February 2008 Archives

Rescuing the Western from Hollywood Marxists

The year 2007 was a bad year for the Western.

For the 80th annual Oscars, Hollywood bypassed the nihilistic, Marxist Western, 3:10 to Yuma (which was nominated for Best Original Score), in exchange for an even more disturbing nihilistic, Marxist Neo-Western, No Country for Old Men. It was the fourth time in the history of the Academy Awards that a Western won Best Picture. The last Western to win an Academy Award was the nihilistic, Marxist Western, Unforgiven, directed by Clint Eastwood.

And this leads us to a basic question: Can the Western be redeemed? Can it be rescued from Hollywood Marxists? After all, the Western is the most quintisentially American genre.

Keep in mind that not all genres are created equal. Horror, for example, is rooted in presuppositions that are explicitly at war with biblical Christianity, including unholy fear. Consequently, “horror” cannot be redeemed without fundamentally redefining the genre altogether. That is why I argue that “Christian horror” is an oxymoron. Attempts by well-intentioned Christians to appeal to youth by using the premises of the horror genre to communicate righteous conclusions are theologically schizophrenic and thus ill-conceived.

Not so for the Western. The heart of the Western is the notion of a morality play—good vs. evil (lawful order vs. lawlessness) with good triumphing in the end. The archetypal stage for this morality play is the untamed West.

The impact of the Western on modern film making is far-reaching. Gene Roddenberry originally pitched his television series Star Trek as a “Wagontrain in the stars.” The Western’s influence has even extended to nations like Japan where filmmakers including Akira Kurosawa have attempted to take the basic concept of the Western and build new archetypes for the genre which are distinctively Japanese in flavor.

But one need not look to space stories or samurais to witness the power of the Western. For more than half a century, this film genre has been manipulated and used to change the way we think about good and evil. The best known example of this is the Academy Award-winning film, High Noon (1952). Directed by Fred Zimmerman—a man blacklisted by the House Committee on Un-American Activities for alleged communist activities—High Noon was an allegory on McCarthyism.

Now, in this thought-provoking message, film producer Geoff Botkin and I explore the battle for the Western in light of contemporary trends and historical realities. Presupposing the sufficiency of Scripture and the authority of Christ in every area of life, we perform an autopsy on the current state of the art and answer the basic question: Can the Western be rescued from Hollywood Marxists?

This message is available between now and March 10th for an online donation of any amount to Vision Forum Ministries.

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 28, 2008 | Permalink

When life is young, every day brings an opportunity to experience something beautiful for the first time.

Hi, Daddy, watch me look through a window.

That’s my brother over there, Daddy. Did you know that?

Here, Virginia. Take some flowers. They are called tulips.

Wow. Look at these.

I love them...I mean I really love them.

They are so great, I will holler at the top of my lungs using happy baby exclamations.

Well, enough of that. Thanks for talking, Daddy.

I am off now to conquer new kingdoms. Love you, Daddy.

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 27, 2008 | Permalink

Before you spend four years and $75,000 to learn Charles Darwin’s philosophy of law, take four days to get the Founding Fathers’!

2008 may prove to include the most significant Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy of the last decade. This “election year” Witherspoon will address many of they key legal, ethical, and political issues facing the nation and the Church as America prepares to elect and install a new political regime.

The mission of the Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy is to prepare men for leadership in their role as fathers, churchmen, and statesmen with specific emphasis on providing future attorneys, civil magistrates, and community leaders with a rock-solid biblical foundation of law, jurisprudence, and the foundations of liberty. Students will spend four days studying with a distinguished team of attorneys, statesmen, and historians, and even one former state Supreme Court Chief Justice—Roy Moore.

In order to maintain a suitable, preferably intimate environment for a week of instruction and mentorship, we need to keep the classroom size somewhat limited. Consequently, space is available on a first come, first serve basis.

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 26, 2008 | Permalink

Uh Oh! Houston, we have a problem.

Lost nookie identified. Now sprint, sprint, sprint!

Decelerate.

Nookie recovery successful. Joy! Rapture!

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 23, 2008 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 20, 2008 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 20, 2008 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 20, 2008 | Permalink

July 2009 will mark two important anniversaries: The first is the quincentennial of the birth of the man more responsible than any other for the biblical reformation of church, family, and state in the West—John Calvin. The second is the 40th anniversary of the one of the crowning scientific achievements in history—the landing of man on the Moon.

Six months before the landing of Apollo 11, three men chose to dedicate yet another historic event by reading some text which would have thoroughly pleased Calvin, himself an ardent proponent of creation in six days. They read the following:

In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that [it was] good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which [were] under the firmament from the waters which [were] above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day...

The names of the men reading the passage were William Anders, James Lovell, and Frank Borman—the first three men in history to escape the Earth’s gravitational field and orbit the Moon. The crew of Apollo 8 read the passage on the eve of December 24, 1969, live from the orbit of the Moon. It was the most widely watched broadcast in television history.

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 20, 2008 | Permalink

“And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: [he made] the stars also.” Genesis 1:16

Just over six thousand years ago, the Lord God made the Moon. He made it on Day Four of Creation Week. It was given to man to “rule the night,” and to “divide the light from the darkness.” This and numerous other topics will be examined in my Sunday Sermon “The Lesser Light: A Theology of the Moon,” which is sermon number five in my study of Genesis Chapter One. The theological, historical, and scientific significance of the Moon is far-reaching, and given all that is said in Scripture about the cosmos, it is unfortunate that so little attention is given the study of the heavens “which declare the glory of God.”

The best book on the subject of the moon was written in the 1970’s by a man I consider to be one of the most important mentors in my life, Dr. John C. Whitcomb. Co-authored with Donald B. DeYoung, The Moon: Its Creation, Form and Significance is a sound presuppositionalist and historical treatise, which incorporates critical scientific data to give the reader a panoramic perspective on the theology of the Moon.

In the providence of God, my Sunday message will come on the heels of the most important lunar event of the year—a full eclipse of the Moon to occur tonight. Those of you reading this blog who live in the Western Hemisphere who can enjoy the eclipse will be able to see the “lesser light” turn an eerie shade of red.

Here is how the phenomenon works: The Sun, Moon, and Earth will become directly aligned. Because the Moon is in the cone of the shadow cast by earth it ceases to reflect the direct light of the Sun. But the Moon does not go dark. Instead, residual light which falls into the red spectrum is reflected off the Moon, giving it a copper and orange hue.

Make sure to take advantage of this special astronomical event. It would serve as a great springboard for a home school science research project. Your next opportunity to see this kind of eclipse will occur on December 21, 2010.

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 20, 2008 | Permalink

Stay tuned for an historic announcement next month concerning important and encouraging developments with the San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival, now scheduled for January 8-10, 2009.

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 19, 2008 | Permalink

..and don’t forget to visit the author’s impressive website outside-hollywood.com.

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 19, 2008 | Permalink

Hundreds of yards from the old country church building where our small congregation meets for worship each Lord’s Day, God has provided a baptismal font. There by the giant cypress trees we gather at the river to listen to testimonies of those whose hearts have been turned to the Savior. We stand as witnesses—even as our spiritual fathers have for two millennia stood as witnesses—to the baptisms of believers ready to live and to die for Christ.

Baptism by the river is one of the precious rituals of gladness in which we delight as a local body. And the entire experience fills the heart with joy—walking the quiet path to the river, children in our arms and friends by our sides, until we are all gathered at the banks where we will sing, pray, and experience the testimony of new life.

How beautiful is Christ our Creator! How precious are the many tender mercies of body life which He gives to the local church.

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 18, 2008 | Permalink

Joshua Phillips explores ocean life on a special father and son adventure with Dad.

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 18, 2008 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 18, 2008 | Permalink

“He has no enemies, you say!
My friend, your boast is poor;
He who hath mingled in the fray
Of duty, that the brave endure,
Must have made foes. If he has none,
Small is the work that he has done.
He has bit no traitor on the hip,
He has cast no cup from tempted lip,
He has never turned the wrong to right,
He has been a coward in the fight.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 14, 2008 | Permalink

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 7, 2008 | Permalink

The Atlantis launched today on its way to the International Space Station. Astronauts Honor and Providence (pictured above) were not available for the mission.

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 7, 2008 | Permalink

Since 2001, The National Center for Family-Integrated Churches has sought to encourage unity between church and home through family-integrated worship. In an age which downplays the role of fathers, we seek to encourage them to reclaim the mantle of loving, sacrificial, biblical leadership in church and home.

One way we offer help is through the NCFIC directory. More than 600 local assemblies are registered with the NCFIC database, and many thousands of Christian families have been able to use this resource as a means of locating like-minded local churches. Another way is through articles, published material, and conferences. This year we are pleased to present multiple events around the country, each designed to encourage and bless the family and the great work of reformation which the Lord is advancing through His Church.

February 8, 2008
Men’s Leadership Advance

This weekend in St. Louis, Missouri, Scott Brown will join Marcus Serven for a Regional NCFIC Conference on uniting church and family in St. Louis. How would you like to begin a new family tradition in 2008? Make it a point to get away with your sons to the Men’s Leadership Advance sponsored by Covenant Family Church located in Troy, Missouri (the greater St. Louis area). Pastor Marcus Serven has written that “this men’s conference is called an “Advance” because we are not retreating, but advancing through time with the gospel (cf. Luke 19:11-27; 2 Corinthians 10:4-6). The vision for the Men’s Leadership Advance is to educate and encourage Christian men to fulfill their God-given calling as leaders in the home, and to better prepare them to serve as leaders within Christ’s Church.”

March 7-8
Workshop in Expository Preaching, Wake Forest

The doctrine of the sufficiency of Scripture and the absolute lordship of Jesus Christ are foundational doctrines to understanding the message and mission of of the National Center for Family Integrated Churches. Both are pivotal principles around which all matters of faith and practice must revolve. Given this fact, our great desire at the NCFIC is that the people of God would be satisfied with Scripture alone as the foundation for their faith and practice. Our prayer is that present day reformers would foster a love for God’s Word by giving it the prominent place in the meeting of the church through expository preaching. To help encourage this, the NCFIC is pleased to present a Workshop on Expository Preaching to be held March 7-8, 2008 in Wake Forest, North Carolina. This special two-day workshop will include three key elements: (1) Instruction on the biblical foundations of expository preaching; (2) Demonstration of the craft; and (3) A presentation of practical examples of expository sermons. Also, enjoy personal time with the conference faculty, the people at Hope Baptist Church on Sunday, and the Scott Brown home for a Sunday afternoon of fellowship and ministry.

April 4-5
Master’s Plan for Fathers Conference, Wake Forest

The Master’s Plan for Fatherhood is a two-day workshop designed to give men a clear biblical road map for their roles as dads. As part of this two-day event, we will encourage men to actively train up their children in the ways of the Lord through biblical exposition and training in the practical matters of fatherhood. Everything in the conference schedule will work to provide fathers a practical daily road map for leading their families in life through the Word of God. Each man will leave with a theological base and written plans to guide him in his everyday life. This workshop will uniquely focus its exposition on important fatherhood passages found in the Old Testament.

May 9-10
Puritan Family Reformation Symposium, Wake Forest

J.I. Packer has said that the Puritans were the godliest generation since the first century church, for something amazing happened in the Puritan era. But when that generation passed from the scene, something of great importance was quickly lost from the consciousness of the church — the biblical doctrine of the family. Now, we believe it is time to study it and recover it and expand upon it and move forward for the glory of God. We need a reformation of biblical family life, and there will be no reformation without setting the doctrinal foundation and having the courage for a radical turning. This conference is designed to help us make progress in turning to a biblical vision for family life.

September 5-6
Church Planters’ Symposium, Wake Forest

The Church Planters’ Symposium is designed to help men review the critical considerations necessary for church planting. During this two-day symposium, we will identify the elements of biblical church life, discuss the issues and challenges and pitfalls that men face when planting churches, and discuss the things necessary to determine if or when one should plant a church. We have structured this conference to allow time for personal ministry and coaching by allocating time for discussion in each of the sessions. We have intended that this conference be helpful to assist those who are considering planting a church or who are in the midst of doing so. We trust that our format will be a helpful in your efforts for the praise of the glory of His grace.

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 6, 2008 | Permalink

A tender blessing and important responsibility shared by the families of Vision Forum Ministries is our calling to stand with brothers and sisters in prayer. One of the most common prayer requests we receive is from families who love children, and who are crying out to the Lord for the blessing of this special “reward.” In my view these prayer requests are very, very precious. We live in a world that hates life and rejects children. The deep hunger of Christian couples for more babies to love and nurture in the fear of the Lord is one of the many marks that we are the Redeemed. Below is one letter I recently received, and I am respectfully asking that today you join us in praying for them and couples like them. May God send an abundance of children.

“I wrote about a year ago, asking for prayer because my husband was going to have a vasectomy reversal. The surgery itself (by surgeons’ expectations) did go well. However it has been a year now and we are still waiting for the blessing of another child. Will you and your staff please lift this up in prayer? The sadness every month sometimes seems overwhelming. We have two daughters and they, too, want us to have a baby so much that they have been in tears when we have realized another month has went by without a baby on the way. Thank you for your ministry. Our family has grown so much and been very encouraged from the many audio cd’s that we have listened to. B.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 4, 2008 | Permalink

Never in all of man’s history has a country gained freedom by voting it in. Freedom is not a product of the ballot box.

Tyranny has a long history, and the cruelties practiced by some tyrants over their subjects present sickening reading. No tyrant ever gave his subjects an opportunity to vote him out.

How then has the change been made? By revolution? The long history of revolutions indicates that almost invariably one tyrant is traded for another, usually a far more fearful one. How then does society change?

Society changes only as the members of society change, only as men and women are regenerated by Jesus Christ. Apart from regeneration, a society can have some material progress, but no real advantage or freedom for most men as a rule. The areas of freedom have been the areas of Christian faith, and, as that faith wanes, freedom wanes.

This leads to some very important conclusions. The ballot box has a very important function in a free society, but it can never be expected to do anything more than to reflect the character, the desires, and the will of the people. If the people who vote are of weak or bad character, if their desires are larcenous and envious, and if their will be perverse and evil, the election results will merely reflect their own nature on a broader scope.

This means too that people who expect to reform the state or country by means of the vote, by elections, are headed for failure and disillusionment. Reformation must begin in the lives of the people in order to show up in the ballot box...

R.J. Rushdoony, September 18, 1971

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 4, 2008 | Permalink

It has now been several years since Vision Forum Ministries traveled to the island of Iwo Jima to chronicle the stories of our World War II fathers. Since that time we are often reminded of two things: First, the number of men still alive to tell the stories of that amazing epoch, is diminishing rapidly. Soon there will be none left. Second, even with all the publicity and documentation of the Second World War, there are still many stories left to be told, and many treasured artifacts yet to be uncovered. Today’s story on MSNBC is just one example:

MSNBC.com reports on the release of the death photo of famed WWII reporter Ernie Pyle:

NEW YORK - The figure in the photograph is clad in Army fatigues, boots and helmet, lying on his back in peaceful repose, folded hands holding a military cap. Except for a thin trickle of blood from the corner of his mouth, he could be asleep.

But he is not asleep; he is dead. And this is not just another fallen GI; it is Ernie Pyle, the most celebrated war correspondent of World War II.

As far as can be determined, the photograph has never been published. Sixty-three years after Pyle was killed by the Japanese, it has surfaced — surprising historians, reminding a forgetful world of a humble correspondent who artfully and ardently told the story of a war from the foxholes.

“It’s a striking and painful image, but Ernie Pyle wanted people to see and understand the sacrifices that soldiers had to make, so it’s fitting, in a way, that this photo of his own death ... drives home the reality and the finality of that sacrifice,” said James E. Tobin, a professor at Miami University of Ohio.

Tobin, author of a 1997 biography, “Ernie Pyle’s War,” and Owen V. Johnson, an Indiana University professor who collects Pyle-related correspondence, said they had never seen the photo. The negative is long lost, and only a few prints are known to exist.

Click here to read the full story.

“When I think about the real treasures of American history that we have,” says Mark Foynes, director of the Wright Museum of World War II in Wolfeboro, N.H., “this picture is definitely in the ballpark.”

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 4, 2008 | Permalink

2008 NCFIC Conferences On Church and Home	Various Dates	Space Available
The 200 Year Plan: A Practicum on Multi-Generational Faithfulness	March 28-29	Seating Closed
The Father and Daughter Discipleship Retreat	April 11-13	Limited Space Available
The 12th Annual Christian Boys and Mens Titanic Dinner	April 14	Space Available
Witherspoon School of Law and Public Policy	May 28-31	Space Available
The 2008 Scotland Faith and Freedom Tour	June 23-July 4	Waiting List Only
Defending the Faith Family Conference In Branson Missouri	July 15-18	Space Available
The Father and Son Discipleship Retreat	Aug 9-12	Space Available
Christian Filmmakers Academy	Jan 5-7, 2009	Early Bird Registration
The San Antonio Independent Christian Film Festival	Jan 8-10, 2009	Early Bird Registration

Posted by Doug Phillips on February 2, 2008 | Permalink