Monday, July 22, 2019

Movie List (to be updated)

Sometimes, I forget that I have this blog. I think I have about 8 blogs in total but Being Free is my first and main one. I posted there the other day about a couple of movies I watched. Probably would have been nice to share those here. Better late than never.

One of the best Christian movies I've seen in a very long time is called Divination. I found it on Amazon in the Prime Video section which means that, for some of us, the viewing is free. What I liked so much about the movie - though I struggled with some of the theology - was the superb special effects. The actors did a really good job and, let's face it, acting talent can be a hit or miss thing with low-production movies.







The other movie is called Let There Be Light and while it was a tiny bit sappy-sweet in spots, overall it was a good film. The acting was good and the cast included most of Kevin Sorbo's family. Here's the thing though: I have issues with the rabid support for Trump in the evangelical community. Of course, we all have our own opinions and you might disagree with me. In this movie, Sean Hannity made an appearance and it just reminded me of the whole Trump-can-do-no-wrong deal. I literally fast-forwarded through every time I saw his face. That's petty of me but... My testimony is still in progress.



When I found those movies on Amazon, I thought it was funny that I kind of had to stumble across them. Once I did, I searched out some other shows by looking at the recommended titles under those two movies. There are quite a few interesting documentaries and other shows that Christians might want to see. It's shocking how many titles I ran across. Of course, I can't vouch for shows I haven't seen but here are some that I have added to my own Watchlist:

There are so many more that it would take me days to list them all. If you want to explore for more Christian offerings in the Amazon Prime (or for rent) section, there a few ways to go about it. The description page of the videos will list Genre, Director, and Starring. You can click on any of those to pull up other videos or suggestions. If you scroll down a description page, other possibly similar or related videos will be listed. That's how I found most of the ones I listed here.

What I love is that there are not just movies for entertainment, but many teaching videos. I have watched a couple about certain books of the Bible. 

Now, I will suggest that you are always careful and prayerful about anything. When I watch movies or shows labeled as "Christian", I pay close attention to theology. Let the Bible be your guide so that you aren't ingesting bad information or ideas. 

Speaking of Christian movies, there is one that I used to have a DVD of. It was beautifully filmed and had lovely background music. It basically tells the first several chapters of the Bible through a quiet narration against a Middle Eastern backdrop. This is how IMDb summarizes the film:
A sage (Omero Antonutti) recounts biblical stories to his wide-eyed grandson and nomads around a desert campfire. 
I love that it's not like the films that don't show any ethnic realism in the casting. Again, I just can't say enough about the music. I lost my copy during one of my many moves and have not been able to find another. It was titled Genesis: The Creation and the Flood. Amazon will occasionally get a copy but they sell out fast and become unavailable. 



**Well, guess what? I just checked Amazon to get a link for this post and there was ONE copy of the movie up for sale. I'm so broke right now that I rattle when I walk, but I grabbed that copy.**

Sadly, another discovery I made while looking up info is that the writer and director of  The Creation and the Flood passed away just last year. I will update this post as I can. Maybe I will input the links for all the movies on my Watchlist one day. In the meantime...

Peace
--Free

Friday, June 28, 2019

Resources for the Learning Christian

Here are some suggested resources for anyone interested in Bible study and apologetics. I am not personally endorsing sites in particular; I provide these links as springboards to information focused on the Christian faith. I've worked on this off an on for a while and will be updating it as often as I can. Please, share and enjoy.


Apologetics & Tough Questions 



For Nerds (Sci & Tech & Gaming interests)

(By the way, the Wikipedia listing of Christians in the science arena is rather incomplete)

Social Media People, Accounts, and Stuff

Bibles and Bible Study Tools

     **Bibles & Translations**
     **Online Bibles**
     **Bibles for your phone & tablet
Blue Letter Bible


Communities and forums

Miscellaneous and random
You can also search out podcasts that deal with Christian issues. I have the iTunes app on my computer but use the Podcast Addict app on my phone. Most of the above-listed resources have phone apps. Just search the Android or iPhone apps stores. 

I have provided these links for you to peruse but you're responsible for what you do with them. I will warn you to scan everything before downloading files and programs. 


Peace
--Free


** Jewish and Orthodox Jewish Bibles (OJB) are called "Messianic" Bibles and sometimes labeled as Hebrew Names Versions (HNV).



 NOTE that I can not personally endorse all information provided in these links. It's best to check sources to see if they fit your own statement of faith. As always, be prayerful and Spirit-led when ingesting ideas and information from any source.)

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

**Cross posted** Can't See For Looking

This is a post from my other blog, but it definitely belongs here.

Okay, folks, I'm going to "go religious" on you but, hang with me because there's something in here that even atheists might like.

How do you picture Jesus? I'm sure people of all faiths (or none) would be interested in knowing what he actually looked like. I have started reading other versions of the Bible in my personal studies. This weekend, I read passages from some of the Messianic Bible versions.

Years ago, my mother regularly watched a show called Zola Levitt Presents. Every now and then, I would sit and watch with her. That was the first time I ever thought seriously about the fact that Jesus was Jewish. As silly as it sounds, up until then (and I had to be at least 22 or 23) in my mind's eye, Jesus looked like this:

That's not Jesus.
That's Robert Powell

The actor Robert Powell isn't a savior but he played one in Jesus of Nazareth. Such a beautifully done movie with an amazing cast. Before that movie came along, I had imagined Jesus looking like the classic painting that was hung somewhere in the homes of most black families. You might remember the ensemble of paintings your grandma gave pride of wall space to - Jesus, MLK, and JFK.

 However, my mind's eye (and the movie and paintings and so many church fans) got it wrong.  Jesus was a Jewish man so he most likely did not have those brilliantly blue eyes and I'm pretty sure he didn't have the whole rock star look. Looking back on that movie now all I can think is that the late Michael Hutchence would've wished to be that fine. I'm not being flip. Just look at that photo again.

According to the Bible “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.” (Isaiah 53:2 NIV) It's been opined that based on his racial makeup and manual labor occupation as a carpenter, he was probably of a darker complexion and had some sun damage to his skin. Along with the Bible identifying him as being not very handsome (whatever that means), he may have looked more like this:


Source: Popular Mechanics

That's more plausible, right?  The article at Poplar Mechanics makes a lot of good points. Our minds are so polluted with stereotypes about people that we want to think good people must be physically attractive. Just think of that so-called black doll/white doll syndrome - as true or untrue as that might be. Or the fact that attractiveness can play a huge role in our lives.

Listen, I am not pointing fingers at anyone else's ignorance here but my own. Not only did I have the wrong idea about Jesus's appearance, but I just about had heart failure when I heard the Lord's Prayer spoken in the languages Jesus used.





Uh, why doesn't he sound British!?!?!? I'm just kidding. Some filmmakers aren't kidding.

Now, it had at some point in my much younger life occurred to me that we Westerners had the wrong impressions of Jesus. And some people were just completely stupid on the subject. I can remember some kind of anti-semitic rally or demonstration taking place near wherever my family was living back in the mid-'70s. My mother and her friends stood in support of the Jewish people. What was so silly is that there were only about 6 Jewish people in that community. Maybe the racist idiots just wanted something to rally about. Who knows? But I remember my mother shaking her head in disgust at the people carrying crosses while they chanted about "dirty Jews". Much like the Klan and other so-called 'Christians' who hate just to hate or judge in hate, these people forgot, I guess, that their Savior was Jewish. (And, by the way, the saying is not "Judge not" with a period at the end. It is "Judge not lest you be judged."  People always forget that last part. So, you can judge others if you're free of sin. Anybody? Go ahead. I'll wait. I'll just be over here taking this plank out of my eye.)

My whole point is, I have never fully appreciated everything about the Lord I serve. Like most people (I'm assuming), I tend to think only in flavors I know of. Now that  I have it in the forefront of my mind that Jesus talked, walked, ate, prayed, and lived Jewish, I get it. I can see a little deeper into my study of what he said and did while on Earth.

Just like I did in seeing Jesus in my shallow and one-dimensional way, I do the same thing in other areas of my life. I have got to work on that. I need to start viewing people as they are and not how I want or imagine them to be. Same goes for life and situations in general.

One of the sayings I remember from my childhood in Texas was "Can't see for looking." It was your response when you saw something shocking and someone asked if you "saw that". I apply it to my life in other ways. Sometimes, when I make an immediate judgment about a person or situation based only on shallow information, I later realize I missed the bigger picture. Can't see for looking and sometimes, can't hear for listening.

I'm not the only one with this weakness. This is the reason that a lot of us have shallow and ever-changing standards of beauty. It's why we assume intelligence based on slick looks or words. It's why we so often don't see the full worth of people and life. We're too busy looking at the cover to read the book. Because that takes time, doesn't it?

At any rate, I'm really enjoying my Bible studies now more than ever. By the way, for those of you who may not own a Bible - or a lot of Bible study resources - you might want to check out eSword or My Sword  Both have a variety of Bible versions, concordances, commentaries, and other help. Both are free (with expanded options for purchase). I've been using eSword and I'm amazed at the number of tools available in both the app and pc versions.  Usually, when studying my Bible, I have to sit by my computer with 20 browser tabs open to all the different resources. A single app or program is more productive. Actually, the modules for the two 'sword' products are somewhat interchangeable and updates are being made all the time. Check out both no matter which operating system you use. I'm currently using eSword on both my Windows pc and Android phone. Here are the links:

By the way, there are huge selections of language options in both programs. There's a slight learning curve but, hey, I managed to figure it all out so...

That's it for now. I hope that at least some of this information is useful to you guys out there. Even if you're not "religious", information is always good to have.

Peace
--Free



Sharing a few of the songs I've been listening to this evening


Amazing, amazing, amazing grace





I have loved this song for years



Oh, blessed Prince of peace




"Stop fighting a fight that's already been won."