Corrupting Minds,
Or Changing Hearts?

Yet another "Christian" condemnation of Harry Potter has hit the news. James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, has officially renounced Harry Potter, "Fearful of the effect reading about witches, wizards and werewolves might have on impressionable young minds."

In response to a Washington Post story that claimed he liked the books, he reminded the reporters and the public what he said on the radio; "We have spoken out strongly against all of the Harry Potter products."

Although, in all likelihood, it appears that Dobson has never actually read the books.

If he were to, he might be surprised to find messages clearly consistent with Christianity, and, dare I say, even a sprinkling of Christian symbolism.

As one writer reminds us, "Rowling's series reinforces a core Christian belief that good and evil are not just socially constructed.

The villain, Voldemort, proclaims in the first book, 'There is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it.' By contrast, Harry and his companions rely on love, courage and friendship to fight and defeat Voldemort.

More importantly, Rowling, who identifies herself as a Christian, clearly draws upon this source throughout book seven.

At one point, Harry visits his parents' graves at a Churchyard on Christmas Eve. On his parents' grave, he sees the phrase, 'The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death' — Can we say, "1 Corinthians 15?"

Much like Tolkien, Rowling's expression of faith in her work, manifests itself throughout the overall narrative, rather than in overt symbols or references.

For instance, the finale gives us the supreme example of a Christian message: Harry defeats evil in a Christ-like manner...through sacrificing himself out of love for others. (No spoiler here, on whether or not there is a ressurection.)

Sadly, however - instead of seeing these themes, Dobson (and others) condemn the series because it they say it "positively depicts the practice of sorcery."

Funny though, how the magic in Rowling's tales (Tolkien's and Lewis' as well) never mimics either Ancient examples or contemporary Wiccan or traditionally-dubbed 'Pagan' practices.

Some have suggested that Dobson should "save his ammunition for real — not perceived — attacks upon Christianity such as a movie coming this Christmas. During the holiday season, 'The Golden Compass' will appear in theatres, a movie based on Philip Pullman's first book in the best-selling 'His Dark Materials' trilogy."

As the Statesman puts it, "The timing of the movie's release is ironic considering that Pullman hates Christianity. In The Washington Post, Pullman admitted that, through his work, 'I'm trying to undermine the basis of Christian belief.'

Pullman also holds disdain for C.S. Lewis and his 'Narnia' tales; he claims that Lewis celebrated 'bullying, racism, misogyny.' Publicly and in his fiction, Pullman pulls no punches.

To sell tickets, the movie trailer connects the tale to Tolkien's stories about Middle Earth. Yet Tolkien, according to his profession, would have been aghast at Pullman's tale.

Throughout Pullman's wonderfully entertaining and creative stories, one finds anti-Christian pokes, anti-Christian symbolism and even anti-Christian diatribes. Children are treated to arguments such as 'Every church is the same: control, destroy, obliterate every good feeling.' None of Tolkien or Rowling's subtlety here.

Pullman also enjoys reinterpreting the Biblical story of the Fall as the beginning of true human freedom.

To top it off, his trilogy ends with what is clearly meant to represent the death of the Christian God, the 'Authority,' a demented, decrepit angel with delusions of grandeur.

If Dobson wants to start giving thoughtful Christian criticism of popular children's fiction, there is no better place to start than Phillip Pullman's series.

No one would blame Dobson for warning parents not to load up on sugar-coated anti-Christian propaganda dressed as children's fiction."

Unfortunately, since some right-wing advocates, such as Dobson, have mistakenly cried wolf about "Harry Potter," those raising serious questions about Pullman's disturbing trilogy may not be taken seriously.

We would all do well to consider for a moment, that not everyone speaking the truth has the same accent.

Satanus
Skolio Hnau

"The Siege of your world shall be raised, the black spot cleared away, before the real beginning."
- Tor Oyarsa Perelendri

Lewis calls him the 'Bent One.'

The Scriptures speak of him as the Accuser. He chose to please himself rather than the Creator. This decision skewed his nature, and he is going about (even today), attempting to do the same to all other creatures.
As Lewis often illustrates, the sexual desire (for instance) has been skewed, and its purpose perverted.

God designed it so that it might draw man and woman close in a committed, covenant relationship. In this light, sexual desire is clearly morally good, as well as physically and emotionally pleasing.

However, when that desire is twisted by the Bent One, it evolves into lust (the detached urge for one's own gratification...an urge which is willing to demean the dignity of another to satiate itself.)

Similarly, we see this pattern in what is called the "economic drive." The Scripture never lauds laziness. Humankind is given responsibility, just as Adam & Eve are told to care for the garden. John Calvin reminds us that "work is holy."

However, when the drive to earn money is twisted, the genuine pleasure granted from God disappears, and is replaced by bondage. As one writer put it, "The workaholic can’t get off the treadmill to enjoy the fruit of his labor. He anxiously allows work to become compulsive, eating away at every area of his life. Then we have the greedy of this world who hoard their treasure, refusing to enjoy it themselves or share it with others. Instead, money becomes a substitute for God, an idol. The greedy seek their identity and ultimate security in money."

Such is the story of the rich man of Luke XII. His problem is not that he is happy about a great harvest, but that he falls prey to the illusion that his wealth equals true security. His trust is in earthly things (warehouses), which will always fail.

St. Augustine’s definition of the love of money (lucre) is one of the best. He illustrates that the wrong kind of love is not restricted to money alone. 'Whenever a created thing becomes no longer a means to love God but an end it itself, then you have that “love” which is idolatry and the root of all evil.'

Do we love the idea of finding the perfect mate? Of having a better marriage? Of having a child? Gettin a job? These desires are well and good, and the avid pursuit of each of these things can be an acceptable duty, depending on one's life.

The question is, however, whether or not these desires are steps on the road toward desiring God, or far-fetched detours which cater to our flesh. What matters most? Things below, or things above? (Colossians 3:1-2)

Agreed, there is a multiplicity of things we ought to be passionate about below; but we must still ask whether our zeal for health, love, kids, education, job, and financial security is and extension of our zeal for loving God and seeking his will?

From whence do we derive our ultimate satisfaction and security? In temporal things (people included) which pass away, or in a God who is forever? It doesn't take a whole lot to get us side-tracked.

It's been this way ever since our first parents were tempted by the Bent One.

Rules of the Con

"You can never con an honest man"

"We cannot be robbed of God's providence." This was one of the common sayings in the household of Thomas Carlyle.

Benjamin Warfield said of this statement, "In it, the plummet is let down to the bottom of the Christian's confidence and hope. It is because we cannot be robbed of God's providence that we know, amid whatever encircling gloom, that all things shall work together for good to those that love him.

It is because we cannot be robbed of God's providence that we know that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ -- not tribulation, nor anguish, nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor peril, nor sword.

'For over us there curves the infinite

Blue heaven as a shield, and at the end

We shall find One who loveth to befriend

E'en those who faint for shame within his sight.'"

Craig Harris of the Herald Press in Palestine, TX once wrote about God taking care of his wife in a medical situation. Craig remarked that one of his friends said to him “Yeah, God takes care of the righteous.” He replied with, “No, God takes care of the simple.”

Isn't that so true?

It reminds me of BBC's (and in the States, AMC's) great show Hustle.

In the show, an ensemble of players from card shark to accident victim to pickpocket, work for master inside man Mickey Stone (Adrian Lester). Stone, a well-dressed smoothie, imparts Solomon-like commandments - "don't have anything you can't walk away from in a minute" - to his team-members.

As Albert Stroller, former "Man From U.N.C.L.E." star Robert Vaughn finds the marks; those who need a bit of seducing are placed in the path of Stacie Monroe (Jaime Murray), who also works as an identity thief. Ash Morgan (Robert Glenister) and Danny Blue (Marc Warren) handle surveillance, disguises and execution of plans that make the victim feel like he's made a bad investment rather than been swindled.

The cons are more addicted to the grift than the riches; they're likable thieves who watch each other's backs. It's easy to cheer for them as they walk away from a convoluted illegal stock purchase gone wrong with £100,000 ($176,000) to share. Or when they create a movie star (Monroe) and a mogul (Blue) to get revenge on a casino owner who wronged Stroller. Blue is the student in the crew, and his screw-ups help humanize the operation.

While the slick overtures and fluidity of plot are impressive, what is more intriguing is the philosophy often espoused by Stone; 'Rules of the Con.'

The first, being "You can never con an honest man."

This philosophy is not only helpful toward softening the blow of the actual grift, but it also embodies a deeper truth: The honest man is somehow, in some deeper, intrinsic way -- protected.

He is immune from the con. And in Season One, Episode Three, when an honest mark (victim) is accidentally conned, the team pulls off a separate con, just to pay the honest mark back.

As I observed this philosophy in action on the show, the thought crossed my mind, "God takes care of the simple."

Scripture is profuse with the concept that God's children have a special providence over them, watching out for more than their physical well-being. The psalmist recognizes this truth when he cries out for deliverance in the psalms, entreating God to deliver him from the oppressor.

And true, while we know that we will not always be kept from physical maladies, it is an encouragement to know that when the spiritual grift is underway, we have honesty & providence on our side, and that, according to the rules, will keep is safe.

Christianity & Nintendo
The Wii, the Truth & The Life

The Wii (pronounced "we") has been outselling its more powerful rivals, Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. The $250 machine from Nintendo has been in short supply in stores since its launch last November.

But less hype, and more on why Christianity today, is much like the Wii...

1. Sometimes we break it

Statistics say that as high as 35% of Wii owners who bought before the wrist-straps were re-issued, were slinging their Wii remotes across the room, 12% of them damaging either the controller, or something in the room.

Statistics also say that more than 50% of so-called "Christian" homes will experience a major relationship breakdown at some point, including divorce, abuse, or suicide. The similarities here are staggering.

Are we making sure we are strapped to our "controller?" What about our Bibles? Strapped to our wrists? Not usually. What about our Faith? Strapped? Not usually. Or, if so, the cord holding us to these things is so thin it will snap when confronted by a small amount of pressure.

Solution: Get a new wrist-strap, and hang on (Discard the sham, embrace the Truth)

2. Sometimes it's a little shaky

Unless you're pointing the Wii controller directly at the screen in some RPG's or first-person shooters, you will experience the dizzying spin known as the "Wii-free." Although some games (including Capcom's only Wii release) have overhauled their shooter-control system, Wii is still less popular in this area, especially to lazy shooters.

Similarly, our lives somtimes spin out of control, but this is only when we are not pointing at the main Thing. If we keep our focus on Christ, we'll never experience the Wii-free, we will always be on target, and (excuse the pun) at the top of our game. Maybe, for many of us, it's time to overhaul our system; re-focus, and get our priorities straight.

Solution: Keep your focus on the game, don't be distracted ("Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us")

Got Questions?
Go HERE to consult with one of our panel experts on your theological conundrums.

"Please. Just listen. I know why you're here, Neo. I know what you've been doing. I know why you hardly sleep, why you live alone and why, night after night, you sit at the computer; you're looking for him...The answer is out there, Neo. It's looking for you and it will find you..."

In an essay on the official Matrix Web site, proto-cyborg Kevin Warwick complains about the movie's man-versus-machine approach to technology. "Neo is kidnapped by Luddites, dinosaurs from the past when humans ruled the earth," Warwick writes. "We really need to clamp down on the party-pooper Neos of this world and get into the future as soon as we can—a future in which we can be a part of a Matrix system, which is morally far superior to our Neolithic morals of today."

Slate.com asks, 'Is Warwick right? After all, if Morpheus, Trinity, and Neo succeed in their quest to liberate humanity from the machines, we'll all be left to eat slop in the dreadful real world of post-apocalyptic earth, rather than becoming fashionista superheroes in the fake world. What kind of liberation is that?

Fortunately, Neo's closing lines in the movie offer a way out of this dilemma. He addresses the machines that have enslaved humanity, and he offers them an olive branch: "I'm going to show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world without you, a world without rules and controls, without borders or boundaries, a world where anything is possible. Where we go from there is a choice I leave to you."

The implication is clear: Neo wants machines and men to coexist in peace. He doesn't want to destroy the Matrix. He just wants people to understand it so they can play with it and enjoy it as much as he does. He's an evangelist for the product.'

Similarly, we desire men to abandon imaginary faith, fanciful religion, and super-imposed realities of God, and to know the real God. However, this is often mistaken for a desire to eliminate God, rather than to scrape down past the false realities and get to the original Thing...the Prime Meaning.

Just as Trinity writes to Neo, "The answer is out there...It's looking for you...and it will find you."

Do we honestly believe in a God who is big enough to transcend the material reality around us? A God who is so far beyond us, that it makes our super-imposed existence of dry, dusty religion, a matrix of our own invention? This God's reality is the True reality.

It is the only thing worth fighting for...the only thing worth dying for. And he is searching for those whom he will draw to himself. He will find them out, and bring them from the system, and liberate them. He will welcome them to the real world and unite them in a common cause against the machines of deception.

Then, the liberated can laugh at the materialistic agents of this world and say, "I know you're out there. I can feel you now. I know that you're afraid... afraid of us. You're afraid of change. I don't know the future. I didn't come here to tell you how this is going to end. I came here to tell how it's going to begin. I'm going to...show these people what you don't want them to see. I'm going to show them a world without you. A world without rules or controls, borders or boundaries. A world where anything is possible."

Matthew 19:26

Pilate's Wife

John Piper Poem

Very Interesting!

The Final Chapter

The Stargate Finale

While Stargate SG-1 draws to a close, mourning fans have a little room for hope.

MGM has given a green light for the show's creators to produce two direct-to-DVD movies based on SG-1. Executive producer Brad Wright let TV Guide in on the news this week.

"It's the climax of the Ori story line," Wright said of the first film. The movie will tie up the loose ends from the show's tenth season, which is expected to conclude its U.S. television run in June. The film will be written and directed by current SG-1 executive producer and show-runner Robert C. Cooper.

The studio is targetting a fall 2007 release for both projects -- just a few months after Stargate SG-1 ends its historic, 10-year run on cable television. It's entirely possible that the movies will also be aired on television -- something SCI FI commonly does with direct-to-DVD movies.

"They're not big-budget [films] by any definition, but for us it's pretty good," Wright said. "As we've proven over the years, just give us little more money and we can make pretty good television, or DVDs." (Executive producer Brad Wright, in an interview with TV Guide [story])
Filming will begin April 15, 2007, actor Michael Shanks told IGN.com.The storyline "has to do with wrapping up the Ori storyline, which is the storyline that has taken prominence for the last two years of the show. I don't know if [Cooper] is going to wrap it up completely or bring it to some conclusion for the sake of the fans and the franchise, to bring that epic struggle to a close."(Actor Michael Shanks, in an interview with IGN.com)

"We feel that we have an obligation to finish telling the story that we started telling," writer-director Robert C. Cooper said. "Right now, we know for sure that the main cast of Season Ten will be returning: Ben Browder, Michael Shanks, Chris Judge, Claudia Black, and Amanda Tapping. Beyond that, we are still working on it. I know that Brad's put a call into Richard Dean Anderson ['Jack O'Neill']. ... We're hopeful he'll make an appearance, whether he's in both [movies] or just one. We're not sure yet."

While all of this is interesting, it is only news on a subject which bears much more weight in my mind: the relevance of Stargate as a guidepost for searching souls...

From the zealot Ori occult, to the more passive belief system of the Ancients, spirituality and faith are essential to the plot of SG-1.

And while many groups are clearly misguided in their hopes for salvation of substantial faith, the show does serve several purposes:

1. It promotes longing. For followers of Christ, anything which enhances our longing to know him as he truly is, is welcomed. SG-1 takes the viewer out of his paradigm and places him in another belief system which, although different, may contain sometimes frightening similarities to religions of our world. It gives the viewer the sense that, while faith may be different around the globe, and even throughout the Universe, there is an essential bond in nearly every faith, whether admitted or not: that we have fallen and are in need of help.

Even though a particular faith may deny it, they have faith in something, precisely because they feel no faith in themselves. This serves to illustrate the knowledge of radical depravity.

2. The show reminds us, as Jack said in a first-season episode, "Thou shalt have no other gods before me." Through the constant exposure of false gods, we are not brought to denial of our own, but - rather - we are assured that he is the One True God. All of these imposters who enslave nations, these anti-christs who take human form and proclaim themselves gods, they are to be denied, withstood, and defied to the last breath.

If anything, Stargate encourages us not to bow to false gods. Not to give in to gods of flesh who set themselves up in power. How tempting it could be...just ask a Jaffa warrior. To see the god in flesh before you, arrayed in power, and seemingly invincible, while our God is unseen and mysterious.

But the show reminds us that seeing is not always believing. For this reason, Stargate continues to encourage Christianity to fight against the physical world assailing our senses and proclaiming itself as god. Lewis once said that thoughts 'and dreams are more real than the stuff we can get our hands on.'

I'll say with Teal'c, "Jaffa! Kree! I die free!"

The Calvin Quincentenary is an international, interdenominational, and interdisciplinary commemoration of the life and work of John Calvin (b. 1509), which left such an indelible impression on the modern world.

Climaxing with conferences in multiple locations in 2009, this celebration combines history, spirituality, and culture to recall appropriately the life and work of the Genevan Reformer...

READ MORE ON THIS ARTICLE...

Strong in the Force
Faith & StarWars

The Force: Although not every religion teaches that there is a God, they do teach that there is more to life than just what we can see around us.
Similarly, central to Star Wars is the concept of The Force. This is a semi-personal dimension of the Universe which has purposes for humanity but also controls their actions. In Star Wars (SW) Obi Wan Kenobi teaches Luke about The Force:
Ben: The force is what give a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things it surrounds us and binds the galaxy together...
Luke: You mean it controls your actions?
Ben: Partially. But it also obeys your commands.
In Christianity, God is central to Christian belief as the Creator of the heavens and Universe. However, God is not an impersonal energy field but a personal Being. God interacts with us, and has plans reaching into Eternity. Although the world is at enmity with God because of evil, He is present within the world through the Holy Spirit (‘Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives you?’ (1 Corinthians 3:16).

The Dark Side of The Force: The Force in the SW saga has both a good and dark side. In this relational sense, it does not suggest that God himself is evil or dark, but that one may accept the ways of darkness, while professing to walk in the light, as some Sith are seen to do.
This is a reality, since the Bible tells us that there are many who will say, "...didn't I do wonderful things in the name of (Light)?" But that God will say, "I never knew you." This is a call to Christians to examine themselves and see if they are truly walking in the Light, and not deceived by the darkness.

Good verses evil: As with all the SW films TESB deals with the theme of good versus evil. In the gospels, Jesus speaks of this as a struggle between the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the devil. In some respects, this is similar to how we allow the things of darkness to take over who we are meant to be as followers of the Way of Christ. In a similar way Luke confronts Darth Vader in ROTJ and challenges him to remember who he once was:
Luke: … you were once Anakin Skywalker, my father..
Vader: That name no longer has any meaning for me.
Luke: It is the name of your true self. You’ve only forgotten.

The conflict within: As far as TESB and all religions are concerned there is a conflict between good and evil in the universe. However, this conflict is also one that happens within people. In TESB Luke experiences this conflict when he enters the tree (‘a servant of evil’) on Dagobah as part of his Jedi training. Yoda tells him he does not need to take his weapons with him but Luke ignores this and comes face to face with a vision of Darth Vader which he fights. The recognition of the conflict between good and evil in a person comes when Luke cuts off Vader’s head and sees his own face behind the mask. This scene is clearly echoed in the next film (ROTJ) when Luke fights Vader in the presence of the Emperor and when he almost gives in to his hate and anger in order to defeat him. That Luke is Vader’s son also underlines the temptation he faces to turn towards the dark side. In the New Testament the Apostle Paul notes a similar conflict in himself when he writes, ‘I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do’ (Romans 7:15). In fact, just as in the SW films the Jedi are trained to control their emotions, so all religions teach that the way to overcome the desire to do evil is to focus on good so that evil (sin) may be removed from a person’s life (E.g. ‘Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.’ (James 4:7-8)).
In TESB Yoda teaches Luke about the ease at which a person can turn towards evil:
Luke: Is the dark side stronger?
Yoda: No, no. Easier, quicker, more seductive.
Luke: But how am I to know the good side from the bad?
Yoda: You will know. When you are at peace… calm… passive.
In TPM Yoda echoes the teaching concerning true peace, which Christ taught.
Yoda: Much fear I sense in him.
Anakin: What’s that got to do with anything?
Yoda: Everything! Fear leads to anger; anger leads to hate; hate leads to suffering.
In comparison, Jesus experienced temptations which were designed to turn him away from following his true destiny.
Like Jesus, follow the True Way of Light, and embrace the peace that comes with it!