Right Mind

We just went to see Oceans, the Disney film released for Earth Day in the form of a wildlife documentary. Like March of the Penguins, Oceans is actually a French Film – I assume just picked up by Disney for promotion. And, like March of the Penguins, Oceans really doesn't have the image quality you need or expect for a large screen showing. It might look fine on a TV set, but I spent the whole time squinting and shifting my head trying to see if I could bring it into focus. I dunno.. maybe nobody has told the French yet about motion picture cameras or something? Unlike March of the Penguins, Oceans really isn't very informative at all, and actually is just an unmitigated eco-leftist propaganda piece in which We, The Other Animals, are out of control on the planet – though fortunately rather laid back about it. But If there are any animals featured in the movie that you don't already know about going into it, well you probably aren't going to learn much about it from Oceans. And, frankly, it's just too long; they don't have a motion picture worth of point to it. Long before the movie was over everyone except the three-year-old was antsy and ready to go. The narration by Pierce Brosnan is OK, but many sections sounded to me like Brosnan was falling asleep as he was narrating, and with scant information that makes the whole thing rather dull.

As usual, Disney has rather low standards in film making and has fulfilled them in Oceans, although I will admit that it does show a great diversity of marine animals.

I'd rent the BBCs Blue Planet series instead. Without a doubt it has its own share of eco-leftist and darwinistic propaganda as well, but Blue Planet is actually informative, and interesting, with great footage, and is well narrated by David Attenborough.
Also, you can hit pause whenever you've a mind to.


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The highlight of this excursion for me, however, actually took place in the hall outside as I waited with the children for all the unforgivably trashy theatre advertisements and previews to finish. Just down the hall another screen was showing Diary of a Wimpy Kid. After watching a few parents lead their children down the hall and into that door, our twelve year old daughter turned to me and said, "I don't see how anyone in their right mind could take their kids to see that." Quite right.

"They're not in their right mind," I replied to her, "as people generally aren't, including us." She looked at me a bit puzzled. "That's why the scriptures say you need to have your mind renewed by the washing of the water of the Word. Our minds have been defiled by the things in the world."

It was just sheer instant revelation out of the Word in that moment, and as we stood there waiting I looked deeper and deeper into it. Our minds have been defiled by the things of the world, and the scriptures even say so in a certain place where it says their minds and conscience are defiled, and so we all are until we come to Christ. But coming to Christ doesn't immediately rid us of the defilement; it is an ongoing process which is why there is washing. As I stood there in the vacant, surreally lit hallway with our children, peering into the things of the spirit, I could almost see a human brain stained with black grime, and deep in the recesses of the cranial folds dark stains that were extremely difficult to reach: but of course it is the mind that is defiled, not the brain. Scripture talks about us having the mind of Christ, and I have even heard this taught as referring to the intellectual capacity of Jesus' brain; but the Scriptures aren't talking about the Brain of Christ or His Intelligence, as though Jesus were some brainiac superhero. It's talking about the Mind of Christ. And I now saw so clearly that the wonderful thing about the mind of Christ is that His mind was not defiled like ours all are. Unlike our minds which have been defiled from early childhood, He, being God in nature, the Prince of Life, was not defiled in His mind though raised up from infancy in this world of death and decay. Now that is a mind-blowing miracle all by itself. But having freed us at the cross, He made a way for we of defiled minds to have His mind, undefiled; partly from the work of the Spirit, and partly from the continual washing of our minds in the Word – if we let Him keep washing!

As children of sin, raised in a sin-sick world, from an early age our minds are defiled by those around us, even our own parents, who defile our minds with unrighteous anger, ungodly ideas and various forms of abuse. Unclean spirits defile our minds with unclean thoughts and suggestions, and we defile our own minds by sins that we commit and ungodly choices that we make. Our minds are defiled from infancy. Our minds are defiled by some vile and grotesque saying overheard from strangers, or from our own loving grandparents. Our minds are defiled by the things we hear and see on radio, music, TV, movies, magazines, and books. When we talk about our children seeing so many thousands of murders on the TV by such-and-so an age, we are talking about their minds being defiled. When children are playing video games with violent or sensual content, while the parents assert that their child "knows the difference between reality and make-believe" their minds are being defiled. Daily in the retail stores our ears are filled with songs that are looked at as 'oldies', and therefore socially acceptable, but rife with all kinds of suggestive and carnal lyrics. The constantly-on television is like an open sewer pipe pouring filth into the living room, defiling the minds of parents and children.

Magazines lie in wait for us at the Walmart checkout lines to defile our minds, because the defiled minds who make them know that they can get your money from you if they can defile your mind with their wares. Women of defiled minds walk through the stores like predators seeking to defile the minds of men and boys with their cleavage and sensual clothes – including a great many 'Christian' women aren't even afraid to walk into 'church' that way because the defiled 'churches' won't do anything to stop them. Men, women, teens and children, and even Youth Pastors, their minds defiled, walk through the stores with t-shirts full of imagery of death and skulls and Harley-Davidson girls and insane clowns to defile your mind.

Children defile each other calling out names, and insults, and sing-songs.

A Christian woman defiles a whole classroom, fulfilling the new curricula involving cucumbers and prophylactics rather than risk her cherished job as a teacher.

A young man, careless of his committed wife and needy children, walks into a nude entertainment club, and walks out as traumatized by what he has seen as if he'd witnessed a murder, as if he'd committed a crime with his own hands; hands and knees shaking; his mind defiled.

"Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts."


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Titus 1:15 To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled.

Psalm 19: 8b,9a The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever.

Romans 12:2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect will of God.

Ephesians 5:26,27 ...that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing-of-water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious ekklesia, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.