And the Band Played On

Recently I was given the task to sit through a docudrama called "And the Band Played On." There were some positive aspects, it was entertaining, good acting, educational and helps one understand that we all are people and we all have needs. Also, we can't just ignore others because of his or her beliefs. However, overall I was disappointed.

Concerns

Being made in 1993, it documented the beginnings of the AIDS epidemic. While the topic was interesting, I left feeling quite sad. Why? because the use of entertainment to promote a devious worldview. Here are my main concerns:

Desensitization 

The movie presented itself as a "docudrama," however, it seemed that they wanted to minimally desensitize people to same-sex relationships if not totally make it out as if one is immoral if one says it is sin.

Emotions in the place of arguments 

Since it was a docudrama, they made arguments in a  "pathos", or emotionally appealing way, to convince the listener. They sidestepped rational and moral arguments by tickling one's emotions. In other words, they circumvent the intellect via the emotions. If one is not prepared for this or has been desensitized already, one will fall pray to this rhetoric.

One sided, ungodly agenda

Third, they seemed to have an one sided agenda in both politics and religion. While some of these steps were incognito, others were quite open shots against Christianity and the "political right." This also included a number of scenes where where there was the lack of modest attire and immoral conversation. Sadly they could do this all in the name of entertainment with a dash of "documentary."

The common Joe

Regretfully, most watching this type of movie wouldn't know the difference between right and wrong, or they have been so desensitized to immorality that they have lost their moral compass. When one has a biblical truth foundation and is one who is able to see and cut through this type of  rhetoric, one is prepared for untruth and those that oppose this truth.

After watching this docudrama, one can understand the reason why those around, even those who claim to be Christian, don't follow the motto "...whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things" (Philippians 4:8). How can we change the world, and be a light and salt if we allow filthy and worldly rhetoric to be part of our lives?

Love Not the World

1 John 2:15-17 is a very important passage, it does two things, it prescribes what we should do and not do and second helps define one of the definitions of the word "world". It says the following: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever."

I see two overarching concepts here: 1) Do not love the world 2) love not the things that are in the world. Concept two is broken down into three things. The first two seem to be broken down into both physical and nonphysical lust. Jesus makes application of this in Matthew five when he talks about murder and adultery (1). The third one tells us that pride is of the world and is sin.

To have the "love of the Father" in us, we need to flee immorality. If you are not a follower of Christ, repent and turn to him. If you are you are practicing unrighteousness, turn back to Christ. Idolatry, sexual immorality, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, homosexuality, divisions and wild parties are acts of immorality. Those who do these things "will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Galations 5:19-21; 1 Timothy 1:10).


(1) Matthew 5:21-28 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift. Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. 

Ducks, Tolerance, and Persecution

In the land of the free, we have persecution. In fact it comes in multiple forms, but one main type is the putting some one down because they are intolerant. Our culture is constantly pressuring and persecuting those who do not fall in line with the status quo. It seems there is intolerance aimed at the biblical perspective.

Duck Dynasty's Phil Robertson made some observations on homosexuality. While a little crude, it was true and accurate. He used two very good lines of reasoning to tell why he does not support the act. The first one was design. Those of the same sex are not designed to have intimate relationships in that way. Jesus talks about how the first couple was designed to be male and female, they were one flesh. Second is biblical reasoning calling it sin. The Bible speaks out against homosexuality as Phil says. It is true, both Moses and the apostles wrote against it. The third line of reasoning, which he did not supply, is that the heterosexual relationships, ie. biblical marriage, is designed to biologically reproduce the next generation. This can't be done naturally with same-sex couples.

But what about tolerance, when people call for tolerance because someone else opposes their views, they themselves are being just as intolerant. The cry for tolerance in this sense is self refuting. GLAAD made a statement against Phil's statement that says the following "Phil’s decision to push vile and extreme stereotypes is a stain on A&E and his sponsors who now need to reexamine their ties to someone with such public disdain for LGBT people and families.” GLAAD demands tolerance for their views, but advocates intolerance for Phil's view.

The culture is calling for tolerance, but in the process they themselves are not being tolerant of Phil's biblical truth presentation. In other worlds, we are to be tolerant of everything except for Christian truth, in which we should intolerant. Would more Christians stand out like this guy on truth!

You will not want to miss the next posts. If you found this one helpful, you will want to keep an eye open for others. The best way is to click here, because you can get them straight to your inbox so you don’t miss out! (Click here.)