics company.  They can be stripped for parts to be used in repairs or remodels.

Reuse.  Buy second hand items.  Find new purposes for old items.  Trade with friends and neighbors.  Donate items to charitable organizations so they can be redistributed. 

Reduce.  Reduce waste.  Compost food waste.  Switch single use items out for repetitive use versions.  Cloth napkins for paper towels, plates instead of paper plates, handkerchiefs instead of Kleenex, etc.  Look for ways to reduce the amount of items that you are putting in the trash.

Refuse.  Refuse products that are harmful to the environment.  Take the Plastics Pledge  refusing plastic straws, plastic bottles, and plastic bags.  

There are many easy steps we can take.  It just takes a commitment.

Are you willing to be a better steward of God's creation?  Do you desire to be the faithful servant in this respect?

Why not start today?

Church Re-Imagined

With the previous three entries as context, the question then arises regarding what church should actually look like.  If we've seen how church can be misused, then how can church be implemented properly?  How is it re-imagined to be in line with what God intended?

The first mention of the church in the Bible is in Matthew 16:18.  Jesus talking to His disciples and referencing Peter (or Peter's statement, depending on your denomination) states "on this rock I will build my church." The word used here is ekklesia.  The "called out ones." The idea of an assembly of people.  A gathering of people called out from their homes to a place for a special purpose.

When church is used in the New Testament, it's not referring to a building or location.  It's referring to the assembly of God's people.  Paul's letters to Ephesus, to Corinth, to Galatia, then, are referring to the assembly of Christians (or followers of "the Way") in that particular location.

We see over and over again, that our emphasis should be on the people, our fellow followers of Christ.  With that in the right frame of reference, our view of church becomes radically different.

We remember that ...

Church is not a place, it's the people
It's not a designated time on Sunday
It's not one specific style.
It's not the only place where worship occurs or where teaching of the word occurs.
It is something that goes out, not something you come to.
It's much bigger than most of us think and encompasses believers across the globe.
It's not about us.
It's not for us.
It's about the One that we worship.

There's no specific outline that a Christian meeting must follow anywhere in scripture.  There are indications of the types of activities early Christians undertook, but there is nothing prescriptive about these passages.  Definitely no one formula for getting it "right."

Church could happen on an impromptu basis.  "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."  Matthew 18:20.   A shared meal with fellow believers - the Church has gathered.  A home Bible study - that's church.  Christian worship concert, definitely church.

The Church sings and exalts the name of our Creator.  It Lifts His Name on High.  "...addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ."  Ephesians 5:19-21.  And look, hymns and praise choruses (spiritual songs) are both covered!

The Church uses its gifts to bless one another.  "What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation.  Let all things be done for building up."  1 Corinthians 14:26.  What a different world we would live in if the universal Church were more interested in building each other up than tearing down the others outside our particular four walls.  Put another way, when one local "church" group hurts in your area, all churches in that area are suffering.  If one is struggling, the whole Church is struggling.

The Church corrects each other in love.  "If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you.  If they listen to you, you have won them over.  But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that 'every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.'  If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector."  Matthew 18:15-17.  The key to this is love.  Love covers all the commandments.  And this should be seen as an intervention, not a judgment.  It's trying to hep family before they hurt themselves or others.  It's what comes with caring about your fellow believers.

When we can remember these, we get a lot closer to that Acts 2 church.  The kind of church that ate together.  Smiled and laughed together.  Cried and suffered together.  Shared everything they had and took care of any needs - together.

"They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.  Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles.  All the believers were together and had everything in common.  They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need.  Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.  They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people.  And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved."

That's the Church that is alive.  That is compelling and attractive. That's when people notice

If you'd like to further dig into church reimagined, I recommend Stonepoint's series on the topic here.  The two previous sermons are uploaded here to get caught up.

If you are in the Wills Point area and would like to find an assembly of believers to connect and grow with, to live life with and try to find that Acts 2 experience, and would like to learn more about Stonepoint, you can find out more here.

First Sunday of Advent - For Unto Us A Child Is Born

Today marks the first Sunday of Advent, where we remember the hope and promise of a coming Messiah, as well as looking forward to the promise of His return.

"The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light:  they that dwell in the land of the sahdow of death, upon them hath the light shined. [...]

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The might God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.  The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this."

Isaiah 9:2, 6-7

Top Ten Things I'm Thankful For #9 - An optimism for the future

It is hope that gives life meaning.  And hope is based on the prospect of being able one day to turn the actual world into a possible one that looks better.

Francois Jacob

I'm thankful for hope.  I'm thankful for the belief that things will get better.  For the recognition that despite how dark things may seem or how dark people may try to convince us the days are, we are in the greatest time that has ever been.  I'm grateful for an energy that is growing to make things better.

I'm thankful for developments that give reason to hope.  For record turnouts in our election process.  For changes in our representation in Washington, D.C. making it more diverse and more reflective of the great body of people that they serve.  Hopefully making it more responsive to the people they serve.  For a potential for a massive criminal justice reform, that has been long supported and hoped for.  For developments in the treatment of Alzheimers and cancer.

I'm grateful for the hope we have in Christ.  I'm thankful for the hope we have for this life.  "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10  I'm grateful for the hope we have for the next life.  "So we do not lose heart.  Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.  For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen.  For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal."  2 Corinthians 4:16-18

I'm thankful for the hope I have for the future.  For the excitement of the years to come.  To looking forward to the future with my wife.  To watching my children grow and discover and learn.

I'm thankful for hope.  Pure, distilled, hope.