A parable: The color of it all.

What is being worshiped?

I just stumbled across Hypocrisy of another kind, which is a natural follow-up to the earlier article on hypocrisy. This article comes less from the angle of analyzing acting; rather it examines what form of hypocrisy Christ warned against.

Ronald Reagan gave an interesting radio address on the King James Bible and the Good News Bible.

A very thought provoking article The Menace of the Religious Movie, calls to question the validity of drama, especially for use in relaying spiritual truth.

The thing that grabbed me in this article was point number 3, on the violation of sincerity:

Without doubt the most precious thing any man possesses is his individuated being; that by which he is himself and not someone else; that which cannot be finally voided by the man himself nor shared with another.

In order to produce a religious movie someone must, for the time, disguise his individuality and simulate that of another. His actions must be judged fraudulent, and those who watch them with approval share in the fraud. To pretend to pray, to simulate godly sorrow, to play at worship before the camera for effect--how utterly shocking to the reverent heart! How can Christians who approve this gross pretense ever understand the value of sincerity as taught by our Lord? What will be the end of a generation of Christians fed on such a diet of deception disguised as the faith of our fathers?

The etymological lesson on the word hypocrite (actor, to play a part, pretend) finally gave me a concrete way to express my discomfort at the role acting: i hate hypocrisy!

The first few paragraphs of the editorial Bonfires and Cooking Fires from Adventist Affirm is quite insightful regarding revivals and why that same power and feeling doesn't persist.

Trendy Christianity today is striving to be more accepting of each other, and less focused on doctrinal issues. In Bible Study for what Ails Us, Jack Crabtree of the McKenzie Study Center does a very eloquent job of addressing this touchy subject, and showing what the focus of the modern Christian should be.