At first when I saw this video called "Retooning the Nativity" It made me ask "What is your point in this?" You may ask the same question. But as you go along with the story, you will see what was really being pointed out. And what was it all about? .....
It's about Jesus....the One who is called Emmanuel "God is with Us". Let us not forget Him in our lives.
1 comment:
Hi Valerie,
While I can certainly see where the producers of this video are trying to go with this, it appears that they don’t see its end as clearly as they think they do!
Indeed, it is important for us to see the ‘big picture’ here, which is this: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 NKJV) Of course, this point was made in the video when it was said, “Even when all the man-made traditions are stripped away the eternal truths still remain”. And I fully agree with this! But are the man-made traditions being removed or is the truth being compromised to keep them in tact?
Listen, if we are going to see the ‘big picture’ for what it is, then it is also important for us to get the details right, as without the details we could fail to see the ‘eternal truths that still remain’ as they are intended to be seen. And if we can't see things as they really are, then how can we be sure we are looking at the ‘big picture’ aright, or even the ‘right picture’ for that matter? In other words, how can we be sure that we are not being led down a path that leads to a destructive end? And how can we be sure that we are holding on to ‘the eternal truths that still remain’ rather than a heap of lies?
Now then, at first this is the point that I thought he was endeavoring to build up to as he was disclosing the errors of a false tradition; but then he took a subtle turn in the wrong direction when he began to use the, ‘whether it is this or that’ expression, as if to imply that it really doesn’t matter what it really was or is, but that all that matters is what it points to. Hence, those man-made traditions which are nothing more than lies simply aren’t that big of a deal because they are not that far off from the truth.
Well, if it isn’t that big of a deal to make such compromises, then what sense was there in God giving us the details in the first place? In other words, what sense is there in having a Bible that is filled with all kinds of details about things that God wants His people to know if we can compromise the truth on a whim for the sake of upholding a false tradition that makes people feel all warm and fuzzy inside? Are we looking for facts or feeling here? Which is more important?
On the surface, this may seem trivial; however, I assure you that it is not! To the contrary, it could prove to be very harmful. You see, the devil is very good at using what appears to be a harmless error in such a way as to draw people into greater deceptions. You’ve probably heard the expression, ‘The Devil is in the details’; well, that is very true in many contexts, but when it comes to biblical truths, he works very hard to try to keep the details out of our sight, or at the very least he tries to distort them by making them appear to be trivial, so to speak.
Thus he endeavors to try to get God’s people into the habit of making small compromises here and there on matters of truth. Of course, he does this in hope to cause us to lose our sense of direction in being able to discern the difference between truth and error. In this way, he gets people to ignore the voice God and thereby encourages them to bow down to man-made traditions which forsake the truth for a lie.
Please understand that I don’t believe that those who are responsible for making this video are intentionally trying to deceive people. Nevertheless, as far as I can see, there is no denying that a post-modernistic approach to the truth is present within this video. And if you don’t know what post-modernism is all about then just understand that it has nothing to do with upholding eternal truths, but everything to do with compromising them, or moving them out of the way.
Conclusion: even though it is true that we need to see Jesus Christ as the ‘big picture’, we also need to make sure we pay attention to the details that God has given to us through the pen of inspiration. Thus we will see the ‘big picture’ clearly enough to know that it is Him who is in it and not some impostor or counterfeit of God.
After all, the details unlock meaning to what we ought to believe concerning the broader scope of things, which means they are in the Bible for a reason; and if they are in the Bible then that means they are important to God; and if they are important to God, then they should be important to us too.
Blessings to you...
Chris Esty
The Bible Post
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