Farenheit 451

"The radio is preaching the candy coated goo,
the record companies and the TV too.
No one rocks the boat,
terrified of trouble,
can't tamper with the walls of their sterile Christian bubble.
It was never your point to get people saved,
you pad yourself with fluff just because you're afraid.
I'm not afraid to point the finger now,
the choir's so used to the preaching anyhow

We're going nowhere,
and it's happening fast,
a dim future,
and a darker past.
Somewhere away from here,
from past mistakes they often learn,
at Fahrenheit 451,
you close your doors and let it burn."

These are the lyrics to a great song by Five Iron Frenzy (they are a Christian ska band with a similar style to Relient K), the song is called Four Fifty One.

I always enjoyed the song but had never really understood what it was about until tonight. I was sitting up late typing up the Ignite booklets with the ABC on. An old movie called Farenheit 451 came on. I had never heard of it other than in the song so I was curious to see what it is all about.

After watching the movie and a bit of wikipedia research I found that the movie was based on a book of the same title. The movie is set in America in the future. In the future everyone is happy and carefree but unable to think critically. Why are people like this? It is because the government is burning all the books. It is a crime to own books and the firemen (book burners) go from house to house burning anyone who has books. It is very similar to George Orwell's 1984 (the book where the idea of big brother was taken from) and V for Vendetta (which is violent so don't watch it until your my age). What all these books and movies have in common is the idea that government and society can stop people thinking by controlling them with fear and censoring what they see and hear. This is also what Five Iron Frenzy are talking about (except with a focus on the Christian world). All these stories are trying to stress how important it is to think and learn for yourself.

The world loves Christians when they look more like the world than they do like Jesus. It is very easy for us to just go along with what pop culture says. The TV has huge influence over how we dress, how we talk, what we think and what we value. Media and culture don't just inform me, they shape the way I think. Often I don't even know that I have values and thinking that I got from television or my friends. To try and think differently and critically is hard work. Sadly, deep thinking is something our culture often treats as overrated and unimportant. Fear to be like everyone else can make us ignorant of what God really wants us to do. I knew one Christian couple who didn't read the Bible because they were afraid if they read it, they might discover it is not true (to be frank a pretty dopey thought for them!). We shouldn't be afraid of the Bible, it won't fail us, in fact it will give us courage to stand up against the dumbing down of our culture. The Bible teaches us how to think God's thoughts after him, that is a high calling and one that when done can change the world.

There is no way we can live a worthwhile life if we don't learn God's will, God's wisdom and God's knowledge from the Bible. Our world is one that abandons the knowledge of God for comfort. Learning is too hard. Before I became a Christian at 16 even though my youth leader challenged me to read the Bible for myself and I never did. I knew it was worthwhile but it wasn't as fun as other things, that didn't make me think. But life is not all about comfort and fun. Learning to think is something God considers as highly important. As the Bible says:

¹ Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ² Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-3)

I haven't always got it right

Christians are to renew their minds, that is how people change. If you are reading this blog, great job! As you read, think and learn, that is how you are growing as a Christian. If you want to borrow a Christian book I have many you can borrow, they will extend you. I am sure you have a Bible (you can get it online), why not read through one of the Gospels or Romans, these books will really make you think deeply. Without such thought we will be mindless zombies following the rest of the world and not God. My vision is to see not only youth become Christians at Ignite but youth becoming mature Christians with sound thinking. Mature thinking will make you a valuable servant of Jesus and his people for the rest of your life. Not only that but it will guard your soul from the culture. The Bibles thinking enables us to challenge the culture and speak into it so that the world see we are different. I am glad we don't burn books in our culture but making them and the Bible a paperweight or making the Bible a book we never read is nearly just as bad. We need to learn what the Bible says, live it out and have the courage to stand up and say we are proud of what we believe. To keep the status quo our culture is going to threaten us with fear and entice us with comfort, we need to preach the Gospel and the unpopular new way of life it brings. If we don't learn to think and share that thinking with the world we will be going "nowhere, and it will be happening fast!" 

In Summary:

• Learn to think by reading the Bible
• A changed mind means you can challenge culture and not just be a mindless sheep
• Thinking hard is something our culture doesn't do but Christians should
• Transformed thinking is what Ignite is all about
• We need to voice the Bibles thinking to the world and not be afraid or enticed by comfort