You lied to me by telling me the truth?

In the movie Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides there is an amazingly perverse but true to life conversation. I quote it below but it can also be read here or heard at POTC: Angelica lies to Jack by telling him the truth.

Angelica: I need years, Jack. Not for me. For my father. I am truly the daughter of Blackbeard.
Jack Sparrow: You've fallen for your own con, love.
Angelica: No. He is my father. The lies I told you were not lies.
Jack Sparrow: You lied to me by telling me the truth?
Angelica: Yes.
Jack Sparrow: That's very good. May I use that?
Angelica: I'm sure you will anyway.
Jack Sparrow: Mmm, of course I will.

Another quote reflecting perverse reality is when Jack says: “The Black Pearl in a bottle? Why is the Black Pearl in a bottle?”

If one desires it can be heard at: POTC: Ship's in the bottle .


It is astounding to realize how often the truth is misused in the manner that Jack discovers through Angelica’s use of the truth to deceive him. When the truth is spoken apart from its context it misleads and deceives. When the truth is spoken in connection with people’s false presuppositions so as to allow them to form their own conclusions regarding the statement based upon their false presuppositions, deception is the result. This is true also when a false presupposition is first stated or alluded as truth and then the true statement is made.

The devil boldly attempted this with the Lord Jesus. It worked on other humans with great success. But Jesus is the Truth. The Truth cannot be deceived or overcome by misuse of true statements. The Truth is more than the sum of the many and various articles and particular true statements. And so, Jesus did not argue with the devil. He did not try to prove the truth. He simply countered the misuse of a true statement with another true statement that showed the false and wrong use of the first statement. (Matthew 4:1-11)

If the first Adam had done this, his wife would not have been deceived. Instead, he stood by and allowed her to defend the truth with her own reason. He listened as she added to the Word that he had taught her and did not interject with a loving and gentle corrective. Good intentioned people have added their own presumptive reasoning to the Word ever since. Once this occurs, the Truth is lost to them and they move ever farther from it in their own deluded perception.

The woman, whom her husband later in the loving response produced by the Gospel renamed Eve, or Life, imagined that she had to overcome the misuse of God’s Word with additional requirements or restrictions. The devil spoke the truth deceptively. God did say not to eat of every tree of the garden, but He did not say it in this way. Moreover, by presenting it as a question, the devil craftily inferred that it was something to question. He challenged the woman’s understanding, to which she responded defensively rather than simply responding in faith. She could have simply responded saying: “Yes. That is correct. He told us not to eat of every tree. The one tree is not for us to eat.” But instead, she decided to add an additional restriction, she added that God said that they neither could touch it. Once she made this false addition, she was no longer protected by the Word of God. Now she had begun to rely upon her own self and her own reason.

Notice that the devil did not come to tempt the Man, but the woman who heard the Word through the Man. Moreover, the devil did not present his temptation directly as an mighty angel, but through a lesser creature, a very beautiful creature, one that would not have caused alarm. This was one of the creatures that Adam named, one that had been placed under Adam’s province. Through it the devil could speak without being obvious. A simple question coming from a lower creature would not seem out of place., especially since this command was not given to the lower creatures but only to Adam and all who were generated through him and of him.

In the movie Jack Sparrow says: “The Black Pearl in a bottle? Why is the Black Pearl in a bottle?” If Adam had known who was in the serpent, he would have asked what an angel was doing in the serpent. Jack is a wicked man who surrounds himself with deception and acts deceptively and wickedly. It is no surprise that he would encounter a deceptive use of the truth and then want to use make use of that himself. Adam was innocent and naive to such things, yet once he became a son of the deceiver, he, too, turned to more deception, trying to hide his nakedness, that is, his openly manifested sinfulness, with inventions of his own, namely, fig leaves sewn together.

The Truth, spoken honestly and forthrightly, ends the facade. It shows God for who He really is, and in contrast, sinners for who they have become. The Truth shows the depths of God’s love, how far it reaches, how far it moves Him on our behalf. His sunshine does not shine only for believers, but for all. His rain falls upon both as well. He came to the world, born as a man, to give Himself to us and for us, taking our sin and our consequences. He rose again with the same humanity still as His own, so that the renewed relationship or communion would be absolute. He established His Church so that this Truth would be proclaimed and received. Through His means of grace administered in this Church people continue to be called out of the darkness into His light of forgiveness and restoration and healing and peace.

The devil hid himself in a creature in order to deceive. The Lord manifested Himself in Jesus to make the Truth known. The devil continues to deceive through convincing mankind that the truth can be found through a microscope and through conjecture. The Lord comes to us visibly as a man and openly declares the Truth, leaving no room for conjecture. And to those who hear Him and are moved to believe His Word again, they find that things really are just as they have been told.

      And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

+ + +

Once upon a time . . .

“Once upon a time . . .” Isn’t this how the innocent and wholesome stories are supposed to begin?

I remember, once upon a time, when the movie industry and TV producers insisted that their movies and TV shows and advertisements merely “reflected” society and did not shape it or define it or influence it or inspire it.

These statements were made in response to concerned citizens and especially those who called for boycotts against certain programs and movies.

I don’t know whether any thinking persons actually believed this propaganda, but it was nevertheless what the media elite claimed and propagandized. While they continued “reflecting” the “societal norms,” society and its views and perspectives and ways did most certainly change dramatically.

Now the movie industry in particular is making a different claim. Now, as The Film Foundation is seeking donations and support for the restoration of old films, now they say something else than what they previously claimed. Now, in the preview and advertisement portion of DVDs they are presenting a video saying that films have had much more influence.

The following is a snippet from this new propaganda produced by The Film Foundation. I decided not to include any sound, and to let the primary message be viewed. Watch for the three areas of influence that the media elites now claim:




So, what three things does The Film Foundation now claim that movies do and accomplish?

Wow! So movies and the media do impact and influence and change the views of people after all. So the violence and the sex and the alternative lifestyles and the theology and the immorality and amorality and the acceptance of divorce and promiscuity and the cursing and the foul language and the taking of the Lord’s name in vain and the mockery of Christians and the Christian faith all do influence and define us after all.

And what do we have now that we did not have before? Have things improved?

Are people living happier lives? Are families more stable? Have addictions to tobacco and alcohol and drugs ceased to enslave people? Have child abuse and spouse abuse disappeared? Has the rate of suicide declined? Have people been filled with hope? Has depression become less of a problem? Has the threat of terrorism diminished? Has worldwide hunger been eliminated? Has peace filled the world? Is the Middle East at peace? Has the economy stabilized? Do we face less debt? Do we suffer from less daily stress in our lives? Are people kinder and gentler and more compassionate and charitable? Is there less threat of violence in the public schools and in our neighborhoods?

Wow! So movies define us. Movies inspire us. Movies are what we dream of.

Thanks Clint! You’ve done a great job! Thanks Scorsese! How can we ever repay you?

I pray that you do not receive the payment that you have earned for yourselves.

God grant that you repent of your definitions and inspirations and hellish dreams and nightmares so that what you deserve may be forgiven you. God grant me the heartfelt desire to turn from your promotion of vengeance and self-justice and violence and unbridled lifestyles and self-defined moralities. God grant you freedom from these as well so that we may embrace one another as true brothers and share together in the everlasting joy of His peace and mercy and love.

Yes, this is a genuine prayer and not mockery or sarcasm. This is what the Lord Jesus teaches His disciples to pray continually, especially in the Our Father.

Of course, the movie industry has not forced anyone to watch their movies. They have seduced people and people have been willingly seduced. How many of us who claim to be disciples of the Lord Jesus and members of His body willingly pay to watch movies and TV programs that we know are contrary to His will? How much of our lives do we devote to this so-called entertainment? Has this influenced the life of those calling themselves Christians? Has this influenced the activities of the churches? Do the churches stand apart as lights on a hill or do they imitate the media and incorporate their ways, seeking to lure and seduce people rather than unabashedly preaching the Gospel?

Do Christians need to hear the call to wake up and stop sleeping? Do Christians need to check their lamps for oil and trim their wicks? Are we allowing ourselves to be lulled into spiritual slumber? What things in our lives are defining us and inspiring us? Of what things do we dream?

† † †

Kick Boxing & Martial Arts for Sport

How many movies in the last 40 years or so have featured some form of martial arts activities? How many of these have shown the martial arts as a form of discipline for children, teenagers, and adults? How many have shown the martial arts as a desirable and beneficial form of exercise and physical and mental and emotional and even spiritual health development?

Of these, how many have shown what I encountered today?

Today, in conversing with a gentleman regarding a limp that he displays, which I assumed was from a recent injury, he informed me that he had healed of that injury but was limping on account of a much more serious injury that he received 24 years ago. He said that in the cold and wet weather, like today’s weather, he limps due to the lingering pain of a broken neck.

He explained that he was once the state champion kick boxer. In one of the competitions he missed blocking a kick to the side of his head. The result was a broken neck and a long hospital stay. Additionally, he continues to suffer the long term affects of the injury.

It amazes me that the same movie producers who bombard us with propaganda against smoking tobacco, nevertheless promote the martial arts, not to mention also showing in many of their productions heros or other characters who smoke.

What amazes me even more is that knowing the fraud of the movie producers, I continue to help to make them wealthy and enable them to continue in their fraudulence by renting their movies. Who is really the bigger hypocrite? Does it matter? Hypocrisy destroys the practitioner. It has impact on others as well, but most especially is the hypocrite brought low by his hypocrisy.

My dollar for old movies and my three dollars for new releases really have little impact on society. Many hypocrites together, however, change the world for the worse. Each of us imagines that our hypocrisy is insignificant, but Adam’s hypocrisy killed the entire world. Those of us who continue in hypocrisy in any of the activities of our lives, do cause harm, first to ourselves, and then to those who are either influenced by our lies or are directly affected by their effects.

I wonder whether the man with whom I spoke today would have pursued a broken neck via kick boxing if hypocrites like myself had not helped to glorify this so-called sport. Hypocrisy in matters of the faith cause harm of even greater degree, of everlasting consequence. But it seems that in the matters of greatest consequence we seem to apply the least degree of concern.

That does seem odd, even tragic, doesn’t it?

† † †