David Lichty returns to the stage for the fourth of seven film and theology classes with some musings on the reality behind the worldviews we hold. Join us!
The Promised Handout:
Gospel and Film Class: Assumptions and Worldviews in the Details
Test everything; hold fast what is good.
–1 Thessalonians 5:21 (ESV)
The Character of the Creator
It is very much in the character of God not to do away with the evil that pervades this world, because to remove that would eliminate good as well.
Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven [a]may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also. The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he *said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them. Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
–Matthew 13:24-30 (ESV)
And further:
Abraham came near and said, “Will You indeed sweep away the righteous with the wicked? Suppose there are fifty righteous within the city; will You indeed sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous who are in it? Far be it from You to do such a thing, to slay the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike. Far be it from You! Shall not the Judge of all the earth deal justly?”
So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare the whole place on their account.”
And Abraham replied, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord, although I am but dust and ashes. Suppose the fifty righteous are lacking five, will You destroy the whole city because of five?”
And He said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five there.”
He spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose forty are found there?”
And He said, “I will not do it on account of the forty.”
Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak; suppose thirty are found there?”
And He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.”
And he said, “Now behold, I have ventured to speak to the Lord; suppose twenty are found there?”
And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the twenty.”
Then he said, “Oh may the Lord not be angry, and I shall speak only this once; suppose ten are found there?”
And He said, “I will not destroy it on account of the ten.”–Genesis 18:23-32 (ESV)
Love the Lord with our Minds
The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom, and whatever you get, get insight.
–Proverbs 4:7 (ESV)
Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance…
–Proverbs 1:5 (ESV)
…the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding…
–Proverbs 2:6 (ESV)
…you will understand righteousness and justice and equity, every good path; for wisdom will come into your heart, and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul; discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you…
–Proverbs 2:9-11(ESV)
…by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.
–Proverbs 24:4(ESV)
…the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money, and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.
–Ecclesiastes 7:12(ESV)
Avoid Simplistic Thinking
Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.
–John 7:24 (ESV)
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil.
–Isaiah 5:20a (NASB)
About this we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.
–Hebrews 5:11-14 (ESV)
Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.
–1 Corinthians 14:20 (ESV)
More Good Questions to Ask Yourself
Most of the time your world will not have been rocked at all. When it has been, or has been affected, how can you take care with your responses? Try these:
- What do you think about God after seeing this film?
- What did you think before?
- What did you think of people, or you, or rightness?
- How has the film made you think about something God has placed on your heart, or about the film’s underlying topic?
- What parts of the movie were truthful or insightful, even if the overall point of the film was off?
Want to see the full class (including clips) in video form? Click here.
Want to subscribe?
- RSS Podcast Feed (with your podcast program of choice)
- iTunes Podcast Feed (with your iOS or Mac device)
- Google Play Podcasts (from your Android device or web browser)
Social:
Facebook.com/RedeemingCulture
Twitter: @RedeemCulture and @podcast3D
Reddit: /r/RedeemingCulture
RedeemingCulture.com/podcast
Credits:
The 3D Podcast is ©2016 Redeeming Culture. This class was recorded at Redeemer Presbyterian Church in Indianapolis, IN during the summer of 2016.
The theme song is adapted from “Hero” by Doctor Vox, and is released under a CC-BY Creative Commons license. See here for more information: youtu.be/qNuC01Z3lrs
• • •
Thanks for reading listening to Redeeming Culture! We appreciate your presence- and, of course, if you’d like to help out, click here.
