by steve | Nov 10, 2011 | Kingdom Living
Recently I spent some time with Malcolm X. Well, not really because he’s dead. But I did watch a movie about him which I found very interesting. In fact, I believe there are some pointers that Christ followers can learn from his life experience. Malcolm Little was an African American man who came to Islam while in prison from 1946 to 1952. Once leaving prison, Malcolm eventually rose to become a national speaker for the Nation of Islam. He eventually left that group in 1964 shortly before he was assassinated.
Now don’t get me wrong. Obviously I’m not supporting the Nation of Islam. I am in no way agreeing with Islam in general. Islam is a false religion and Mohamed was a false prophet. That statement does not mean that I hate Muslims, but is rather an assessment of the facts. I am not endorsing the methodology Malcolm advocated through most of his public life. But I am suggesting that we can learn a thing or two from the way the Nation of Islam influenced his life, and see an illustrative picture of how the true nature of the Kingdom of Heaven should be lived out today. These are principles which many Christians in the West desperately need to eternalize today. So I’ve listed five quick observations below to begin with. Anything you would add? (more…)
by steve | Jul 28, 2010 | Just Life, Kingdom Living
Recently I watched ‘The Book of Eli’ with my brother and I give it two thumbs up. I probably liked it partially just because I’m a guy with a healthy hunger for adventure and sci-fi flicks, especially when there’s at least a little bit of a story to it. I thought the cinematography and visuals in the movie were wonderful. But the big draw to this story was the focus on the Bible. I’m always intrigued when Hollywood tries to honestly step into the spiritual and with Denzel Washington leading this project I knew there just might be something of substance in it. One review of the movie suggested that it was something of a “Sunday sermon wrapped in a Mad Max adventure” and that’s about right.
But it does raise questions among some Christ followers. Is it good to see and pay money for shows like this? I mean there were scenes with graphic violence, some really hard language, and at the end the Bible is meticulously placed between the Torah and the Quran. How do you even interpret that last one? Were the writers showing that the Bible was superior to the other two or more than likely just implying there was no difference between them? Yes, there were some real issues in the movie and if they are a conviction on your conscience, then you need to pass it by. But on the other hand no one should judge someone else who did watch it. For while I would not want little kids to see this show, I believe that Christ followers ought to give this sort of thing another look. Here are some reasons why. (more…)
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