We're Not In Kansas Any More
My Own Little OZ • Sermon • Submitted
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INtro
INtro
80 years ago, (Movie)… GWTW…, made $…, re-release… one of the most impacting...
based on a book published 40 years before that, written just at teh end of the 19th C after its author, ___ Baum, had experienced the grandeur of Chicago as it had worn the glamour of the great Xhocago Exposition, where…, which became the inspiration for the great emeral city of OZ.
Concerned with the grim nature of grimm’s fairy tales, and bored…, he decided to write a whimsical children’s book that had no intention for teachinh morals, and every intention of avoiding the grotesque and creapy thnigs found in so many other Victorian era children’s stories like a witch cooking two siblings in her oven and other fun-loving ideas.
A nuber of its lines, especially as adapted for the 1939 movie, have remained in our language now for over 100 years. The witch’s famous cry, “I’m melting.” The nifty song taht was an adjustment from the boox, “follow the yellow brick road.” And of course, the iconic phrase Judy Garland uttered so soberly, “Toto, I have a feeling we’re not in Kansas any more.” (use clip instead?)
I think we know that feeling. the pace of change in teh world is mind-blowing. Even since Baum wrote this masterpiece, we have reshaped teh planet.
Consider teh technological change taking place. Consider even the number of words we’ve added to the english language simply because our technology had outrun our vocabulary.
No one went scuba diving, or drove a limousine to a prom. there was no concern for aids, and no arguments about whether vaccines caused _______. I was never concerned about what my kids were watching on tv, and my electric bill was never a cause of concern. The telephone couldn’t wake me up in the middle of the night,
Even the pace of language change itself has zoomed ahead—teh english language doubled in the last hundred years, to over a million words—and over 70% of that growth was in the last half century. culture itself needed new words to capture its ideas, activities, and sentiments. We started googling, and all sorts of other things on the web. before the 1990’s, webs were things we usually avoided. Then we began to surf them. BUt it’s even more than using gps, learning infotainment systems, and microwaving our tv dinners.
we get crunk over news of the latest hollywood bromance, and have to learn to chillax when our diy project on hold because we made the mistake of mansplaining teh tool we needed to a newby associate and she got triggered when she took it as a microagression. I told her to check out my blog and she could see taht I wasn’t being a hater, but she just said “whatevs” and told me I had to go. So I stopped at a burger joint and picked up a little frankenfood and im headed home to bingewatch a whole year’s worth of Dukes of Hazzard.
Then there are the more sinister things—like cyber stalkers, identity thieves, click bait, and teh ever looming snapchat. It gets worse. We now raise school shooters and mall shooters in our fair country. And 24 hour news programs make the most money when they do their best scandal reporting. tax dollars support unhealthy lifestyles and in public middle and high schools around the country our kids can’t wear a cross around their necks but can freely pick up condoms and birth control without parental consent or even notification.
Don’t misumderstand this as simply complaint. As far as I know, I’ll drive a car home with a working climate control system, and aome time today will have a glass of sweet tea with ice. and last night’s frozen pizza was a treat! But in some ways, we may be building brokenness into our future with what feels like progress today.
This has always been the case with people. From the beginning, human beings made in the image of God have been question the judgment of that same God and doing things our own way when it seemed to make sense.
Consider. (Pet Rocks, some terrible idea that people thought was great?)
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.
Part of the problem we run into with this is the assumed conflict between two important things—faith and intellect. I either have faith in God and whatever God says, or I think about things and arrive at a conclusion. It’s a choince between trusting what God says and relying on what thinking people say. And for some reason, it is assumed that to be a thinking person you must exclude God as teh source of things in the natural world.
This became a struggle in philosophers in teh past several centuries, with Locke echoing Aristotle in believing that only in experiencing and testing can whatever you believe to be true be validated. There are some who reacted and have us a clarified idea about what was called “idealism”—that there are realities that exist whether we observe or experience them or not, and even that I can understand a thing without my own experience of the thing.
Eventually all of this gave rise to materialism—the belief that everything that exists only exists in a material way—there is no spiritual and no supernatural.
So by the time we get to the last half of the 20th Century, people who believed that God has no place in public sector, especially education, were increasingly in charge of the way things were working inside.
They set up a very clear distinction—there are those who think and those who believe. Those for whom faith is at work and those for whom understanding and intellect are at work. And even today, many Christians even see it this way, along with almost all of the world.
Recently a survey of 63 studies completed over the course of 80 years confirmed what many social sciences think is unavoidably true—those with higher iq’s are much more likely to leave their faith behind and lose their Christianity. But these studies don’t tell why. According to atheist sociologist Frank Furerdi, these researchers don’t really ask enough of the right questions, and prove what they believe—smart people are less religious people. And here is the point he was making, according to author ______, “ Intelligent people don't simply reject religion because it's wrong; they reject it because their social environments lead them to think it's wrong.” No one wants to seem dumb. Especially people who think they are really smart.
But is God against thinking? Not at all:
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
12 Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God.
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2 that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ,
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
13 Who is wise and understanding among you? By his good conduct let him show his works in the meekness of wisdom.
104 Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
ps 119:1
Aspect of Holy Spirit (Is 11:2)
Info re: marvellous brain (—knit together)
Cf crazy things people believe
*** God isn’t against thinking—He is agains bad thinking
And here in this text, you see the real concern. God wants both faith and understanding. He designed us for both. They are just two parts of knowing. The issue, though, is which one precedes tha other. Which one validates…defines… determines...
Cf crazi things people believe here???
three main kinds of flaws in thinking--
A- Connect the Dots (superstitions / gaps)
B- Stack the Deck (Kansas—definition of science) (Cf burger can’t use meat, so what can be a burger; gluten free donut, fat free ice cream)
C- Hedge Your Bets (bet on both sides—mix faith and humanist understanding together—theistic evolution, medical miracles)
scopes trial
flagellates
human eye
upside down trees
cave drawings—men and dinosaurs
fossilized hat (carbon tested)
*** Cf two? years ago, discovery of cut rock--”can’t be natural… this is the guy that eons of time, chance, and random mutation can produce a scientist who can get people to the moon and make self-flushing toilets, but can’t be responsible for a square rock? that’s the intellectual group?
Hebrews- “By faith we know...”
Now and then, skeptic picks worst case to argue with (flat earth—like Rocky angainst Barney fife—try someone own size--
get Dawkins (God Delusion)—maybe aliens
God’s desire is not that we choose between faith and understanding. God’s desire is that we allow our faith to lead us to the right understanding. And the question for you is “does your faith precede, define, drive, and validate yuor understanding?
Cf GW Carver
This is not to say that there can be no understanding at all without faith.
“Heavens are telling...”
Romans re: invisible attributes—question is whether or not smart people are paying enough attention to notice and accept truth—many of the world’s most intellectual people see the great features of the cosmos, but completely miss the meaning.
Cf Jesus—If I tell you earthly things and you can’t accept...”
Cf Harvard professor… impractical...
How is this practical?? that’s the complaint—faith is fine—just not practical. How does this get practical?
Actress this week… then supporter… In article, argues not abusive. At the same time, courts are taking away parental rights… So here’s the thing—these ladies and I agree on loving and supporting our children. We agree on the need to be supportive of the person that our child is meant to be. And we are completely in agreement that it’s simply not tolerable to abuse your child. So why are we apart?
What is abuse? What would love do with a 7-year-old in that sutuation?
*** Sigmund Freud…ubermensch…slave ethic… poor in spirit / meek..
What is the answer for teenage pregnancy?
Suicide rate in adolescents—11% of all teens...
Homicide takes 13% of all teens...
20% of teens experience clinical depression. What’s best to deal with it?
Where do we get ideas for schedule, priorities, teh hours we work and the amount of money we need; Cf surveys of high schoolers—asked re: importance of spiritual—majority said 5 or less. Even worse, those saying 7 or less only prayed or studied Word occasionally
God says this, “How blessed is the nation...”
Unless the Lord builds the house...”
Is it reasonable to expect that we can esplain t oGod “well, I know you said, but our best understanding was that to be tolerant of others, we had to get rid of the things that distinguisehd us from one another.
What of marriage? Sexiality? Masculinoty and feminity? Husbanding? Wifing? ParentingShould I have mercy on a young lady who doesn’t want to be pregnabt and remove the tissue or have mercy on the helpless unborn baby and defend her against the doctor with acid, tongs, and a vacuum cleaner?”
Key here—WHO will beat WHAT and WHY
Cf bad thinking—believe a thing b/c of celebrity
Cf Pilgrim monument...
four things (all agree)
faith first (here is differentiating point)
At our foundation, arguments in 2nd cont congress— B Frankilin suggectc ...
Cf
A- Resist secularism
B- Commit to faith-filled understanding (pursue it)
C- Do education better (Cf Harvard president)
support Christian education
support Christianity in education
When facing moment of uncertaintysubmit your best understanding to God’s clear direction
Cf Wizard of Oz—find road—becomes easy--
here, pick rust—lean on His understanding; all ways acknowledge ...
Know him in your daily habits
Look--”straighten paths — not just making sure you’re on the rioght path—actially there with you, adjusting the path to you (instead of adjusting you to your path)