Hey y'all. I just had a thought cross my mind & I wanted to discuss it with you. My wife & I were just discussing a movie that came out a few years ago, & actually this could fit the description of likely 99.9% of all Hollywood offerings in the last 20 or more years. But the main character didn't know who his dad was & his Mom was rather a so-called "free spirit." This of course was portrayed as positive, & sin was seen as a non-existent concept. Keep that thought.
OK, now just recently I was chatting with a very cordial, but adamant, unbeliever. But there's a catch to this person. He used to be evangelical Christian! Unfortunately I fear his number is legion. Anyway, as we chatted, one thing he made clear was that he saw no need to be saved from sin. He was comfortable in his life of unbelief. Unfortunately we were not able to chat long. I hope we can chat more soon. But the point in this post (yes, there actually IS one!) is that these two incidents I believe are intimately related. I recall my own conversion to Christ was largely due to a tremendous sense of sinfulness hanging over me, & in me. It separated me from God, & it seemed to be suffocating. Thankfully soon thereafter I trusted Christ! Matthew 11:28 became gloriously true in my own life! As I've stated before, though I can't pinpoint an actual exact moment that I trusted Christ, I do know that there was that time, because though I'm still FAR from what I ought or even want to be, I still know that Christ is my Savior because I have believed in Him, actually I have grabbed onto Him as a drowning man grabs onto a lifeboat!
Anyway, back to my original point, whatever the factors were that led this man to become comfortable in his unbelief, in my mind anyway, a large part of it almost had to be the influence Hollywood has played in making sin seem irrelevant at least, & nonexistent at most. I know the ultimate source behind it all is Satan (Ep.6:12), but Hollywood is certainly a favorite tool of his. Now, I also take a large part of the blame along with the church as a whole. Yet the ultimate responsibility for the lost person is the lost himself. Oh well, I've started to ramble, & that is my sign to sign off! May the Lord bless you all.
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The thing that bothers me is that this man professes to be a "former" Evangelical Christian.
You either are a Christian (a person who has been born again) or you are not. He may have played the game, but if he was truly saved, he's still a Christian and just in rebellion. Or, he was never really saved in the first place. Either way, he's going to have to answer to God. I hope he finds his way soon.
There is no such thing as an "x-Christian". I wrote about it once:
No Such Thing as an Ex-Christian
Thank you Ms. Green, for gracing this blog again! You know, though I didn't get the chance to chat furtehr with this man, I have a strong inkling that he likely was only trying to be "religious" without actually trusting Christ & His grace for genuine salvation. He spoke of "religion" quite a bit, & though I mentioned that salvation is being saved by God's grace through Christ's sacrifice, & not our trying to get God to accept us through our attempt to please Him through our works, he never responded to that. You are right, salvation is eternal life in Christ! We do often rebel, but thankfully God holds us. God Bless you Ms. Green.
Hi, David!
This is a very good point..I totally believe Hollywood is behind a lot of disillusionment and frustration with faith. There's such a constant drumbeat of secularism and so much sin is promoted and championed. And, 'funny', but these people never seem happy...imagine, with all that 'freedom'?
Your 'friend' might find his way back......I hope you can chat with him again.
Don't look now, but there just MIGHT be a group of HOllywood types working to stem this tide...Please pray for it. (i mean it)
Thanks for another thought provoking, good post......We're really blessed by you. You are so faithful to my blog and I have to admit that my not more frequently and immediately repaying you the enormous compliment has been to my detriment.. once I'm here, I feel SO happy to have visited.
THANKS, David. xxx
You're very kind, Z, as always. I appreciate every time you can come by. I always get much from visiting your blog. No wonder you do not have much time for visiting other blogs, you do such a bang-up job of keeping your up-to-date for us. I do pray that some reform of Hollywood would occur, it is certaionly waaay overdue! Yes, sin & Satan behind it claims freedom, but only delivers misery, but praise God for the blood of Jesus that cleanses from ALL sin! May the Lord bless you Z!
David:
Broken fellowship with Gary (goe)? Did you find your conscience over his labeling me as Hitler?
I could not care less about it. That kind of thing is expected from and commonplace from the GES people like him and Antonio da Rosa.
Hey Rocky, watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat.
Oh no Bullwinkle, not that trick again.
THIS TIME FOR SURE!Gary (goe) Quit AGAIN? LOL. We'll see him in the FUNNY papers.
LM
PS: Wonder if Gary's pastor got wind of his HITLER stunt.
Hi David,
It's your blog, but I hope you won't delete LM's comment. I kinda like it.
I sent you a FB message.
God bless you brother. I have a lot of admiration for you.
Gary
Bro. Lou, you are a real study! Thanks for the comic relief. You have an interesting way of showing that you "couldn't care less!"
No bro. Gary, I won't delete it, it just shows his fun side. Like I'm supposed to stop you from doing something if your own conscience does not do the job. I do wish we could all stop the name-calling & other silliness just get back to showing grace. Notice I said, "we" I certainly include myself. God Blesss you both.
No reason to have admiration for me, though. I'm a sinner saved by grace just as you & Lou. But thanks for the kindness.
By the way, I want to add for the benefit (I trust) of all who visit here (all 2 or 3 of you!) that I DO want the name-calling & other things to stop. I know we all still have the flesh & though it has been crucified positionally at the cross, in our experience it still can rear its ugly head as it does far too often in my own life. Our magnificent Lord Jesus Christ is said in the Bible to be full of grace & truth. Both are vitally important. We must be careful not to overbalance on either side. I have a tendency at times to go eitehr way, but with our Lord's help, we can work to stay balanced. We'll never do it on our own, & the temptation in the heat of battle is to throw off contrasint & let the accusations & barbs fly. Just a reminder, & I love ll my brothers & sisters in Christ that visit this blog, though I still have a long way to go! God Bless you all, & let's not let the enemy of our souls, that old dragon & Satan, trip us up & cause us to lose that for which we have worked in Christ together! (2 Jn.8).
David, Your right on target about Hollywood's immense influence on our culture and society. Our nation and the world at large has lost its moral anchor which was based on God's word. We now live in an amoral abyss which is fed daily by the rot and filth that Hollywood produces. You are right in saying that its one of Satan's most effective tools. Hollywood demoralizes and devalues the very lives that God created in his image. God Bless, Herm
Thank you bro. Herm for posting! You are right that Hollywood is certainly one of Satan's most effective tools. But thank God that Jesus' blood has not lost its power! God Bless you bro. Herm.
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