Posted on 03/03/2014 9:43:45 AM PST by CHRISTIAN DIARIST
Over much of its history, the Academy Awards have been the backdrop for some rather off-putting acceptance speeches.
In 2011, for instance, Melissa Leo dropped a so-called F-bomb when she accepted the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role in The Fighter.
In 2003, Bowling for Columbine was awarded Best Documentary, which provided Michael Moore a platform to rant against duly-elected President George W. Bush. We live in the time, he said, where we have fictitious election results that elects a fictitious president.
And, in 1972, Jane Fonda took the stage after winning Best Actress for her performance in Klute, telling the audience, Theres a great deal to say and Im not going to say it tonight. Then she proceeded to go backstage, where she declared, There are murders being committed in our name in Indochina.
Last nights 86th Annual Academy Awards ceremony was decidedly different. Thats because the Holy Spirit showed up most unexpectedly.
It began when Darlene Love, a 1960s backup singer, strode to the stage to accept the Oscar for Best Documentary for 20 Feet From Stardom, the film in which she starred.
Midway through her remarks, she was filled with the Holy Spirit and suddenly gave a powerful, impromptu performance of the gospel hymn, His Eye on the Sparrow. When she finished, Bill Murray leapt to his feet yes, funnyman Bill Murray and much of the audience followed suit.
It truly was a God moment.
Then there were the remarks by Matthew McConaughey, whos leading role in Dallas Buyers Club won him an Oscar statuette for Best Actor. McConaughey didnt deliver a mere acceptance speech, but powerful, Spirit-filled testimony.
First off, he told an audience of an estimated 40 million television viewers, I want to thank God, because thats Who I look up to. He has graced my life with opportunities that I know are not of my hand, nor any other human hand.
He concluded, Amen and all right, all right, all right.
The secularist media didnt get it. Like Times Isaac Guzmán, who posted an article today riffing on McConaugheys Confounding Acceptance Speech, which the writer disparaged as semi-bizarre.
Well, of course it was confounding to Guzmán; to others who didnt get McConaugheys remarks.The Book of Corinthians advises, God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise.
Meanwhile, to those of us who are Christ followers, it was stirring to witness McConaugheys testimony last night; to hear him give God the glory for the opportunities, the blessings he has received over his film career.
It proved the Oscar-winning actor is not ashamed of the Gospel.
I don’t give people the bird, because that would be cursing which God hates. I would have never brought this up had someone not posted it thus make a graven image of God. I just couldn’t say nothing when God is blasphemed. The truth is, luke warm Christianity is the problem. The powers of Satan have always been trying to pull this country down. It wasn’t until Christians got postmodern that Satan started winning.
So we cut pages out of our Bible and found a few that all of us could agree on, then proclaimed them the most important. Yeah, I’d say that’s a problem.
Oh yes The Catholic church and Billy Graham those two evil arch enemies of your church, let me take a wild guess; The Church of Whats Happening Now?
I can’t tell if you’re just off your meds or if the new snakes for Sunday night’s service haven’t arrived yet.
Try to be glad a Christain proclaimed his faith on national TV.
I’m not sure why you addressed your comment to me. I was happy Matthew McConnaughey said what he said. I’m sure he made some liberal heads explode. I only cautioned against referring to acknowledgements of God as “the gospel.” Too many have no idea what the gospel is in our day. People should know that naked belief in God is not the gospel, and it’s not the way of eternal life.
Ok, I’m trying be glad. No, I can’t bow to Matt’s graven image.
As for my church, well churches are local and not universal or a denomination. However, my worldview is aligned with Hudson Taylor, Billy Sunday, DL Moody, CH Spurgeon, John Bunyan, John R Rice, George Mueller, Andrew Murray, William Wilberforce, John and Charles Wesley, John Newton, and a few others. Pope Francis, Robert Schuller, Joel Osteen, Billy Graham, Matthew Mcconaughey: Not so much. That makes me a snake handler? Amazing!
>> Im not sure why you addressed your comment to me.
Just addressed you as an afterthought; it was mainly to the other addressee.
The only point that relates to your earlier post is that Matthew Mc_________ (I’ll learn his spelling someday!) didn’t have to go full on Billy Graham, as I put it, to have SOME good effect.
But we’re in heated agreement on that, I think. And of course your point that “naked belief in God is not the Gospel” is right on.
FRegards and God bless you
I agree with you on your point. Even a tiny light is noticeable in the darkness of the vile pit of Hollywood. McConnaughey’s acknowledgement of God ‘s grace was certainly a step in a good direction.
So in other words in one night he won an Oscar then made sure he never gets another acting job. Well I suppose he has enough money to retire on.
I don’t know what it makes you but if you re-read some of your posts on this thread the venom you spew on other Christians (I’m one of those hell bent Catholics) does not bode well for your own salvation. “Judge not that ye be not judged.”
Colossians 3:8 tells us not to engage in filthy talk.
I looked back. No venom.
It wouldn’t matter if you were an angel sent from Heaven, I still won’t rejoice that a Hollywood pervert made a graven image of God. All I said about Catholics was “(Graham) yolked with Catholics who lead people to Hell with works salvation” Does Catholic doctrine teach salvation by works?” Well, I’m not the first to say that an attempt to gain salvation through works of the flesh will lead to Hell. What kind of person would I be if I didn’t warn people of that? I should do it more, not less.
By the way, my Matthew Mcconaughey number is 5 according to The Oracle of Bacon.
http://oracleofbacon.org
That’s nice.
If you want to say about God’s Word, “That’s nice.” I certainly believe it comes to us at the cost of the sacrifice of God’s Son. How about you? Perhaps you just couldn’t admit you’re wrong about this?
“If you want to say about Gods Word, Thats nice.”
I didn’t say that about God’s Word, I said it about your comment, as it wasn’t really relevant to my point, so I couldn’t think of much else to say on the matter.
“How about you? Perhaps you just couldnt admit youre wrong about this?”
Why would I admit I’m wrong when I’m not?
What do you think it means not to engage in filthy talk?
Probably the same thing that you think it means. That still doesn’t make it relevant to my point.
Paul and the other New Testament writers gave us a lot of instruction on how we were to be as Christians, including towards each other. We’re to instruct and warn each other, but not argue. We’re to put on bowels of mercy, too, and be tender-hearted, and we’re to be of the Holy Spirit so that we may rightly divide the word of truth. Paul also had other things to say about our talk, and he and the other writers about our conduct, including what comes out of our hearts. (Cont’d)
Last night at one a.m. I had a problem with a deflating airbed. To myself, while half-asleep, I started calling it a piece of something. I don’t curse, but that was the flesh speaking, and I repented of that. I didn’t say that out of faith, but anger, and it was really anger at God that He might have let me waste my money. But it’s not my money! And if I spent money for nothing, in my eyes, faith says that He has a purpose for it that I can rejoice in. When I called that bed a name, though, I would indeed call that a curse. I was spewing out the anger and hatred in my heart towards it. Does that make sense?
“When I called that bed a name, though, I would indeed call that a curse. I was spewing out the anger and hatred in my heart towards it. Does that make sense?”
Of course you, a modern English speaker, would call it a curse. My point was that what you are calling “cursing” or “curse words” is not what a Hebrew or Greek writer was referring to at the time the Bible was written, that would be commonly translated as “cursing”. They simply did not possess, in their languages, this transposition of meanings that we have in our modern languages. I’ll add also, this same conflation of our modern sense of the word with the ancient usage happens with “swearing”, and it has effectively neutered the meaning of one of the Ten Commandments for most Christians. Does that make sense?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.