Sunday, August 12, 2012

Pastor Deneff, Harry Potter, and Nay-Sayers

Got home from Bible study in time to see the end of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Throughout the entire movie, no one believed that the evil Voldemort was back.  Harry Potter was mocked as a fool, punished for being a liar. At the very end, the Minister of Magic and his retinue see Voldemort and in shock exclaim, "He's back!"

So Harry is vindicated. Standing behind the minister is the older brother of Harry's best friend Ron. If you read the novels, you'll know what the movies only hint at, that Percy is a jerk who thinks he's better than everyone else. He is a leader who prides himself on how much more he knows about everything and about how much more virtuous he is than everyone else. He is always ready to give advice to younger students who might want to follow in his footsteps.

In the final scene, the self-righteous Percy is confronted with the fact that in fact it is he who has been wrong all along.  He has maligned his parents when he was in fact the loser, and they the righteous ones.  He is the one without insight, without discernment.  I immediately thought of something Steve Deneff said in his sermon this morning.

The Percy type never admits they were wrong. They don't apologize. What they usually do is go on to be vociferously wrong again... on the next issue.

2 comments:

Angie Van De Merwe said...

People that believe it is their rightful place to lead, haven't gotten the gist of leadership, yet, which is respecting another's equal right...to differ. But, I am speaking of political truth. Power can and does corrupt, and we know absolute power corrupts absolutely. So, there must be accountability in leadership.

Pastor Deneff's sermon seemed to promote presumption, as faith. Irregardless of the facts, one should plow through and believe that "God is there", etc. Scriptures promote a belief in "God", but do not question at all, because it is assumed that God controls all events in history.

There is a place for optimism, in some cases, but there is also a place for those that caution from historical facts. If we do not learn from history, we are doomed to make the same mistakes. This is wisdom and prudence.

Conservatives believers don't want to learn from the Academy, and the Academy, sometimes, doesn't want to learn from history, it seems.

So, I suppose from Pastor Deneff's sermon, I am a "Nay-sayer"....I don't like painting pictures that aren't real and I don't get humor often because I am so serious.

Angie Van De Merwe said...

As to Percy, I would suppose that "Dr. Phil's adage" you can predict future behavior from past behavior is correct. People have certain behavioral characteristics. And it is best not to trust those that have proven themselves untrustworthy.