Choices
Posted: Fri Sep 08, 2017 5:28 pm
I was wondering what other people think of the episode "Choices."
I recently listened to it on my journey through the series from episode 1 to current.
I think they treated the topic of evolution flippantly and had some misinformation in there. Such as the monkey sound when the kids were watching the film in class. Evolution does not actually teach man evolved from monkeys. And then they said man had been around 2 million years. But science knows it's about 200,000 years ago.
And then they say evolution is "just a theory." It was clear to me the writer of the episode was implying that a theory in science is just a "guess." A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment. Such fact-supported theories are not "guesses" but reliable accounts of the real world. (Source Wikipedia.) They seem to confuse "theory" with "hypothesis."
I understand the awesome responsibility of the creators of this show and do not envy them. They have to walk a careful line and not be too offensive to one side or the other. And there are so many denominations and an array of what people believe from church to church. So I am sure they thought they were walking a safe line here, but I don't know...I think that if they were going to take the stance they took, they at least could have gotten a few facts about evolution and how it's taught correct. It is like they didn't do their research and it takes me out of the story.
But that's just part of my issues with this episode. I won't debate the age of the Earth (though, my personal view is the Bible is clearly a history of the Jewish race, not the entire planet, and the Jewish people go back 6000 years, not the entire planet or the universe. But for those concerned about it, I think Keith Green said it best: "You know, I look around at the world and I see all the beauty that God made. I see the forest and the trees and all the things. And says in the Bible that He made them is six days and I don't know if they're a literal six days or not. Scientists would say no, some theologians would say yes. But I know that Jesus Christ has been preparing a home for me and for some of you, for two thousand years. And if the world took six days and that home two thousand years, hey man, this is like living in a garbage can compared to what's going on up there."
(And in my studies, I found that the young earth doctrine is relatively new in the history of the church. If I recall right it started gaining a foothold in the church in the mid 1800s.)
But what really got me about the story was at the end when he has the girl read Romans 14:23 and concludes that if you believe in your heart something is wrong then you shouldn't do it.
I thought that was ill advice. Our hearts are very deceptive and only God knows the true intent of our hearts at times, even more so than us. If we follow that, I think it could be dangerous. Our choices should be checked with scripture, not based on if we think something is right or wrong in our hearts. Sometimes our "gut feeling" can be wrong. I know it has for me, if I am completely honest.
And the question is can a Christian do or not do something they believe is right in their heart and still be wrong? Well, I absolutely think so. A lot of people defend their behavior by calling it a "deeply held religious belief." But those are not always Biblical. https://revolfaith.com/2014/10/18/your- ... -biblical/
And I think that's pretty much the message of the episode. And then they take the verse in Romans out of context to support that view.
Ok, it's a kid's series, I know. And maybe I am reading too much into it, but it does appeal to a lot of adults, including myself. And I am disappointed when the show misses the mark, as this one did.
And I guess there are enough controversial topics in this post, but I hope it doesn't turn into a controversy. From the other threads I've seen here, I think this is a good place to open the discussion. I know people will respect others even if they disagree here. And please be respectful even if you disagree!
Here is Romans 22-23 in context: Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don’t impose it on others. You’re fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. But if you’re not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe—some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them—then you know that you’re out of line. If the way you live isn’t consistent with what you believe, then it’s wrong.
I recently listened to it on my journey through the series from episode 1 to current.
I think they treated the topic of evolution flippantly and had some misinformation in there. Such as the monkey sound when the kids were watching the film in class. Evolution does not actually teach man evolved from monkeys. And then they said man had been around 2 million years. But science knows it's about 200,000 years ago.
And then they say evolution is "just a theory." It was clear to me the writer of the episode was implying that a theory in science is just a "guess." A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world, based on a body of facts that have been repeatedly confirmed through observation and experiment. Such fact-supported theories are not "guesses" but reliable accounts of the real world. (Source Wikipedia.) They seem to confuse "theory" with "hypothesis."
I understand the awesome responsibility of the creators of this show and do not envy them. They have to walk a careful line and not be too offensive to one side or the other. And there are so many denominations and an array of what people believe from church to church. So I am sure they thought they were walking a safe line here, but I don't know...I think that if they were going to take the stance they took, they at least could have gotten a few facts about evolution and how it's taught correct. It is like they didn't do their research and it takes me out of the story.
But that's just part of my issues with this episode. I won't debate the age of the Earth (though, my personal view is the Bible is clearly a history of the Jewish race, not the entire planet, and the Jewish people go back 6000 years, not the entire planet or the universe. But for those concerned about it, I think Keith Green said it best: "You know, I look around at the world and I see all the beauty that God made. I see the forest and the trees and all the things. And says in the Bible that He made them is six days and I don't know if they're a literal six days or not. Scientists would say no, some theologians would say yes. But I know that Jesus Christ has been preparing a home for me and for some of you, for two thousand years. And if the world took six days and that home two thousand years, hey man, this is like living in a garbage can compared to what's going on up there."
(And in my studies, I found that the young earth doctrine is relatively new in the history of the church. If I recall right it started gaining a foothold in the church in the mid 1800s.)
But what really got me about the story was at the end when he has the girl read Romans 14:23 and concludes that if you believe in your heart something is wrong then you shouldn't do it.
I thought that was ill advice. Our hearts are very deceptive and only God knows the true intent of our hearts at times, even more so than us. If we follow that, I think it could be dangerous. Our choices should be checked with scripture, not based on if we think something is right or wrong in our hearts. Sometimes our "gut feeling" can be wrong. I know it has for me, if I am completely honest.
And the question is can a Christian do or not do something they believe is right in their heart and still be wrong? Well, I absolutely think so. A lot of people defend their behavior by calling it a "deeply held religious belief." But those are not always Biblical. https://revolfaith.com/2014/10/18/your- ... -biblical/
And I think that's pretty much the message of the episode. And then they take the verse in Romans out of context to support that view.
Ok, it's a kid's series, I know. And maybe I am reading too much into it, but it does appeal to a lot of adults, including myself. And I am disappointed when the show misses the mark, as this one did.
And I guess there are enough controversial topics in this post, but I hope it doesn't turn into a controversy. From the other threads I've seen here, I think this is a good place to open the discussion. I know people will respect others even if they disagree here. And please be respectful even if you disagree!
Here is Romans 22-23 in context: Cultivate your own relationship with God, but don’t impose it on others. You’re fortunate if your behavior and your belief are coherent. But if you’re not sure, if you notice that you are acting in ways inconsistent with what you believe—some days trying to impose your opinions on others, other days just trying to please them—then you know that you’re out of line. If the way you live isn’t consistent with what you believe, then it’s wrong.