When you get a wake-up call

I’m mulling over lots of things today as I clean bookshelves and re-order the movies, dvd’s and cd’s. The dust on some of them gave me a bit more necessary information when I questioned: Do we watch this anymore? Did we ever watch this? And, as always, I walk down memory lane when I go through belongings I haven’t looked through in awhile. Today’s purging of outdated or unused materials is absolutely nothing at all compared to the great purge of sixteen years or more ago. At that time we made, for all intents and purposes, a virtual clean sweep of practically all the movies and music we owned. Really… and that day has been etched in our family’s history as: The Day Daddy Went to the Dump.

So I came downstairs to get a cuppa tea and write some notes when I happened upon an email from Vision Forum.   And after reading it I was left pondering several things – one, our departure from most all things Disney happened a couple of years before The Day Daddy Went to the Dump time period of our lives.

We had been to Disneyland the year before and came home with the overwhelming thought: hey, that place is not right… the whole premise is deceptive – but it was so fun – or was it?  Anyway, then it was around that time that The Little Mermaid had come out and in the stores were all things Mermaid.  And we got to thinking… is this what we want to say and do? Is this the right message?  Is this the right anything?  I will never forget Wes walking by the television set where The Little Mermaid was playing and he heard, at that moment, the intro to the movie:  “Ariel, the rebellious teenager…”   And at that moment, he said. “No.”  He did not want our daughters dressing like that, talking like that, looking like that, acting like that or —thinking— like that.

Those were hard days.  Hard days that were worth every heartache, misunderstanding, expense, etc., etc.  Because those days were the shaping of our family.  It was as if, in those days, a stake was driven into our family’s foundation and history and it was the ‘day of decision’ — one of those days where we said, from here on out, we are going to follow the LORD in what we say and do and what we see and hear – and it’s got to line up right.  We had been walking with the Lord and were believers, but I think we had allowed too much of societal norms to shape our home and teaching of our children.

Looking back now, I wish we had said more, done more, thought more, acted earlier on many things — one of which was the catastrophic influence of:  most all things Disney — even though I agree wholeheartedly with the “Examples of Good” in the following list I’ve quoted below.

But I think the whole “Disney issue” that people deal with now is much like other issues Christians face… we often wake up and smell the coffee quite awhile after it’s been brewed and quite awhile after it’s been cooking on the hotplate of the coffeemaker.  It’s often not until the smell of scorched coffee starts to assault out senses that we say – wow,  we can’t drink that!  I know, coffee’s a pretty bad analogy. But the point can be seen.

Think of all the things that you, now as a conservative Christian, may have, at one time or another, not been too offended about.  Okay… take music or movies or dress or dating, or public school or birth-control or careers vs. ‘staying home’ or college away from home or whatever… what was passable or acceptable or even just accepted is now questioned in light of Scripture. I guess that’s really why I take such a hard stand and will continue to take such a hard stand against the merry-go-round of the meet-your-felt-needs- and the entertain-you-to-death church  trends  of the last 10-15+ years. It’s why I write about the things I do – because things are so subtly slipping into our homes and lives and they are really off — they are really contrary to the Word of God.

It’s not until that reality strikes believers in the face that decisions are reevaluated or wake-up calls are heard.   Just watch, it will not be too long before more in the church say:  Hey, this mysticism, this relativism, this conversation, this revisionist writing of the Bible, this carnal teaching, this denial of the omniscient, inerrant, omnipotent, Triune God…. wait, this… this… this just isn’t right.   When did this happen?   How did this happen?   And by then the church will have been carried away with all of that and more for  years.

Just consider the abortion industry. It was well into the practice that the wake-up call was heard – and believers began to gasp at the horrific atrocity of the death of innocent unborn babies and the highly profitable abortion industry. Things go on and people are told to mind their own business, don’t offend other people, don’t say things that will rock the boat. We’re told or conditioned to just be quiet and let people do what they want even though… well, you know… you and I don’t do those things… it’s not really for us to judge. and on and on.

I think that’s what’s gone on with the Disney lie all these years. And now, people are waking up to the fact that Disney, generally speaking, has been a promoter of all sorts of things that have become foundational teaching diametrically opposed to the Word and Way of the Living God and, subsequently:  society, traditions and cultural behaviours have been not only accepted, but endorsed as right or good.  And fun – because it’s… just Disney.

So, this from The Vision Forum… read more here. This is an excerpt from the letter I just received:

“Evaluating the Disney Legacy

These messages examine the Disney philosophy of filmmaking, the history of the Disney empire, and the impact of Disney’s many innovations on film and culture. Also included is an analysis of the philosophical and theological perspectives often presented in Disney’s children classics, both for good and for evil.

Examples of Good

· Walt Disney’s personal emphasis on the family as a basic unit of society.

· Appreciation for science, investigation, exploration, and innovation.

· Cultivation of virtues of heroic boyhood.

· Gratitude for the American legacy of freedom.

Examples of Bad

· Moralism without sound theological foundation.

· The “cutification” of witchcraft and evil.

· Reliance on pagan myth and fantasy, rather than biblical icons and worldview.

· Promotion of Darwinian evolutionism. “

Just think of situations where Disney has infiltrated or formed your thinking… you may not even realize it, but you might say, noticing the lateness of the hour: O, I need to leave… or O, the clock’s about to strike twelve, I’d better leave before I turn into a pumpkin.

But more, and probably worse, is that many of us have said, O, it’s okay, it’s a Disney movie… it’ll be okay. Disney used to be synonymous with family friendly. But was it really?