Morality
Lying to a Generation: What I Learned at the Fair
Shirley and I recently enjoyed a day at the eighth largest fair in the world–The Puyallup Fair. Located in Puyallup, Washington, thirty miles south of Seattle, the “Western Washington Fair” sports a delightful twenty acres filled with carnival rides, animal shows and displays, a rodeo, stadium concerts, and numerous buildings filled with art, hobbies, flowers, and every consumer good imaginable (all at unbeatable fair prices!)
We “ate our way” through the Fair enjoying corn-on-the-cob, elephant ears, smoothies, ice cream swirls, and famous country scones. It was a memorable day filled with delicious sights and sounds and many reminders of our illustrious western history and way of life.
But I also learned something else at the Fair. I was reminded of two spectacular lies that were told to the Baby Boom Generation in the 60s and 70s that haunt us to this day:
- The lie of creation without a Creator (evolution), and
- the lie of love without God (lust).
We, as a generation, are still reeling from the impact of those untruths.
First, the lie of evolution.
This subject was on my mind because of some reading I’ve done recently on a new evolutionary book. Written by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow, Grand Design is the latest atheistic attempt to explain the origins of the world through the lens of godless evolution. In the book, Hawking and Mlodinow brazenly state:
“Because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing. Spontaneous creation is the reason there is something rather than nothing, why the universe exists, why we exist. It is not necessary to invoke God to light the blue touch paper and set the universe going.”
Really? The universe just creates itself? Like gravity?
Uh huh.
Grand Nonsense would be a more fitting title.
Back to Puyallup. How can you attend a fair of this type and not be struck by the wonder of God’s design on earth? As we walked around the hundreds of displays at the Puyallup Fair, we were amazed by both the incredible beauty of God’s creation as seen in the animal and plant worlds, and also in the unique creativity of human beings.
Watching the draft horses do their amazing stunts, seeing the hundreds of different species of foul and poultry–and gazing upon one of our favorites–a mother pig feeding her eleven little piglets–all these sights scream at the top of their lungs that a marvelous Designer made these things after their own kind. There is no other plausible explanation.
Macro-evolution says that time plus matter plus chance equals life as we know it. After seeing the glorious varieties of plants and animals at the Fair, that idea seems preposteous. Time plus matter plus chance equals dust–nothing more. It takes a very skilled Creator to shape elements and chemicals into the array of animal and plant life that our eyes feasted on.
And then there is the matter of man’s creation. Evolution also says that time plus matter plus chance equals you. A friend of mine summarizes this amazing process as “from goo to you by way of the zoo.”
No way. Human culture is amazing–from writing, to painting, to sculturing (even with chainsaws), to inventing products and tools (on sale everywhere at the Fair), to music, language, and invention–the creativness of man has no equal. No animals create tools or culture. Only man–made in God’s image–carries that unique spark.
No–if you look at the Fair with clear eyes, you must breathtakingly admire God’s glorious creation in the animal and plant worlds and also marvel at man’s unique creative abilities due to being made in the image of God.
My generation–the Baby Boom Generation (those born between 1946 and 1964) was raised on the lie of evolution. We were the first generation that accepted its erroneous conclusions in our textbooks and later, acted like animals in our individual lives.
Yet, every aspect of the Fair refuted that lie at every turn. God made the world and he made each one of us. We are responsible and accountible to him. We should worship him for what he’s made and do our part to create culture that benefits others and glorifies his name.
Then there is the lie about love.
One of the shows that Shirley and I watched at the Fair was a tribute to the Beatles by a group called Imagine. (I consented to listen to them to humor Shirley.) The “Fab Four” impersonators wore sixties suits, spoke with British accents (sounded fake to me) and really did look a lot like John, Paul, George, and Ringo. They were excellent musicians. During their ninety minute performance, they rattled off about twenty past Beatles hits.
It was very instructive to watch the crowd. Most of them were Boomers like us who were raised on this stuff. (I actually saw the Beatles in person in Seattle in 1964 when I was eleven years old. All I remember was their bright green suits.) There were also younger people in the crowd. Throughout the cascade of familiar songs, you could see the mouths of our generation singing along and enjoying the nostalgia of years gone by.
At the end of the performance, I was reflecting on the power of music. Even though I hadn’t heard most of these Beatles tunes for over forty years, I realized that I and an entire generation could remember every word to every song. Wow! Talk about power to affect the mind.
Then I started thinking about the actual words we had heard in the 60s. Most of the Beatles songs were about two themes–love ( i.e. I Wanna Hold Your Hand, She Loves You, Please Please Me etc.) and a smaller group about relationship break ups (i.e. Ticket to Ride, Yesterday etc.).
The closer I listened to the lyrics, the more I realized that the words were not really about “love” as the Bible defines it–pure, self-sacrificing devotion to another person. Rather, the words described sexual attraction or lust for another person.
Love and lust are very different things. Love leads to lifetime commitment. Lust leads to break-ups.
I remembered reading a sad biography of John Lennon some years ago. It chronicled his well-known sexual promiscuity, deep involvement in drug addiction, broken marriage with Cynthia (she came home one day to find John in a drug stupor and in bed with Yoko Ono) and his generally debauched life. The book also described the quartet’s first foray to Hamburg, Germany in 1960 where they frequented prostitutes, and John, Paul, and Ringo gleefully watched as George lost his virginity with a stripper.
The Beatles sang about lust, not godly love. Our generation bought the message and dove into the “free love” scene hook, line, and sinker. Our carnal, selfish pursuit of “love” brought the same consequences of broken marriages and numerous relational break-ups.
As I looked around the aging crowd, I wondered how many had been poisoned by these lyrics that led to the ruin of their marriages or the break-up of numerous relationships. The Beatles taught us a lie and we fell for it. Its results have been staggering in the life of the American nation.
But the song that spoke most deeply to me may have been the Beatles “autobiography tune.” It was called Nowhere Man. Here are some of the words to jog your memory:
He’s a real nowhere man,
Sitting in his Nowhere Land,
Making all his nowhere plans
for nobody.
Doesn’t have a point of view,
Knows not where he’s going to,
Isn’t he a bit like you and me?
Nowhere Man please listen,
You don’t know what you’re missing,
Nowhere Man,the world is at your command!
He’s as blind as he can be,
Just sees what he wants to see,
Nowhere Man can you see me at all?
The words above point to the world the Beatles and many others gave us in our youth. They took us “nowhere” where we couldn’t see our own “blindness” and empty pursuit of lustful pleasure.
“Isn’t he a bit like you and me?”
The Beatles were Nowhere Men that influenced a Nowhere Generation. How sad.
The lie of evolution and the lie of human lust are very similar. One says you can have creation and culture without God–and the other says you can have love and relationships without God. The Baby Boom found out the hard way that these ideas are painfully false.
Fortunately, many of the Baby Boom generation are finding their way home. At the conclusion to our evening, Shirley and I visited a booth that displayed hundreds of hats. All were emblazened with messages like “I Love Jesus,” “God is My Co-Pilot,” and the one that I purchased, “Jesus is My Rock.” The owner told us he had sold eighteen hundred of them.
A Nowhere Generation can be transformed into a generation that loves and serves Jesus Christ.
That’s what I learned at the Fair.
“Well Done Faithful Friends of Marriage & Family”
REFERENDUM 71 COUNTY VOTES
APPROVE COUNTIES ARE GREEN (52.95%) REJECT COUNTIES ARE YELLOW (47.05%)
I want to thank and encourage all those who worked for the rejection of Referendum 71 in Washington State during the recent election. We lost that battle by a small margin, but what you accomplished is lasting and will bear great fruit.
There is Someone far greater than I who says to your heart “Well done, good and faithful servant. You were faithful in a few things. I will put you in charge of many things. Enter into the rest of your Master” (Matthew 25:21).
The things we do for a Higher Purpose are never in vain. They create faith and character in our own lives, they positively impact the lives of others, and they lay the foundations for future victories and accomplishments that will glorify God and benefit people.
We lost this particular battle, but the war is not over. There will be many other victories and defeats along the way of our short lives here on earth. In the end, good will triumph and every tear will be wiped away. Until then, we need to be steadfast and continue to seek his kingdom and his righteousness.
Some thought we shouldn’t have entered this particular battle. I humbly disagree. There were many battles, I’m sure that General George Washington would have preferred to sit out during the American Revolutionary War such as the battles for New York and Germantown. They ended in defeat. But God used those skirmishes to prove and refine the army to persevere toward the ultimate goal of winning the war. Some battles you don’t choose–it’s just right to stand up for liberty in all situations and places.
There will always be battles we win and some we lose. We must always keep our eyes on the bigger picture–in this case, the war for our society and culture. In a fallen world, we may even lose the larger war for periods of time (think of Israel’s Old Testament roller coaster of renewal and decline), but the final triumph of good over evil is as certain as the dawn.
We must always persevere knowing that right–in Christ–is the Ultimate Victor.
We accomplished a minor miracle in the Referendum 71 battle–collecting over 125,000 signatures in a matter of weeks. Well done!
We mobilized up to 200,000 people to get involved in the great cause of preserving marriage and protecting children. A small grassroots awakening has begun, and if we continue to keep our fires lit and expanding, then a bon-fire of blessing can burst onto the scene. Well done!
Many of you practiced your civic and ethical duty by putting up signs, handing out leaflets, contributing to media adds, and waving signs at sidewalk rallies and small parades. The Slavic churches reminded us that freedom is a precious thing to retain and nurture in any society. They led the way in a number of our communities and by their actions taught the truth that “freedom is not the ability to do want you want, but the wisdom to do you ought.” Well done!
Some of our compatriots sat out this particular issue because they’ve bought the popular idea that any kind of sex is okay if there is “commitment and love.” I’m proud of you that you see the fallacy of that argument–that consenting adults doesn’t make it okay. From a five thousand year moral consensus standpoint, fornication, adultery, homosexuality, pedophilia, and bestiality are all wrong. They are destructive to adults, hurtful to kids, and separate us from God. On the contrary, you understand the real definition of love which is: “Doing what’s best for another person from God’s point of view.” That doesn’t include any of the above actions under any circumstances. For your clarity of vision, well done!
Thank you for your attitude that you showed in this debate. I know that the media and others try to paint the picture that you are bigoted, narrow, and unloving in trying to preserve one-man-one woman marriage. They say you are homo phobic. Now I’m sure that somewhere on the American fringe some homo phobic people exist. But I’ve personally never met one–and I know that description doesn’t fit you. You simply care deeply for people, believe in the institution of marriage, and especially don’t want to see children wrongly influenced or suffer in any way due to the break-up of the traditional home. As our flyer explained “every person needs a mom and a dad.” You believe that passionately and want everyone to experience its reality and blessing.
Thank you also for loving those who are engaged in homosexual acts and may never understand your heart for them. Many of them are your friends, just as you have friends that fornicate or commit adultery, or lie or steal. You don’t wish any of them ill, you simply want them to turn from their destructive behavior and experience the grace and power of God to live a changed life–just like you have done. Some of you even persevered under some harassment and death threats made by hardened members of the homosexual community. You responded with kindness and prayed for your persecutors. Well done!
You kept the debate civil and focused. This issue was not ultimately about domestic partnerships, but at chipping away at the sacredness and uniqueness of marriage. You saw through the deception and propaganda and took a stand for what’s right–in meekness and gentleness. Because of my own public profile in the campaign, I had homosexual activists dialing me up on my cell phone. One such trans gender leader named “Susan” who once was “Phil” was amazed that I didn’t hate homosexuals nor was trying to take away anybody’s rights. I simply believed in marriage between men and women and loved people enough to point them in the right direction. She/he and I had a productive hour’s conversation and agreed to meet for coffee to talk further. You also reached out in caring ways. Well done!
As you know, we won the battle for public opinion in 29 of Washington’s 39 counties. If it weren’t for the Goliath of King County, we would have scored a solid victory for marriage and children. But we have allowed a large Greater-Seattle population move the state of Washington in a socially radical and secular direction. It is now up to us build a wall of prayer throughout the Emerald City stronghold, pour the love of Christ into its streets and neighborhoods, and bring people to faith and moral sanity within this large blue island in a red sea. That will take time, great effort, and supernatural power.
But I believe you can do it. Nothing is too great for the Author of marriage and family.
Be encouraged for the stand you’ve taken.
Well done!
Now on to the next battle with faith, hope, and love.
Living Wisely
There’s truth to the idea that wisdom comes with the years. The following list of wisdom ideas comes from Regina Brett who is now ninety years old and lives in Cleveland, Ohio.
If you practice a tenth of this list you will do well. If you aim for all of them, you will live a truly blessed life and help to change the world. RB
By Regina Brett
“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I’ve ever written. My odometer rolled over to 90 in August, so here is the column once more.”
1. Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
2. When in doubt, just take the next small step.
3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
4. Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch.
5. Pay off your credit cards every month.
6. You don’t have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
7. Cry with someone. It’s more healing than crying alone.
8. It’s OK to get angry with God. He can take it.
9. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck.
10. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile.
11. Make peace with your past so it won’t mess up the present.
12. It’s OK to let your children see you cry.
13. Don’t compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
14. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn’t be in it.
15. Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don’t worry; God never blinks.
16. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
17. Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
18. Whatever doesn’t kill you really does make you stronger.
19. It’s never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
20. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don’t take no for an answer.
21. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don’t save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
22. Over prepare, then go with the flow.
23. Be eccentric now. Don’t wait for old age to wear purple.
24. No one is in charge of your happiness but you.
25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words ”In five years, will this matter?”.
26. Always choose life.
27. Forgive everyone everything.
28. What other people think of you is none of your business.
29. Time heals almost everything. Give time, time.
30. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.
31. Don’t take yourself so seriously. No one else does.
32. Believe in miracles.
33. God loves you because of who God is, not because of anything you did or didn’t do.
34. Don’t audit life. Show up and make the most of it now.
35. Growing old beats the alternative — dying young.
36. Your children get only one childhood.
37. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved.
38. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere.
39. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else’s, we’d grab ours back.
40. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
41. The best is yet to come.
42. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.
43. Yield.
44. Life isn’t tied with a bow, but it’s still a gift.