Porn-Again Christian

I understand that the title of this e-book by Mark Driscoll may put some of you off it, but I can assure you it is well worth a read.

I have just read it online for free.

Basically Mark Drsicoll tackles the issues of pornography and masturbation in a very frank way with no beating around the bush. It has about 8 short chapters and only takes about 45mins to an hour to read in which time you read a lot of good content. He explores the theology behind these issues and also there is much Q&A from Mars Hill Church which is very helpful.

The book is mostly aimed at men as Driscoll says in every survey all around the world men seem to struggle far more than women on this front. I do endorse this book but as it is very blunt and frank I wont go in to all the details of it here but I hope that you will read this, especially if you are a bloke.

Rom-Com Reality

Recently I watched the film ‘Juno’ which i thought was really good as long as you look past quite a weird storyline! This film got me thinking about Rom-Coms in general and what kind of a world view they portray. It is great to be able to sit down and enjoy watching a film, but I think it is also good to assess what the film is trying to tell you, what the film is trying to tell you about life and what is good and pleasing in life.

I came to the conclusion that, in general, Romantic Comedies are always trying to promote the perfect relationship. Unfortunately I now have to admit I’m a bit of a Rom-Com fan so that I can give examples! Just take ‘Juno’, where she falls in love with Bleeker who she says in the film is the one who will love her forever (remember the scene chatting to her dad if you’ve seen it!) Or maybe ‘Notting Hill’ where the poor guy falls in love with the rich, most famous actress in the world and its all very emotional when he turns up at her press conference and confesses his undying love for her and all is well and happy. Or maybe ‘Love Actually’ where pretty much all the stories in that film end up happy and everyone has someone that they love and loves them. In reality pretty much all Rom-Coms end with ‘and they all lived happily ever after’.

Now there is nothing wrong with looking for romance and sparks to fly and all that kind of stuff, but for a Christian the essential thing to look for above anything else is do they share your love for Jesus? If the answer is yes then its a go! Someone once told me there are three questions you have to ask before thinking about dating someone, but I think its four. 1. Are they a Christian? 2. Are they the opposite sex? 3. Are they single? 4. Could you see yourself marrying them?

I think then in your relationship sparks will fly if there is love and there will be countless happy times which will outweigh most bad I would have hoped! But very rarely will you get the ‘happily ever after ending’ that romantic comedies tell you you will get. Nor will you always get the most amazingly good looking girl or guy who everyone would want to be with if they could. Paul also makes reference in 1 Corinthians 7 that there are many troubles and trials in married life. I’m not saying aim low or that marriage isn’t as good as it sounds. Marriage is a great and wonderful thing and is a picture of The Trinity (Eph 5:22-33). I’m saying wait for the high. If God wants you to get married He will bring the right person into your life at the right time, so just wait for them! Easier said than done I know but we just have to trust God’s sovereignty and His perfect timing in all things!

Keep enjoying the Rom-Coms, but don’t let them give you a false view of what is important in relationships and in life in general.

Whats the Point?

Today at work I was having a chat with two people, Michelle and Rebecca, about evolution, life and just what is the point to anything.

Basically something I have thought about a lot recently is that if there is no heaven and hell, if there is no God and no point to anything and we are just formed out of chance, then nothing really matters. If there is no consequence for right and wrong and no reason why good things happen and no reason why bad things happen then whats the point to anything? Why cant people kill for fun and have no repercussions? If when you kill me I shall just be buried and that be the end of it, then why are people so scared of death? We could debate these things for hours!

But one of the main things raised in response to this was the issue of consience. People assess what is right and wrong by consience and that is why we don’t just do what we want. But surely this cannot be the way that the world operates! Often people’s conscience dosen’t rule, or what peoples conscience tells them is wright happens to be what millions of others thinks is wrong!  Just take the holocaust as an example of this!

I think we do all have a conscience, but where did that come from. If we are but a chance in existence and have evolved over millions of years then where has this ‘conscience’ come from?’

I believe there is only one answer: there has to be a higher power. There has to be someone who has ordained these precepts in us, someone who has given us ‘conscience’. The bible gives reference as early as Genesis 3 where Adam and Eve recognise their wrongdoing against God. They rebel against Him, and they know it is wrong (v8 – they hide from God!) Thus the first appearance of conscience and, I believe, where it all started.

Lost for Words

I have just come back from a really great evening at my Church called ‘Lost for Words’. The aim of the evening was to help give people some great ways in which they can respond to arguments that they may come up against, it was essentially apologetics training.

We looked at both the offense and the defense, basically how we can defend the Christian faith and how we can go on the offensive against what others believe.

On the defense side we looked at the question of suffering. The most helpful point for me was looking at John 11 and seeing Jesus’ two different responses to the one statement posed by Mary and Martha, that being ‘Lord if you had been here my brother would not have died.’ Jesus responds to Martha saying the great words of verse 25-26, that He is the resurrection and the life. Jesus responds to Mary by weeping with her (32-35). In this Jesus’ gives us a solution to the problem of death: Himself! But He is also able to sympathise with our struggles, as He shows with Mary, because He is the most human person to have ever lived, because He is the only sinless one to have ever lived.

On the offense we looked mainly at asking the question ‘Why do you believe that?’ In this you essentially just ask people why they believe what they believe and see if they don’t really know why, or if their beliefs are contradictory with what they say. This was similar to some material we got from Dan Strange at New Word Alive about always taking people back to the beginning, keep asking why until you get to the beginning of all things. This is where the Christian can stand as we have Genesis 1 that tells us God was before anything else, but no atheist can claim to know what occurred at the start of all things.

I feel this night was a very useful way of practically thinking of how to speak to people, I hope I, and you now you have read this, can put these things into practice!

A Thought for the Day

Here is a good ‘Thought for the Day’ that I heard from Billy Graham:

‘Order is very important in most everything that we do. By putting Jesus Christ and His will for your life first, everything else will fall into place. Try putting Christ first and watch how your life is turned around.

But seek first His Kingdom and His Righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)

Profiting From The Word

Recently I have been reading this short book by Arthur Pink. The point of the book is to help the reader to realise whether they are really profiting from their time they spend in God’s word by showing practically what difference it should make. The chapters are entitled:

The Scriptures and Sin

God

Christ

Prayer

Good Works

Obedience

The World

The Promises

Joy

Love

Pink talks about things in very uncertain terms; he never minces his words. Here is a taster from the chapter titled ‘Obedience’

‘If any ask, How am I to know that my ‘desires’ are really those of a regenerate soul? We answer, Saving Grace is the communication to the heart of an habitual disposition unto Holy acts. The ‘desires’ of the reader are to be tested thus: Are they constant and continuous, or only fits and starts? Are they Ernest and serious, so that you really hunger and thirst after righteousness (Matt 5:6) and pant ‘after God’ (Psa 42:1)’

Its a very challenging book which is good, but the one thing I do think is that Pink lacks a bit of Grace in his writing. He is very blunt about everything he says which I have no problem with, but I find he never offers much encouragement but rather just ‘do this, do that’ mentality. Maybe thats just me, have a read and let me know what you think!