Nightmare Factory Hollywood
02/03/18 12:44
Thought for Sunday 
as found in the Peine Allgemeine Newspaper Feb.3, 2018 from Randall Smelser Christ Church Peine-Stederdorf
Hollywood is often called the “Dream Factory” but for many it has become a “Nightmare Factory.” More and more women (and men) have come forward on #meToo and reported that have been sexually harassed, and not just in Hollywood. The Media, Politicians, and many others are shocked. But is it really so surprising. Our culture and maybe even we have tried to get rid of God or have ignored Him for years. We live in a society in which there is no basis for ethics and morality. We “follow our hearts” but do not like it when others just follow their hearts and we are hurt. Is not #meToo the logical result of an ethic without God, an ethic according each and every individual heart? We over estimate how “good” humans are when everyone just follows their hearts. On one side many rant and rave about “Christian” standards which “restrict our freedom.” But on the other side they now themselves want to force parts of those standards on everyone else, all the while they continue to tell us that there are no absolutes, no black and white, no universal rules for everyone. Should we pass more laws? Do we really want that the majority or politicians deciding what is right and wrong? From the history of the last 100 years we can see that that is not such a good idea. We need an ethic that is bigger than human opinions. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, as he wept over the destroyed city of Jerusalem: “she did not consider her future” (Lam.1:9 NIV). In those days the city had rejected God’s ethics even though they continued to call themselves “God’s People.” But they did not think about the consequences. We must consider the consequences of a culture that ignores God. Fake News/alternative facts, #meToo, rightwing and leftwing radicals are filling the vacuum as God and His ethics have been done away with. Bad behavior was always present but there were grounds and a basis from which this bad behavior could be fought. Now we have some sort of feeling of right and wrong which fluctuates from person to person. We must return to an ethic that has positive consequences, that is to say, God’s standards for mankind.
as found in the Peine Allgemeine Newspaper Feb.3, 2018 from Randall Smelser Christ Church Peine-Stederdorf
Hollywood is often called the “Dream Factory” but for many it has become a “Nightmare Factory.” More and more women (and men) have come forward on #meToo and reported that have been sexually harassed, and not just in Hollywood. The Media, Politicians, and many others are shocked. But is it really so surprising. Our culture and maybe even we have tried to get rid of God or have ignored Him for years. We live in a society in which there is no basis for ethics and morality. We “follow our hearts” but do not like it when others just follow their hearts and we are hurt. Is not #meToo the logical result of an ethic without God, an ethic according each and every individual heart? We over estimate how “good” humans are when everyone just follows their hearts. On one side many rant and rave about “Christian” standards which “restrict our freedom.” But on the other side they now themselves want to force parts of those standards on everyone else, all the while they continue to tell us that there are no absolutes, no black and white, no universal rules for everyone. Should we pass more laws? Do we really want that the majority or politicians deciding what is right and wrong? From the history of the last 100 years we can see that that is not such a good idea. We need an ethic that is bigger than human opinions. The prophet Jeremiah wrote, as he wept over the destroyed city of Jerusalem: “she did not consider her future” (Lam.1:9 NIV). In those days the city had rejected God’s ethics even though they continued to call themselves “God’s People.” But they did not think about the consequences. We must consider the consequences of a culture that ignores God. Fake News/alternative facts, #meToo, rightwing and leftwing radicals are filling the vacuum as God and His ethics have been done away with. Bad behavior was always present but there were grounds and a basis from which this bad behavior could be fought. Now we have some sort of feeling of right and wrong which fluctuates from person to person. We must return to an ethic that has positive consequences, that is to say, God’s standards for mankind.
