Reforming Twilight Zone?

No Other Name

No Other Name

Puritan Board Sophomore
In another thread I am on the record as stating:

"I would love for a Biblical Twilight Zone using fanciful scenarios to illustrate the spiritual longings within each and every single man, woman and child:

1) Longings that are being nourished and grown by faith in Christ for those who have saving faith or

2) a worse case where the spiritual longings become a nightmarish tormentor by objects that promise to bring fulfillment only to leave the afflicted worse off than they were before because they tried to circumvent the Gospel of Christ to fill their wants/needs."

One reply was:

"It's well-known that "Twilight Zone" is full of occult material. And those "fanciful scenarios to illustrate the spiritual longings" of humans – why bring in distinct darkness and satanic deceptions and mix it with Biblical truths?

Although I must say that this is to be expected given the increasing use of sorcery / pharmakeia – especially marijuana and other psychedelic entheogens legalized and available, and used increasingly by professing believers. We have opened the barrier between the demonic and human realms, and the influence and presence of the former is entering even the churches.

Openness to the occult is a great red flag."

While I do wish I was asked what I meant before being judged incorrectly as someone who desires to mix occult with the Bible or even being open to the occult, it is certainly a very good question to ask in light of these dark times the Church finds herself, so I will certainly take the time to reply.
 
Imagine if you will, a world so full of Scriptural truth, there exists a nation with our technological advance including TV. Imagine a narrator in suit and tie puffing on a cigar (for true superior theology could never puff a cigarette hahaha)

As he intones gravely the following scenario:

A devil looking rather human in a suit and tie overhears a girl wishing that boy across the yard would love Jesus and love her. "Ah my dear" the devil devilishly lilts. "I am your guardian angel sent from above for just such a time as this" and from his double-breasted white jacket he produces a love potion. "But this is no ancient love potion of the pagans, my dear, noooo" he coos.

"This is from heaven and will grant a double portion of the Spirit - one for him towards Jesus and most importantly, one for him towards you."

Therein lies the tale - a vineyard pre-spoiled by a fox and not a little one.

(I have more; I will back in an hour or so)
 
Continuing -

The male love interest follows her to a restaurant owned by her older brother who constantly is on her every little mistake. "You constantly drop every dish and are costing me thousands!" he roars.

"No I don't!" she fires back. "It's only like the second one this year! You just can't handle the stress of running this place since Dad died and left it to you. Don't take out your failings on me!"

She notices the male love interest saw this. He asks her out

What follows is how she is "dark but lovely" and part of her "darkness" is her impatience to get out of the kitchen under her brother's thumb. And now she leans in for a kiss, "Come take me away from all this."

But he pulls back. He was unaffected by the love potion. He already loves Christ and follows him with all his heart. Her impatience led her to fall into sin and try to manipulate events her way and in her timing.

He finds her eyes and face lovely and is willing to wait until she stops looking for answers outside the pursuit of God for all of her life - every area. Not one single moment of her existence overlooked or outsourced to any other resolution - except for the act of following Christ alone.

The man waits looking outward. Patiently. Hopefully.

The camera pans back and fades out. Will she? won't she? The effect would only be as good as the characters are written.

2) Now imagine if you would a world in which pharmaceuticals are everywhere. Every ad on TV. Every ad in magazines, trains, internet pop-ups, government legislations, and in this world there is a Christian TV station that is hosting a contest.

"Bring your story pitches! We are looking for quality content to edify the saints who struggle day by day to stay in the Word and follow Christ in every way and in every area of life!"

One guy brings a story pitch for stories to be set with occult-like items always set forth as items from the enemy to test, to tempt, to torment any one who follows after Christ. But the network exec fielding the pitches doesn't like it.

"We live in age of sorcery and drug use is everywhere. Mixing the occult and the Bible is never a good idea."

"Ah, but my first episode is the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Instead of feasting, the rich man will be looking to create a world of his own making through drug use and pharmaceuticals - making himself lose weight by drugs, hallucinating for entertainment or even enlightenment, and even taking drugs that promise to make the physical ramifications of multiple sexual partners disappear! Is this not the use of story-telling for the purposes of Biblical truth?"

"No! The rich man in Luke 16 was guilty of greed and not looking out for the poor and oppressed!"

"Of course, and Lazarus was poor and hungry. And Lazarus in the story will be poor but hungry for the Word of God. Drug free but living in a world where Christ is Lord - exercising and eating healthy and not gaining weight, finding his delight not in foolish entertainment but in the law of the Lord, and even worshipping the Lord with his wife to find a greater joy than if he slept with a thousand other women! Is this not the use of story-telling for the purposes of Biblical truth?"

In the grave intonation of the narrator I leave it to you - dear viewer. Thumbs up or thumbs down.

Is this man guilty of bringing in distinct darkness and satanic deceptions while mixing occult with Biblical truths?

The man waits patiently. Hopefully.
 
A couple thoughts:

1) The Bible is full of occult material therefore it is obviously not off limits to speak about and present such matters. How it is done matters.

2) Obviously, if the Bible can do it, someone else can include that kind of material and present it in a way that honors God (showing the bondage and evil such material produces and Christ's rescue from it for example).

3) A few people here have a bias against all/most fiction and/or entertainment. In my view, it takes discernment and extra work to separate the good from the bad rather than labeling it all "evil" or of no value to the believer. Of course there is some material that is absolutely off limits but let's not draw lines where God has not.
 
I might be completely misunderstanding this, but when somebody loves God and His Word, and wants to just be faithful to it, but has different speculations on what it is saying, that doesn't give anybody the right to say he is mixing it with dark and satanic deceptions. If that is what is being said, that is just completely untrue.

The Bible and life are full of supernatural and mysterious things. We as critical thinkers and humans have an innate passion to learn and find meaning to what we don't understand. This is a healthy thing and has brought us very far in life.

As far as the text, from what I have learned, if we look at it unbiasely and in a critical way, it seems to be saying something supernatural happened. From what I learned, the term "sons of God" in the Old Testament is only used five times in that exact expression, and always refers to angels. ‭Genesis 6:4 "when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them."

So in my mind it would be completely reasonable to interpret this passage in such a way, and one shouldn't be thought of as being deceived by Satan for such a view. It's completely fine and okay to have a different view, but we can't be so harsh and condemning towards those who don't think exactly like us.
 
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