Sunday, October 21, 2012
#4 - The Gospel
THE GOSPEL – The missionaries in the film really believed they had good news – and they really believed that others desperately needed it – how do we see those facts in the film? Throughout the film, what are the ways they shared the good news (in action and or speech)? What fears did they (and/or their families) have when it came to sharing it? What fears do we have about sharing the good news? Do we actually really believe in this good news (and that others need it), and if so, what else would keep us from sharing it (beyond our fears)?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I think that the family went through more than the missionaries themselves. There was always the fear that the missionaries would not make it back home alive- and sadly, that happened. When the families of the missionaries went into the jungle, they feared for their lives. The Waodani killed their husbands and fathers! Of course they were scared!
ReplyDeleteOnce a few Waodani got to know and trust the foreigners, those few became mediators to the rest. They refused to kill besides hunting for food, and tried to convince others to lay down their spears.
The missionaries and the changed Waodani even helped the rival tribe's sick. They all came down with polio, and there was no real cure that they knew of in the jungle, they called for someone to ship out some vaccines to save the rival tribe's people from dying without knowing the truth about God.
Oops! supposed to be ; between jungle and they in the last sentence. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteImagine you go to a jungle filled with people who have an entirely different culture, language, belief, etc. Then one day you see one and they call an attack on you but you don't fight. They see this and spare you. Later you find out your father was killed by the same group who almost killed you. What would you do if you knew God's word needs to be taught to them but you have in you the hate and seeking of revenge the ten commandmenths warn against. Try filling Steve's shoes. Hard!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. I thought Steve might kill him because it was supposedly his duty to avenge his father's death. It would be so easy to just get it over with, but he chose to do the right thing.
DeleteI think this is a very important clip in the movie. You could see the the anger and frustration in Steve towards the Indian who killed his father. He was struggling with doing what he wanted and doing the right thing, but in the end, God humbled his hear.
DeleteI agree with you Patrick. It would be hard to teach God's good news to people who did something to you that you really didn't appreciate it. However even after they went back to the Waodani and continued to tell them the good news. To ever consider trying to do something even half as difficult as Steve would seem very difficult as you said.
DeleteGospel means "good news" and that is just what the missionaries are trying to teach the Waodani. Good news. I think mission work would be a very challenging thing to try or do. But that is the ultimate sacrifice which we should be willing to bear with.
DeleteI don't like posting as P.Agan, it makes me feel like a pagan.
Definitely.
ReplyDeleteI think that Steve was struggling between earthly justice and forgiving.
Patch has a great point. If you think about it, trying to put myself in his shoes, I don't know if I could have forgiven the indian tribes.
ReplyDeleteI do believe that the missionaries had some good news to share! I mean the Lord gave His son so we could live, and He's going to come back someday! I think that's pretty good news. I think a good example from the movie of sharing the good news was when the woadoni cared for the rival tribe when they had polio. Another example is taking in the indian girls (ex: Naomea) when their families are trying to kill you. Last but not least trying to help these people in the first place is big.
I also think that it's really hard to share the gospel. It gets kind of awkward trying to bring it up when people don't really know the Lord. I guess my biggest fear is what that person would think of me and what they would say to others. I mean it truly doesn't matter in the big scheme of things but it's just kind of hard to bring up.
In the movie, I think it would have been hard to teach the gospel when the people believe in other God's already. I mean they would deny everything you said to them because they already think that their god is best. It's kind of like the presidential election. Everybody already started out with their own opinions and with me, I rarely admit that I'm wrong, even if I am. People aren't usually persuaded if they already have their opinions formed. I think that's a great example of trying to teach the gospel, when people already believe in a god. These missionaries worked hard and are still working hard and many of the woadani people are starting to believe in the true Lord.
:D
If you were to share the "gospel" with any non-believer, would all those people today have a "different god?" What are the main "gods" people worship today in America? In Westminster? With these gods in mind, what are the challenges in reaching people and why do people love/worship the false gods they've made?
DeleteI don't think that all non-believers would have different gods. I was putting that in the perspective of the missionaries, when the indians believed in different gods. I also think that the spirits that the indians talked about and the idols were a big reason that many of them turned down all of the missionaries suggestions. For example: One of the idols I saw was strength. The Woadani tribe was so caught up in who was stronger that they would kill for the upper hand. They immediately turned down any suggestion to stop killing. In America, the main religion is mostly Christianity, but I guess there could be other religions such as Buddhists who worship Buddha, or Islamists. There are many more but I don't know all of them. Thanks for responding! :D
DeleteJust because the main religion is "Christianity," does that necessarily mean that the main God is truly Jesus? Is it possible that America is mostly "Christian" by name only - not be being true followers of the one, true, living God?
DeleteDoes that mean that Christians can be separated into separate religions like Catholics, or Baptists, Lutherans? I don't know how Christians can say that their god isn't truly Jesus unless they weren't Christians right? I understand your last question. We may even see that at Westminster. People pretend to be Christians but not really care about God at all. That's a great point and I didn't really think about it like that. Thanks Mr. Talley! :D
DeleteAbout the different denominations, i believe that the only small difference is exactly how the Bible is interpreted.
DeleteOn second thought, how the Bible and Faith is interpreted makes a HUGE difference.
DeleteSo does it matter if you are catholic/baptist/lutheran? Why or why not? Does scripture have anything to say on that subject?
DeleteI agree with Taylor about sharing the good news. I can't even imagine how har dit was for the missionary families int he movie to minister to the waodani people. They were putting their lives on the line to share the good news with them. THey had a lot to fear. Our fears for sharing the good news are much different then theirs. I think we tend to fear other's approval. The only approval we really should care about is God's. I think the worries of what others think of ur get in the way of us sharing the gospel.But at the heart of our fears, it's Satan. He is the true reason we don't share the good news. He doesn't want the gospel to be spread. The familie sin the movie overcome Satan and spread the news!
ReplyDeleteThat was a really good point christina! I like what you said about how they were putting themselves on the line when sharing the gospel. and yeah we do have a lot of fear in talking to people about topics such as that cause we're always worried about what people think. Just like you said the only "approval" we should care about is God's and thats completely true but I want to add a little more to that. Just as the people might have been hesitant to share the news with the Waodini people thats the same with us as sinners. We can be hesitant in many situations life throws at us, but we should find confidence in the Lord and find peace with him in all that we do.
DeleteCan we find some actual Scripture to incorporate into this conversation?
DeleteMark 16:15- And he said to them, "Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation." I have some non-christian friends and it's really hard for me to talk to them about anything religious. I think what is holding me back is what they will do. What if they don't want to be friends with me anymore? But I feel like I have it way easier than the foreigners do. Their is no language barrier between us and I see them often. Clearly the foreigners had a passion for spreading the news to people who nobody really ever hears about.
DeleteYes, I agree it's so hard to share the gospel with non christian people because we want their approval, and we want to fit in with them. But seeking man's approval is the opposite of what God commands. In Galatians 1:10 it says "Am I now trying to win the approval of man,or God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.
DeleteI think this verse says it is not easy to proclaim the gospel but we can't worry about what people think about us. We must do it.
Agreed. If we don't, we could be sentencing other Humans to Punishment in Hell.
DeleteI agree with C. Mundorf, we are afraid to share the gospel because we are afraid of what others think of us. We want their approval at all times and we all hate to be "that kid". This happens all the time in our culture, now sure you don't get physically stoned like in the Bible, but it can hurt. We are afraid to stand up to are friends because none of us wants to be "that kid" or "the party pooper". Let's say all of your friends start gossiping about one of the less popular kids in the grade, we all want to stand up to them and say "Guys we shouldn't be doing this" or "c'mon guys thats not the right thing to talk about". But none of us are actually willing to.
DeleteI agree with Julie here. I get that feeling too. The feeling of shame, and embarrassment.
DeleteMatthew 26:13 says,
"I tell you the truth, wherever this gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her." Basically, this is saying TO ME, that wherever the Gospel is preached, and whoever preaches it, will be memorized to God and he will know that she/he had done that act of kindness and goodness.
So do we find it harder to actually live out the gospel with and around the people we know then? Do you all know of any 8th grade students who are actually willing to stand up for truth - who are glad to be associated with Jesus and who openly want to be known as His followers?
Deleteyes mr tally i know a lot of 8th graders that would stand up for there believes it is very inportant to apply what you learn in bible class to life even when it hard. When God tould the diciples to be fishers of men that was very inportant because like any fisher they want to get as many fish as they can
DeleteWe see how the Missionaries wanted to help the Indians throughout the whole movie, they wanted to share the gospel with the Indians at all costs, even though they could not communicate with them. They were even willing to die, as Steve's father said before he died "We are your friends" they tried their best to help no matter what the cost. I think that this shows the bible somewhat symbolically. Jesus sent all of his disciples (The missionaries) out into a strange, misunderstood world (the Indians) to try and share the Gospel.
ReplyDeleteThe missionaries gave up so much of their lives just in order to get to be with the Indian tribe. The wives and children never knew if their husbands would come home from dinner at the end of the day. When Steve is grown up and has his own family, the tribe wants him to stay with him because he is now part of their family. Steve starts giving all of these excuses such as his kids won't ever be able to know what America's like and all of their friends are over there, and often times, I think this is what we do when we get offered something that "embarasses" us. If Steve didn't stay, he probably would of lost contact with the Indian tribe and they might of strayed away from God over time. Sacrifices have to be made for those who we love, and I think that this movie is a good example of that in every way.
ReplyDeleteThat was really god hannah. it does show how we can turn down a good thing sometimes for the wrong choice or something that may not benefit us at all. Steve made a good choice of staying with the tribe because it could also give his children an experience of a new cultural group.
DeleteI thought it was cool how in the beginning, Steve's dad would communicate with him over a speaker in the airplane, and give the good news to Steve and his mom! I think one of the fears that we as people have about sharing good news is, the fear of judgment and doubt. I think that we saw how much that the missionaries cared that we knew about the good news, because Steve's dad was screaming it through the speaker in a way that you could just tell, that her was very excited!
ReplyDeleteThat's a good point. I think just like Stave's dad was screaming the good news through the speaker, we should be screaming the good news to the world...but we don't do that very often, maybe not at all. Why? Because we are scared what might happen to us. I'm sure deep down Stave's dad was really scared, but he did it anyway, because he knew it was God's command. So, we should do the same thing, and trust that God is with you and protecting you. We shouldn't care what people think about you proclaiming the good news, because in the end they are not the ones who have given you eternal life.
DeleteThe missionaries went through a lot to try and minister the good news to the Waodani tribe. they scouted out the land for sometime in the wood bee to see what kind of people were there. they had no idea at all that they were to be killed once they landed. all the missionaries were trying to speak the good word to the people but sin took control and over threw everything. o was really surprised at how the family handled the situation strongly too . instead of wanting to kill the Wapbandi tribe they went to help them because that is what the missionaries would have wanted
ReplyDeleteI agree with you marissa. the family did handle the situation real strongly and calmly. They wanted to help others that killed their families. I know thats probably something we wouldnt do. And those are definitely ways they tried to share the good news. Nice job!
DeleteI think a lot of us are scared to share the gospel because we think that we will get judged by other people or we don't think it is "cool" to talk about it with our friends
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Egan,
DeleteI think students are afraid to show others what God can really do in their life.
I think also were afraid that the word of God will be rejected by others. Friends or stranger we definitely don't want to know that someone is "putting aside" God. On testimony we were listening on Wednesday, we heard that his brother wanted to help him get to know God. But,I think it was Mr.Bus, rejected him and moved along. His brother probably felt rejected after hearing his brother say no to Christ. Would all of us feel that way too? Every one knows that you can't force someone to believe in something. In this case We can't force others to believe in God. But we can help others know more about him. If you give them the basic things about what God can do to your life, i'm sure they'll take a second look about this" God stuff". All you can hope is that they'll know God and know the Jesus is their savior.
I would love for some of you to share your ideas about the following:
Deletea. do you want God to come up more in your friendships? Have you ever brought Him up? how'd it go?
b. do any of you actually pray with your friends? When/why? Why not?
c. we do want to "look cool?" Is being a follower of Jesus supposed to "look cool?" Explain.
Feel free to talk from your experiences and/or from Scripture on this subject.
a. I would appreciate God more if he came into my friendships, but I think i am the one blocking him out. I have tried to bring God in a conversation at a public school but the kids at that school were mostly Jewish( not saying that they don't care about God) They generally kind of wipe him off the subject. I have also tried helping a friend get to know Christ, but she's been going through a hard time and I think she's mad at God.:(
Deleteb.I hate to mean or rude but sometimes I end up forgetting to pray for others. When I do it's usually at night when I can focus better.
c. It really depends on the situation of being "cool". Is it being cool, showing others what Jesus did for you on the cross? Or is it shoving Jesus's word down their throats? It would be really cool if they told them more about Jesus and what he did for us. Also it would be even better if you can help them understand more about Him.
a. Id love for God to come up more in my conversations with my friends. I think that they would benefit from it greatly, but I think there is a reason I don't. Once when I was younger, I was at a friends house, and I wanted to ask if he wanted to go to church. He said no, I don't believe, Church is stupid. since then I've been a little hesitant to bring it up. Now I realize that this is a silly reason, now that I go to a Christian school, But I always fear what they would say. I know that I shouldn't care but its hard not to.
DeleteMr. Scott's Bible Class is finished with the project.
ReplyDeleteNot everyone is easily open to talking about God or the gospel. It's cool though to see how determined the missionaries were about telling the gospel to the Waodini people no matter what the consequances were. Even with my friends we don't always talk about God or we may not pray together but we acknowledge God in our lives. But it may not always be easy to talk about that subject or tell people about it but if it's not easy for us then we aren't really trying at all to incorparate God in all that we do.
ReplyDeleteGreat point Madi! That's how it is with a lot of my friendships too. It seems like it's not easy to just bring up faith in every day conversations. It tends to be awkward or uncommon to have a conversation about God without being in Sunday school or in Bible class. Is it because of peer pressure? Or is it "cool" to not talk about him? I haven't figured it out. I once read a devotion that talked about being a "Jesus Freak." It was about how we should always want to talk about him, and bring Him up all the time. as a Jesus Freak we should truly be excited about talking to and about him.
Deletejames 5:16 says "is anyone among you suffering? let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? let him sing praise. In some of my friendships God comes up. We are able to talk about are relationship with the Lord and I love that. But in most of my friendships he doesn't even come up. Maybe it's because I don't trust them or maybe it's because I don't try enough. I do know though that in my friendships where he does come up I'm super close with them and it's definetly bringing me closer to him.
DeleteI honstly have an INCREDIBLE amount of respect for our brothers and sisters in Christ carrying out the Great Commission. I honestly think that I am not qualified to go into another country and spread the good news of God. That being said, I believe that we have some work to do here at home. I believe that the Great Commission doesn't just apply to countries besides our own, but I think we are supposed to share it with anyone who doesn't know the good news. for example if you have a neighbor that doesn't the good news, and you feel nudged to share it, DO IT!! It may not go well but as I always say "shooting a half court shot is better than never shooting at all." So my point is that I have A TON of respect for missionaries, but we have work to do here in MO, here in St. Louis, in your neighborhood, maybe even your household. Who knows? TRY!!
ReplyDeletewe see those facts in the film when they are trying to explain that the girl is still alive and when the lower down items for them. The fears the family had when sharing good news was that they probably thought they might be killed or that something bad would happen. The fears we have about sharing good news is that we are afraid of being judged or hated. Maybe being looked at as a bragger or show off. Maybe even as a stuck up person. I do believe we believe in good news and that others need it. And what keeps us from sharing it may be selfishness.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you! I feel like the Indians just didn't want to admit that they have been wrong in their beliefs for all of these years and turn to God instead. Since they were wrong and they knew it, their hearts hardened and it got harder and harder for them to see Christ. Many times this happens to us today. People will go astray and more distant from God and it takes even harder to get back to where we were with him.
DeleteI think it's it a lot easier to admit to god of you sins than peole like your friends because sometimes when i pray to god I feel like Im more talking to god but I have a hard time saying it peron to person
DeleteThe people were scared to share the gospel because they were scared that the other people would not like what their saying
ReplyDelete