The Matrix, The Greatest Love of all, and Christmas…

I have been thinking through some things further and wish to offer this for those who would reason through what God has said about Christmas or any other matter of this sort.

If you aren’t aware yet, Mike Peters --a cult leader in Indianapolis-- and his crew have taken a number of worldly songs and applied new words and meaning to them. Though it is becoming increasing clear that what they mean within these songs is not what it seems upfront. For many who have been there before now believe that when Mike's followers speak of God or Jesus, they have Mike Peters in that place of authority in their minds. And when they speak of the Church or the only true Christians they are actually meaning only those under Mike’s legalistic thumb.

History is good and as much as we can we should be open to understanding origins of things of which we partake. Of course history is often perverted or skewed by man's views and twists, especially when they ignore all or even just some of God’s Words as they apply. So we can never base our faith on man's history but rather the complete and unchanging Word of the Living God. For man’s history will pass away but His-Story will abide forever. I personally believe that God’s Word makes it clear that He looks at our hearts and the thoughts --rather than any external appearance-- which we have in regard to all external things. And this is all judged by Him according to every Word which proceeds from the mouth of God, as this is balanced in believers by the undeniable and sound reasoning through the Holy Spirit.

What about the origin --history-- of some worldly songs with music as they are taken by Christians and transformed and converted into a whole new meanings of their own?

Please consider if this contains some contradictive beliefs which are impossible to reconcile…

Look at some of the songs that Mike Peters group use and consider their worldly carnal origins with their ungodly authors. Not just this cultic group but some free and guenuine Christians as well will accept conversion of worldly songs. Some people choose to say Christmas can not be something God gives us freedom to observe or even simply accept due to its origins, even if all the meaning a saved person has in it is nothing but pure balanced Biblical thinking in their mind. They say God says not to learn the ways of the Pagans not realizing that the way they apply this would have to apply as well in many other ways as they accept their external interpretation of this command of God. Some of these same people who reject Christmas by labeling it Pagan will use or accept a secular worldly song with carnal, evil, ungodly origins produced by unsaved people who are --as the Bible declares-- inspired and ruled by the god of this world in all of their origins. These believers will change some or many of the original words to re-decorate songs with a new meaning but then say you can’t do this to Christmas or a Christmas tree because of a manmade rule which says “off-limits here because God told me so and this makes it so” without having any valid balanced application of the Scriptures to prove this except a contorted misinterpretation from Jeremiah 10. If I wanted to be like them, I could extract some prophetic scriptures which seem to say we can not use these songs as true believers but I don't like perverting God's Word. Though these songs have the same original sound, tone, and structure in their appearance, they seem to be excusable under some different standard for our thinking. Yet, just like Christmas items, if someone never heard the songs in their original worldly or false religious origin they may have thought they were purely Christian songs --much like many think of Christmas-- from their explained meanings until someone lets them know they are “in a sense invoking the evil origins” by playing the same tune in its original appearance, even if it is re-decorated with a pure meaning by the song converters. Granted, as I have stated before, my wife and I do not like some converted songs because they can produce old feelings from when we knew them in the world before salvation. This simply means we would need a process of renewing the mind to see the good meaning in the conversion of these songs, not that we maintain the origins as inescapable. For as we are free to avoid listening to these songs --just like others are free to avoid the Christmas stuff-- we acknowledge that some Christians can find a real blessing through some converted songs which had evil origins. Jeremiah Films has a video called The Unwrapping of Christmas. Though I would agree with much of what is said there, I believe they have gone too far by seemingly indicating that Christians are doing wrong and accepting Pagan idols if they have a decorated Christmas tree set up in their house. When they imply that it is possible for a Christian to personally invoke evil --due to origins even though the Christian has no faith in such evil things, they are assuming that evil --regarding idols-- is present in things rather than where it is only possible for evil--in the hearts of people. This is so contrary to what our Apostle Paul told us when he assumed of mature Christians “we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one”. And if we dismiss what Paul said here and claim it only refers to food, and then say “but idols can exist in other ways to mature knowledgeable believers” then we are ignoring that Paul did in fact make an undeniable blanket statement within his words here regarding a mature Christian's understanding of idols. Yet these people who claim to have insight ignore this fact by implying that Christians can invoke evil without even being aware of it in such cases as the Christian Christmas traditions or who knows what other origin of something we are unaware of until it is made known. This is nothing but superstition -- not Biblical faith in the Power of God's Word which sets us free from evil faith completely and altogether.

As Jesus said to some regarding another matter of misunderstanding “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.” Though not everyone may choose to take this liberty in changing the meaning of an originally ungodly song and find that it becomes something to convey new Biblical meaning, according to God’s Word, every informed believer should acknowledge it is a freedom granted by God to those who have pure Scripturally clean thoughts in it before God’s eyes and reflect only such a meaning to others rather than some original meaning to fear from unsaved Pagans or from the perverted Catholic faith. Do you have a fear of idols OR a holy fear of the only One True God? My question has been and is: should we as Christians let a few Pagan’s ideas rule our faith OR rather God’s Word of freedom through His Power of Grace to rule our faith in matters of the mind that do not transgress the New Covenant’s moral or spiritual law? “His law is love and His Gospel is peace”, as Paul made clear in his writings, and the holy angels declared at Christ’s incarnation for those who have accepted Christ and are freed from the bondage of this world’s fears or some false form of religion. The balance is true “there is no peace for the wicked” and Jesus also said “Do not think I came to bring peace” to those who would reject His message of Salvation by HIS WORK ALONE. Kept by grace through faith, we still have God’s moral laws for keeping our minds sexually pure, faithfulness to our spouses, not lying to/about or stealing from our neighbors, and keeping our hearts free of unforgiveness, bitter hatred, or anger. And of course, spiritually speaking, keeping our eyes fixed on Christ Jesus and our minds on things above according to the New Covenant of living by faith. And we praise God forever for the unmerited mercy through Christ for sins forgiven if we fail in our part of the New Covenant as mere mortals dwelling in sinful flesh and waiting for the promised immortality at Christ’s return.

What about movies? Let us take an example of the movie The Matrix.

Mike Peters and his company, and even some well meaning Christians will look at this movie and see what they believe to be some spiritual parallels or symbolisms in our faith. Though the movies origins (screen writers/producers) are likely unsaved, ungodly, and even demonically inspired. And some ideas in the movie are from New Age, Zen, or Buddhist thinking in its origin. Consider this question and the answer given by a maker of the film we found as we researched the web:

Question to The Matrix film maker: “Did ideas from Buddhism influence you in making the film?”

WachowskiBros: “Yes. There's something uniquely interesting about Buddhism and mathematics, particularly about quantum physics, and where they meet. That has fascinated us for a long time.”

Yet, Christian believers draw from it meanings that they believe are in line with truth in our Christian faith. Personally my wife and I didn’t even like the “cleaned-up” version of the movie though I believe I can understand some of the thought processes in Christians as they look at it. We didn’t like the loose morals --which is something the NT actually does say we as believers are to avoid-- in the manners and dress of the actors. Regarding the appearance of a decorated pine tree or any other so-called idols, God did say “we know that an idol is nothing in the world”, yet He did not say there is no such thing as sexual or other moral temptations like lying or stealing or ignoring truth because “it's not really real” for Christians. I do see how a perverted mind --as Mike Peters teaches others to have-- could look at this movie and its ideas and believe they could do anything immoral they wish if they just believe right. For many of us are certain that they practice lying with no evidence of conscience, and God knows what else they practice with this? This movie is a danger for those who don’t pay attention to every Word of God to avoid the snares hidden therein. I do not care to see the follow-up movies nor do I wish to watch the first one again. But I will follow that by saying I believe it may be possible for some to see this movie and discern right from wrong as a Christian. For we are at liberty to do this --as with songs-- if it isn’t an occasion for selfish flesh or an occasion to twist the Truth of God’s Word by ignorance to fit your own agenda.

One more thought on origins. Where did you originate? What spirit were you of before God changed the inside meaning of you and presented you in the same physical form to the world as an "ambassador for Christ"? You still have the same body --just as does the Christmas tree or songs or movies-- as seen by others from when you were once dominated by the god of this world and seen in the minds of others as an evildoer. If God can change the meaning of your origin and offer to the world something different in the same physical form with a new spirit, meaning, and purpose --though others knew you at one time as a willing and practicing sinner-- why then is it so hard to believe our God can grant this freedom to His children to change the meanings of the Christmas items, songs, or movies that had evil origins but now are thought of as something different “unto the Lord”? If, in fact, man's history is accurate in that Christmas really did have an evil origin, God's History says that King David and Bathsheba's relationship was of an evil and adulterous origin, yet King Solomon was produced through them, should we discard Solomon and the words God spoke through him? For God is the God who takes what the Devil --who is under God's complete control-- originally meant for evil and uses it for good. Right? When has God stopped doing this? I believe the Truth may be --according to God’s Word-- that if you choose to keep the original evil faith in Christmas then you are near-sighted before God, for the only people who have any real faith in these idols are those who believe they exist. And Paul makes it clear that we are not to believe in them yet know that some unsaved in the world do have this false, empty, weak, powerless, and perverted faith. Or shall we say that because God judges the thoughts of the heart rather than external appearances, that we are not to follow the customs of the Pagans in their choice of thoughts for faith in the heart? Yet as it is that “this is the victory that overcomes the world even our faith” so it is that our faith has the Power of God to convert and give new life and meaning to re-decorated trees, songs, movies, and most importantly souls which had an evil origin.

I believe some Christians are like those in Jerusalem when Saul came to them as it is recorded in Acts 9:26:

“And when Saul had come to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples; but they were all afraid of him, and did not believe that he was a disciple.”
Saul had the same body of the man who wished Christians were all dead and he did possess some authority to have them killed. Naturally these unlearned Christians in Jerusalem feared Saul’s origin. They did not believe he had a new meaning to his person, a new spirit born in the same physical form as he appeared before. Yet the knowledge confirmed by one who knew Saul is a different man was enough to convince the skeptical disciples. God’s Words should be enough of a witness to Christians that it is a matter of your heart before the eyes of God in the matter of conscience regarding origins. And as Saul changed his name to Paul, so Christmas day can have a different meaning than its original Pagan or Roman Catholic name. And as it is so very true that we are not commanded to observe Christ’s birth like we are commanded to observe His atoning Death and Resurrection in communion, yet it is also very true that God never told us we are not to observe Christ’s birth at any time. Rather because it is an event that caused a great stirring in Heaven according to the Scriptures, some Christians choose to remember this around Christmas day or otherwise. And every Christian must, by virtue of Holy Scripture, acknowledge this is a fact of God’s Word regarding His Son’s human Incarnation through prophecy, its fulfillment, and the clearly outstanding event of His-Story that it was.

I do hope this reasoning together will help some to know they do not always have to remain in the mindset of thinking of origins except maybe as we think of our salvation and conversion. We know where we came from but do you want others to know you that way now? We know some people who would see us in this view of our origins as they look only at what they would say is our sin as they ignore the Power of God unto Salvation to cleanse and convert a soul. Who we were was of an evil origin but we now know who we are re-defined by God in the same body of flesh until His return. We were once of an evil origin but now we are a people known for the meaning God has transformed into us by the Power of the Truth of God‘s Living and Abiding Word. This is the True Hope and Faith we should be expressing to the world in every way possible that they too may see and know HIS POWER to SAVE and CONVERT a SOUL which is of infinately greater worth than a simple song, movie, or holiday.

May you have a new year filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Christ Jesus.

Phil 1:9-11
“And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.”

Scripture from NKJV