Born this way

One of the arguments of the “alternative lifestyle” crowd is, “We were born this way.”  In essence, the argument is built on the idea that one is born with certain passions/desires/preferences in regards to sexuality, therefore we ought to follow this path.  But is this really a valid pursuit?  Is this the way we ought to handle the passions or desires we have?  Is it valid to argue that these desires exist therein, therefore we ought to fulfill them?
What if our desires include pedophilia, bestiality or cannibalism?  Obviously, I am choosing extreme and/or perverse categories, intentionally.  One can include any desire one wants and the argument remains the same.  Does the simple existence/presence of a desire automatically legitimize that passion?  Does the possibility of a moral standard have any say?  We can offer arguments as to why it would be wrong to simply give into the passions of bestiality or cannibalism and most would agree.  But why do we agree with these arguments, based on particular foundational arguments, but not others?
It comes down to what we hold as foundational or authoritative.  For the Christian, the Bible and the teaching of the historic Christian faith has always identified LGBTQ as sin.  Can one really look to personal preference for foundational truth?  If we reduce truth to individual preference, we have gutted truth of any authority or legitimacy.

Truth in the Arts

As much as I dislike the idea, my thoughts concerned “scary” movies are changing.  In the past, I have enjoyed a good scary movie, something with good jump scenes and usually of a “spiritual” nature, demons and ghosts and such.  But as I’ve seen trailers for the most recent movies to come out, I’ve begun to be troubled. 

While these thoughts are something I have pretty much always believed, they are really pressing me lately.  I believe that movies ought to be “true”, not in the silly “oh, that could never happen” kind of thing, like super hero movies or alien movies.  Obviously, there is not nor will there ever be super heroes and (I don’t believe) there is no such thing as intelligent alien life. But that is not what I’m talking about. 

I’m talking about truth as in “worldview”.  When a story is told, there is a foundational worldview that is behind and beneath it, upon which the scenarios and story is built.  This, I am arguing, is what must be true.  And unfortunately, scary movies are becoming less and less “true” as our culture digresses into depravity.   

In almost all cases, something of value can be taken from a story and used to our benefit, as long as the story is built on truth.  But when the story is built on falsehood, it will most likely have no redeeming value.  This is where Hollywood has gone wrong.  In recent scary movies, the demonic powers appear nearly invincible and God/angels/saints appear to have no bearing on the situations that take place.  We do not live in a world where Satan is nearly all powerful, where demons are regularly possessing innocent victims and evil wins. 

Yes, we do live in a world rampant with evil people, but Satan no longer has the upper hand.  God has defeated death and evil, we should not be entertained by a worldview that teaches the opposite. 

Telling a good story

When we read the gospels, a large percentage of Jesus’ teaching is done via story.  Jesus tells a good story to communicate a truth that is helpful to his listeners.  I think it is valuable to see this potential everywhere.  One relatively difficult aspect of this learning to see/hear the story as a means to learn, as a tool for gaining further or deeper understanding. 

One only needs to look at Hollywood to see that storytelling is a huge industry, that is very popular.  Unfortunately, a very large portion of the stories that are told are absolute garbage, but the reality of what is taking place should not be ignored.  

We know from history that storytelling is widely loved.  We should recognize the value of this tool and learn to glean from the stories that we hear, what is valuable and what is not.  We should not simply sit back and allow the author to pour his version of reality into our heads without questioning and analyzing what is going in.  It is our responsibility as adults and as Christians to be fully aware and critical of this. 

So the point?  Learn to think, learn to analyze, learn to be critical.  Every book we read and every movie we see is telling a story.  Is the story true, in regards to the worldview that is being promoted?  Is the story beneficial?  Does it provide something for us to grow in, in understanding, in knowledge, in wisdom?  Can we take, even the simplest or rudimentary storyline and extract something valuable?  Or do we simply waste our time being mindlessly entertained, gaining nothing from our spent two hours?  Make good use of your time, even your "off" time.  We actually have very little.