March 2015
FIFTY SHADES By Seth Halpern Editor Now that I have your attention, let me ask you a question. What made you turn the paper over to see the bottom half? Don’t worry, I’m not going to judge you. I probably would have done the same. Maybe we both would have thought it was a review of the new controversial yet popular movie. It’s not. I can’t write a review of something I haven’t seen and frankly I have no plans to see it or read the book. Some may say that I need to see it first to be informed. I don’t believe that’s necessary. I also don’t need
to try methamphetamines to know the danger involved with that. I know it is a bestseller and some women are becoming “liberated” by it. What intrigues me is not the film nor the book that spawned it, but the popularity it receives. In fact, it is downright concerning to me how celebrated this kind of story has become. There will always be the shocking, the controversial and the inappropriate “art” that creates outrage. What happens when those things no longer create that kind of outrage? Homosexuality used to create outrage and disdain and it wasn’t all that long ago. Now, Gay Marriage is celebrated
OF SIN
as being long overdue by the majority of our society. Divorce, Addiction, Child Disrespect, Obscene language are all just part of our “normal” society. Those bold enough to address them are labeled “old-school” and unprogressive (If this is how we’ve “progressed” then I’ll take “Old-School”). More troubling is when moral people are considered “haters” or “phobic”. Before we think of ourselves as better than, let’s take it a step further and get a little personal? We may be the ones who are rightfully condemning “Fifty Shades of Grey” but as this headline says there
are “Fifty Shades of Sin”. (Frankly, there are more than 50. I believe there is a shade of sin for each one of us and, like our fingerprint, it is unique to each of us.) The Bible is black and white on some issues but grey on many others. Whether the issue is movies and TV, alcohol, attire, driving or something else, we seem to judge ourselves based on the habits of others. This can easily lead to setting ourselves as the standard for all. The problem is that we are ALL born into sin (and continue of our own will). That’s the
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The Ambassador
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