THE REAL LIFE

Posted on August 18, 2010 by stanwiedeman

Unquestionably, Inception ranks as the best film of the summer (in my opinion). Writer/director, Christopher Nolan, creates a technology that enables an elite group of people to invade the dreams of other people. The dream team uses the technology primarily for corporate espionage, stealing business secrets from the subconscious of corporate competitors.

The technology offers a more complicated twist. Cobb, the most skilled dream weaver, knows how to plant an idea into the mark’s subconscious in order to affect his choices in the real world – known as an inception. Due to the nature of dreams, this requires a more sophisticated plan, involving several layers of dream activity. Each layer dangerously approaches limbo, a state where the mind loses any connection to the real world and cannot wake up – much like a coma.

Limbo is a state of mind created by the dreamer, a personal utopia. It allows the dreamer to escape personal troubles and create the perfect relationship, perfect job, perfect life. Limbo still has residual effects of the real world, however, For example, people still age and can die. Dying in a dream world, however, only returns the dreamer to the real world.

Spoiler Alert: The movie ending leaves the audience wondering whether Cobb has actually returned to the real world or has deposited himself in limbo. It has generated much discussion and debate. People have repeatedly watched the movie, looking for tiny details to answer the question.

Kofi Outlaw has written an outstanding discussion of the movie and its ending on ScreenRant. He makes a stunning statement. “The important question is not ‘Is Cobb still dreaming?’ – What is important is the fact that the character of Cobb goes from being a guy who is obsessed with ‘knowing what is real’ to ultimately being a person who stops questioning and accepts what makes him truly happy as what’s real.” Outlaw concludes, “In a way, the movie is its own maze designed to plant a simple little idea in the viewer’s mind: ‘reality’ is a relative concept.”

Utopia seekers have always populated human society. Some, such as Ponce de Leon, have scoured the earth looking for a fountain of youth. Some have attempted to forge whole societies through tyranny and propaganda, such as Stalin and Hitler. Others have manipulated the mind with chemicals. In the ‘60s Timothy Leary promoted LSD usage with the slogan, “Turn on, tune in, drop out.”

The strategy of creating one’s own reality has surfaced in the postmodern culture. Outlaw asserts that Cobb finally learns to accept a reality where he is happy, even if the reality exists in an altered mental state only. This symbolizes the postmodern belief that absolute truth, and thus an objective reality, does not exist. Truth and reality are entirely dependent upon each individual’s preference. It is a defiant act of sheer will.

Discussions about truth in recent years have collapsed into the dismissive statement, “That may be true for you, but it is not true for me.” Postmodernism has empowered people to believe what they want to believe and, in effect, to create their own realities. It permits the creator to ignore facts and evidence that contradicts their reality as long as it is convenient to do so.

Postmodern practitioners spurn rules and conventions to construct their own truth. The academy especially demonstrates this. In literature, deconstruction permits the reader to form her own interpretation of a work, disregarding the author’s intent. In history, revisionism rearranges events to devise a different narrative of the past, usually one coinciding with the historian’s political agenda. Truth is no longer confined by objectivity and rigid rules of interpretation.

This approach to life has limited shelf life. For example, most people would write out aging and death from their perfect stories. The real world, the one they reject, will not cooperate. No matter how much I want to dunk a basketball by my athletic skills only, the laws of physics and physiology deny me. I can do it only in the story I write or the latest version of SimLife.

Christianity teaches that truth is found in a person. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” (John 14:6) Jesus left his position in heaven to live among humans and reveal absolute truth to us, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” He is a literal, human, historical figure. He lived and died as the gospel accounts tell us. He is not the creation of someone deconstructing the Old Testament or revising ancient history.

Those of us who believe in him know him. He has changed our lives. He impacts the way we live each day. We have experienced his love and thereby know him as truth. We do not need to manufacture a dream version of the happy life. We discover that life as we live in relationship to the one who is truth and life.

This is the real life.

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DEMYTHOLOGIZING SELF-ESTEEM

Posted on August 16, 2010 by stanwiedeman

Parenting in the self-esteem era has presented major challenges. Not that children have changed. Foolishness continues to reign in a child’s heart from birth (Prov. 22:15) and if parents do not properly train and discipline their children, shame will brand itself on their reputation (29:15).

The culture’s perspectives on parenting continue to fluctuate like s school girl’s crushes. Apprehensive parents in each generation scurry to find advice from the latest self-proclaimed parenting expert, from Dr. Spock to Dr. Phil. Perspective on self-esteem has suffered from this hysteria.

Following one of my children’s soccer seasons, the coach gathered all the players and their parents together. Then he called each player to come forward to receive a trophy. A trophy? They did not win their division. They had not won a tournament. But every child received a trophy for nothing more than playing on the team. This practice continued for all of my children who played on teams during their grade-school years.

I thought playing on the team was a reward in itself. Parents are willing to ante up the registration fee, drive the child to the forty-six practices, give up Saturday mornings for games at the soccer fields and make contributions to snacks twice in the season and a coach’s gift at the end of the season. And the child got to play!

A trophy means something different. It represents special achievement, recognition for unusual accomplishment, distinguished skill and effort. My five-year-old had done none of those things. She had played and had fun, for crying out loud!

This was all part of the self-esteem movement. Every child must be made to feel special. They should receive only praise and never criticism or even a smidgen of negativity. All forms of competition had to be restructured so that everyone was a winner. They were all the same – star athletes who won trophies.

Such nonsense only inflates the ego to levels of delusion. American Idol demonstrates this tragic folly. Tens of thousands of people audition every year, many of whom never even sang in their school choir. Some of the contestants would qualify as tone deaf. Why do they think they might be selected for the show? What generates these fantasies?

When the judges give an honest critique of their lack of talent, some contestants leave the theater in a fog of expletives. Their self-assessment supersedes the judges’ opinons. They are not heart-broken to learn that they have not been gifted with star voices. They are angry that these cocky experts did not recognize their talent.

Some researchers are now identifying the septic effects of this movement. Jean Twenge, psychology professor at San Diego State University, and her colleagues have scrutinized decades of research. She notes a giant shift in expectations among students. They expect success because they have received so much affirmation in their efforts, regardless of how small those efforts might have been.

Laura Rovi had learned how to achieve high grades for her minimal effort. Her sophomore year in high school she encountered a teacher who had missed the self-esteem training. Rovi allowed a classmate to complete most of the work on a final group project for the class. The teacher properly rewarded Rovi for her effort in the class, a grade of C. Rovi was insulted.

Alex Ortiz had played softball since she was 4 years old. She was passionate about it. Everyone told her how good she was. When she tried out for the high school team as a freshman, she did not make the cuts. Instead of seeking feedback on areas for improvement and dedicating herself to train for the next season, she just quit. Her passion was doused by the ice cold water of reality and she did not know how to respond. “It kind of crushed me. It felt like (earlier coaches) had been lying to me.” (“A Downside to high teen self-esteem?“)

Self-esteem propaganda saturated books on parenting, education strategies and children’s literature. Nausea overcame me after reading He Bear, She Bear to my children.  This Berenstain Bears classic beginning reader flaunted the theme, “You can be anything you want to be.” Page after page, Sister Bear and Brother Bear explored dozens of different careers, with Mama and Papa Bear telling them they could be any of those things, lying to their offspring.

I quickly erased any erroneous beliefs forming in my children’s minds. “You can be whatever God wants you to be and that depends upon the gifts and abilities that he has given to you. It depends upon socio-economic factors into which He chose you to be born. It depends upon the opportunities He opens for you. And it depends upon your own hard work to achieve.” (Well, I put it in a child’s vernacular over the course of many years.)

Self-esteem without a correct understanding of the nature of man will corrupt a child’s emotional and psychological balance. Paul warns, “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment.” (Romans 12:3).

Citizens of God’s kingdom must remember that the theories of the world will usually collide with the principles of the kingdom. We must bring God’s sober judgment to the discussion.

Posted in Christians Engaging Culture, Parenting | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A COMPELLING ECONOMIC QUESTION

Posted on August 9, 2010 by stanwiedeman

A friend recently sent a YouTube clip of Phil Donahue interviewing Milton Friedman in 1979. Friedman was a leading economist who disputed some of the standard economic theories in the 20th Century. He won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1976.

Friedman advocated a free market system with minimal federal regulation. Throughout the interview, Donahue, a political progressive, challenged his guest’s position. Donahue revealed his own political leanings in one of his questions. “When you see around the globe the maldistribution of wealth, the desperate plight of millions of people in underdeveloped countries, when you see so few haves and so many have-nots, when you see the greed and the concentration of power, did you ever have a moment of doubt about capitalism and whether greed is a good idea to run on?”

Friedman responded, “Well, first of all, is there some society that you know that doesn’t run on greed?” He contended that every form of human society, including socialism and communism, operates on greed. He then asserted that the only cases in recorded history in which poverty was abated were in societies that promoted capitalism and free trade.

His understanding of greed emerges in this statement, “The world runs on individuals pursuing their separate interests.” But what are these interests? They point to the drives natural to human life, such as self-preservation, security, love and meaning. The entrance of sin into human existence has contaminated all of these drives, or interests.

Greed, lexically, means an excessive desire for something. As it is normally used, greed usually refers to wealth. It is synonymous with covetousness. It refers to an inflated desire to pursue something beyond what is necessary to legitimately satisfy a person’s basic need. The more severe form of greed is avarice.

Both Friedman and Donahue acknowledge the distorted forms of greed in societies. They disagree on how to restrain this greed or how to correct the unjust consequences. Friedman keenly argues that the free market society eventually regulates human depravity. Donahue believes that the best way to achieve social equality is through government coercion.

This discussion may seem esoteric, reserved for those interested in economic or political theory. It actually plays a significant role in the Christian’s understanding of how to live in the world while remaining not of the world.

Jesus declared a marked contrast between his kingdom and every human system of social order, “My kingdom is not of this world.” (John 18:36) He called his followers to a standard of living that transcends all worldly systems of values and beliefs. With respect to power he said, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord It over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant.” (Mark 10:42-43) With respect to wealth he taught, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)

These instructions do not directly offer strategies for restructuring corrupted societies or for restraining greed in the social order. What he proposes is that the subjects of his kingdom practice a lifestyle that refuses to conform to the selfish habits of a kingdom where evil dominates every aspect of human existence.

The virtue that best harnesses greed is contentment. The guiding principle for our relationship to wealth is “…if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content.” (1 Timothy 6:8) Paul recognizes the basic human self-interest for self-preservation, but fixes a limit on its pursuit. He does not prohibit or denounce the accumulation of wealth, but calls for careful control of the desire for it.

Wealth can be used for good or it can be used for evil. It is never condemned in God’s order. In Jesus’ kingdom wealth should be generously shared with those who have needs. This is done voluntarily, not by bureaucratic coercion. Cheerful giving reflects the transcendent nature of the divine kingdom and those who live in it.

The compelling question is not whether Friedman or Donahue have the best answer to the ills of our society. Here’s the bigger question for those of us who profess to follow Christ: Are we managing our wealth (and resources and power) in a way that is noticeably different from the kingdom of the world? Are we distinguishing ourselves as belonging to a different social order than our neighbors who do not follow Christ?

Are you truly content with food and clothing? Let me ask it another way. Do you joyfully recognize God’s sovereign provision for your needs, or do you sullenly complain about what you don’t have? This question alone provides a litmus test to identify which kingdom most shapes your interests and habits.

Posted in Christians Engaging Culture | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

CAMELS, NEEDLES AND WEALTH

Posted on August 7, 2010 by stanwiedeman

A camel recently passed through the eye of a needle. Jesus told His disciples that such a feat would be easier than for a wealthy man to enter the kingdom of God. Wealth has a way of messing up one’s perspective. It seems to produce uncorrectable vision.

Reading the story of John Pedley reminds us that much more happens in salvation than a sinner deciding to receive a free pass out of hell. Pedley describes himself as the poster child of self-centered living. His obsession with money began as a young teenager. He dedicated himself to acquire as much as he could. His strategies included theft and fraud, such as selling the furniture from a rented flat, which landed him in jail. He entered an adulterous affair with a married woman from whom he was taking money. They later married and had two children. More illicit relationships led to his divorce.

His success in business came only after his initial venture failed. He later rebuilt his consulting and marketing business into a company that made him filthy rich. The wealth only encouraged his hedonism and eventually alcohol entrapped him.

In 2002, after drinking all night, Pedley got into his car at 5 A.M. Falling asleep at the wheel, he drove under a van at 90 mph, leaving him in a coma for six weeks. Doctors did not expect him to survive. But he did. He spent the next few months in a wheel chair. Instead of taking stock of his life, “I came back worse because I thought I was indestructible. Nothing could beat me, not even death.”

Alcohol and women continued to dominate his life, until a random invitation to visit a church service got his attention. “There were 500 people at the service. It was different to anything else I had ever seen. There was a confidence about [the congregation]. I was sure I had more money, I was sure I drove a bigger car and had been to more places and done more things. But they were more at peace.”

In 2004 Pedley decided to participate in an Alpha course, a ten-week study that explores the Christian faith, and it changed his life. “The last thing I wanted to do was become a Christian!” he laughs. God had other plans, however.

A short time later, his six-year-old son commented, “Happy new you, Dad.” Pedley asked his son what he meant. “You’re like a brand new person.” Something dramatic had changed in him.

Pedley quit drinking and began serving in the church, especially in charitable works. He thought that God had called him to continue to earn large amounts of money and give a significant portion to the church. Over time that sense of calling began to change.

In 2007 Pedley took a trip to Uganda and his world was upended. “I worked there for a few days and these people who have nothing were stopping and giving me sacks of potatoes [in thanks] which is a fortune for them. There is a morality there which comes naturally. You feel so unbelievably humbled. And I wanted kids in the UK, especially those who are on a downward spiral of addiction and self-hatred, to experience this.”

This led to the development of Turn Them Around Camps. Troubled teens and young adults spend a month in Uganda, immersed in community work and Christian teaching. Pedley adds that they avoid putting pressure on participants to convert, “because that is not the way faith works.”

“It will be a very demanding program, culturally very different – there’s no electricity or running water – but I believe that during the process, the young people will be transformed. What I hope they will get more than anything is self esteem, to know that they can genuinely make a difference and that they are part of a family, a team and not powerless.”

In order to run the program effectively, Pedley knows he needs to live on site. He listed his home in Essex, England for $1.5 million and is trying to sell his Range Rover for $112,000 as well. He plans to move to Uganda and build a traditional mud and wood building for his home. All his assets will be used to fund the charity, which he hopes will improve the health, water and education facilities to the poor community, while changing the lives of recalcitrant youth from the UK.

When Jesus instructed the rich young man to give his wealth to the poor and follow Him, the man departed sadly. Although he seemed genuinely desirous of learning what he could do to enter the kingdom of God, he was not prepared for such an extreme condition.

On the other hand, another wealthy man volunteered to give half of his wealth to the poor and pay retribution to anyone he had defrauded by fourfold. The presence of Jesus brought Zacchaeus to the place of humble repentance, and he recognized that nothing the world had to offer could compare with the blessing of God’s kingdom and salvation.

Zacchaeus and John Pedley illustrate that no person is unreachable. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation, for any and every person. When God chooses to draw someone to Himself, that someone will find himself on a journey completely beyond his wildest expectations.

Posted in Transformed Lives | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

THE SUPERNATURAL ORIENTATION

Posted on August 3, 2010 by stanwiedeman

“To think secularly is to think within a frame of reference bounded by the limits of our life on earth; it is to keep one’s calculations rooted in this-worldly criteria. To think Christianly is to accept all things with the mind as related, directly or indirectly, to man’s eternal destiny as the redeemed and chosen child of God.” Harry Blamires, The Christian Mind

Someone recently asked me if I thought all the obstacles and setbacks she was experiencing were God’s opposition to her course of action on a matter. Interpreting the will of God through circumstances presents some difficulties. What I particularly appreciated about her question, however, was her effort to think Christianly.

Blamires posits six characteristics of Christian thinking. The first is a supernatural orientation. “A prime mark of the Christian mind is that it cultivates the eternal perspective. That is to say, it looks beyond this life to another one. It is supernaturally orientated, and brings to bear upon earthly considerations the fact of Heaven and the fact of Hell.”

To the secular mind, Christian thinking is irrational and superstitious. The material universe comprises the only reality for the secularist. Only that which can be experienced with the physical senses defines the real world. To throw in spiritual explanations for physical events abandons the rational and scientific explanation of reality. Suggestions of a God or an afterlife only postpone real attempts to solve the problems of human suffering.

This secular presupposition now dominates Western thought. It has forced the Christian mind to move away from the table of discussion and take a seat along the wall as a spectator. When was the last time you heard a television commentator offer a supernatural perspective on the recent financial crisis? How many editorials have you read explaining our social and ethical problems from an eternal point of view? How would your teacher or professor respond if you tried to suggest a divine interpretation of homosexuality?

Trying to think Christianly in a secular culture is like trying to return to your seat because you think you left something, when everyone else is leaving the game. This marginalization of the Christian mind has discouraged many Christians from even trying to walk against the flow of the crowd. It is too much work.

Thus, many are content to segregate their beliefs from public life. A politician claims to have a personal belief informed by a religious faith on some social issue, but he is unwilling to infuse that private belief into the discourse on public policy. An employee never raises an objection to an unethical practice at his company, because it is widely practiced in business and his private moral values seem archaic at his office. “Indeed the Christian trains his mind, forces it, to think secularly – so as to help the job in hand to be done efficiently. In this way, by gradual stages, the Christian loses the habit of thinking christianly over the field of practical affairs in which he is actively involved.” (Blamires)

We must distinguish between the Christian mind and the religious mind here. Many people argue from a supernatural point of view, but that point of view would not properly fall within the bounds of Christian theology. The religious mind may seem agreeable to the Christian mind at times, but it clearly diverges when it rejects the supremacy of Christ over all of life.

Christians are complicit in the withdrawal of the Christian mind from public life. When media mocks Christianity, it scares many followers of Christ to keep their mouths shut – not just on the public issues, but on the less public ones, too. A secular backlash to excessive dogmatism or extreme theological views by some Christians can nurture a fear. This, in turn, results in the restraint of a Christian perspective in discussions with friends or colleagues on all sorts of matters. Christians end up blindly submitting to the prohibition, “Never discuss politics or religion in public.”

Blamires identifies one the leading contrasts in secular and Christian thinking. “For the Christian mind earthly well-being is not the summum bonum, as pain and death are not the worst evil. Eternal well-being is the final aim and end of things here. This means that success and prosperity within the earthly set-up cannot be regarded as a final criterion. Nor indeed can happiness within time be regarded as a final criterion.”

Unfortunately, too many Christians have been infected with this non-Christian perspective.  Too often they are unwilling to give up temporal happiness for eternal well-being. If we would incorporate this truth into our choices and habits, we would make enormous strides in reintroducing Christian thinking into public discourse.

The Church in America needs radical reprogramming to cultivate the Christian mind. It must be done under the fire of secular opposition. But it must be done if it is going to have a voice in the public square. And without a voice, the witness to the gospel is lost.

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