For a seemingly short yet memorable time I taught Bible and World
History in Appalachia. I avoided showing videos except on rare occasions,
because I wanted to enhance student reading.
My common longtime practice is to have students read out loud in Sunday
school, only on a volunteer basis. When
I was teaching in the rural school, it was not voluntary. Be it in Appalachia or in a big city, I think
it is enriching for students to read.
And reading in front of peers increases confidence in public reading
ability. I have had students who thought
they could not do it, usually because they were degraded by someone in the past
when doing so, learn they can do it, and even do it well. Also, other students are more likely to
listen to their peers read, thus the students who would fail to read material
at home had the opportunity to listen to the material. Yet these teenage students in Appalachia,
like so many other places in the U.S., grew up submersed in videos, so they
always were happy on the rare occasion when I showed a video. The school had an extensive quality Biblical
video collection, and I would be less stingy on videos if I had it to do over,
because sometimes the students needed more breaks after going so strong in my
class.
So recently I was watching two old “Bible
based” movies for my own interest and also as possible Sunday school teaching
tools in the future. Turns out I will
not be using them. I am not going to become
a movie critic here, so I will not get into specifics. I will say the two movies had some good
acting and engaging scenes. Yet in my
opinion there were problems. There
happened to be common problems, such as the one was rated “G,” yet there was
some nudity I thought was purposely provocative. Yes I know that most people think I am a
prude. At least I am a cheery
prude.
The key problem I had with the
movies was the fact they all veered away from Biblical dialogue. From changing a word here and there, to
totally leaving out verses or passages, to adding dialogue not in the Bible, the
scripts, more in some places than others, started to take on a life of its own
rather than capturing the historical accuracy of the Scripture. “Artistic license” is a delicate practice
when it comes to portraying God’s revelations in Scripture.
This leads me to one point I want to
make. The story of Abraham being asked
by God to sacrifice his son Isaac always stirs my soul. Knowing now the event foreshadowed the
sacrifice by the Son of God, the story is so fitting. Yet at that time for Abraham, the command to
him could be nothing less that agonizing, which was captured in one movie. How could God ask such a thing? God speaks of humans sacrificing humans as evil in other Scripture. His command to Abraham seems contradictory. And what about Isaac? I think it would be child abuse to put a
child through such a psychological ordeal, even if he was not killed. Was God not thinking of the trauma it would
cause Isaac? I saw such trauma
dramatized in one movie, which provoked this thought in the first place.
Though God had asked the unthinkable from
Abraham, His intention was not abuse. I
believe God knew Abraham would be faithful.
Now Isaac caught on that something was amiss:
Isaac spoke up and said to his father
Abraham, “Father?”
“Yes, my son?” Abraham replied.
“The fire and wood are here,” Isaac said,
“but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?” (Genesis 22:7 NIV).
For several years, I babysat two great kids
every Thursday. And what do kids do? They ask questions, lots of questions. I would always answer the kids, even if I had
to put some answers on a kid’s level, because question asking is a crucial
part of the learning process for kids.
So that is why Isaac’s question is hard hitting for me. It is a standard question for a kid, yet the
answer could be one which would permanently damage his heart. This is why I think God knew Abraham would
stand in his faith in God. Abraham had
made mistakes, but God had remained faithful to him, and Abraham’s faith
matured to epic proportion. I add we have
an extensive explanation of Abraham’s faith from the author of Hebrews. “Abraham reasoned that God could raise the
dead, and figuratively speaking, he did receive Isaac back from death” (Hebrews
11:19 NIV). Yet in focusing on the story
itself in Genesis, the key statement in response to Isaac’s question, which
rings out with joy even over four thousand years later, is one which cannot be
omitted.
Abraham answered, “God himself will provide
the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.”
And the two of them went on together (Genesis 22:8 NIV).
This statement is a pinnacle verse, because
it shows the faith of Abraham, and it shows the faith of Abraham was enough to
console the child, so there was not trauma for the kid who trusted his
dad. And the child likewise had
faith. Isaac went on the altar, maybe a
little nervous, I would be anyway, but not in despair. Abraham said God would provide a lamb. And God did.
Jumping ahead to verse 13: “Abraham looked
up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed
it as a burnt offering instead of his son” (Genesis 22:13 NIV).
Come this spring, I will have been following
Jesus for twenty-five years. Living by
faith in our God who is Spirit has never been an easy path for me. Yet having faith in Jesus results in goodness
which consistently has brought fruit in and from my life, and the blessings
even exceed my comprehension.
Scripture clearly records how the apostle Thomas was someone
who witnessed Jesus accomplish many miracles, and yet who was cynical. At that time, Thomas would have probably brought sourness to the fellowship hall for the doughnut time. But I have
always felt bad that almost two thousand years later he still gets “doubting”
attached to his name. I try not to do
that. An apostle who did ministry work in India, and who was a martyr for Christ, he is not doubting now in
heaven. So I close with the statement of
Jesus after He allowed Thomas to put his hand on Him.
John 20:29 –
Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet
have believed” (NIV). If you believe in
Jesus, you are blessed!
Hunter Irvine
