Frequently Asked Friday

What is ClearPlay?

In short, ClearPlay is a company that makes DVD players that automatically skip unwholesome scenes in movies and mute offensive language. My wife ran across this product about a year ago, and we eagerly bought a player. There are definitely some pros and cons to the experience, and we both thought it would be a good idea for me to write a review, in the hopes that some of you will consider purchasing the product (and service).

How does it work?

More details are available at the company's website, as well as this Wikipedia article, but the short of it is that ClearPlay's editors review dozens of new DVD movies each month and create filters that know where the questionable scenes and language are. You purchase a player and their monthly service, which gives you access to their continually changing filter library. Every so often, you download the new set of filters to a USB Flash drive (they call it a FilterStick), which you then insert into the player, when you want to watch a new movie. The player automatically finds the appropriate filter and gives you the option to watch the movie, with or without filtering.

Is it legal?

When it first came out, there were some lawsuits involving copyright protections. However, the courts ruled that since individuals have the right to fast-forward or mute the movies they watch in their own homes, ClearPlay was perfectly within its legal rights. After all, all it does is automate the process for you. Since it does not modify the DVD itself in any way (how could it???), the movie makers' original visions (oh, like I care!!!) remain intact.

How much does it cost?

The players are about $80, and you need to buy an $8 monthly subscription, to get continued access to their continually changing filter library. I suppose you could pay for one month, get the filters, and then cancel, but you would not have access to filters for new movies that come out. I think it's totally worth it.

What are the pros?

Obviously, being able to watch a movie with your kids, without worrying about an f-bomb (or even most slang) or seeing a couple in bed, is a huge benefit. We are very picky about content in movies (and video games), and this product opens up our otherwise limited selection.

ClearPlay doesn't usually skip entire chapters (as defined by the movie's menu). Instead, it skips individual scenes or moments that have gratuitious violence, sensuality, etc.... Most of the time, you hardly even notice it did it, especially if it's a movie that you never saw full-length. An R-rated movie like The Matrix becomes PG-ish. You still see people lying prone on the floor, but not the hail of bullets that tore into them. Nice.

ClearPlay mutes most bad language, including most euphemisms. We were pleasantly surprised how strict their editors usually are.

The players, though only available through their website, are pretty stylish, have all the common A/V connections, and produce clear, crisp images. They boast that they play all the common formats (NOT Blu-Ray, yet), although the only other type of disc I tried was DVDs created on our computer, which worked very well.

Their telephone support is very helpful and friendly, and they bend over backwards, if you have any problems.

What are the cons?

Right off the bat, I should say that you need internet access and familiarity with computers, before you decide to buy. There are several ways to get the filters for your players, and they all involve downloading them. They have a handy program that helps automate the process, but when it doesn't work, you need to know how to manually download the filters from their website.

The ClearPlay editors don't have a problem with the c-word that means "poop", but we do. They also sometimes miss some words or leave in scenes that we would have removed. But these missteps are few and far-between.

While the players are great when they work, they have a high failure rate. We've had the service for not even a year, and we're already on our third player. Our first one all of a sudden got finicky about the types of DVDs it would play: only the double-sided ones. And no, I didn't all of a sudden start putting them in up-side-down! We called for a replacement, and they promised to send one right away, along with a pre-paid shipping label, to send the other one back. But they lost the order TWICE, and it took us a MONTH to get the replacement! They were so sorry that they gave us a free year of service and a free player.

The extra free player came in handy, when our second player stopped receiving commands from the remote. And no, the batteries didn't just run out! And just before that happened, it literally fried our FilterStick, making it unusable. Ever since, I've been careful to remove it from the player, as soon as the filter is loaded.

I also discharge any static electricity I may have, before touching the player, because I have a hunch that's what caused our previous player to malfunction.

There is no Blu-Ray version yet, but the Wikipedia article says they're working on it. Until they have that (hopefully with higher reliality than their current players), we have no reason to buy an expensive Blu-Ray player or the HDTV that would have to accompany it.

Conclusion?

ClearPlay is a great idea, and I am a patient man, who's handy with computery thingies. Being able to watch clean movies is well worth the hassle we've gone through, with players breaking on us and the occasional hicups with the website. I am hoping that as the company matures, and the word gets out, reliability will improve. Who knows, maybe they would consider hiring me, to help out with that!

Frequently Asked Friday

Kronk and his shoulder angels.

Ah, time for the long-awaited second part of this multi-part series. Thanks are due to the Great Googly Moogly, whose comments inspired this post. If you wish to read last week's post or the aforementioned comment thread, just click here.

By the way, if you want to reuse a picture you used in a previous post, you don't need to upload it again. All you need to do is copy the HTML code for that image from your other post into your new post.

Why Do Christians Sin?

For the sake of this discussion, I am limiting the scope of this question to professing Christians. While the answer applies to all people, regardless of their beliefs, to ask why a non-Christian sins is akin to asking why a person who has no food is hungry.

I pretty much already stated in last Friday's post what I believe to be the fundamental reason people sin, but GGM had a different viewpoint, which has prompted me to further explore the issue. So, here are some reasons that I can think of, and the Biblical responses.

"We're the seed of Adam."

Sin entered human nature, when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit. Prior to that unfortunate event, the earth's first two humans were shielded from sin by their own ignorance. But as the serpent predicted, eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil made them to know good and evil, thereby opening their eyes to sin. Furthermore, those without the Holy Spirit dwelling within have no power to resist the temptation to sin. So when we come out of the womb, we have the seed of Adam in us and the inclination to sin. However...

• "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).
• "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever" (1 Peter 1:23).
• "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (1 John 3:9).

There are many more scriptures like these, but these three are enough to illustrate my point. The NT tells us over and over than a required part of salvation is a rebirth. Our hearts and minds are reborn in the image of Christ. The seed of Adam is purged and replaced by the seed of God. So truly born-again Christians cannot use this as a reason. If Adam remains in you, you have not yet been born again.

"The Devil made me do it."

This one's been used so much, it's a cliché. But one of my favorite scriptures in the entire Bible promises that Satan cannot so much as touch you, if you are born of God: "We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not" (1 John 5:18).

Lack of belief in the Word of God

GGM made this excellent suggestion, and I think it's true, to a great extent. Way back in Genesis 2:17, God told Adam that he will die if he eats of the forbidden tree. Eve certainly knew this, but she decided to believe the serpent more, when he said in 3:4, "Ye shall not surely die."

Fast-forward many years later, and you see the Israelites, choosing to not believe God's warnings against idolatry and mingling with their heathen neighbors, over and over again. And true enough, the Bible confirms that unbelief will keep us from having a right relationship with God. Nowhere is it stated more clearly than in the Book of Hebrews:

• "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God" (3:12).
• "So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief" (3:19).
• "Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief" (4:6).
• "Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief" (4:11).

Here are some others that affirm that unbelief is sin and that belief in God is righteousness:

• "And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness" (Genesis 15:6).
• "...then ye rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God, and ye believed him not, nor hearkened to his voice" (Deuteronomy 9:23b).
• "Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper" (2 Chronicles 20:20b).
• "So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God" (Daniel 6:23b).

But is lack of belief in God's Word the fundamental reason we sin? Can we not have complete belief in God, even unshakeable knowledge of God's Word, and still choose to disobey?

"Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble" (James 2:19). Here, James makes the case that belief alone is not enough to please God, that our belief must be reflected by our actions. While works alone cannot buy us salvation (else Christ died in vain), they should reflect our nature as children of God. James' extraordinary effort to bring this particular point home, implies (to me, at least) that it is entirely possible to have full belief in God and His Word, and yet fail to act on it, or worse, wilfully disobey it. I have certainly found this true at times, in my own life.

This brings me to my inevitable conclusion, that fundamentally, sin is the result of...

Inadequate or misdirected love

No one reading the NT can miss the importance that Godly love plays in a Christian's life. New Agers and hippies alike have even picked up on it (and twisted it to suit their purposes). But is it more fundamental than belief? The Apostle Paul seemed to think so:

• "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing" (1 Corinthians 13:1-3).
• "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity" (v. 13).

In fact, love is so important, that Jesus said it is what the Law and prophets are founded upon.

• "Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets" (Matthew 22:37-40).
• "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15).

To be sure, belief in God's Holy Word is essential for salvation and holy living, but we cannot love God and sin at the same time. "No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon" (Luke 16:13).

Faith and belief in God and His Word can only carry us so far. In the end, we are still free to choose between right and wrong, and the choice we make ultimately depends on what/whom we love more. For example, as an engineer, I've learned lots of math, more than most people will ever know. I understand it to a much higher level than most and firmly believe in the truth and correctness of all the theorems and derivations that I've learned. But I don't do a lot of math in my everyday life, because I don't like it that much. I recognize that it's necessary for nearly all technology, including that which surrounds me at work, but I avoid doing it myself.

But if I truly love God, then I will obey Him, no matter how much of His Word I believe or understand. Conversely, I can believe and understand more of the Bible than most people (by getting a PhD in Theology, for example), but still not love God enough to cease from sinning.

Where am I going with this?

Sorry for the long post (if you love me, you'll have read it all!), but you'll see next week where I'm going with it, and why this week's topic is so crucial. Tune in again next week!

Frequently Asked Friday

Kronk and his shoulder angels.

This is the first part of a greater subject that is far too great for a single post. Subsequent parts will be posted each Friday. By the way, the picture for this theme is inspired by Disney's The Emperor's New Groove, which is one of the funniest films I've ever seen. For more information on the shoulder angels, click here. While the picture does tie in with what I'm talking about, the shoulder angels aren't my focus. LOL!

What Is Sin?

I have never found an outright definition in the Bible, but here are some scriptures that shed some light on the nature of sin:

• "Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin" (James 4:17).
• "... For whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Romans 14:23b).
• "All unrighteousness is sin" (1 John 5:17a).
• "Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law" (1 John 3:4).
• "But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death" (James 1:14,15).
• "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.... Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery: But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart" (Matthew 5:20-22,27,28).

So, sin is breaking God's Law, as a result of lust, lack of faith, or disobedience. Also note that Jesus raised the bar, by stating that even dwelling on sinful thoughts count as sin. But what Law is it a sin to break? The explicit details of the Mosaic Law? "But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter" (Romans 7:6). Apparently not, for the Law of Mount Sinai was fulfilled by Jesus, who gave us the two commandments that we need to follow. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." (Matthew 22:37-39).

Sin, therefore, is breaking Jesus' commandments to love God above all else and others as ourselves. Sin is thoughts, words, or actions that originate from misdirected or insufficient love. Think about it. Every sin that you've ever committed can be traced back to loving yourself, or something, more than God or your fellow man (or woman).

Frequently Asked Friday

What's a Worldview?

We're doing a weekly Bible study at our friends' house, and we just started a unit on popular worldviews. The study materials are based on David A. Noebel's book, Understanding the Times (revised 2nd ed.), available from Summit Ministries. They have not only the book, but an entire curriculum based on it, as well as many other Christian materials addressing moral issues.

In their 1989 book, Worlds Apart, Geisler and Watkins define a worldview as "a way of viewing or interpreting all of reality. It is an interpretive framework through which or by which one makes sense of the data of life and the world." In other words, a worldview is the interpretive pair of glasses you use to explain the world around you. Even if you never thought about it explicitly, you already have a worldview; everyone does!

This past week, my wife received her first issue of Answers Magazine, which defends a literal Biblical interpretation of science and history. Browsing the magazine, I found this cartoon (drawn by Dan Lietha, whose permission I have to use it). No matter on which side of the fence you're on, it is a great illustration of the concept of worldviews.

The intentional irony of this cartoon is that the atheist accuses the believer of having a distorted view of his reality. But in fact, his own so-called "objectivity" is actually based on his belief in the absence of God. Even agnostics are not truly objective, because many of them don't just claim that they don't know that there is a God; they go one step farther, declaring that you cannot know.

Believe it or not, it's really not that big of a deal to us if the earth was created in 6 literal days, 4.5 billion years, or some amount of time in-between; we know God created it (and everything else, including all mankind), and that's good enough for us.

Why Study Worldviews?

Understanding your own worldview, as well as those of others around you, helps you develop a consistent way of looking at things, as well as leading you to understand where other people are coming from. It can help you better understand the great moral and political debates of the day, including homosexuality, abortion, elections, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the economy. It helps you become a better informed voter, more convincing debater, and more understanding of others.

After much time debating atheists and those of other beliefs, I have come to understand and appreciate this problem better. Clashing worldviews and the inability to understand how each developed is probably one of the leading reasons why religious and political discussions can get so heated.

Ultimately, truth is truth, and God's view is all that really matters. Yes, I know, God is central to my worldview, but He may not be in yours. But if we have a mututal understanding of our respective worldviews, we can have a polite, but lively discussion about anything.

I don't know if this stream-of-consciousness makes much sense to anyone but me, but as we continue the study, I'll continue to share my thoughts on it.

Frequently Asked Friday

Does God Exist?

What a weird question to ask, and on a Christian blog, no less! But it's one that I asked myself many times, before Jesus revealed Himself to me, through His Living Word. I also do not expect to adequately answer it in this, or even a million, posts. Philosophers, theologians, and lay-people smarter than myself have already debated this question, without reaching a unanimous conclusion. Besides, I've already answered it for myself, so the question is fairly rhetorical, from my perspective. But, for those of you who are either asking yourselves the same question or who seek to help lead others to its inevitable conclusion, please allow me to address this issue with an analogy.

Where Do Babies Come From?

Growing up, you probably had a mom and dad who claimed to be your parents. And you probably believed them, on faith. You didn't ask for your birth certificate, their Social Security cards, DNA evidence, or the testimony of witnesses under oath. It was enough that you resembled them, that they were part of your life for as long as you could remember, and that others also called them your parents.

But what made them your "parents?" You probably didn't think of it that way, but you probably asked instead, "Where did I come from?" or "Where do babies come from?" If your parents didn't think you were old enough to hear the exact truth, they probably gave you a watered-down version, the stork story, or avoided the question altogether.

At some point, you learned about "the birds and the bees," and you believed it, even though you had no real proof. In fact, if you think about it, the miracle of life is such a wonderful mystery, that even pictures and scientific evidence don't do it justice. You can't fully appreciate it until you get married and experience it for yourself. You feel the tiny kicks inside your wife's belly (or feel them yourself, if you happen to actually be the wife!). You witness the beautiful, precious, little life be brought forth into the world (and maybe get tired of being told to "breathe" and "push"). And then you understand. You've begun to experience parenthood yourself, and your blind faith, from so long ago, has reached its realization.

Back to God

Likewise, all the evidence in the world may not be enough (or necessary) to convince you that God is real. The evidence is certainly there, from the unlikely conditions that support life on this planet, to the complex structures and processes that make up a living thing, to the spiritual experiences that so many testify of.

Ultimately, that question is answered by faith and personal experience. And just as the new parent wants to show everyone their baby (or baby pictures), you will want to tell the world of your own rebirth in Christ.

Just as many doubted God, many will doubt you. But there will be some who will believe, and then experience the salvation of Jesus Christ and the rebirth, for themselves. And then they will want to tell the world!

Frequently Asked Friday

Q: Why did you change the name of this blog?

A: As always, the Lord moves in mysterious ways, and always on His time, at the right time. Several years ago, the Lord moved my wife and me to create a website for Him. We asked at church for name suggestions, and my father-in-law proposed "JesusIsWonderful." We liked it, and it was available, so the name stuck. We had t-shirts, stickers, decals, and even a banner printed with the website's name. We felt like we could reach the fartherst corner of the earth with Jesus' message of love, redemption, and salvation..., at least as long as they had Internet!

Fast-forward to the present. Updating the website had become a drag, mainly because of the amount of work needed to archive old posts and add new ones. Once my wife started writing a blog, I thought maybe we could use the same concept. It wasn't until I was doing our monthly bills, and I noticed increased charges from our hosting service, that I decided to take action, and begin the process of moving JesusIsWonderful.com to Blogger.com. I did not want to continue my old blog, but at the same time did not want to lose the posts I've already done, so I renamed my blog. Its purpose is still the same, but my purpose has been revived and renewed, much like a sinner who finds new life and purpose in Jesus Christ.

Long story still long, here we are! http://www.jesusiswonderful.com/ is still up-and-running for now, until the transition is complete. Please come back soon!