Category: Mortality

Three Raspberry Cheers for Hello Kitty . . . and the Postmodern Lie

8/28/2014

Three Raspberry Cheers for Hello Kitty . . . and the Postmodern Lie

Most of you know that I am a confirmed Bible, history, and worldview nerd. That is why when I arrived at work today to the shock that Hello Kitty’s questionable identity was a “breaking news story” by many, I found myself in a quandary as to whether to be amused or in be despair. Before I receive emails telling me to lighten up or to realize what is meant as tongue-in-cheek humor, let me make a few introductory jabs at this entire fiasco.

If Hello Kitty is a little girl, I feel for her now that she is in her 40’s and still wears a full length kitty costume (or is it a kitty costume?). If Hello Kitty is not a cat, then is it possible that I should be concerned about the prescriptions I have from Dr. Dre? If Hello Kitty is not a cat, should I be horrified to learn that Taylor Swift may not be either a pop or country artist, but rather a punk rocker who dresses in an understated way? Please forgive me for these - but I hope it does show that I do grasp humor - well at least I think I do. Actually I may have just engaged in horribly depressive hate speech disguised as humor? Who knows any more?

I hope that this exercise helps you understand my main point in this article. I do not care who Hello Kitty is - except that, come on folks, that’s a kitty! But in our postmodern world in which truth is in the eye of the beholder, your kitty does not have to be a kitty. In order to get a ton of free press, as well as increased sales of Hello What-ever-you-are (which I believe should be the new “truth in advertising” ruling against Hello Kitty), all you have to do is make an outlandish claim that what is clear to everyone, everywhere - is actually a 40 year old, clever ruse. (Note: by the way I think Hello What-ever-you-are is better than Hello Creepy-40-year-old-cat-dressing-freak - don’t you think?) But back to my point about our postmodern society.

This entire situation is actually a good example of our postmodern thinking. Imagine with me this entire story back in the 1960’s and 1970’s. People would not have probably even considered arguing that their kitty was not actually a cat because it stands on two legs, and it has a pet cat named “Charmy-kitty.” (Boy is that a future cover story waiting to be written - “Charmy-kity” confesses to being a cat trapped in a dog’s body!”) But I digress yet again - sorry folks but this one truly brings out the sarcasm in me.

Let me get to my point. Postmodern thinking says, “What you believe to be true, is true.” It is true because you believe it to be true. No one has any right to tell you your beliefs or practices are wrong as long as you think that are true, are not hurting anybody. This has what has paraded for truth, or I guess at least anit-truth, for years in our educational systems, as well as among certain philosophers and deep thinkers. But there is a problem here - and I would like to use a well-known children’s story (although it can be a bit racy) to illustrate my point.

Enter the emperor, stage right. As he enters, it is apparent to all that the man is completely naked - as the day he was born. There are all the tell-tale signs that he is naked - such as - well . . . nakedness. As he rides or struts across the room, showing off what he thinks to be his new duds, all the post-modern ones in the crowd collude with him about his nakedness. They oooh and ahhh at the latest in minimalist fashion (yeah, minimalist is an understatement for a guy who should at least have on underwear) as they all agree together to lie about their ruler’s current unclothed state. Now for my personal million dollar question. “Is this guy naked?”

Maybe we should listen to the tailors who tell us that he is not naked. They assert that he is clothed in kingly splendor no matter what he is wearing. We are also told that clothes do not make the man. We are chided that our view of clothing is outdated, pedestrian, and nude-phobic. We need to get with the times so we can understand why we have such a narrow definition of clothes. I can tell you why I have that narrow definition. It is because the king in the story WAS NAKED! It does not matter to me what he or anyone else there believed - naked means, not having on any clothes. He does not have on any clothes, therefore, he is naked.

Now, having put a huge bullseye on my back that I am woefully out of touch with current trends (For which I daily thank God - Who’s Word IS truth - and Who has also defined nakedness pretty clearly in the Scriptures. By the way, He also defines who we should see naked - which is an incredibly more narrow list than what the world currently embraces.) I would like to comment on Hello Kitty for the last time, and then hopefully make a point concerning epistemology (Epistemology is the investigation of what distinguishes justified belief from opinion.) Hello Kitty is a cat. Granted whatever weird version of a cat in a cartoon form is eventually agreed upon - that is a cat. People have bought into Hello Kitty for years as a cat, and since I’ve never seen a zipper on the cartoon version - or any of its multitudinous money-making products - I’m gonna go with the whole cat idea. Why wouldn’t we think Hello Kitty is not a cat?

We are engaged in this ridiculous news story - and the ensuing ridiculous commentary (mine included) because the creator of Hello Kitty believes that his Kitty is not a cat. In earlier (non post-modern enlightened decades) we would have written this whole thing off as a story illustrating someone who needs to re-take Biology 101. Or honestly, we would have shrugged and thought that the creator of this cartoon, albeit very gifted at kitty drawing, takes his cartoon a little too seriously. But in our post-modern society, this is what passes for a tongue-in-cheek breaking news story. Yet, here is what disturbs me a little.

We have been led to believe by post-modern thinking that if someone believes something is true - then it is true and we should let them hold that belief without criticism. If that is true, why is it that those who believe in God are treated with greater disdain than the Hello Kitty creator? There is actually epistemological support for belief in God according to classic apologetics. Even widely held philosophy has valid arguments for the existence of God. Yet, in spite of all this, bible-believing Christians who hold to the existence of God are being treated as if they are some sort of factually challenged freaks. If you really want to see an escalation of rhetoric, look at what is being said about those who say homosexuality is sin according to God’s Word - or that life begins at conception and what is in a woman’s womb is not just a blob of tissue, but a living child who deserves adequate protection from harm. There is where the lie of post-modern thinking is exposed.

You see, it is perfectly reasonable to defend Hello Kitty. What is utterly indefensible according to many in our society today is bible-believing Christianity. What is indefensible is anyone who believes in the exclusivity of salvation through Jesus Christ. What is indefensible is the audacity of believing that there are 10 commandments applicable to the morals of present day society. And thus the facade of post-modernism is revealed. What we have here is not a philosophy that embraces all views, but rather a pseudo-philosophy that embraces the Kitty - but throws out the dangerous idea that God might actually exist. Now there is a breaking news story!

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A Theology of Aging, part 4 - REMEMBER!

11/10/2013

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A Theology of Aging, part 4

For the past several weeks we've looked at a Theology of Aging. Last week we looked at Ecclesiastes 12:1-8 and saw how God described in some creative detail how the aging process worked - and how all of us would be affected by it. We dealt with every verse except verse 1 of that section. That is what I plan to do this week.

"Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near when you will say, "I have no delight in them"; Ecclesiastes 12:1 (NASB)

Last week's journey through Ecclesiastes 12 could have been a very depressing one unless you took time to look at this first verse. It is a depressing journey for those who have only this life as their focus. Those who only have life on earth to treasure will find, as we found last week, that their treasure is deteriorating and fading fast as they age. The very aging process is supposed to turn our eyes away from living for the things of this earth - and to live instead for the things of God. But these this view of life needs to be embraced in one's youth.

The call here is to REMEMBER. The word used here is zakar, which means more than just to remember something briefly. It means to call it into your memory for the purpose of thinking about it, meditating on it, and hopefully learning from it as well. We are called to remember our Creator. This is interesting - because it immediately militates against naturalism which says that there is NO creator. Those who embrace naturalism ONLY have this life to live. Their view is that once we die - we just die. Our life actually has no meaning - we were a cosmic accident, coming together through random processes in some form of evolutionary development. Thus, when it is over - it truly is OVER! There is no hope - because we go into the ground and are destined to be little more than worm dirt for the plants to derive nutrients as we decay in the ground. For those who thought Ecclesiastes 12 was depressing - try on a naturalist worldview and see how depressing that is!

What exactly are we supposed to "remember" as we think and consider our Creator? From what Solomon says in chapter 11:9-10. "Rejoice, young man, during your childhood, and let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood. And follow the impulses of your heart and the desires of your eyes. Yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. So, remove grief and anger from your heart and put away pain from your body, because childhood and the prime of life are fleeting." Ecclesiastes 11:9-10 (NASB) We are to REMEMBER that God is not only our Creator, but also the One who will render judgment upon the choices we made in life. It is evident from what Solomon says here that living for the "impulses of our heart" as well as the "desires of our eyes" is not a wise choice. In the end these things will be judged by God as unworthy pursuits. Living for pleasure alone is a waste of a life given by God. Ever since the Fall of man into sin - sin has corrupted our desires and how we view things with our eyes. To follow them would be exceedingly foolish. So as we remember our Creator - part of that remembrace and meditation on Who He is involves us remembering our sinfulness and our propensity to be selfish and self-centered.

Taking these revelations and applying them to our passage, we see that a selfishly lived life will not last. In fact we see from Ecclesiastes 12:1 that in the end - in our latter years - we will have no delight in life. We will find life miserable. Ever hear an older man express regret over his life? I've heard many who have lived for selfish ends - and they have great regret. It all seems so . . . so meaningless at the end. It is as if we were made for something so much more. That is exactly why Solomon wrote this book. God wanted to show us that no matter how rich you are - how much power you have - how many relationships you have - it all turns sour and empty when you see aging and death creep nearer. That is why YOUTH are encouraged to remember and meditate on their Creator. That way they can remember to live for God - for His purposes and plans. They are reminded to be careful about their own desires and the things that tantalize their eyes and lusts. These things can be deadly - and they are definitely deadly when lived for over an entire lifetime. That is why God had Solomon write such a depressing view of aging.

God warns throughout His Word that we are going to age - and that ultimately - we are going to die. He has revealed these things - not to depress us. He has revealed them to us so that we will learn from them. We need to learn that life is limited. We need to learn that life is short. We need to learn that there is a purpose for us - a plan on how we should live and for Whom we should live as well. When we remember our Creator and remember these things, we will be blessed. Ignore them . . . and as our lives come to a close we will find ourselves saying exactly what God said - that we no longer find any delight in them. Remember your Creator God - remember His ways and delight in His will - for in delighting in Him you will find life itself a delight as well. And death, which so many dread and fear will be no longer a fearful, terrifying moment - but rather one where we graduate from the pains and suffering of this life - to awake in His presence, experiencing pleasures forever at His right hand!

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A Theology of Aging, part 1

9/23/2013

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A Theology of Aging, part 1

The last time I wrote to you, I spoke of the lessons God was teaching me as I care for my mom after her stroke. This is not something isolated to me - many who live into their 40's and 50's will have to walk through a time when their parent's health fails. Some lose their loved ones quickly through a heart attack or massive stroke - but others face the task of loving their closest family members through a much longer, debilitating illness. That is what I may be facing in the weeks and months ahead. It is already what I've faced in the we lost Sherie's mom and my father. So where does God fit in to all this?

As I've walked through this time, I've been thinking about aging. If you see another sunrise - you are participating in aging. It is something we all do in life, but seldom think about unless there is a situation which pressing such a thought into our minds. Before all this happened, the only times I thought about aging was after a workout after a long layoff - or maybe someone's death. Most often we let such thoughts come and go rather quickly. But a debilitating illness brings the issue front and center. Let me share a few things I learned - and maybe lay out a very brief theology of aging.

First of all - aging is a result of the Fall. I am not sure what exactly would have happened with Adam and Eve if they had obeyed God and lived until they were several thousand years old or more. The Fall brought aging and death to the world. Even after that the early ancestors of Adam and Eve lived for hundreds of years - most of them passing 500 or more. It was only after the Flood that God chose to limit man's time on the earth to a hundred years or less. His decree at that time was that He would only strive with man 70 years - and so from that time forward old age was relegated to our 60's through 80's. Those who would live into their 90's were few and even fewer would live past 100. The norm for mankind was exactly what God said in Hebrews 9:27, "It is appointed for man to die once, and then comes the judgment." Any decent theology of aging begins here - because I am not sure that before the Fall aging was going to be an issue. It certainly is not one in heaven, where we will receive a new body that will last for all eternity. Thus the issue of aging is only applicable for those of us who are between birth and death here on earth.

The fact that we are going to age and eventually die is to have its proper effect upon us. The reality of death and an appointed time to face the judgment should turn us to seek God. That is the effect it had in Genesis on men. When Seth had his first son (which was after the death of his brother Abel whom Cain murdered) he named him Enosh. That name means mortal man - and focuses on the mortality of man. It was at that time - and after that name was made known to mankind that ". . . men began to call upon the name of the LORD." There was something about knowing our mortality that awakened mankind to the need to call on the name of the Lord. We needed God - and death woke us up to that truth. That is why Solomon tells us in Ecclesiastes that thoughts of our mortality will make us wise. Let's look at those verses in Ecclesiastes 7 for a moment, as we close out our first installment on a theology of aging.

It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, Because that is the end of every man, and the living takes it to heart. Sorrow is better than laughter, for when a face is sad a heart may be happy. The mind of the wise is in the house of mourning, while the mind of fools is in the house of pleasure. Ecclesiastes 7:2-4 (NASB)

Solomon is not just a depressed old man, as some may think. He spoke wisdom when he wrote these words by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The end of every man is to be in a house of mourning. A wise man knows this and "takes it to heart." He remembers that this life is not just about "this life." We will have to face God when our lives come to an end - and a wise man would consider this fact as he lives out the few days he has on this planet. The rich farmer in the parable of Jesus made his decision without a proper theology of aging and death. His barns were already full when he had another bumper crop. As he thought about what to do, his thoughts turned to what he should do with this additional wealth. His decision was to tear down his existing barns, build new ones, and store his new found wealth so that he would be set for life. What he did not realize was that his life had only one more evening before it was over. God's Word to him was this, "You fool! This night your life is required of you, and what will you do with all this wealth?" His decision was based on a wrong theology of aging. He was about to see his life end - and - he had done nothing to prepare for eternity. He would not enjoy any of his wealth for longer than 24 hours - followed by an eternity in hell. So now how do you feel about Solomon's wise words from God?

The mind of fools is in . . . are you ready for this? It is in the house of pleasure. This man is thinking that the purpose of life is pleasure. Now we need to realize that God wants us to enjoy things. Even Solomon speaks of enjoying the wife of your youth - good food - good friends - and life in general. But - a life lived only for pleasure is a foolish life. Our times of pleasure and fun need to be balanced with times when we consider the end of life - and what is beyond the grave. A wise man thinks about things like eternity - and about what this life is all about. Death and the way it takes everything of this life from us - should make us realize that life is about more than the things of this life. As Solomon says, ". . . this is the end of every man, and the living take it to heart." We are to take to heart the death of family and friends. We are to see that all is not as it should be in this world. In a later chapter of Ecclesiastes Solomon describes the process of aging - and honestly - it isn't very pretty. Very real and truthful - just not particularly pretty. Yet - that is the end for all of us who walk through this whole thing called aging.

So what should our response be to this whole thing called, aging? First of all I want everyone reading this to know that there is not just one response. But, that being said, there should be one response that we should not miss. That response is the one that addresses our mortality. We should be wise in knowing that there is more to life than just this present existance. We should see things like mortality and death and allow them to speak an important message to us. Things are not right here - and we should explore whether there is more than just the here and now. We should explore why the creator of such a marvelous world as ours, filled with so much life, creativity, and wonder - has it age, fall apart, and die eventually. As we ask such questions and explore such things, God's purpose is that we would come to understand the gospel and His work to restore and redeem this world from the death and dying that dominate it. Remember that the purpose of theology, even a theology of aging and death, is to know God through it.

Aging and death are real - that has once again forced its way upon my consciousness. But how glorious it is to see that even in this God's purpose is to bring His gospel and His calling me to Himself to the forefront. Yes, the topic of the theology of aging and death can seem depressing - but only to those who miss God's grace in it all - calling us beyond this life - beyond the mere pleasures of today - to eternity and the glorious pleasures forever at His right hand.

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Three Raspberry Cheers for Hello Kitty . . . and the Postmodern Lie

A Theology of Aging, part 4 - REMEMBER!

A Theology of Aging, part 1

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