Last Sunday Pastor started out with a great sermon. It was about the tremendous hospitality the Maltese people (who were pagans) showed Paul and his companions after the shipwreck. This was no small group of people who showed up unexpectedly on their shores, there were enough people to fill a Boeing 767, and the Maltese took them in and cared for them for three months until the weather improved enough for the shipping lanes to reopen. In return Paul cured the governor's son and a whole bunch of other people who were sick and he didn't make them sit through any sermons before he did so.
Imagine, Pastor said, if that many people showed up in our community, would we open our doors to them? And he made much of the fact that Luke didn't say anything about Paul preaching the Gospel, one of the few places where Paul apparently doesn't. Which I agree with him, that doesn't sound like our man. But there apparently was a language barrier so maybe he didn't get to preach as much as he would have otherwise.
So this is the good part of the sermon. Paul went around helping these people who had been so kind to him and his companions without demanding anything in return. He didn't insist that they become like him. We are not to go out and try to win converts like each one was another notch in the belt. We are to genuinely love people without ulterior motive.
That's good, but then he got on his idolatry kick again (because the Maltese worshiped idols). In his opinion there is something society deems even more important than money. What is it? Some people shouted out "science." Now, just as an aside here, let's say if you had a passion for something, and you were very knowledgeable about it, and you walked into a group of people and overheard some of them making derogatory comments about the very thing you were most passionate and informed about, and not only were these comments derogatory in the sense of this is something we don't approve of, but it is clear from these comments that the people making them don't know what they are talking about, yet are smug in their superiority, would you feel welcome there? How long would you stay before walking out? Well, when I hear people shouting out things like "science" and I hear discussions about "evolutionists" I do feel uncomfortable indeed. But I haven't made a stink about it, not yet at any rate. Someday maybe I might say something but I doubt it will change anything.
Anyway, his big bugaboo was "Entertainment." Entertainment is the new God of the age. Ok, and that means what? He specifically mentioned flat-screen TV's. Not that they are bad, mind you, but . . . Why mention them? Why single them out?
I said afterwards to a couple of friends that I felt that he was stepping on my feet just a little. I was joking when I said it, but not really. What do you mean? they said. Well, I am in the theater, that's entertainment. No, no, he doesn't mean that, he is just saying that people get carried away in their desire for entertainment.
Well, I admit, it is possible to be addicted to entertainment. It is possible to be addicted to almost anything under the sun. It is even possible to be addicted to God, which is the title of a book I read some time back by a courageous pastor (not Pastor Bell). So in the sense that he is talking about addiction I certainly can see where he is coming from. We just had an election with an abysmally low turnout. Most of the no-shows were Democrats who mistakenly thought that this was just a Republican primary. Oh, no, it is to determine who gets on the November ballot, and if you don't show up to vote for Obama he just might not make it on the Michigan ticket in November. Now wouldn't that be an interesting situation? But I digress.
Historically the church and the theater have had an uneasy relationship. For most of Christian history the performing arts have been rather suspect. The Puritans, who are in many ways considered the spiritual founders of the United States, banned plays altogether. The theater in England was shut down while they were in power there. So when Pastor preaches on "entertainment" he is following a very old tradition.
But what exactly does he mean by this? This is the sort of thing that causes guilt trips and as someone who was raised Catholic I know all about guilt trips. I realize that he is trying to avoid legalism, but as someone with Aspergers, I need a bit more guidance. What exactly is too much and who is he talking about?
The irony is it really isn't entertainment that he should be worried about, especially the mindless kind that passes for so much these days. Because it is mindless. It doesn't encourage people to think. And the last thing you want is people who think because people who think tend to question.
Imagine, Pastor said, if that many people showed up in our community, would we open our doors to them? And he made much of the fact that Luke didn't say anything about Paul preaching the Gospel, one of the few places where Paul apparently doesn't. Which I agree with him, that doesn't sound like our man. But there apparently was a language barrier so maybe he didn't get to preach as much as he would have otherwise.
So this is the good part of the sermon. Paul went around helping these people who had been so kind to him and his companions without demanding anything in return. He didn't insist that they become like him. We are not to go out and try to win converts like each one was another notch in the belt. We are to genuinely love people without ulterior motive.
That's good, but then he got on his idolatry kick again (because the Maltese worshiped idols). In his opinion there is something society deems even more important than money. What is it? Some people shouted out "science." Now, just as an aside here, let's say if you had a passion for something, and you were very knowledgeable about it, and you walked into a group of people and overheard some of them making derogatory comments about the very thing you were most passionate and informed about, and not only were these comments derogatory in the sense of this is something we don't approve of, but it is clear from these comments that the people making them don't know what they are talking about, yet are smug in their superiority, would you feel welcome there? How long would you stay before walking out? Well, when I hear people shouting out things like "science" and I hear discussions about "evolutionists" I do feel uncomfortable indeed. But I haven't made a stink about it, not yet at any rate. Someday maybe I might say something but I doubt it will change anything.
Anyway, his big bugaboo was "Entertainment." Entertainment is the new God of the age. Ok, and that means what? He specifically mentioned flat-screen TV's. Not that they are bad, mind you, but . . . Why mention them? Why single them out?
I said afterwards to a couple of friends that I felt that he was stepping on my feet just a little. I was joking when I said it, but not really. What do you mean? they said. Well, I am in the theater, that's entertainment. No, no, he doesn't mean that, he is just saying that people get carried away in their desire for entertainment.
Well, I admit, it is possible to be addicted to entertainment. It is possible to be addicted to almost anything under the sun. It is even possible to be addicted to God, which is the title of a book I read some time back by a courageous pastor (not Pastor Bell). So in the sense that he is talking about addiction I certainly can see where he is coming from. We just had an election with an abysmally low turnout. Most of the no-shows were Democrats who mistakenly thought that this was just a Republican primary. Oh, no, it is to determine who gets on the November ballot, and if you don't show up to vote for Obama he just might not make it on the Michigan ticket in November. Now wouldn't that be an interesting situation? But I digress.
Historically the church and the theater have had an uneasy relationship. For most of Christian history the performing arts have been rather suspect. The Puritans, who are in many ways considered the spiritual founders of the United States, banned plays altogether. The theater in England was shut down while they were in power there. So when Pastor preaches on "entertainment" he is following a very old tradition.
But what exactly does he mean by this? This is the sort of thing that causes guilt trips and as someone who was raised Catholic I know all about guilt trips. I realize that he is trying to avoid legalism, but as someone with Aspergers, I need a bit more guidance. What exactly is too much and who is he talking about?
The irony is it really isn't entertainment that he should be worried about, especially the mindless kind that passes for so much these days. Because it is mindless. It doesn't encourage people to think. And the last thing you want is people who think because people who think tend to question.
