Gregory Scott

False Oaths And Lifetime Scholarships

Perhaps you saw the story yesterday. Faisal Shahzad, the Muslim terrorist who tried to set off a bomb in Times Square, was sentenced to life in prison. When I read it, I had two concerns.

The judge asked Shahzad about the oath of allegiance to the United States he took when he became an American citizen. Shahzad’s answer, “I did swear, but I did not mean it.”

I suppose this means we now have to hire more INS agents to attend swearing-in ceremonies to ensure immigrants don’t have their fingers crossed behind their back when they take the oath.

The other concern had to do with the sentence: life in prison. Does the irony occur to any other Americans that Shahzad tried to kill you, and now you get to pay $23,000/year for the next 50 years to incarcerate him? He breaks the law and now he’s on scholarship for the rest of his life.

This irony is apparently not lost on God because His solution makes a lot more sense. I’m not referring to capital punishment, although that is a small part of it. Tune in tomorrow and I will explain. GS

Practical Evangelism Tips From The Parthenon

When the Apostle Paul arrived in Athens, he probably didn’t know what to expect. Yet, it wasn’t too long before he had led an Athenian Supreme Court justice to the Lord and others as well. (Acts 17:34).

If you are a Christian, here’s four things you can learn from Paul’s success in Athens that will make you more effective in sharing the Gospel. (Acts 17:16-34).

1. Be Observant. Paul was observant. He observed the Athenians’ culture and religious practices. (Acts 17:16, 22). This gave him a place to start when he began sharing the gospel with them.

2. Be Relevant. Paul was relevant. When speaking to these Greeks, Paul quoted from Greek poets: Epimenides ( v. 28 — “…in Him we live and move and exist….”) and Aratus (v. 28–“For we also are His offspring.“). Paul was well-read and knew the Greek culture. Consequently, he was able to connect with his audience and draw them in.

3. Be Provocative. This doesn’t mean to be rude, but you shouldn’t be shy about challenging belief systems and provoking people to reexamine their faulty worldviews. Paul told the Athenian Supreme Court he knew the God they worshipped in ignorance (v. 23) and that God did not dwell in their temples (v. 24). He said this with one of the most famous temples in the world–the Parthenon, the temple of the Greek goddess Athena–just a few hundred yards away. Pretty provocative.

4. Be Attuned. To your audience, that is. When standing before the Areopagus, Paul knew he was speaking to judges, so he talked to them about judgment (“…He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world…”) and evidence (“…having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead”), two things–judgment and evidence–judges know something about. (Acts 17:31).

Do you do these things? I’m interested in your comments on any experiences you might have had. GS

Movies For Teaching Worldview

When the Apostle Paul preached in Athens, he quoted Greek poets. (Acts 17:16-34). Paul was trying to connect with the Athenians by demonstrating he understood their worldview and using that point of connection as a segue to the Gospel.

In the United States movies, not poetry, are the prevailing cultural medium. That’s one of the reasons the wife and I are avid movie-goers. We want to understand the worldview of the prevailing culture so we can be more effective in sharing the Gospel.

With that, here are five movies one could use to teach a Sunday school or small group about worldview and modern culture.

1. Crimes & Misdemeanors (1989). In this movie, writer and director Woody Allen asks the questions, “If on earth evil is not punished and virtue is not rewarded, is there really a God and how should we then live?” It’s a common question, for which Christians should have an answer. This movie was nominated for 3 Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay (Woody Allen), Best Director (Woody Allen) and Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Martin Landau).

2. Unforgiven (1992). Clint Eastwood directed and starred in this anti-western western, which is a rebuttal to westerns where it was always clear who was the good guy and who was the bad guy. In it Eastwood asks, “What is the true nature of man?” Again, it’s a legitimate question. Do you agree with Eastwood’s answer or does Christianity provide a better one? This movie won an Academy Award for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Gene Hackman) and Best Film Editing.

3. Up In The Air (2009). George Clooney stars in this movie, which pits man’s quest for career success against his need for true community. I reviewed the movie here in a previous post. This movie was nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (Jason Reitman) and Best Adapted Screenplay (Jason Reitman/Sheldon Turner) and Best Actor in a Leading Role (George Clooney).

4. Match Point (2005). This is a Woody Allen movie that explores the question of whether our lives are determined by chance. Allen is one of my favorite filmmakers because he asks all the right questions and mixes in enough humor to make the discussion entertaining and profound at the same time. Unfortunately, Allen has all the wrong answers. This movie was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (Woody Allen).

5. Burn After Reading (2008). This movie is from Joel and Ethan Coen, who like Woody Allen, ask the right questions, make you laugh, then suggest the wrong answers. Don’t let the humor in their movies mislead you though because they ask serious questions. Burn After Reading suggests our lives are guided by chance and if there is a God who sees all, he is just a spectator.

By suggesting these are good movies for Sunday school or a small group, I’m not suggesting they are rated G. If they were we wouldn’t be talking about using them to understand the prevailing non-Christian culture. You will have to decide how much to show and appropriately warn those who choose to watch them. They are instructive, and those Christians who are prepared to respond to the serious questions they posit will be better equipped to expand the kingdom of God in their sphere of influence. GS

Visible Evidence Of The Invisible

As a trial lawyer, I make my living in evidence. So, when I ran across this passage this morning it immediately caught my attention.

Jesus has just told a man his sins are forgiven. The Pharisees, knowing something about theology and realizing only God could forgive sins, quickly understood Jesus had just impliedly claimed to be God. Jesus understanding what the Pharisees were thinking, called them on it and said,

“Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins–He said to the paralytic–“I say to you, get up, pick up your stretcher and go home.”

(Luke 5:23-24).

Jesus understood the Pharisees were questioning His authority to forgive sins. Authority is something you cannot see. You can see symbols of it–a badge, a uniform, a seal–but authority itself is unseen.

Jesus could have told the Pharisees to accept on blind faith that He had the authority to forgive sins. Instead, Jesus offered them something more–“But, so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…”–and then gave them visible, tangible evidence of His authority by healing the paralytic.

Pretty good evidence. GS

The Poison We Drink

I was in a consultation recently with a client who was having a problem at work: a coworker had been rude to her, outrageously rude. The client complained to human resources, but they didn’t do anything, and she was determined to continue pursuing grievances until the rude coworker got what she deserved.

I could see what was going to happen because I had seen it before. I tried to convince her that unless she let it go, her continued complaints would make her the problem in the eyes of her employer and probably cost her her job. She said she realized that but she couldn’t let it go and wouldn’t, even if it cost her her job.

This is a situation I see more often than you might think, and I’m a lawyer, not a psychiatrist–people willing to lose their jobs because they are unwilling to lose their unforgiveness.

There are a handful of scriptures that have always troubled me. They are warnings that are not obscure or ambiguous, and while some people try to give them a more benign spin, I’ve always thought it safer to take them at face value and heed their warnings. Blasphemy against the Holy Spirit is one; the narrow gate is another. And then there’s this one: “But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matt. 6:14-15 NIV). Jesus said it, so I think we can bank on it being true. But how do you do it?

The key is realizing that unforgiveness is not an act of reason, but emotion. We consider our unforgiveness is a rational attempt at justice, but it is actually irrational. Think about it, whom does your unforgiveness upset more, the person who wronged you or you? Duh. As it has been said, “Unforgiveness is the poison we drink hoping another will die.” That’s how irrational it is.

Moreover, unless you are perfect, you will make a mistake and hurt someone someday, if you haven’t already (and I’m confident you have, as we all have). Would you deny another the same forgiveness you covet when you are the perpetrator? Is that rational? Double duh. Unforgiveness is not just, and it’s not rational. And if it’s not rational, that just leaves emotion.

So don’t drink the poison. GS