On The Odyssey

 

What is more real?

Some people might say that being annoyed with the casting of a woman as a male warrior in a fantasy movie is silly, because it is fantasy and that includes cyclops and witches and the like. Now, I will just note here that The Odyssey is not fantasy, it is theological narrative, but we will leave that particular discussion for another day. Let's discuss the other issue.

What is more real? A cyclops or a woman being able to become a man?

Why, the cyclops of course. Every day of the week. Because the cyclops could be something that fits within our framework of existence. For one, it could have simply been a creature that came about as a result of inbreeding and genetic deformity, and made its way into legend by the process of passing on stories. Or maybe we just have not discovered the skeletons yet? Or maybe it is just a figment of human imagination? Either way, it still fits within a possible framework of existence, even if at the fantastical end. There is no law of nature that says a cyclops cannot exist. It is only our experience of having never seen one that causes us to doubt they do or did. But they don't break any laws of nature.

However, a woman becoming a man does break those, in an objectionable way. It is not a fantasy, so much as an inverting of reality. It is not too different to seeking to convince someone that a square can be round or a triangle can be rectangular. There is something truly off about it, precisely because it does rebel against the laws of nature in an objectionable way. It is not so much a product of imagination, but a product of perversion. Hence, it is less real and more to be objected to. The same the other way, if it is a man seeking to be a woman.

This is one of the core reasons why I don't want to watch a "fantasy" movie that casts a woman as a male warrior. I want my fantasy movies to help me suspend disbelief for a couple of hours, not throw me out of the movie in the very early scenes. Fantastical creatures are things of every child’s imagination. Inverting gender is different.

It is a shame, I actually like a lot of Nolan's work. But I won't miss not seeing this movie. It is about time I read the original story again, anyway.

Ironically, the original story contains a character that changes gender, Minerva more commonly called Athena, the goddess of wisdom. Greek gods, who were really demons, were known to do this often. They were capable of doing this because really they are ephemeral, that is they are not physical, they have no being and so flit between male and female at will. Nolan missed an opportunity to show how subversive the behaviour of ancient Greek gods really was. Instead, he decided to do something which will just throw many people out of his movie, before it has even really got going.

Be Prepared

 

We read in Revelation 6 these harrowing words,

"3 When He opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come and see.” 4 Another horse, fiery red, went out. And it was granted to the one who sat on it to take peace from the earth, and that people should kill one another; and there was given to him a great sword.

5 When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand. 6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”

7 When He opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, “Come and see.” 8 So I looked, and behold, a pale horse. And the name of him who sat on it was Death, and Hades followed with him. And power was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, with hunger, with death, and by the beasts of the earth" (Rev. 6:3-8).

Peace ripped from the earth. Famine, sword, destruction, death, pestilence and inflation. That is what John talks about in Revelation 6. A lot of people make the mistake of thinking these verses only apply to the end of days. But this also happened in the first century, when Jerusalem was destroyed in the wars of Jews with Rome. Peace was taken from the land, war and destruction spread, famine spread, and inflation spread because of the war and famine.

Every major war brings death, disease, famine, and hunger. The difference is just the scale. Sometimes the effects of wars are localized. Other times they are globalized. If this war of the US and Israel against Iran continues, we will see this increasingly happen across the world. This is not end of times fear mongering. We may be in those days, we may not be. But if this war increases famine and death will wreck the region of the Middle East, who are not able to get supplies from abroad. And the rest of the world will feel scarcity to one degree or another as well.

World War 2 in Europe meant rationing for Australian families. Even though there was very limited fighting in Australia, and the fighting that occurred went on far away from where most Australian’s lived. This current war is devastating the region most of the world gets their energy resources from. You will feel it. So prepare.

Prepare cheap transport. Something that can run on limited fuel or energy.

Prepare spare food. At least a couple of weeks of buffer. At least.

Prepare to help people in need. Getting through hard times is as much about community as it is about preparation.

Prepare for crime waves as people suffer. Famine may or may not happen in somewhere like Australia. But have you seen the increasing homelessness. There are many underlying reasons for the current youth crime waves, one is the growing pressures of inflation.

Prepare for governments to try and solve scarcity with lockdowns, heavy legislation, and harsh rules.

Prepare.

If the war ends quickly, you might just be exposed to a bit more inflation. If it drags on, we'll be exposed to worse than that.

Pray God judges the evil forces on both sides who keep pushing this war and brings them to repentance. That may end the war quicker. Human pride will prolong it, increasing suffering. May God humble the proud.

 

Judeo-Christian?

Judeo-Christian...hmm

There are those who object to calling the Old Testament Christian. Even though Jesus Christ, the Messiah, is the fulfilment of the hopes of the Old Covenant. 

Faithful Old Testament believers:

Looked forward Christ. 

Hoped for Christ  

Knew their need for Christ, and

Believed in the Supremacy of Christ. 

Many of them even actually encountered Jesus (cf Isa. 6 and John 12, for one example). 

The argument is not without some merit, though. Because the term Christian was first used in Antioch in the days of the Apostles, in Acts. 

Ok. Let's grant that then.

But nor is Judaism a term used in the Old Testament, nor is it used for the Old Testament faith, until not long before Christ walked in Galilee. 

Abraham was not Jewish. Nor Isaac, or Jacob. Nor 11 of Jacob's sons. Nor Joshua, nor Job, nor Samson. Jonah wasn't either. Nor many other Old Testament prophets. Many were of the tribe of Judah, as Jesus is. But many were not. 

What is more, the Apostle Paul says in Galatians 1 that Judaism opposed Jesus and he repented of that false understanding of the law. Read it. It is what OUR bible says. 

If it is anachronistic to call the Old Testament Christian, it is doubly so to refer to it as Judaism. First, the term is not found in the Old Testament. Second it refers to a faith that Paul says rejected Jesus; the Lord of the Old Testament. 

Hence to say our Christian tradition in our societies is Judeo-Christian is neither accurate, nor helpful. And it actually is far worse than that. 

It confuses the ordinary Christian on the basic claim of Christianity that the Old Testament is about Christ; a core Christian teaching. And it ignores the fact that historically Christianity and Judaism claim to be very different. 

It is not surprising, then, that the term started to really gain any traction at all, 100 years after the West had declined in viewing itself as Christendom. 

That in itself is more revealing than anything else. The West had to forget its legacy, before others, in error, could reframe it.

God Gave Us Nations As Gifts

 

I have long written about why nations and nationalism are God’s gift to humanity. Indeed, I have even preached on this because the topic is an important part of biblical theology, and scriptures plays a key role in how God wants us to understand the role of nations in the world. You can read one of my old sermons here. Essentially in this sermon I show that God created nations as a restraint on man’s inclination for empire and dominance of all peoples. If this impulse for empire was not restrained then evil would flourish and crush all humanity.

It is fascinating for me to see that Nicholas Berdyaev touches on this protective nature of nationhood in his book The Philosophy of Inequality,

“The formation of an historical nationality is the struggle against the primitive chaotic darkness, it is the visage becoming distinct, of a countenance from out of impersonal and formless nature…Historical nationality is an attainment of cosmic being. And its destruction is a destruction of the cosmos, a return to chaos.”[1]

National identity is God's gift to humanity, allowing every people to live within familiar bounds, from which come a common order, common appreciations, and common ways, ruled by their own who respect those commonalities. In these boundaries human beings flourish. When these boundaries are taken down then chaos increases. Which is what we are seeing in our own western nations today.

This is why there is so much effort to enslave, and destroy the distinctiveness of the western nations, because it allows the rising of chaos. In chaos evil flourishes. It will flourish in either the spread of chaos, or in the rise of tyranny to restrain that chaos. Such is the nature of evil, it can be chaotically terrifying, or overly orderly and still terrifying. But in either case, it needs chaos to gain a foothold.

As diversity increases, so too do divisions. As divisions increase so does disorder. From this chaos emerges. 

Hence, multicultural societies feel less safe, are less safe, and need more oppressive laws to have a semblance of function. Empires are states that rule over diverse peoples or nations. They require centurions, or militarized police, not police officers in office clothes, as we once had.

These issues are as old as we have recorded history. You cannot destroy a nation's identity without creating increasing chaos. In that chaos anarchy or tyranny will find a foothold. What are we seeing in our nations today?

List of References

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[1] Nicholas Berdyaev, The Philosophy of Inequality

Happy or Holy – Marriage

 

 

Did God make marriage to make you happy or holy? Many will argue Holy, but remember marriage existed before the fall, so it likely had the ultimate intention of joy before it was a benefit to our holiness. Here is part of my reflection on this in my upcoming book on marriage.

“People say marriage is supposed to make you holy not happy. I absolutely hate that statement with a passion. In fact, you would be hard pressed to find a statement Christians say which I reject more strongly. I don’t think I can stress this strongly enough. Joy is meant to be an intrinsic part of marriage.

We read in Psalm 45, a wedding Psalm, this, “13 All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold. 14 In many-colored robes she is led to the king, with her virgin companions following behind her. 15 With joy and gladness they are led along as they enter the palace of the king.” (Ps. 45:13-15). Marriage is supposed to be a place of mutual joy. If it is not, you are doing it seriously wrong.

Proverbs 5:18-19 tells us, “18 Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice in the wife of your youth, 19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe. Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight; be intoxicated always in her love.” “Rejoice”, “delight”, “be intoxicated”, these are words of joy, in fact, they are words of intense joy. Why do you think God gave Adam a woman? We know it was because there was no helper suitable for him. But it was about more than that. God wanted Adam to delight himself in the woman, and we know he did, because his immediate response was to sing the first song recorded in Scripture on encountering her, “22 And the rib that the Lord God had taken from the man he made into a woman and brought her to the man. 23 Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man” (Gen. 2:22-23). This is at least poetry, in Hebrew, and likely indicates that he sung. Joy has been integral for marriage from the start. Let those who say it is not that important repent, and if they will not, let them enjoy their suffering in silence.

I could share more verses. Joy is meant to be a part of marriage. If you are not feeling joy in your marriage on a regular basis you do not have a biblical marriage. Marriage is meant to make you holy and happy. Holiness, is a means to joy, it leads to happiness, “1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; 2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night” (Ps. 1:1-2).

If you are unhappy, that does not mean you have a right to leave, it just means you need to do some work to get back to the place where God wants you to be in your marriage: happy and holy. Don’t ever make these things opposites. True joy comes from following God’s ways.

And if you are struggling with joy in your marriage talk to someone who appears to be happy, and see if they can help you. Because you need help.”

 

Divorce and Remarriage Can Be Polygamy

 

This is an excerpt from my upcoming book on marriage,

“In practice illegitimate divorce and remarriage is effectively polygamy. If you divorce for a reason that is not biblical and then remarry as a man, you are now a husband with two wives in God’s eyes. Just because a piece of legal paper says you are no longer married, does not mean in God’s eyes the marriage has been truly dissolved. This hogging of women by promiscuous and licentious men is becoming a major issue in western societies.

In all polygamous cultures the most powerful and wealthiest men hoard most of the top women and then some. And that is precisely what is happening in our society, just under a different nomenclature. The statistics on young men who have never been with a woman sexually are increasing. But the amount of women who have been with a man sexual is staying relatively stable.

Why is this happening?

The answer is very simple: The alphas, or top rung of men, are getting most of the young women and the lower rung men are getting to be with very few, or in growing numbers, none. In other words, in practice, even if not in name, our culture is now already polygamous culture, and this is one factor that is creating instability across our society. Marriage is meant to be a foundational bedrock of a society. You can’t ignore God’s will for how sex is supposed to be expressed and how marriage is meant to function and not face social problems.

This situation has been made possible because older generations reintroduced easy divorce into western societies and many men have traded their older wives in for younger women, and many women have left their marriages to “chase their dreams”.

So, the rise of divorce is connected directly to the rise of polygamy or polyamory in our nation. If monogamy is not strictly enforced, we quickly act like the pagan cultures we came from, again. The sexual marketplace is just like any other; those with the most resources will be able to throw their weight around more effectively and gather more resources and possessions into their grasp. This is as true of houses as it is for women. If you are a woman reading this and you don’t like the way that I have just compared women to property, then you should join with me in affirming the strict application of biblical morality, because the New Testament is the only foundation text to have ever said that a man and his wife mutually own each other’s bodies (1 Cor. 7:4). If women do not want to be treated like Pokemon,^[1] then the best solution is to regulate the sexual marketplace exactly how Christians societies did in the past.”

It is pretty tragic and surprising to some, when you think about it, that the end result of feminism is that women are becoming less and less valued and more and more used. However, for anyone who has either investigated the sources of feminism, or examined the claims of feminists, this is not surprising at all.

The goal of feminism, as I have long written about and which is well documented historically, is the destruction of all gender boundaries, the complete levelling of all distinctions. Historically, the only way to completely level people was to bring everybody down to a lower level. As Nicholas Berdyaev writes, “Yet in truth power cannot but be hierarchical, and the casting down of every hierarchism is the casting down of every power of every authority, i.e. the return to a primeval chaos.”[2] In other words, the enforcement of equality on human beings can only lead to increasing chaos and destruction, and in that environment the old pagan ways will rise again, the powerful will take what they want, everyone else be damned. That is what feminism has done to human relationships. It has promised more power to women but given them much less in many circumstances.

The application of the New Testament is the only antidote for this.

List of References

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[1] “Gotta Catch ‘Em All” is a phrase from the T.V. show Pokemon that refers to how the protagonists need to collect as many Pokemon as possible to possess them as their own.

[2] The Philosophy of Inequality, p64. Nicholas Berdyaev.

Law Comes From God

 

This is how people conceived of law in English society before we decided to reject God's word as nations:

"This law of nature, being coeval with mankind and dictated by God himself, is of course superior in obligation to any other. It is binding over all the globe in all countries, and at all times: no human laws are of any validity, if contrary to this; an such of them as are valid derive all their force, and all their authority, mediately or immediately, from this original.

But in order to apply this to the particular exigencies of each individual, it is still necessary to have recourse to reason: whose office it is to discover, as was before observed, what the law of nature directs in every circumstances of life; by considering, what method will tend the most effectually to our own substantial happiness. And if our reason were always, as in our first ancestor before his transgressions, clear and perfect, unruffled by passions, unclouded by prejudice, unimpaired by disease or intemperance, the talk would be pleasant an easy; we should need no other guide but this. But every man now finds the contrary in his own experience; that his reason is corrupt, and his understanding full of ignorance and error.

This has given manifold occasion for the benign interposition of divine providence; which, in compassion to the frailty, the imperfection, and the blindness of human reason hath been pleased, at sundry times and in divers manners, to discover and enforce it's laws by an immediate and direct revelation. The doctrines thus delivered we call the revealed or divine law, and they are to be found only in the holy scriptures. These precepts, when revealed, are found upon comparison to be really a part of the original law of nature, as they tend in all their consequences to man's felicity. But we are not from thence to conclude that the knowlege of these truths was attainable by reason, in it's present corrupted state; since we find that, until they were revealed, they were hid from the wisdom of ages. As then the moral precepts of this law are indeed of the same original with those of the law of nature, so their intrinsic obligation is of equal strength and perpetuity. Yet undoubtedly the revealed law is of infinitely more authenticity than that moral system, which is framed by ethical writers, and denominated the natural law. Because one is the law of nature, expressly declared so to be by God himself; the other is only what, by the assistance of human reason, we imagine to be that law. If we could be as certain of the latter as we are of the former, both would have an equal authority: but, till then, they can never be put in any competition together."[1]

Sir William Blackstone, Commentaries on the Law of England

What has the Bible done for you?

All that is good. Our lives are becoming more oppressive because as a people we forgot this.

List of References

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[1] https://www.laits.utexas.edu/poltheory/blackstone/cle.int.s02.html